1960s Timeline

Jan. 9, 1962 - The Kennedy Administration believes there is a fairly good chance of saving South Vietnam from communism, but it foresees a long and bitter struggle lasting many years without dramatic victory or resolution. Reassessments of the military situation in South Vietnam and of the willingness of President Ngo Dinh Diem to seek wider support from his peasant people have also led officials in Washington to conclude that the country can be preserved without any large-sc

Jan. 6, 1962 - An American construction foreman on the $4 million Saigon airport improvement project was fatally wounded in an ambush today by Communist guerrillas. Clyde Summers, of California, died in a Saigon hospital. Mr. Summers, the superintendent at a quarry north of Saigon, was caught in the ambush while riding in a pickup truck. With bullets in his legs, shoulder, and back of the head, he shouted to the Vietnamese driver to speed up. Then he lost consciousness. The d

Jan. 4, 1962 - The United States and South Vietnam announced today a “broad economic and social program” to raise living standards in South Vietnam. The program was explained by State Department officials as an effort to demonstrate Washington’s faith in the future of a free South Vietnam, to complement substantial increases in military aid, and to enhance the popularity of the Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The development program is part of a larger effort to help S

Jan. 3, 1962 - The United States has told the Inter-American Peace Committee that Cuba “represents a bridgehead of Sino-Soviet imperialism and a base for Communist agitation and subversion within the inner defense of the Western Hemisphere.” In a 12,000-word document to the committee Dec. 6, the United States said that Cuba had received “tens of thousands of tons” of weapons from Communist countries valued at roughly $80 million. This, it was said, puts Cuba in a position to

Dec. 31, 1961 - Aided by a build-up in U.S. military support, South Vietnam is preparing a strong counter-offensive against Communist guerrilla forces threatening President Diem’s pro-Western Government. Numerous techniques are being inaugurated to help turn the tide of battle against the Viet Cong, as the Communist guerrillas are called. One of these techniques is “defoliation” from the air (pictured), a chemical means of stripping leaves from the foliage that hides Viet Con

Dec. 30, 1961 - A United States Army specialist kidnapped by Communist guerrillas on Christmas Day is alive, reliable sources said today. The sources said that the guerrillas had displayed the 26-year-old soldier before gatherings of peasants as an “American imperialist trying to conquer South Vietnam.” The soldier, a teacher of English evening classes, was riding a bicycle toward a village north of Saigon to visit one of his students when he was kidnapped. Since the incident

Dec. 29, 1961 - American military personnel in South Vietnam were instructed today to stay within the Saigon (pictured) city limits. Military officials also urged the soldiers to travel with companions whenever possible. The action followed official confirmation by the military advisory group that a 26-year-old American army specialist was missing. He was last seen on the streets of Saigon Christmas morning. The young soldier taught several evening classes in English and had

Dec. 28, 1961 - A United States Army sergeant is believed to have been kidnapped by the Viet Cong (pictured), as the Communist guerrillas in Vietnam are known. The soldier disappeared on Christmas while on a holiday trip near Saigon. Since then, helicopter and ground search parties have been constantly looking for him. The latest Communist propaganda in Saigon now blares: “Kill all Americans!” and “Throw the American imperialists out of South Vietnam!” The reported kidnapping

Dec. 25, 1961 - Communist border guards arrested three East Berliners today who waved at relatives in the West across the wall dividing the city, the West Berlin police said. The three, two men and a woman, approached the wall from the eastern side across from the French sector. Witnesses told police the three were arrested immediately and taken away in a truck. It was the only border incident reported on what the West Berlin police described as an unusually quiet day along t

Dec. 25, 1961 - Two South Vietnamese paratroopers were killed and three Americans injured Saturday when a U.S. Army helicopter crashed near Communist guerrilla territory west of Saigon. The helicopter was carrying the South Vietnamese paratroopers on a combat mission. Communist rebels fired a mortar and rifles at the fallen helicopter, hitting its body. The American crewmen burned the aircraft to keep it out of rebel hands. The helicopter was one of 36 that arrived in Saigon

Dec. 19, 1961 - U.S. military men in South Vietnam were understood today to be operating in battle areas with South Vietnamese forces that are fighting Communist guerrillas. Although the Americans are not engaged in actual combat operations, they are authorized to shoot back if fired upon. About 2,000 Americans in uniform are now in South Vietnam. These soldiers, under new arrangements with the Government there, are taking part in tactical operations in battle areas. The oper

Dec. 15, 1961 - The General Assembly rejected today a proposal to seat Communist China in the United Nations. The vote was 48 against the proposal and 37 for it. Nineteen nations abstained. The margin against admitting the Beijing Government, contrary to general expectations, was slightly larger than it was last year. It amounted to a somewhat firmer U.S. victory — at least for now — than the American delegation had expected. #Podcast #podcasts #podcasting #podcaster #podcast

Dec. 14, 1961 - President Kennedy has promised more military assistance to South Vietnam in its fight against the Communists. Mr. Kennedy’s pledge was in the form of a letter to South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in response to a written appeal from the latter. President Diem had written, “if we lose this war, our people will be swallowed by the Communist bloc.” President Kennedy in his reply remarked that U.S. efforts to aid South Vietnam’s defense would no longer be n

Dec. 11, 1961 - Two U.S. Army helicopter companies arrived in Saigon today. The helicopters, to be flown and serviced by U.S. troops, are the first direct military support by the U.S. for South Vietnam’s war against Communist guerrilla forces. At least 33 H-21C twin-rotor helicopters and their pilots and ground crews, an estimated total of 400 men, arrived aboard the Military Sea Transportation Service aircraft ferry Core. In the anti-guerrilla operations in the mountains, he

Dec. 8, 1961 - The U.S. called on non-Communist nations today to rally to the defense of South Vietnam. Warning that the Southeast Asian nation was in “clear and present danger of Communist conquest,” the Administration solicited political backing for its decision to step up aid to the Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The appeal for wider support was voiced by Secretary of State Dean Rusk (left) and supported with the publication of a special State Department booklet. T

Dec. 7, 1961 - J. Edgar Hoover, director of the F.B.I., received today a gold medal and $10,000 awarded by an insurance company for contributions to the national health or safety. Mr. Hoover was cited by Mutual of Omaha for “outstanding contribution to the personal security and safety of the American public.” The award was presented at a dinner in Washington’s Mayflower Hotel by Dr. Charles W. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic, chairman of the award judges. In accepting the prize, Mr.

Dec. 7, 1961 - Communist China announced in a broadcast today that it would send a military delegation to Communist North Vietnam “in the near future.” The move followed a Beijing statement that termed the situation in Vietnam “extremely serious” and warned against the United States-backed build-up of South Vietnamese defense forces. #vietnam #vietnamese #vietnamflashback #vietnamwar #vietnamflashbacks #VietnamVet #VietnamVeteran #history #HistoryNerd #historyinpictures #hist

Dec. 6, 1961 - Premier Khrushchev observed today that it would be a very long time before President Kennedy turned Communist. The Soviet Premier was attending a reception at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow. He was asked for his impressions of the interview given recently by President Kennedy to Aleksei I. Adzhubei, editor of Izvestia, the Soviet Government newspaper, and son-in-law of the Premier. Mr. Khrushchev said he was pleased that the interview had been published in the S

Dec. 5, 1961 - War dogs from the U.S. Army are being brought to South Vietnam to hunt Communist guerrillas in underground jungle hideaways. The canine auxiliary to the South Vietnamese ground forces demonstrated its value in a trial operation last week. South Vietnamese Government officials who witnessed the demonstration said the dogs, a pair of German shepherds, had flushed eight guerrillas from underground sanctuaries near Hoc Mon, about 30 miles southwest of Saigon. All w

Dec. 1, 1961 - Premier Fidel Castro sang the praises of Lenin today and proclaimed, “I absolutely believe in Marxism.” The Cuban leader’s assertion in a television broadcast was the frankest he has made in his swing toward communism. Castro, who strongly advocated democracy in leading the revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Gen. Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959, said his political thinking toward Marxism had developed since he came to power. “Marxism or scientific