January 15, 1973 - Richard Nixon - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

U.S. President Richard Nixon orders ceasefire in Vietnam. With the deaths of more than 900,000 North Vietnamese, 180,000 South Vietnamese, 5,000 foreign Allies and 45,000 Americans, President Richard Nixon called for an end of his government’s bombing of North Vietnam and adjoining countries on January 15, 1973. That ended 18 years of American involvement in Vietnam, marked by an ever escalating military presence aimed at stopping the Viet Cong from getting a country-wide communist hold. Nixon decided to cut his losses – end a losing battle – when his National Security Affairs assistant, Dr. Henry Kissinger, returned from peace negotiations in France with a draft proposal. The proposal outlined the ceasefire, withdrawal of troops within two months of signing, the simultaneous release of prisoners, plans to ensure peace between North and South Vietnam, and a U.S. pledge to contribute to their economic restructuring. Kissinger then returned to Paris to secure the ceasefire that took effect midnight of January 27. North and South became one, with all of Vietnam coming under control of the communists on April 30, 1975. Shocking tales of human rights abuses began emerging after the war from all sides. These included reports of Vietnamese who supported the Americans being subjected to horrendous treatment and death.

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