On 15 October 1969, millions of people in the US marched to call for an end to the Vietnam War. …
15 October marks 50 years since the first Moratorium Day to end the Vietnam War.
Moratorium Day involved mass protests across the US. Religious services, rallies and meetings were held, aiming to bring the war to an end.
By this point, US troops had been fighting the Communist Viet Cong in Vietnam since 1965. About 45,000 Americans had been killed in action by the end of 1969.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption In Boston, about 100,000 people marched on Moratorium Day – it was considered the largest protest the city had ever seen at the time. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption A skywriting plane drew the peace symbol in the sky above the Boston Common as thousands marched. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption The protests brought America’s middle class and middle-aged voters out in large numbers for the first time. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption At the time, Moratorium Day was believed to be the largest mass demonstration in US history with more than two million people taking part. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption New York saw a number of rallies across the city. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption At the New York State Theatre, there was a 12 hour chamber music vigil while about 2,000 doctors, nurses and hospital employees chose to march in protest. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption The protests helped put the anti-war movement in the national spotlight and into the mainstream news. Image copyrightAFPImage caption Supporters of the Moratorium were pictured wearing black armbands. They paid tribute to those killed in action. Image copyrightAFP/Getty ImagesImage caption Anti-war demonstrators gathered in Washington DC, protesting on the steps of the US Capitol. Following the Moratorium, President Richard Nixon went on national television to call for solidarity on the war effort. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption A further Moratorium took place on November 15 with hundreds of thousands of people marching.
US deployment ended in 1973 after a ceasefire was established. Saigon eventually capitulated to the Communist forces on 30 April 1975.
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