© 2015 Universal Uclick 50 Years Ago from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick The War in 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 , 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 . 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 , 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 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 , was produces rice, 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 . 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. 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. Hometown: Tom earned his third Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Pete: Where do swimmers sit to eat San Mateo, honor and joined NFL Hall of Famers Joe Montana and dinner? California Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls. Patrick: At pool tables! ®

from The Mini Page © 2015 Universal Uclick A Different Kind of War President Johnson didn’t Building an army immediately use the war powers During most of the history of the given to him by the Gulf of Tonkin United States, young men have been Resolution. But things got worse in required to register to serve in the Vietnam after Diem’s death. North military. This means that if the U.S. Vietnamese forces kept moving south. goes to war and doesn’t have enough Operation Rolling Thunder forces, it can draft more people, or In March 1965, U.S. airplanes require them to serve. and ground troops began bombing As the war military centers, highways, bridges in Vietnam

and factories in North Vietnam. But photo courtesy U.S. National Archives continued, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Soldiers carry a wounded comrade more and Army kept fighting. through a swampy area in Vietnam in more people Gen. William Westmoreland, 1969. protested the commander of U.S. forces in Difficult fighting against the draft. Some Vietnam, asked Johnson for more Military leaders used their photo courtesy UW Digital Collections troops. By the end of 1965, there experience in World War II to plan young men War protesters at the were more than 180,000 U.S. troops strategy for Vietnam. But the war refused to University of Wisconsin- Madison. in Vietnam. there was unconventional, or serve. Watching at home unfamiliar. In 1968, during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Many people in the United States For example, in Vietnam there were no defined front lines. North people protesting against the war supported the war at the start. They were beaten by police officers. thought it would be a short war and Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops the United States would overwhelm hid in the jungle. They dug tunnels Peace? the enemy. to store supplies and gave machine When Richard Nixon was sworn in Vietnam was called the first guns to regular citizens to fire at as president in early 1969, there were “television war” because people could American aircraft. about 540,000 troops in Vietnam. watch the horrors of the fighting on American soldiers spent a lot of Nixon began slowly withdrawing their television sets at home. Seeing time on “patrol,” walking through troops, but the war continued there the war close up, some Americans the jungle looking for the enemy. for six more years. began to oppose, or disagree with, They had to avoid booby traps and After many more battles, the U.S., U.S. involvement in Vietnam. land mines, or explosives buried in North Vietnam, South Vietnam and Many thought that Americans, some the ground. U.S. forces burned down the Viet Cong signed a peace treaty as young as 18 years old, shouldn’t be entire villages when they suspected in January 1973. The last U.S. asked to give their lives for a struggle the enemy of hiding there. troops left Vietnam in March, but among people so far away. North Vietnam and South Vietnam There’s much more to learn about the continued fighting. Vietnam War. Interview older family Finally, in April 1975, South Next week, The Mini Page finds out what members or friends about what they Vietnam surrendered, ending the war. being a citizen scientist is all about. remember about the war. The Mini Page Staff Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist