In a reversal of form in military affairs both sides considered the Tet Offensive a partial defeat, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong because they had not achieved their objectives and suffered horrendous losses; the Americans and South Vietnamese because the nationwide scope of the attacks demonstrated enemy capabilities they had not thought existed and because they were taken by surprise. A credibility gap widened for the American military and for the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, testified to by America's most trusted news anchor, Walter Cronkite. President Johnson announced on March 31 that he would not seek reelection. It was the beginning of the end for America's Vietnam War.
I remember it well. My dearest brother was a dentist and had been drafted into service as an Air Force Captain. He was stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon during Tet.
JSAF photo of South Vietnamese gunners, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, during Tet Offensive
I remember the worried tension of my parents. I don't know what would have happened to my dad if he had lost his first born and namesake in Vietnam as he had his dearest brother in World War II (and my God did they look alike.). I remember a letter from my brother that "the VC really know how to hurt a guy" because one of their bombs had landed on the basketball court. I remember him writing that he had to sleep on the floor next to a desk barricaded against the window.
