Vietnam War Trivia (1960 to 1963)
Choose an answer from the three choices
and True/False offered after each question and then "Check Your Answers"
at the end of the quiz.
 1.
When John F. Kennedy won the 1960 U.S. presidential election, one major
issue Kennedy raised was whether the Soviet space and missile programs
had surpassed those of the U.S. As Kennedy took over, despite warnings
from Eisenhower about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America
"loomed larger than Asia on his sights."
2. In June 1961, John F. Kennedy bitterly disagreed with Soviet
premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna over key U.S.-Soviet
issues. Cold war strategists concluded Southeast Asia would be one of
the testing grounds where Soviet forces would test the USA's containment
policy, begun during the Truman Administration and solidified by the
stalemate resulting from the Korean War. What did the Legacy of the
Korean War create?
- Idea of a limited war
- Idea of nuclear weapons increases
- Idea of terrorism
3. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the
Soviets, he was also interested in using special forces for
counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by
communist insurgencies. Although they were originally intended for use
behind front lines after a conventional invasion of Europe, Kennedy
believed that the guerrilla tactics employed by special forces such as
the Green Berets would be effective in a "brush fire" war in
Vietnam. Where did the British have success using such forces?
- South Africa
- Malaya
- Pakistan
4. In 1961, the USA had 50,000 troops based in Korea, and Kennedy
faced a three-part crisis—the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the
construction of the Berlin Wall, and a negotiated settlement between the
pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement.
5. Kennedy determined to "draw a line in the sand" and
prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. The US had 800 troops in
Vietnam. What did Kennedy increase the troop level too?
- 16,300 troops
- 26,600 troops
- 36,900 troops
6. In May 1961, Vice President Richard Nixon visited Saigon and
enthusiastically declared Diem (South Vietnam president) the
"Winston Churchill of Asia."
7. What was the joint U.S.-South Vietnamese program attempted to
resettle the rural population into fortified camps called?
- Strategic Hamlet Program
- Rural Fortress Defense
- Village Protections Plan
8. On July 23, 1962, fourteen nations, including the People's
Republic of China, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, North Vietnam and
the United States, signed an agreement promising the neutrality of what
country?
9. The inept performance of the South Vietnamese army was exemplified
by failed actions such as on January 2, 1963, in which a small band of
Viet Cong beat off a much larger and better equipped South Vietnamese
force, many of whose troops seemed reluctant even to engage in combat.
What was the battle that showed the problem?
- Battle of Ap Bac
- Battle of Tonkin Gulf
- Battle of Way
10. President Diem was overthrown and executed, along with his
brother, on November 2, 1963. When he was informed, Maxwell Taylor
remembered that Kennedy "rushed from the room with a look of shock
and dismay on his face." He had not approved Diem's murder. The
U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge, invited the coup
leaders to the embassy and congratulated them. Ambassador Lodge informed
Kennedy that "the prospects now are for a shorter war".
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