Operation Passage to Freedom 1954

Even though there are many scholarly written articles, essays and research on the Vietnam War, there are remained many significant events that overlooked by historians. For instance, the Operation Passage to Freedom that took place from August 1954 to May 1955 had very few research on the U.S. Navy in Vietnam in the immediate post-Korea War. It was a result from the 1954 Geneva Conference that divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. In about 300 days, more than 310,000 Vietnamese, who got on American ships and came to American to start a new life. Also, more than 810,000 Vietnamese moved from Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in the North to the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) in the South under the U.S. military protection. This event was overlooked by historians because during this time, their research tends to focus on the rise of Ngo Dinh Diem in Saigon.

In the early of 1954, Americans and policy makers were not focus on Indochina. Korea was their main concern at the time, and after three year of military engagement in Korean War (1950 – 1953), the U.S. began to take interests in helping the French to maintain their imperialistic control in Vietnam.

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(The American Myths)                                                                                                                                                                                    (Vietnamese Refugees)