Last American Combat Troops

The newly signed peace deal would not even last three months, as even before the last American troops left Vietnam on March 29, communist forces began to advance into South Vietnam. By 1974, full scale war would resume between North and South Vietnam and would not end until 1975.

Paris Peace Accords

The Paris Peace Accords, officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam, was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. The treaty included the governments of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam, and the United States, as well as the Republic of South Vietnam that represented South Vietnamese communists.

All Volunteer Service

In March 1969 Nixon established the Commission on an All-Volunteer Force (also known as the Gates Commission), which released a report in February 1970 recommending an end to the draft. On July 1, 1973, the draft law expired in the United States when Congress refused to extend it.

Energy Crisis

Like many things related to oil, the 1973 Oil Crisis emerged from an interplay of forces in the Middle East. The United States supported Israel, and Israel was attacked from two sides on October 6 in what became known as the Yom Kippur War. Egyptian troops attempted to take the Sinai Peninsula while Syrian troops moved into the Golan Heights. Within the week the United States was deploying significant military aid to Israel. By October 20th, several countries in the Middle East had imposed a complete embargo of oil shipments to the United States. In short order, the price of oil quadrupled.

Operation Homecoming

The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 included provisions for exchanging prisoners of war. The plan to bring American prisoners home was called Operation Homecoming. Prisoners were to be returned to U.S. control during February and March 1973, with the longest-held generally returning first.

At Hanoi’s Gia Lam Airport, the men were thrilled to see USAF C-141A Starlifter aircraft landing to pick them up. The happiest moment came when the aircraft left the ground–and POWs knew for certain that they were free.

Ex-POWs first stopped at Clark Air Base in the Philippines for medical exams, good meals and new uniforms. After stops in Hawaii and California, they finally returned to their families and their lives as free Americans.

Operation Homecoming returned 591 POWs: 325 Air Force personnel, 77 Army, 138 Navy, 26 Marines and 25 civilians. Those who were not freed at Hanoi — POWs held in South Vietnam by the Viet Cong, mostly Army and civilians — left from Loc Ninh, the scene of the North Vietnam-South Vietnam prisoner exchange. A total of 660 American military POWs survived the war.

About eighty percent of the military POWs who survived the war continued their military careers.