Vietnam War - Long Binh Open Mess Token
The Vietnam War was a war that was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, with the North Vietnam military being aided by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies, and South Vietnam being aided by the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Australia and other anti-communist allies. The war lasted from late 1955 until 1975, and was fought not only in Vietnam, but also Cambodia and Laos.
The North Vietnamese Army engaged in conventional warfare, and the Viet Cong, a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, waged guerilla warfare against the anti-communist forces. The United States, along with other anti-communist allies, viewed the war in terms of containment, and felt their involvement was necessary in order to stop the spread of communism. Troop levels from countries coming to the aid of South Vietnam increased dramatically throughout the early and mid 1960’s.
A turning point in the war was the Tet Offensive, which occurred in 1968. It was an operation launched by the North Vietnamese in an effort to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. While the offensive failed its objective, it did persuade a large sector of the U. S. population to grow skeptical of the claims by the government that progress was being made towards winning the war.
When the Nixon Presidency took over from the Johnson Administration, the government conducted a fresh evaluation of the war. Based on the analysis that the war may not be winnable, and influenced by the increasing negative public opinion of the war, Nixon directed the military to begin a gradual withdrawal of U.S. ground forces. Direct military involvement by United States forces ended in August of 1973, and the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 brought the war to an end.
The item in my collection is a 25 cent Open Mess Token from Long Binh Post. Long Binh Post, located 20 km northeast of Saigon, was the largest U.S. Army base in Vietnam.
The North Vietnamese Army engaged in conventional warfare, and the Viet Cong, a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, waged guerilla warfare against the anti-communist forces. The United States, along with other anti-communist allies, viewed the war in terms of containment, and felt their involvement was necessary in order to stop the spread of communism. Troop levels from countries coming to the aid of South Vietnam increased dramatically throughout the early and mid 1960’s.
A turning point in the war was the Tet Offensive, which occurred in 1968. It was an operation launched by the North Vietnamese in an effort to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. While the offensive failed its objective, it did persuade a large sector of the U. S. population to grow skeptical of the claims by the government that progress was being made towards winning the war.
When the Nixon Presidency took over from the Johnson Administration, the government conducted a fresh evaluation of the war. Based on the analysis that the war may not be winnable, and influenced by the increasing negative public opinion of the war, Nixon directed the military to begin a gradual withdrawal of U.S. ground forces. Direct military involvement by United States forces ended in August of 1973, and the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 brought the war to an end.
The item in my collection is a 25 cent Open Mess Token from Long Binh Post. Long Binh Post, located 20 km northeast of Saigon, was the largest U.S. Army base in Vietnam.
