The Vietnam War was a long, costly, and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in 1959 and ended in 1975 with a North Vietnamese victory. During those tumultuous years, over 3 million people lost their lives. Even today, the Vietnam War era remains a controversial topic that continues to affect American life and foreign policy.
Riddles can be a fun and challenging way to learn more about the Vietnam War period. Below are 55 riddles about the Vietnam War era with answers. Some are easier to solve than others, but all provide insight into the key events, figures, and themes of this turbulent time in history.
History & Politics Riddles
1. I was a lengthy armed conflict between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Millions lost their lives before my end in 1975. What am I?
Answer: The Vietnam War
2. I was the communist leader of North Vietnam during the war. I led the fight against South Vietnam and the US. Who am I?
Answer: Ho Chi Minh
3. I was the President of the USA for most of the war. Despite my efforts, I could not find a way to win it. Who am I?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson
4. I led the South Vietnamese government and armed forces from 1955 to 1963. I was later assassinated in a coup. Who am I?
Answer: Ngo Dinh Diem
5. I was a 1954 conference where Vietnam was divided into North and South. What was my name?
Answer: The Geneva Conference
6. I was a communist organization in South Vietnam that opposed the Southern regime and fought against US forces. What was I called?
Answer: The Viet Cong
7. I was a 1963 coup encouraged by the US that overthrew Ngo Dinh Diem. What was my name?
Answer: The 1963 South Vietnamese Coup
8. I was an intensive bombing campaign conducted by the US against North Vietnam. What was my nickname?
Answer: Operation Rolling Thunder
Battles & Military Operations Riddles
9. I was a January 1968 military campaign by North Vietnam against targets in South Vietnam. I took the US and South Vietnam forces by surprise. What was I called?
Answer: The Tet Offensive
10. I was a 1969 secret bombing campaign conducted by the US in Cambodia without the permission of Congress. What was my code name?
Answer: Operation Menu
11. I was a 1970 operation where US troops invaded Cambodia to destroy Viet Cong bases. Richard Nixon announced me on TV. What was I?
Answer: Cambodian Incursion
12. I was a 1964 reported attack on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin that led to increased US involvement in the war. What was I called?
Answer: Gulf of Tonkin Incident
13. I was a 1968 battle that inflicted heavy losses on US Marines in the city of Hue. Walter Cronkite declared me a loss. What was I?
Answer: Battle of Hue
14. I was a 1965 battle that resulted in the first major engagement between US and North Vietnamese forces. Where did I take place?
Answer: Battle of Ia Drang Valley
15. I was a months-long 1967-68 battle near the Demilitarized Zone. I demonstrated the limits of US power in Vietnam. What was my nickname?
Answer: The Siege of Khe Sanh
Technology & Weapons Riddles
16. I was a pesticide used by US forces during the war to remove forest cover and crops. US veterans later blamed me for health issues. What was I called?
Answer: Agent Orange
17. I was a rifle commonly used by US infantry during the war. Soldiers called me the “widow maker” due to my high firepower. What was I?
Answer: The M16
18. I was a light bomber plane used extensively by the US Air Force during the war for reconnaissance and close air support. What was I?
Answer: The A-1 Skyraider
19. I was a US helicopter used to transport troops and provide support. My distinctive “whop-whop” sound made me an icon of the war. What was I called?
Answer: The UH-1 Iroquois “Huey”
20. I was developed by US forces as a non-lethal chemical weapon to clear underground Viet Cong tunnels. Tear gas was one of my main ingredients. What was I?
Answer: The XM2 portable flamethrower
Culture & Society Riddles
21. I was a term used to describe young people in the 1960s who protested against the war and embraced new lifestyles and ideals. Who was I?
Answer: Hippies
22. I was a counterculture youth movement founded in 1966 that protested the war. Hells Angels members sometimes provided us “security”. What were we called?
Answer: The Diggers
23. I was a derogatory term used to describe Vietnam War protestors and counterculture youth. Where did my name come from?
Answer: Hippies/unkept appearance
24. I was a 1969 music festival considered to represent the peak of 1960s counterculture. Many saw me as an outlet for anti-war sentiment. What was I called?
Answer: Woodstock
25. I was a song by Country Joe McDonald that sarcastically spelled out “F-U-C-K” in a cheerleader chant. I became an anti-war anthem. What was my name?
Answer: “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag”
26. I was a patriotic country song that expressed support for the war effort. I won the Song of the Year Grammy in 1970. What was my title?
Answer: “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard
27. I was an iconic 1967 anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut that used satire and black humor to depict the absurdity of war. What was my title?
Answer: Slaughterhouse-Five
Key Figures Riddles
28. I publicly refused induction into the military in 1967, saying “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong”. Who am I?
Answer: Muhammad Ali
29. I was the first US soldier convicted of war crimes in Vietnam in 1971 for the My Lai massacre. Who am I?
Answer: Lieutenant William Calley
30. I was a US military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, revealing government lies about the war. Who am I?
Answer: Daniel Ellsberg
31. I was a political activist who protested the war and co-founded the Youth International Party. Chicago police called me one of the “Chicago Seven”. Who am I?
Answer: Abbie Hoffman
32. I was a student protestor at Kent State University in Ohio shot dead by the National Guard during an anti-war rally in 1970. Who am I?
Answer: Allison Krause
33. I was a Buddhist monk who self-immolated in 1963 to protest the South Vietnamese government’s persecution of Buddhists. My act led to widespread outrage. Who was I?
Answer: Thich Quang Duc
34. I was a prominent wartime journalist killed in Cambodia in 1970 along with photographer Dickey Chapelle. Who was I?
Answer: Sean Flynn
Vietnam Veterans Riddles
35. We were over 150 Vietnam vets who marched to the Capitol in Washington DC in 1971 to protest the war. What were we called?
Answer: The Dewey Canyon III Protest
36. I was founded in the 1980s as a memorial in Washington DC to help heal the wounds of the Vietnam War. 58,000 names are inscribed on me. What am I?
Answer: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
37. I am a psychological disorder that affected many Vietnam vets after the war. Symptoms include flashbacks, insomnia, and feeling detached. What am I called?
Answer: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
38. I was a withdrawal rehabilitation program founded by Vietnam vets to help my fellow vets deal with PTSD and substance abuse issues. Who am I?
Answer: Vietnam Veterans of America
39. I was a derogatory term applied to US troops serving in Vietnam, especially draftees. Film and TV later changed me into a more sympathetic portrayal. What was I?
Answer: Grunt
Politics & Fallout Riddles
40. I allowed the president to send troops abroad more easily without Congress declaring war. Vietnam showed the flaws in my unchecked powers. What was I?
Answer: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
41. I was a secret spy agency used by the FBI to infiltrate anti-war and civil rights groups during the 1960s and 70s. What was my misleading name?
Answer: COINTELPRO
42. I was a 26th Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1971, which lowered the voting age to 18 nationwide. Vietnam helped spur my creation. What was I?
Answer: The 26th Amendment
43. Richard Nixon and I were elected in 1968, partly based on our promises to bring “peace with honor” in Vietnam. I would later replace Nixon as president. Who am I?
Answer: Gerald Ford
44. I was the name given to the large-scale withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam begun by Nixon in 1969. Who was I?
Answer: Vietnamization
45. I was a foreign policy established under Nixon that treated countries based on their strategic value against communism. Some saw me as cynical realpolitik. What was I called?
Answer: Nixon Doctrine
Vietnam in Pop Culture Riddles
46. I was a 1978 coming-of-age comedy drama film set in 1962 suburbia. I reflected America’s loss of innocence and nostalgia for pre-Vietnam days. What movie was I?
Answer: Grease
47. I was a 1986 anti-war film set in 1967 about a US soldier who goes AWOL. I boosted the Hollywood careers of Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger. What was I called?
Answer: Platoon
48. I was a 7-season sitcom running from 1972-1983 focused on Korean War vets adjusting to life after war. My title rhymed with “flop”. What was I called?
Answer: M*A*S*H
49. I was a 1978 Vietnam war epic that followed a group of US recruits from basic training to the Tet Offensive. The Marine Corps assisted my production. What movie was I?
Answer: The Boys in Company C
50. I was a 1987 novel by Larry Heinemann that drew on my author’s experiences as a Vietnam draftee. My title was slang for a new guy in ‘Nam. What was I called?
Answer: Close Quarters
Vietnam in Southeast Asia Today Riddles
51. I was the planned economic and trade bloc formed by Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations as a counter to China’s economic influence in the region. What was I called?
Answer: ASEAN Economic Community
52. Even today, millions of these small explosive devices remain hidden across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, continuing to kill and maim people long after the war ended. What are they?
Answer: Landmines
53. This deadly polio-like neurological disease affected many Vietnamese citizens and US troops during the war era. It continues to occasionally resurface in Vietnam today. What is it called?
Answer: Acute Flaccid Paralysis
54. I am the current capital and second largest city in Vietnam, located near the site of the former Saigon. I was renamed after North Vietnam’s victory in 1975. What am I called?
Answer: Ho Chi Minh City
55. This Vietnamese-American author published a critically acclaimed 2015 memoir about being raised during and after the Vietnam War. Her nationality has affected her books’ reception. Who is she?
Answer: Viet Thanh Nguyen
Conclusion
The Vietnam War reshaped American society and foreign policy in myriad ways that still echo today. These riddles provide a playful yet meaningful look at the key events, figures, cultural impact, and lasting legacies of this tumultuous period. They highlight how Vietnam changed America, and how America is still changing from the effects of Vietnam decades later. The war may be history, but its lessons and echoes remain deeply relevant.
