Official end to war

In 1968, at the height of the fighting in the Vietnam War, representatives of the U.S., the governments of North and South Vietnam and representatives of the Vietnamese National Liberation Front (the Viet Cong) prepared to meet in Geneva and discuss ending the fighting in Vietnam. It was a common belief that we were looking at hostilities possibly ending without a surrender of either side. Vietnam could see the end of war with a permanent division such as had evolved in Korea.

Whatever hope there was for successful talks quickly dashed when the participants began to argue over procedural disagreements. Discussions about who would sit at the negotiating table devolved as the major issue being discussed was what the shape of the table should be and who should sit where.

The hopes for the talks were dashed, and their arguments became a joke. People were dying, and the main topic was the shape of the table.

Negotiations continued on an irregular basis until 1973. At that point the U.S. was no longer conducting independent offensive operations and had withdrawn most personnel from Vietnam. American aircraft were still flying support for the South Vietnamese, and the U.S. was still providing military supplies to the South.

In May 1972, agreements were reached for the U.S. to finish withdrawing from South Vietnam without a requirement that the North Vietnamese would do the same. To pressure both North and South Vietnam, President Nixon ordered a resumption of bombing North Vietnam with Operation Linebacker II, and South Vietnam was told that refusal to complete negotiations would result in the U.S. ending the supply of military items.

U.S. and North Vietnamese negotiators Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho reached final agreements Jan. 23, 1973. The final agreement resolved the Prisoner of War issue and it stated that the U.S. would only replace military weapons and equipment on a one for one basis.

The final signing of the treaty occurred Jan. 27, 1973, and the end to the Vietnam War for the U.S. was reached. When the North Vietnamese violated the treaty by aggression against the South, the U.S. congress refused to continue support and resupply for South Vietnam and the collapse of the military became inevitable. South Vietnamese soldiers deserted their posts when they saw that the war was lost. Saigon was captured by the North Vietnamese on April 30, 1975.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He resides in Chaffee, Missouri.