The War in Vietnam Have You Ever Heard the Expression a Rock and a Hard Place “Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard U.S
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© 2015 Universal Uclick 50 Years Ago from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick The War in Vietnam Have you ever heard the expression A rock and a hard place “stuck between a rock and a hard U.S. President John F. Kennedy place”? It means that there are no had a hard decision to make: He good choices available. didn’t want to support the communist In the late 1950s, leaders of the government of North Vietnam, but United States found themselves in this he also didn’t want to send American position when trying to decide what to troops to fight for the hated Diem. do about Vietnam, a country in Asia. Then, in November 1963, Diem Finally, in March 1965, the United was captured and killed by the South States entered into a war in that Vietnamese Army. Just weeks later, country. You may have a grandparent Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. or other relative or friend who served in the Vietnam War. Johnson makes his move This week, The Mini Page explores After he became president, Lyndon World leaders met in Switzerland in 1954. Johnson had to decide what should be the causes of the war, how it was The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into different from earlier conflicts, and North Vietnam and South Vietnam. done in Vietnam. American advisers were helping the South Vietnamese, how it affected Americans. A divided Vietnam Wary of communism but there were no U.S. troops there. North Vietnam was under the rule But in August 1964, the U.S. After World War II ended, leaders of Ho Chi Minh, a communist. The government declared that two in the United States became worried agreement declared that after two years, American warships in the Gulf of about the spread of communism, the two countries would be reunited and Tonkin had been attacked by a North a political system under which all would have free and fair elections. Vietnamese torpedo boat. property is publicly owned, and But the leader of South Vietnam, The U.S. Congress people work for and are paid by Ngo Dinh Diem, was brutal and passed the Gulf of the government. China and the dishonest. Some people in the south Tonkin Resolution Soviet Union were trying to expand joined a guerrilla* group called the in August 1964, communism in Asia and beyond. allowing Johnson Viet Cong that worked against Diem. to do anything he U.S. officials believed that if one The Viet Cong controlled a lot of could to stop the country became communist, nearby South Vietnam by the late 1950s. North communist threat countries might be taken over too. Vietnam helped support the Viet Cong. in Vietnam. In this photo, They called this a “domino effect,” like * Guerrillas are independent, small groups photo by Cecil Stoughton, courtesy Johnson signs the dominoes falling into one another. U.S. National Archives fighting against larger forces. resolution. ® from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick Vietnam today Today, the Socialist Republic A Long History of Vietnam is controlled by the Centuries of conflict World War II Communist Party. However, the government Vietnam has spent most of When Germany invaded France encourages its modern history fighting for in 1940, control of Vietnam was privately owned independence — from Japan and shifted to Japan. By the end of the business. from France. war in 1945, a communist group, the The country In the 19th Viet Minh, was produces rice, Flag of Vietnam and early 20th trying to gain cashews, black pepper and coffee, centuries, Europe independence along with other agricultural was the center from Japan. The products. People also work in the of power in United States oil industry and in high-tech and the world. The supported the manufacturing jobs. United Kingdom, Viet Minh and France and other its leader, Ho Chi Capital: Hanoi (huh-NOY) European nations Minh. Population: 90 million people gained power by But as soon as Currency: dong conquering foreign the war was over, lands and establishing colonies. France moved back in. President France controlled Vietnam, Laos Harry Truman turned American and Cambodia in the late 1800s. The support to France, but the Viet Minh territory was called French Indochina. gained territory. Finally, in 1954, The French forced the native the French were defeated by the Viet people to adopt Catholicism and Minh. modern styles of education. The With the Geneva Accords, world Vietnamese fought against France, leaders hoped to unify Vietnam. But photo by Franzfoto but France kept control of Vietnam its conflicts were not over. The village of Mai Chau is in the until World War II. northwest part of Vietnam. from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick TM Vietnam War Ready Resources R A W D O M I N O Y T A E R T The Mini Page provides ideas for K G X E M L S N I J A P A N J Basset M H N S B L P I D O U A I S A websites, books or other resources that will help Brown’s you learn more about this week’s topics. A C C O R D S R N O N N Z V G N N N P C G R O O U C A G T E On the Web: Try T E O P Q T N A U T M H H L N • bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/symbols/vietnam.html ’n’ E R R O J H E M F T E M I P E At the library: Find I F T T O N K I N T H S O N V • “The Vietnam War” by Peter Benoit V B H N O I S I V E L E T C A • “Vietnam War” by Martin Gitlin Words that remind us of the Vietnam War are hidden in the block above. Some • “Vietnam War” by Stuart Murray words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See • “The Vietnam War: A History Just for Kids!” by if you can find: ACCORDS, ASIA, COMMUNISM, DOMINO, DRAFT, FRENCH, GENEVA, HANOI, INDOCHINA, JAPAN, JUNGLE, NORTH, OPPOSE, PROTEST, KidCaps SOUTH, TELEVISION, TONKIN, TREATY, VIET CONG, VIETNAM, WAR. ® TM Mini Spy TM Rookie Cookie’s Recipe Mini Spy and her friends love Vietnamese Apricot Cobbler food. See if you can find: q musical note q number 3 You’ll need: q letter A q umbrella q strawberry q kite • 1/3 cup milk • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg q cheese q sailboat q candy cane q owl • 1 cup all-purpose baking mix • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon q q q q • 1 tablespoon butter • 1 can apricot halves, undrained ruler letter T question mark key • 1/2 cup brown sugar q golf club q word MINI q ladder q fish What to do: q pencil q number 7 q butterfly 1. Mix all ingredients except the apricot halves. Stir with a fork to q elephant q letter E q man in the moon form a dough. 2. Spread mixture evenly on the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. 3. Pour the apricots and their juice over the batter. 4. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes. 5. Serve warm in bowls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serves 6. You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick Meet Mike Whitla Mike Whitla is the leader of the Rock’n’Rainbow band. Their latest album is “Let’s Boogie!” Mike sings and plays lead guitar as the character Purple Stardust. Mike’s company, Rainbow Songs, has offered music classes for kids and parents in Toronto, Canada, for 15 years. His Rainbow Songs video “Dinostory — The Ultimate Dinosaur Rock Opera” has received more than 12 million views on YouTube. photo by John Blacker When Mike was 10, he and his family moved to England for a year. There, his family sang together in a choir. In high school, Mike was in many plays and played tuba in the band. In college, he studied jazz guitar and music from India. Mike and his wife, Lisa Haberman, founded Rainbow Songs Foundation, a charity that puts on music programs for people in family shelters throughout Toronto. Mike loves taking long bike rides on the trails in Toronto’s parks. from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick TM TM Mighty Tom Brady Funny’s Mini Jokes Gus New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has All the following jokes have something in common. Can you Goodsport’s played in plenty of important games during his 15 Supersport seasons in the National Football League. He holds NFL guess the common theme or category? quarterback records in career playoff appearances (29), wins (21) and playoff touchdown passes (53), and has led Philip: Why do you keep doing the backstroke? his team to a record six Super Bowls. Patty: I just had lunch and don’t want to swim On Feb. 2, Tom’s Patriots trailed the Seattle Seahawks 24-14 to begin the fourth quarter. On his next two on a full stomach! possessions, Tom completed 14 of 16 passes with two touchdowns to give his team a 28-24 lead with two Paul: Why can’t two elephants go into a minutes to play. New England’s defense then came swimming pool at the same time? Height: 6-4 through with an interception at the 1-yard line to seal the Perry: Because they only have one pair of trunks! Age: 37 victory and clinch the Patriots’ fourth Super Bowl title.