| A | B |
|---|
| Bao DAI | Emperor of Vietnam under the French after World War Two, ousted by Diem in 1955 |
| Duong Van MINH "Big Minh" | Led the 1963 coup against Ngo Dinh Diem |
| Ho Chi MINH | Founder of Viet Minh and regarded as the Father of Modern Vietnam |
| Ngo Dinh DIEM | President of South Vietnam from 1955 until his removed by a military coup in 1963 |
| Ngo Dinh NHU | Hated leader of Diem's secret police and Diem's chief advisor |
| Madame NHU | Became the "first lady" of Vietnam under Diem, renowed for her strident moral crusades throughout South Vietnam |
| Ngo Dinh THUC | Brother of Diem and the Catholic Archbishop of Hue |
| Nquyen Cao KY | Prime Minister of South Vietnam 1965 - 1967, renowed for his flamboyant style |
| Nquyen KHANH | South Vietnamese general who (briefly) became Prime Minister of South Vietnam in 1964 |
| Pham Van DONG | Led Viet Minh delegation to the Geneva Conference in 1954 and Prime Minister of North Vietnam 1950 - 1986 |
| Vo Nguyen GIAP | Viet Minh General who defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu |
| Xuan THUY | Foreign Minister of North Vietnam 1963 - 1965, he led the delegation to the Paris Peace talks in 1968 |
| Christian de la Croix de CASTRIES | Commander of the French forces at Dien Bien Phu |
| Pierre MENDES-FRANCE | French Prime Minister in 1954 during Geneva Conference |
| Henri NAVARRE | Commander of French forces in Indochina, chose to fight at Dien Bien Phu |
| McGeorge BUNDY | National Security Advisor to President Johnson, he urged an increase in US involvement in Vietnam |
| Clark GIFFORD | US Secretary fo Defence from 1968, he urged Johnson away from further US involvement |
| John Foster DULLES | Strongly anti-communist US Secretary of State under Eisenhower 1953 - 1959 |
| Dwight D. EISENHOWER | US President 1953 - 1961, supported French to 1954 and then Diem regime |
| Daniel ELLSBERG | US Government official who released the so-called 'Pentagon Papers' in 1971 |
| Lyndon B. JOHNSON | US President 1963 - 1968, responsible for the 1965 commitment of US combat troops to Vietnam |
| John F. KENNEDY | US President 1960 - 1963, initially supported the Diem regime but later allowed 1963 coup to remove him |
| Henry KISSINGER | National Security Advisor to President Nixon |
| Henry CABOT LODGE | US Ambassador to South Vietnam 1963-64 & 1965-67, played key role in Diem's downfall |
| Robert McNAMARA | US Secretary of Defence 1961 - 1968, senior policymaker of the Vietnam War |
| Graham MARTIN | Last US Ambassador to South Vietnam, from 1973 - 1975 |
| Richard NIXON | US President 1968 - 1974, introduced policy of Vietnamisation |
| Dean RUSK | US Secretary of State 1961 - 1968, consistently favoured strong US involvement in Vietnam |
| Maxwell TAYLOR | Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff, favoured increased US involvement in Vietnam |
| William WESTMORELAND | Commander of US combat forces in Vietnam 1964 - 1968 |
