Vietnam: A Television History The End of the Tunnel: 1973-1975 (Season 1, Episode 12)
TV Episode | Documentary, History, War

Primary photo for The End of the Tunnel: 1973-1975

Vietnam: A Television History

The End of the Tunnel: 1973-1975 (Season 1, Episode 12)

TV Episode | Documentary, History, War

On January 23, 1973 Richard Nixon announced a cease fire with the return of all POWs within 60 days and the complete withdrawal of of US Forces from South Vietnam in the same time period. Many South Vietnamese were furious about the ...See moreOn January 23, 1973 Richard Nixon announced a cease fire with the return of all POWs within 60 days and the complete withdrawal of of US Forces from South Vietnam in the same time period. Many South Vietnamese were furious about the agreement feeling it was a death sentence for them. By now, a majority of Americans now believed that the cost to the US, particularly in America lives, was too great. The public cheered the return of American POWs, a month-long celebration that played out on American TV. President Nixon had pledged American support should the North launch a full-scale invasion but he was distracted by the Watergate scandal. He ended the draft and brought the soldiers home but opposition to his policies continued, now centered in Congress who wanted to limit the President's authority. Congress imposed a halt to the bombing of Cambodia in August 1973. Forced from office, Nixon was replaced by Gerald R. Ford who committed to continue his predecessor's policies but by August 1973, the military balance had shifted against President Thieu. The South lacked US air support, had problems with their ammunition supply and with spare parts for aircraft. South Vietnamese corruption was a major, though little talked about, problem. In 1972, 31,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died and leaders in the North concluded there was nothing the US could do to prevent the collapse of the regime in the South. The invasion of South Vietnam in 1975 was at least in part a test of US resolve. The US Congress refused to approve additional funds for the South. A North Vietnamese feint lured the South Vietnamese to defend Pleiku in the highlands but unsuccessful, they were forced to go further south and set a new line of defense. Da Nang fell on March 30, 1975 and the hysteria there filtered south. Curfews were imposed in Saigon and Americans were preparing to leave but the evacuation created chaos. On April 21, 1975 President Thieu resigned and on April 28 North Vietnamese troops entered the city, which fell on April 30. The North, which had given itself two years to gain control of South Vietnam had completed the task in 55 days. Written by garykmcd See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
28 cast members

Name	Known for
Diem Bui Self Self See fewer	The Bells of Thien Mu Temple (1957)
Tin Bui Self Self See fewer	7th Heaven (1996)
John Dean Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Nixon (1995)
Maureen Dean Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Blind Ambition (1979)
Cuong Do Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
John Ehrlichman Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)
Sam Ervin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bicentennial Minutes (1974)
Millicent Fenwick Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Americana (1947)
Gerald Ford Self Self See fewer	Dynasty (1981)
Hubert H. Humphrey Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Candidate (1972)
Henry Kissinger Self Self See fewer	Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Duc Tho Le Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	From Hollywood to Hanoi (1992)
William LeGro Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Will Lyman Narrator Narrator See fewer	Mystic River (2003)
Graham Martin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer
Pete McCloskey Self Self See fewer	The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)
Kenneth Moorefield Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Minh Kha Ngo Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Cong Thanh Nguyen Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Richard Nixon Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Frost/Nixon (2008)
Phung Tien Phan Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Peter Rodino Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bicentennial Minutes (1974)
Frank Snepp Self Self See fewer	The Intelligence Failure That Lost Vietnam
Hang Tho Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Fred Thompson Self (archive footage) (as Fred Dalton Thompson) Self (archive footage) (as Fred Dalton Thompson) See fewer	The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Van Thu Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Van Nhut Tran Self Self See fewer	Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
Nguyen Van Thieu Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Issues and Answers (1960)