Crowd of ethnic Vietnamese civilians, fleeing violence in Cambodia, are seen aboard a ship on arrival in Vung Tau, South Vietnam. A navy ship with the number "34" stenciled on her superstructure. The refugees begin to debark with all manner of belongings, such as mattresses, luggage, bicycles, and anything they could carry. They completely fill the deck of the ship.
Dedication of the "John F. Kennedy Square" in Saigon, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. South Vietnamese soldiers standing at attention at the side of the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon (01 Công xã Paris, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam). United States Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, and the South Vietnamese Prime Minister, Maj. Gen. Nguyen Khanh, inspect South Vietnamese troops. A military band plays music. View of the square in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon. Th Saigon Central Post Office (2 Công xã Paris, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000, Vietnam) is seen nearby. The square in front of Saigon's Roman Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral is renamed President John F. Kennedy Square, in honor of the late United States President John F. Kennedy. Vietnamese and White civilians witness the ceremony from across a street. ). Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge reads a speech behind a podium. Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh listens to the United States Ambassador’s speech. United States military officials in attendance. Ambassador Lodge and Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh jointly unveils a plaque to the memory of President John F. Kennedy. Plaque reads “Cong Truong Tong Thong John F. Kennedy”. Photographers take photos of the unveiling event. South Vietnamese soldiers standing at attention as a staff car drives away. Statue of the Virgin Mary in the square.
Division of Vietnam into North and South Vietnam as Indochina war ends up in Vietnam. Aerial view of cratered battle ground, with smoke rising, at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, in March, 1954. A French A-26 Invader aircraft flying above some clouds and pilot in cockpit using radio. French paratroops, dropping from C-47 aircraft, and landing, to reinforce troops dug in at Dien Bien Phu. French artillery firing and rounds exploding in the distance. French troops moving through brush, and carrying wounded back out. Citizens on streets of Hanoi, North Vietnam, scrounging for scraps to eat. An old woman hunkered down in a doorway. A mother with a young boy. French troops crossing a bridge as they surrender following the siege at Dien Bien Phu. North Vietnamese troops entering Hanoi. Delegates at the Geneva conference of 1954, in the Palais des Nations, including representatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the People’s Republic of China, among others. Closeup of Soviet delegation, with Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, second from left. View of the North Vietnamese delegation, and delegate Ta Quang Buu, Vice Minister of Defense of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), and Head of their Military Delegation, signing the accords. Closeup of one treaty page, with his signature, as Minister of Defense, and that of Henri, Deltiel, Brigadier General, who signed for the Commander in Chief of all French Forces in Indochina. OUtdoors. After the conference, Soviet Foreign Minister, Molotov shakes hands with Chou En-lai, Chinese Foreign Minister. Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister,Andrei Gromyko, wearing a hat, is standing behind Molotov. A long line of refugees fleeing to the South, from North Vietnam. A 1954 map showing the division of North and South Vietnam at the 19th parallel. Mist settled among mountain tops. South Vietnamese people engaged in agricultural pursuits and building new dwellings. South Vietnamese placing ballots in boxes during elections. Brief glimpse of the glamorous Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, defacto First Lady of South Vietnam, dressed in ao dai and wearing dark glasses, as she leaves a polling place. Farmers dressed in traditional conical hats (non la) working in grain fields, and reaping and carrying cut grain on poles in the South. Beautiful view of fishermen and boats silhouetted against sky, with tall limestone islands in background, at Ha Long Bay, North Vietnam (incorrectly implying it shows South Vietnamese in peaceful pursuits). South Vietnamese at work building structures with concrete blocks. A car with bullet holes in the windshield, draws attention on busy street in South Vietnam. Closeup of murdered man inside on floor of car. Scenes of vandalism at a house. Viet Minh guerillas moving through jungles and setting fires to straw roofed houses. Remains of a destroyed dwelling. Bodies of South Vietnamese killed, according to the narrator, by "Viet Cong pursuasion squads." A framed picture of Ho Chi Minh, over a North Vietnamese star flag.
Aerial view of Dien Bien Phu showing craters from shelling after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the First Indochina War preceding Vietnam War. French Aéronavale (naval air) Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer Maritime patrol bomber in flight. A French pilot radioing from the cockpit. Paratroopers with parachutes drop from bombers. A bomber airdrops supplies. A French camp in Vietnam. French cannons and artillery shooting enemy positions. French troops evacuate injured soldiers from the battlefield. Vietnamese civilians scavenging in Hanoi after the end of the First Indochina War. An elderly woman sat in front of a doorway. A child looks up. French troops leave Vietnam. Communist North Vietnam flag on flagpole in Hanoi. North Vietnamese troops marching. World leaders convene at the 1954 Geneva Conference to decide the fate of Vietnam. Deputy Defence Minister Ta Quang Buu of Vietnam signs the Indochina Conference Armistice Agreement in Geneva on 21 July 1954. Delegates shake hands after the Geneva Conference. Refugees carry their belongings and children as they flee North Vietnam for South Vietnam. Vietnamese refugees crowd in United States Navy boats heading to South Vietnam. Refugee children help United States sailors swab the deck of a ship. The refugees disembark from ship upon arrival in Saigon, South Vietnam. 1954 map of Indochina countries such as Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and North and South Vietnam. Mountains in the border between North and South Vietnam. President of North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh meets and plays with children. A happy girl clapping. Children surround Ho Chi Minh. A child plays with Ho Chi Minh’s beard and Ho Chi Minh smiles. Farmers build new huts in South Vietnam. South Vietnamese men and women but ballots into ballot box during voting. A woman wearing sunglasses and Ao Dai dress smiles after voting in the election. Packs and sacks of rice from the United States government in South Vietnam. Civilians distribute sacks of rice. Farmers receive new equipment and plows from the United States. Farmers harvest rice in rice paddies. Vietnamese men rowing in small boats and traditional Junk. Delegates arrive in Manila, Philippines for the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty September 8, 1954. The Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty is signed. Delegates clapping after the treaty is signed. Vietnamese civilians gather concrete blocks and build houses. A car with bullet holes in window. A dead South Vietnamese politician in car murdered by North Vietnamese agents. North Vietnamese guerrillas hike in the jungle. Men running in front of a burning house in a village under siege by North Vietnam. Burned houses, rubble, and dead civilians in village after a North Vietnamese guerrilla attack. A portrait of Ho Chi Minh above a North Vietnam flag.
A CV-2 Caribou airplane taxis to a stop during Operation Cedar Falls at Tan Son Nhut Airfield, South Vietnam. U.S. Soldiers board the CV-2. Soldiers get off the CV-2 at Lai Ke. (Vietnam War period).
American aid to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaking at a Gettysburg College commencement, on April 4, 1959, notes, among other things, that the cost of defending freedom must be paid in many places. And he mentions Berlin,Vietnam,and the Middle East. Scene shifts to South Vietnam where recruits are being signed up for its armed forces. Glimpse of a U.S. Army Lieutenant advisor, in sunglasses, smoking a pipe, on a crowded street. Local people in the area. Scene shifts to 1960. Two U.S. Army Ranger advisors, in full brim hats (3214D-M41), stand near as a contingent of Montagnard troops boards a train. View from armed guard standing on front of train as it travels along a single rail in deserted area. A sudden explosion occurs on the train track about 100 yards ahead. Next machine gun fire is seen coming from an armored gun turret on the train. View from inside the armored compartment, as the gun fires, spraying the surrounding area with bullets, creating two explosions nearby. South Vietnamese soldiers (ARVN) pursuing enemy in wooded areas. One, down deep in underbrush, is firing a machine gun. Several others are engaging enemy with small arms. Huts being blown up. ARVN troops returning from an engagement, carrying wounded on stretchers. Year, 1961, and an official American Government airplane is seen. It carries General Maxwell Taylor (in mufti) who was sent by President John F. Kennedy. Taylor is seen being interviewed on the airport ramp. A U.S. Air Force officer training young Vietnamese pilot trainees. A Vietnamese student pilot in a T-28 training airplane.