The Class of 1971 was destined to become a unique class.  We graduated at the end of, to say the least, a decade of  turmoil, social uprising, urban rioting, and change in this country.  Read below to find out what was happening in 1971.

Click HERE for more information about events and people in 1971

Background - Advisors And The Escalation To War:

The escalation of the Vietnam War began when then President Johnson ordered troops to Vietnam after his election in 1964.  The arrival of a division of Marines at Da Nang began an escalation that would eventually exceed 500,000 troops.  Prior to 1964, there was a limited number of advisors working with the South Vietmise Army.  Officially, the war was a conflict, since a formal declaration of war was never passed by Congress.

Vietnam 1971 - And No End In Sight:

In 1971, the war was in it's seventh year, and there was no end in sight.  U.S. troop levels were down from a peak of 540,000 to 270,000, Dr. Henry Kissinger offered to negotiate a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. forces in exchange for a cease-fire and the release of American POWs.  This triggered an exchange of comprehensive proposals that would ultimately lead to an agreement.  Throughout 1971, however, Le Duc Tho (Lead negotiator for the North Vietnamese Government) held firm to his insistence that President Thieu (President of South Vietnam) be removed and no breakthrough occurred. 

In 1972, U.S. troops continued their withdrawl from Vietnam.   In 1973, after the last American combat forces had left, came the "peace with honor" that the Nixon administration had sought.  The Paris peace agreement was signed, the guns ceased firing, and the prisoners of war came home.  In January of 1975 the North Vietnamese Army began the final assault (the U.S. did not send troops to help the South Vietnamese) that brought them total victory in four months.