1972 in the Vietnam War 1972 in the Vietnam War 1972 in the Vietnam War saw foreign involvement in South Vietnam slowly declining. Two allies, New Zealand and Thailand, which had contributed a small military contingent, left South Vietnam this year. The United States continued to participate in combat, primarily with air power to assist the South Vietnamese army, while negotiators in Paris tried to hammer out a peace agreement and withdrawal strategy for the United States. One American operation that was declassified years after the war was Operation Thunderhead, a secret mission that attempted to rescue POWs. U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam numbered
1972 in the Vietnam War Abrams cabled Washington that "the enemy [North Vietnam] is preparing and positioning his forces for a major offensive... There is no doubt this is to be a major campaign." Abrams requested additional authority to use U.S. American air power to mount an effective defense. President Richard Nixon revealed that National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger had been meeting secretly with North Vietnam representatives for more than 2 years. He also revealed the U.S. peace plan that had been proposed to Hanoi. Nixon proposed that, within six months of an agreement, all U.S. military be withdrawn from South Vietnam, Prisoners of War