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THE TET OFFENSIVE Tet is a holiday spent much like, as said by Barry Gregory in Tet �68, �...a birthday, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving all rolled into one.�(7). However, Tet was celebrated very differently in 1968. Instead of marking the lunar new year, it marked the turning point of the Vietnam War. The Tet offensive of 1968 sparked the largest battles the war had seen yet. It was clear the war was turning towards the North Vietnamese. This paper will explore the Tet Offensive of 1968, the holiday by which it is known, the battles by which it is remembered, the effect on the U.S., and how this event signaled a turning point in the war in Vietnam. Tet is both a holiday and a holy day, celebrated by Vietnamese at the end of January to the beginning of February. Tet is celebrated, as stated before, with big parties, grand feasts, and bright fireworks. The parties carry on into the early morning hours. Tet was adopted over the years from Chinese culture, which has diffused from China into Vietnam and other South East Asian nations. During the Tet celebration of 1968, the usual parties and fireworks went on, and this is why nobody on the U.S. or South Vietnamese side suspected anything from the North Vietnamese or the Viet Cong. Since Tet was considered a peaceful time, the U.S. and the South Vietnamese agreed with the North Vietnamese to a 48-hour cease fire during the Tet holiday. Half of all South Vietnamese soldiers were at home on holiday leave. Almost all American soldiers were relaxing in their barracks, expecting a break from the war. However, on January 31st of 1968, the Viet Cong and the NVA launched the largest offensive of the war. During the Tet offensive of 1968, the Vietnam war saw the biggest battles and bloodshed yet. The Viet Cong and the NVA launched attacks on Khe Sanh, Pleiku, Quang Tri, Qui Nhon, Hue, Banmethuot, Lang Vei, Nha Trang, Ashau, Dalat, Danang, Bicnhoa, Hoi An, Saigon, Kham Duc, Chau Doc, Quang Ngai, My Tho, Dak To, | |||||||||||||||||
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