Oct. 31, 1964 - Communist guerrillas attacked an important United States Air Base near Saigon early today, killing four Americans and destroying six B‐57 jet bombers.
It was the most destructive attack to date against an American installation in South Vietnam, and its boldness and success made it one of the most serious incidents of the war.
President Johnson called Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to a White House meeting Sunday on “all aspects” of the attack.
A United States military spokesman in Saigon said that 20 Americans were injured and eight B‐57's damaged in the raid which took place at the Bienhoa field (pictured) 12 miles north of the capital.
Bienhoa, which has been off limits to newsmen, was the scene of a large American build‐up of air strength after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August.
The two‐man B‐57's hit today were reported to have been brought to South Vietnam at that time. The U‐2 reconnaissance planes based there are used, according to official explanations, for mapping missions within the borders of South Vietnam.
No U‐2's were reported damaged in the mortar attack, which began shortly after midnight and lasted about 30 minutes.
Two Skyraider fighter bombers and one helicopter were struck by the heavy shells.
The Vietcong fired 81‐mm. mortars, which they have used in the past only when attacking in battalion strength. In this instance, however, attacking a stationary and unprepared target, the insurgents' unit may have been much smaller,
Vietnamese airplanes were dispatched to the site of the mortar units, but no results of their bombing and strafing were known. One Government aircraft crashed on taking off for the mission.
The attack came a day after South Vietnam's new Premier, Tran Van Huong, pledged to wage “total war against the Communists not only on the military front but socially, economically and politically.”
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