"PEACE WITH HONOR"

PRESIDENT NIXON ANNOUNCES END OF VIETNAM WAR

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon announced that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger* and North Vietnamese envoy Le Duc Tho** had agreed to "end the war (in Vietnam) and bring peace with honor..."

The Paris Peace Accords set January 27, 1973, 7 pm (EST) for a "cease-fire" to begin.  All POWS are to be released and all troops American and foreign are to be removed in sixty days.

*Henry Alfred Kissinger (1923-2023) was born in Furth, Germany & emigrated to the U.S. in 1938.  He attended Harvard University & became a government professor.  HAK was national security adviser 1969-1975 & Sec of State under Nixon & Ford.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

**Le Duc Tho (1911-1990) was born in Nam Dinh, Vietnam & became the 1st Asian to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  LDT refused to accept it because "the aggressor & the victim of aggression (were put) on the same par."

SOURCE

"Peace Comes To Vietnam," January 23, 1973, JFK+50, January 23, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

Henry Kissinger Sworn-in as Secretary of State

September 22 1973

NARA Photo

"TOASTS EXCHANGED WITH A FEELING OF CAMARADERIE"

"PEACE WITH HONOR" IN VIETNAM

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon announced Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho had agreed to "end the (Vietnam) war and bring peace with honor."

According to the settlement, known as the Paris Accords*, a cease-fire would begin at 7 p.m. (EST) on January 27, 1973.  In addition, all American and foreign troops were to leave Vietnam in 60 days. 

Although the Paris Accords were officially signed on the 27th, the agreement was concluded and initialed on the 23rd.  According to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, "toasts were exchanged and there was a feeling of camaraderie all around."

*The Paris Accords were secret negotiations between the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North) from 1968 to 1973.  The cease-fire established by the agreement collapsed in 1975 and soon the Republic of Vietnam (South) fell.  Today Vietnam is a unified communist nation.

SOURCE

"A Peace That Couldn't Last--Negotiating the Paris Accords on Vietnam," Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, www.adst.org/  

 

 

Peace Accords Signing

Paris, France

January 27 1973

Photo by Robert L. Knudsen

NARA Image