How Much Do You Know About The Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War remains one of the most controversial conflicts the United States has ever been involved in. Though the reasons for the war are complex, the main goal was to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world. The U.S. was in the midst of the Cold War, and the Vietnam conflict was a proxy war, of sorts. But how much do you remember from your history books? Test your knowledge and see how you stack up when it comes to Vietnam War history!

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Question 1/40

How many total deaths were there in Vietnam between 1965 and 1974?

444,000
282,000
1,300,000

Question 2/40

Which foreign country gave the Viet Cong early warnings of U.S. forces as they approached?

China
U.S.S.R.
Thailand

Question 3/40

How many POW/MIA soldiers are still unaccounted for?

1,621
2,003
10,564

Question 4/40

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

It allowed for the use of military forces without a formal act of Congress
It provided funding for the construction of U.S. warships for use in the Gulf of Tonkin
It required all Viet Cong POWs to be held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Question 5/40

As part of the Selective Service Act, what were all male American citizens required to carry at all times after registering with the draft board?

A U.S. Passport
A draft card
A long-form birth certificate

Question 6/40

Which U.S. warship did North Vietnamese gunboats fire on during the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

USS Maddox
USS Constitution
USS Lincoln

Question 7/40

Which of the following terms was NOT used to refer to the My Lai Massacre?

Pinkville Massacre
Massacre at Songmy
Ho Chi Minh Massacre

Question 8/40

What did the U.S. government use Agent Orange for during the war?

Poison Viet Cong soldiers
Strip the land of vegetation
Paint enemy targets for easy visibility during air assaults

Question 9/40

Which American Army reservist burned his draft card while wearing his U.S. Army Special Forces uniform?

Gary Rader
John McCain
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.

Question 10/40

Hỏa Lò Prison was known by what name to the American POWs held there?

Fort Perseverance
Tet Prison
Hanoi Hilton

Question 11/40

How many Canadians served with the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam?

30,000
150,000
10,000

Question 12/40

What flammable liquid composed of gasoline and a gelling agent was used during Vietnam to destroy targets and engage in psychological warfare?

Agent Orange
Napalm
Mustard Gas

Question 13/40

Who did U.S. troops attempt to train as allies during Project Waterpump?

Laotian pilots and mechanics
Former Viet Cong fighters
Thai child soldiers

Question 14/40

In what year did the last of the U.S. troops withdraw from Vietnam?

1967
1973
1975

Question 15/40

The draft selections were made by picking pieces of paper, which were placed in plastic capsules, out of a glass jar. What information was on each paper to determine which men would be drafted?

Social security numbers
Dates of birth
Home address zip codes

Question 16/40

What was Operation Pocket Money?

A plan to fund the war efforts with congressional petty cash funds
An aerial mining operation to cut off enemy supply lines
Legislation to increase the pay for Air Force members

Question 17/40

Which president secretly sent U.S. Special Operations Forces to train the South Vietnamese to fight?

Harry S. Truman
John F. Kennedy
Richard Nixon

Question 18/40

In what year did communists in Vietnam begin fighting France for control of the country?

1946
1954
1961

Question 19/40

What was the reason that the United States became involved in Vietnam?

To stop the spread of communism
To gain access to oil deposits deep within the Vietnamese jungles
To Build a military base for coordinating operations in the Pacific Ocean post-WWII

Question 20/40

Heroin addiction became a problem among the troops. Who supplied injectable cocaine to U.S. forces during the war?

Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar
Laotian Army General Ouane Rattkone
American gangster Frank Lucas

Question 21/40

What was the name of the North Vietnamese attack during the festival of the Vietnamese New Year?

Tet Offensive
Battle of la Drang
Cambodian Incursion

Question 22/40

What was NOT a major failure of the Battle of Hamburger Hill?

There was little strategic value to taking the heavily-fortified hill
No one gave a direct order to begin an attack against the North Vietnamese troops
The hill was abandoned soon after it was captured, making the loss of American life even more tragic

Question 23/40

After U.S. troops left Vietnam for good, which dictator did the country become involved in a border dispute with?

Ferdinand Marcos
Pol Pot
Kim Il-Sung

Question 24/40

The USO provided entertainment to the troops serving in country. Which of the following performers did NOT appear on stage in Vietnam?

Buddy Holly
John Wayne
Sammy Davis Jr.

Question 25/40

Who is the only person to be named an honorary veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces for his work in Vietnam and other conflicts dating back to 1941?

Wayne Newton
Bob Hope
Raymond Burr

Question 26/40

President John F. Kennedy was the first president to be assassinated while the country was at war since the assassination of which former president?

Abraham Lincoln
Theodore Roosevelt
Andrew Jackson

Question 27/40

While most of the Vietnam conflict occurred in South Vietnam, battles were also fought in which of the following countries?

Laos
Thailand
Papua New Guinea

Question 28/40

What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail?

An ancient path built by the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty
A supply line built by the Lao Dong Party
A route U.S. soldiers used to evade Viet Cong forces in Cambodia

Question 29/40

How long did the Vietnam War last?

19 years, 6 months
14 years, 7 months
30 years, 2 months

Question 30/40

What was "Vietnamization" during the war?

A plan crafted by Nixon and Johnson to help U.S. soldiers relate to Vietnamese civilians
A Nixon policy designed to end U.S. involvement in the war
The appropriation of Vietnamese culture by the Western world

Question 31/40

Which of the following contributed to the anti-war sentiment among American citizens?

Accessibility of graphic images and footage from the front lines
Growing presence of social media in news coverage
Strong pro-communism beliefs in the majority of American households

Question 32/40

By what other name were the Viet Cong known by?

National Liberation Front for South Vietnam
South Saigon Freedom Fighters
Minh's Army of the Nationalist Party

Question 33/40

After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, China increased its support to the Viet Cong. How many troops did Mao Zedong send to provide aid to the North Vietnamese between 1865 and 1971?

20,000
4,000
320,000

Question 34/40

The Viet Cong used many different types of booby traps to injure and maim U.S. soldiers, including punjis. What were punjis?

Sharpened stakes placed in the ground
Harpoons attached to trip wires
Crudely built land mines

Question 35/40

Which of the following countries was NOT involved in the Vietnam conflict?

South Korea
Canada
Mexico

Question 36/40

Because an official declaration of war was not made, the conflict in Vietnam is not technically considered a war. What is the term legal experts use to define the conflict?

Police action
Peaceful invasion
Fact-finding mission

Question 37/40

Which of the following was considered the "workhorse of the Vietnam war?"

UH-1 Huey helicopter
AK-47 assault rifle
Panzer tank

Question 38/40

What were Zippo Missions?

Search and destroy missions near suspected Viet Cong strongholds
Aerial bombing raids using napalm
Surface-to-air missile operations

Question 39/40

Who was William Westmoreland?

The Secretary of Defense under President Nixon
A United States Army general in command during Vietnam
The last soldier to leave Vietnam

Question 40/40

How many times was John Kerry wounded during Vietnam?

Never
Three times
Eight times

Calculating Result...