Paul Calle (1928 - 2010) and Chris Calle (B. 1961) "1960s - America Engulfed in Vietnam War". Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Republic of the Marshall Islands 60c America Engulfed in Vietnam War stamp issued July 15, 1999. In the early 1960s, the United States began providing money, arms and field observers to South Vietnam. On August 7, 1964, it was reported that three North Vietnamese patrol boats fired on a U.S. destroyer in the Tonkin Gulf. Congress subsequently passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to order retaliation. On February 11, 1965, the U.S. announced its general policy of bombing North Vietnam and a few weeks later the first U.S. combat troops were deployed to Vietnam. By the end of 1966, the U.S. had 389,000 troops in South Vietnam. After a series of successful offenses by Vietcong forces in 1968, President Johnson called a partial halt to the bombing of North Vietnam. His successor, President Richard Nixon, announced the start of U.S. troop withdrawal, promising his administration would achieve "peace with honor." Image Size: 10 x 14 in. Overall Size: 14.5 x 20 in. Unframed. (B16483 / B16484)