Global InformationList of Navy Cross recipients for the Vietnam War information
This is a list of Navy Cross recipients for actions of valor carried out during the Vietnam War, awarded by the United States Department of the Navy.
The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955[a] to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was officially fought between North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies, and South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies.[2] After the French military withdrawal from Indochina in 1954, the U.S. assumed financial and military support for the South Vietnamese state. U.S. involvement escalated under President John F. Kennedy, from just under a thousand military advisors in 1959 to 23,000 in 1964.[3][4] After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, the U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and gave President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authority to increase the U.S. military presence in Vietnam. Johnson ordered the deployment of combat units for the first time and increased troop levels,[3] reaching a peak of 543,000 in April 1969.[5] The Paris Peace Accords of January 1973 saw all U.S. forces withdrawn.
As of June 2022[update], this list is incomplete, showing 496 Navy Crosses awarded in all service branches for actions of valor during the Vietnam War: 124 to US Navy recipients; 369 to US Marine Corps recipients; one Republic of Vietnam Navy recipient;[6] one Army of the Republic of Vietnam recipient;[7] and one US Army recipient. By partial comparison, as of June 2022[update], the U.S. Department of Defense shows 126 awarded to Navy recipients[8] and 370 to Marines Corps recipients,[9] for acts of valor during the Vietnam War.
- ^ Lawrence, A.T. (2009). Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant. McFarland. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7864-4517-2.
- ^ Friedman, Herbert. "Allies of the Republic of Vietnam". Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Vietnam War Allied Troop Levels 1960–73". Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ Hastings, Max (2018). Vietnam an epic tragedy, 1945–1975. Harper Collins. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-06-240567-8.
- ^ Tucker, Spencer C (2011). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. xlv. ISBN 978-1-85109-960-3.
- ^ "Nguyen Van Kiet". Military Times.
- ^ "Tran Van Bay". Military Times.
- ^ "U.S. Marine Corps Navy Cross Recipients, Vietnam War, 1956-1975" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
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