The Lone Ranger Famous cowboy hero and the star of first a radio show and then a television show in the 1940s and 1950s.
USS Maddox American destroyer stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Gulf of Tonkin Arm of the South China Sea between Hainan Island and the coasts of Southern China and Northern Vietnam. Location where North Vietnamese forces attacked and sunk two American ships in 1964. Afterwards, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing military action in Southeast Asia.
Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969; born Nguyen That Thanh) President of North Vietnam (1954–1969).
Geneva Accords Established in 1954, the Geneva Accords were rules which governed military action and treatment of captured soldiers.
SEATO Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (1955–1976).
Cold War Hostility and sharp conflict as in diplomacy and economics between states, without actual warfare.
dominoes Refers here to the “domino effect” or “domino theory,” which was the prevalent course of foreign policy adopted by the United States during the Cold War. The notion was that if one area or nation “fell” to Communist forces, that the surrounding areas would also “fall” under Communist influences, like dominoes toppling over.
Gene McCarthy (b. 1916) Eugene McCarthy, a World War II veteran, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1948 to 1958 and the U.S. Senate from 1958 to 1968. In 1968, he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, winning the New Hampshire primary, a factor in Lyndon Johnson’s decision not to seek re-election. McCarthy supported the Vietnam War at first, voting in favor of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, but by 1968, he strongly opposed the war.
draft notice Official notice sent by the Selective Service System, informing a young man to report for an armed forces physical exam. The first step to being drafed into the armed forces.
Phi Beta Kappa An honorary society of U.S. college students in liberal arts and sciences with high scholastic rank; a member of this society.
summa cum laude With the greatest praise: a phrase signifying above-average academic standing at the time of graduation from a college or university: the highest of three categories.
jingo A person who boasts of his patriotism and favors an aggressive, threatening, warlike foreign policy; chauvinist.
graduate school deferment Men in graduate school who maintained a high enough GPA (grade point average) could defer the draft and remain in school in the U.S.
National Guard In the U.S., the organized militia forces of the individual states, a component of the Army of the U.S. when called into active federal service.
reserves Personnel or units in the armed forces not on active duty but subject to call; last resort troops, usually remained in the U.S.
CO Conscientious objector. A designation for legal exemption from military combat service due to moral or personal ideological conflict.
Bao Dai (1913–1997, meaning “Keeper or Preserver of Greatness”) Bao Dai was the last of the Nguyen Emperors.
Diem Ngo Dinh Diem (1901–1963), first president of South Vietnam (1955–1963).
Saint George Patron saint of England.
LBJ Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) 36th president of the United States (1963–1969).
Huck Finn Protagonist from the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain marked by his plucky and rebellious spirit.
Abbie Hoffman (1936–1989) A countercultural icon of the 1960s, Abbie Hoffman was successful at turning many flower children into political activists.
Jane Fonda (b. 1937) Actress and sex symbol who toured Vietnam in 1972; she became a vocal anti-war activist and was harshly criticized by some veterans for her political position on the war.
Gary Cooper (1901–1961) film actor characterized by a rugged masculine quality well known for his roles in Westerns such as High Noon (1952). He also appeared in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) and Sergeant York (1941).
Plato’s Republic Central text of Western thought in which the Greek philosopher Plato outlines the construction of the ideal political city and leader.
