Course Details
9701: 1970-75 Turbulent Times: The US, the Fall of South Vietnam, and the SS Mayaguez Rescue
February 10-12
11:45 AM -
1:15 PM
In-Person
We will discuss key persons and events in the US and Vietnam as President Nixon and National Security Adviser Kissinger tried to wind down the war. The class covers Vietnamization, the invasions of Cambodia and Laos, anti-war protests, the 1972 Easter Invasion, Linebacker operations, and the Paris Peace Accords. We will examine how America changed during 1973 with the War Powers Act, Volunteer Army, Roe v. Wade, Watergate, the first oil shock, and stagflation. We will discuss how President Ford and his administration worked on domestic issues and responded to the fall of Cambodia, Vietnam, the evacuation of Saigon, joint operations to retake the SS Mayaguez, and how these events affected future planning.
Class Type: Lecture and Discussion
Class Format: In-Person
Hours of Reading: No reading
Study Group Leader(s):
Donald StantonDon Stanton was commissioned at Cornell University Naval ROTC, served on a destroyer and aircraft carrier off Vietnam, and flew as a P-3C Patrol Plane Commander and airline pilot. He was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and chair of the Colorado Transportation Commission. Don holds an MA in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and wrote Looking Back at the Cold War: 30 Veterans and a Patrol Plane Commander Remember.