A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives
On Jan. 23, 1973, President Richard Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War, and would be formally signed on Jan. 27 in Paris.
Four days later, the U.S., South Vietnam, North Vietnam and Viet Cong signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending the American combat role in the war. America’s draft ended as well.
On Jan. 23, as the nation mourned the death of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Deseret News reported that Nixon would speak about the peace agreement that night on tevision.
Here are the headlines in the Deseret News the next day:
“Longest U.S. war ends Saturday”
“Utahns express relief, delight for Viet peace”
“A torn U.S. greets peace”
“Peace pact summarized”
Per United Press International reports, the United States’ direct military role in the Vietnam War came to an official end at 5:53 p.m. on March 29, 12 years, two months and 29 days after it began — the longest war in American history:
“At that moment the last of a fleet of gleaming military transport planes left Saigon’s Tan Son airport with the final group of the 2,501 departing GIs. A squeaky public address system played a tape-recorded “Star-Spangled Banner” and a general spoke of peace with honor. They had waited until Hanoi’s jails were emptied of the last 67 American prisoners of war known to be in North Vietnamese hands and the men were flown safely out. As the POWS boarded the planes in Hanoi, U.S. Navy Lt. John C. Ensch, 35, of Springfield, Illinois, summed up their feelings: ‘It’s real! It’s real! By God, we’re leaving!’”
Per history, the Vietnamese factions soon began to fight again.
The war had cost 45,943 American lives, per news accounts of the day, including those of 358 Utahns. Its effects lingered on as the fate of more than 700 prisoners and missing military personnel was debated.
Here are some articles from Deseret News archives about the war and its impact and legacies:
“Opinion: Legacies and lessons 50 years after the Vietnam War”
“U.S. relations with Vietnam chronology”
“Vietnam veteran reunited with refugee family in Utah after 40 years”
“Deseret News archives: End of Vietnam War didn’t end conflict, or news coverage”
“In Vietnam, bombing memories are still painful after 25 years”
