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Mar 6

South Vietnamese "On the Offensive" Against Viet Cong, Says Admiral Felt

Mar. 6, 1962 - Admiral Harry D. Felt, commander in chief of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said in Saigon today that South Vietnamese forces (pictured) had “gone on the offensive” against the Communist Viet Cong. Admiral Felt belittled expressed fears that the Chinese Communists would react violently to the American buildup in South Vietnam. “They are not 50 feet tall,” he said. “We are taller than they are, and they have reason to be cautious.” When a reporter observed that Gov

Mar 5

Former WWII Soviet General in Command Position in Cuba

Mar. 5, 1962 - Enrique Lister (pictured left with Ernesto “Che” Guevara), who led a Communist corps in the Spanish civil war and served as a Soviet general in World War II, is reported to be in a high military command position in Cuba. General Lister, who is 54 years old, is in charge of rocket artillery units of the Cuban armed forces and is a top advisor on strategy and the use of Soviet and Czechoslovakian equipment supplied to the regime of Premier Fidel Castro since 1960

Mar 2

VIDEO: "The Truth About Communism," Narrated by Ronald Reagan

Mar. 2, 1962 - Here is a documentary narrated by Ronald Reagan called “The Truth About Communism.” #Podcast #podcasts #podcasting #podcaster #podcasters #podcastlife #historychannel #HistoryLesson #ColdWar #ColdWarHistory #coldwarbook #coldwarbooks #coldwarera #coldwarrior #JFK #communism #1960s

Mar 2

A Minor Victory for South Vietnamese Troops and Their U.S. Advisors

Mar. 2, 1962 - United States Army helicopters, grounded since Tuesday’s attempt by two Vietnamese Air Force pilot to assassinate President Diem, carried Vietnamese troops to a minor victory today against Viet Cong Communist forces. The American helicopters carried Vietnamese troops to An Xuyen Province at the extreme southern tip of Vietnam. There the troops killed one guerrilla and captured three Viet Cong troopers in what the American pilots called “a very smooth operation.

Mar 1

Secretary Rusk Blames Communists for Violence in Vietnam

Mar. 1, 1962 - Secretary of State Dean Rusk said today that the fighting in South Vietnam could end overnight if Communist nations would leave that country alone. Taking note of demands, especially in Communist China, for big-power consultations on Vietnam, Mr. Rusk said that he saw no need for complicated or prolonged talks. But he added that the U.S. was always prepared to talk, as long as the talk dealt with the root of the trouble: “the Communist aggression against Vietna

Feb 28

Pilot Who Bombed Diem Palace is Interviewed

Feb. 28, 1962 - One of the two pilots who attacked South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem’s palace was quoted today as having said similar attacks would be launched as long as the President remained in power. Pictured below is President Diem’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Dinh Nhu Ngo, surveying the damaged palace after the bombing. Second Lieut. Nguyen Van Cu, who crash-landed near Pnompenh, Cambodia, after the attack, described himself as a nationalist, not a Communist. The pilot

Feb 27

South Vietnam: Bombing of Palace Isolated Incident

Feb. 27, 1962 - The Government of South Vietnam announced today that the bombing of the Presidential Palace early yesterday morning had been carried out by two “discontented” pilots (pictured preparing to bomb) in an isolated attempt to assassinate President Ngo Dinh Diem. He escaped harm in the attack, which demolished a wing of the palace. One of the attacking pilots was seized after his plane had crashed. The other flier was reported to have been arrested in neighboring Ca

Feb 26

U.S. Officials: Diem in Control in South Vietnam

Feb. 26, 1962 - U.S. officials said tonight that President Ngo Dinh Diem was in control of the situation in South Vietnam after a bombing attack on the Presidential Palace. Preliminary reports listed one dead and two injured in the air assault. They said that no Americans had been involved, and there had been no fighting in Saigon. About 4,000 U.S. personnel are in the United States military mission that has headquarters in Saigon. Washington authorities regarded the attack a

Feb 26

South Vietnamese President Diem's Palace Bombed

Feb. 26, 1962 - Two fighter-bombers bearing markings of the South Vietnamese Air Force attacked President Ngo Dinh Diem’s today with bombs, rockets and machine guns. The Saigon radio announced an hour later that the President and his family were unhurt. One wing of the palace was left in flames. The attackers also strafed the Saigon Airport. The 61-year-old bachelor President, his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu, and Mme. Ngo Dinh Nhu were in the palace at the time. The Government broad

Feb 25

United States Will Continue Offering All Necessary Aid to Vietnam

Feb. 25, 1962 - The U.S. is not interested in engaging in any international consultations over the situation in Vietnam as demanded by Communist China, Administration officials said today. Officials in Washington said U.S. policy would continue to offer all necessary aid to South Vietnam as long as the regime in North Vietnam supported the Communist guerrillas in their operations against the Saigon Government. The Beijing statement charged that U.S. involvement in Vietnam aff

Feb 24

Communist China Protests American Buildup in Vietnam

Feb. 24, 1962 - Communist China declared today that its security was seriously affected by an “undeclared war” waged by the U.S. in South Vietnam. It said U.S. military aid to the Southeast Asian country could not be allowed to continue. Similar charges of a security threat preceded Red China’s large-scale intervention in Korea in November of 1950 after American troops had reached the Yalu River border between Korea and Manchuria. The statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry

Feb 22

Hoover: No Compromise With Communists

Feb. 22, 1962 - J. Edgar Hoover said today that “there can be no compromise with the Communists” and that “the sooner every American faces this fact, the stronger our position will be.” The director of the F.B.I. asserted: “America has no place for those timid souls who urge ‘appeasement at any price’ nor those who chant the ‘better Red than dead’ slogan.” Mr. Hoover received the Freedom Foundation’s highest award, the George Washington Medal, as the American who made the mos

Feb 21

Goldwater: Cold War Victory to be Determined by "Power of Conviction"

Feb. 21, 1962 - Senator Barry Goldwater urged the U.S. today not to “compete in bragging” with the Soviet Union. The Arizona Republican told an audience at the University of Bridgeport that citing low prices and high wages “converts no Communist, impresses few neutrals and does not convince even ourselves.” “The competition between the Communists and what we call the free world,” he said, “is clearly not being decided by living standards or even by the big battalions. The iss

Feb 21

Crew of Destroyer "Remey" Get Respite from "Cold War"

Feb. 21, 1962 - The U.S. destroyer Remey (pictured) sailed into port in New York today for a week’s respite from service in the “cold war.” Her crew members, largely reservists from the metropolitan area, were happy to be home. Many of them indicated that their experience abroad had convinced them that their personal sacrifices were worthwhile. “Sure, there were the usual gripes at first,” said Lieut. Jack Dreyer of Jackson Heights, Queens. “But what we saw in Europe, especia

Feb 21

President Kennedy Outlines Difficulties in Vietnam and Laos

Feb. 21, 1962 - President Kennedy indicated today that the U.S. intended to try to bring about general stability in South Vietnam and Laos. But Mr. Kennedy acknowledged at his news conference that the problems in both Southeast Asian countries presented considerable difficulties. In South Vietnam, he said, the U.S. is working with the Government to encourage administrative reforms and to create proper political conditions for the effective use of increasing aid. “These object

Feb 20

McNamara Returns to Capital, Spokesman Says Viet Cong Being Hit "Harder than Ever"

Feb. 20, 1962 - Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara returned to the capital today and reported improvement in the South Vietnamese effort against Communist insurgents. He had presided at a meeting of U.S. military and civilian officials yesterday at the headquarters in Hawaii of Admiral Harry S. Felt, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific. The meeting was the third in a series of monthly talks on the hostilities in South Vietnam. A spokesman for Mr. McNamara said that t

Feb 19

McNamara: "Long, Hard Struggle" in Vietnam

Feb. 19, 1962 - Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara said today that the South Vietnam war “seems to be stabilized,” but that guerrilla fighting could continue in the Southeast Asian nation for years. Mr. McNamara issued a written statement after talks with 22 military leaders and diplomats summoned to Hawaii from Washington and Vietnam. The Secretary called the Vietnam fighting “a long and hard struggle because it is not full-scale warfare but guerrilla warfare.” “We must be

Feb 19

Goldwater Praises McNamara, Hits Kennedy on Cuba

Feb. 19, 1962 - Senator Barry Goldwater praised Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara today as “one of the best Secretaries of Defense ever — an IBM machine with legs.” The Arizona Republican said Mr. McNamara had set up an “excellent” budget system in drawing up his $50 billion defense budget. The Senator did not refer to Mr. McNamara’s recent troubles with a Senate committee over refusing to disclose the names of Pentagon censors who made specific changes in speeches by m

Feb 18

Nina Khrushchev Pleads for Disarmament in Message to American Women

Feb. 18, 1962 - Mrs. Nina Petrovna Khrushchev (pictured with the First Lady last June in Austria), wife of the Soviet Premier, pleaded for international understanding and complete disarmament today in a short-wave broadcast addressed to the women of America. Speaking in accented but good English, Mrs. Khrushchev said she was responding to “letters and cables” she had received from women in the U.S. She said that the writers had shown great concern about preventing war and tha

Feb 18

Specialists Cast Doubt on National Shelter Program

Feb. 18, 1962 - A pamphlet contending that any national shelter program would be almost useless has been issued by eight specialists who teach at Columbia University, Hofstra College and Amherst College. “A National Shelter Program: Its Feasibility and Its Cost” is a challenge to Federal plans for meeting the dangers of a nuclear attack. It speaks of “the near-impossibility of survival.” Professor Otto Klineberg, one of the pamphlet’s authors, holds that shelters are actually