The document provides an overview of key events in the history of Laos and Vietnam from 1945 to 1965, focusing on the transition to independence, civil wars, and foreign involvement. It mentions Ho Chi Minh establishing a provisional government in 1945, Vietnam declaring independence that same year. Negotiations then broke down between France and Vietminh in 1946, starting the First Indochina War. The CIA became involved in 1950. Laos gained independence from France in 1953. The US became increasingly involved through the 1960s as communist influence grew in Laos and Vietnam.