1960s Timeline

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Apr 23

Wounded Sergeant in Vietnam Denied Purple Heart

Apr. 23, 1962 - An American sergeant wounded in the leg by Communist fire has been denied the Purple Heart. Although the incident was two months ago and although the sergeant was the first casualty among U.S. Army helicopter personnel, the episode was hushed up by the military command in Vietnam. The only explanation advanced by military sources in Saigon is that Purple Hearts and combat medals cannot be awarded in Vietnam because Washington does not recognize this as a comba

Apr 22

President Kennedy Enjoying Popular Support

Apr. 22, 1962 - President Kennedy is at a high point in popular support, according to a consensus of newspaper publishers and executives from around the country who arrived in New York today for the city’s annual Press Week. The President was described as having gained stature in the public mind by his strong measures that reversed the recent steel price increases. Among those interviewed, William F. Knowland, former Senate Republican leader from California and now assistant

Apr 21

Thousands March for Peace in New York City

Apr. 21, 1962 - Thousands of peace walkers and pacifists marched to the U.N. today in an appeal to President Kennedy to cancel his decision to resume nuclear tests in the atmosphere. The demonstrators, estimated by the police at 4,000 persons, marched in the warm sun, some of them singing songs of brotherhood, some of them laughing, some carrying placards calling for disarmament. There were students, clergymen, painters, actors, Quakers, a few beatniks, and many housewives, s

Apr 21

President Kennedy Opens Seattle World's Fair by Remote Control

Apr. 21, 1962 - President Kennedy opened the Seattle World’s Fair by remote control today. He voiced the hope that he was inaugurating “an era of peace and understanding among all mankind.” Twelve thousand persons seated in a stadium on the 74-acre Fair Grounds heard the President’s speech telephoned from Palm Beach, Fla. “Let the fair begin,” Mr. Kennedy proclaimed. Then at noon PST, he pressed a gold telegraph key that seven Presidents had used to dedicate earlier events. I

Apr 21

Eleanor Roosevelt Interviews President Kennedy

Apr. 21, 1962 - Rearing children interferes with careers for women, according to President Kennedy. The observation was made in response to a question by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, whom President Kennedy has named to head his new Committee on the Status of Women. In a taped interview for a television program to be shown June 2, Mrs. Roosevelt asked why more talented women in this country were not found in “higher positions, policy-making positions or legislative positions.” “Wel

Apr 20

Barbara Powers, Wife of U-2 Pilot, Attempts Suicide

Apr. 20, 1962 - Mrs. Barbara Powers, 27-year-old wife of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, was taken to a hospital today after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. She was later described as out of danger. Mr. and Mrs. Powers have been living for several weeks at an apartment in Alexandria, Va. Mrs. Powers was taken to the Alexandria hospital shortly after 3:30 a.m. She was then taken to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. The District of Columbia police said investig

Apr 18

George McGovern to Run for U.S. Senate in South Dakota

Apr. 18, 1962 - George P. McGovern (pictured between contralto Marian Anderson and President Kennedy), director of the Food for Peace program, announced today that he would run for a seat in the U.S. Senate from South Dakota. In January, with President Kennedy’s approval, Mr. McGovern declined to run against Senator Francis Case, a two-term Republican incumbent. Today, again with President Kennedy’s approval, Mr. McGovern said he would make the race since “we have given suffi

Apr 18

Highlights from President Kennedy's News Conference

Apr. 18, 1962 - Following are the major points in President Kennedy’s news conference today: Steel — He declared that “nothing is to be gained from further public recriminations” now that the steel industry had canceled its $6-a-ton price increase. He said that the Administration recognized steel’s need for profits and said that his policies had been aimed at improving “both profits and incentives to invest.” Disarmament — He announced that the U.S. had submitted a three-stag

Apr 18

Viet Cong Proving a Tough and Elusive Foe in South Vietnam

Apr. 18, 1962 - The Communist insurgents (pictured) are still winning most of the clashes in the arc of South Vietnamese provinces from the Cambodian frontier to the South China Sea. They are scoring victories despite better training and better arms for the Government forces and despite the fact that U.S. military advisors attached to Military Region 31, which is comprised of the 9 northern provinces, have increased from 12 at the start of the year to 142. The Communists are

Apr 18

President Kennedy Grants Clemency to Two Soldiers

Apr. 18, 1962 - Two Army Reservists charged with breaches of military discipline were granted clemency today by President Kennedy. The President announced at his news conference that he had asked the Army to cancel the court-martial of 24-year-old Larry D. Chidester, a National Guard private. The private had written his Senator a letter critical of Mr. Kennedy. “And in the same spirit of Easter Week,” the President added, he has directed the Army to remit the remainder of the

Apr 18

East German Man Killed Trying to Escape to West Berlin; Two Companions Survive

Apr. 18, 1962 - An East German, mortally wounded by Communist gunfire, drove a three-ton dump truck through the Berlin wall today at a speed of 60 miles an hour. He died before crashing to a halt inside the Western sector. His two companions survived the daring escape. The truck driver who died was 24-year-old Klaus Brueske. One of Mr. Brueske’s companions, sitting with him in the cab of the truck, was wounded in the shoulder. Mr. Brueske was hit in the back by two of five bu

Apr 18

President Affirms His Support for American Business

Apr. 18, 1962 - President Kennedy said today that the recent dispute with the steel industry over prices had left no residue of ill will in his Administration against American business. He declared at his news conference that the prosperity of corporations was as essential to his goals as it was to theirs. Of steel in particular, the President said that the industry’s problem was idle capacity, which economic growth rather than a price increase would cure. Using 90% of capaci

Apr 17

Castro Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of "Imperialism's Defeat" at Bay of Pigs

Apr. 17, 1962 - Premier Fidel Castro hailed today the failure of the C.I.A.-backed invasion attempt exactly one year ago as “imperialism’s first great and historic defeat in the Americas.” Cuba started a two-day holiday in observance of the victory at the Bay of Pigs, where the invasion effort took place. The holiday will end Thursday with the presentation of battle flags by a visiting Czech Communist army unit to Cuban air force pilots. Soviet helicopters and jet fighters fl

Apr 16

President and Mrs. Kennedy Attend a Youth Concert at the White House

Apr. 16, 1962 - President Kennedy and his wife entertained nearly 600 young people today at a musicale on the south lawn of the White House. The sun was shining as the 104-piece Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra opened the concert with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Within a few minutes, as an ensemble of the Breckenridge Boys Choir of Breckenridge, Tex., performed “The First Swallow,” the sun went behind a cloud and stayed there. However, the orchestra,

Apr 16

Senate Approves Nomination of Nicholas Katzenbach as Deputy Attorney General

Apr. 16, 1962 - A Senate Judiciary subcommittee approved today President Kennedy’s nomination of Nicholas Katzenbach as Deputy Attorney General. He would succeed Byron R. White, who was sworn in today as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Katzenbach is now an assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. As Deputy Attorney General, he would be the No. 1 aide of Attorney General Kennedy. There was no opposition to Mr

Apr 16

U.S. Marines Wait for Action in South Vietnam

Apr. 16, 1962 - United States Marines awaited their first action today in the intensified war against Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam. Like the three U.S. Army helicopter companies in South Vietnam, the Marine task unit will come under Communist fire. Like the Army units, the Marines are under orders not to shoot unless fired upon. The Marines’ main job will be to airlift Vietnamese combat troops into areas occupied by the Viet Cong. It will also help resupply isolated

Apr 15

Former C.I.A. Director Dulles Arrives in Saigon with Pentagon Study Group

Apr. 15, 1962 - Another indication of deepening U.S. involvement in South Vietnam’s campaign against the Communist guerrillas called the Viet Cong was the arrival in Saigon today of a Pentagon study group that included Allen W. Dulles (pictured), former chief of the C.I.A. The group will try to determine whether the 6,000 U.S. military personnel assigned to the South Vietnamese forces as advisors, trainers, and transport assistants really know why they are in Vietnam and what

Apr 15

U.S. Marine Helicopter Unit Lands in South Vietnam

Apr. 15, 1962 - A U.S. Marine helicopter unit landed in Vietnam today. The Marines will be based at Soc Trang, capital of Ba Xuyen Province, 100 miles southwest of Saigon. They will assist the U.S. Army’s 57th Light Helicopter Company, based at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Airport, in operations against Communist guerrillas in the southern tip of Vietnam, which has been one of the worst areas of Communist infiltration. The 16 H-34 helicopters and 400 men of the Marine unit were flow

Apr 14

VIDEO: President's Remarks Aboard U.S.S. Enterprise

Apr. 14, 1962 - Here is a video excerpt of President Kennedy’s remarks today aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. The spoke from the hangar deck of the aircraft carrier, where he had observed a demonstration by the Atlantic fleet. #JFK #1960s #history #OTD #historychannel #podcast #politics #coldwar

Apr 14

President Watches Military Demonstration in North Carolina

Apr. 14, 1962 - President Kennedy watched a demonstration of the Atlantic Fleet’s air and sea power today off the coast of North Carolina. The sun was shining brightly at 9 a.m. when the command ship, the Northampton, began steaming up between two columns of ships, led by the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Forrestal. As the President watched, the bands played “Hail to the Chief” and salutes were fired from the 48 passing ships. Afterward, the President was flown by helicopt