Comparative Timeline: Elvis Presley and the Vietnam War

1945

Ho Chi Minh declares the Independence of Vietnam, creates provisional government. First American dies in Vietnam.

Elvis gets his first guitar.

1947

1950

US sends $15 million in military to aid France in Indochina Wars.

Elvis makes first recordings at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee.

1953

Elvis' first singles are released by Sun. He begins to shake his hips during concerts.

1954

Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam partitioned.

Elvis' TV debut on "Louisiana Hayride," signed to RCA late in the year.

1955

Ngo Dinh Diem declares the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) independent.

Elvis tops charts with "Heartbreak Hotel." Stars in Love Me Tender.

1956

French leave Vietnam.

Elvis buys Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

1957

Communist insurgency into South Vietnam begins.

Elvis drafted into US Army.

1958

Elvis is discharged from the Army and appears in GI Blues.

1960

Vietcong formed.

Elvis performs at Pearl Harbor to raise money for the USS Arizona memorial.

1961

Kennedy sends Green Berets into Vietnam.

Priscilla Beaulieu moves to Graceland

1963

President Diem of South Vietnam overthown and assassinated.

Viva Las Vegas released.

1964

Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

Elvis meets Beatles.

1965

Operation Rolling Thunder begins. US troop level: 62,500 and rising.

Elvis marries Priscilla Beaulieu.

1967

Troop level: 463,000.

Lisa Marie Presley born. Elvis stars in Las Vegas Comeback TV special.

1968

Tet Offensive, My Lai massacre, Paris peace talks begin. Troop level: 495,000.

Elvis appears in his last film, Change of Habit. His four-week engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas is wildly successful.

1969

Nixon begins bombing Cambodia, Vietnamization announced. Troop level peaks at 543,400.

Elvis appointed a Federal Narcotics Agent by Nixon.

1970

The US invades Cambodia. Troop level: 280,000

Elvis named "One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation" by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees).

1971

South Vietnam and the US invade Laos to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Elvis & Priscilla divorce.

1972

Christmas bombing of North Vietnam. Troop level down to 69,000.

Elvis hospitalized in Memphis for pnuemonia, pleurisy, an enlarged colon and hepetitis.

1973

Cease-fire signed in Paris, American troops exit Vietnam, Henry Kissinger & Le Duc Tho awarded Nobel peace prize. Last US troops withdraw.

Elvis takes his first flight on his jet Lisa Marie.

1975

Saigon falls to North Vietnam.

Comparative Timeline: Elvis Presley's Life vs. US Involvement in South-East Asia