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Jul 14

Viet Cong Guerrillas Launch Major Ambush

July 14, 1962 - Several hundred Viet Cong guerrillas ambushed a large convoy of Government troops along a main road 40 miles north of Saigon today and killed a U.S. Army captain. Seventeen Vietnamese soldiers were also killed and fourteen wounded in the ambush. Captain Don J. York (pictured) of Asheville, N.C., was the seventh U.S. serviceman slain by the Communists in the South Vietnam action since December. Today’s ambush was touched off by the explosion of a mine under the

Jul 8

(VIDEO) Secretary of State Dean Rusk on Vietnam

July 8, 1962 - Dean Rusk addresses reports out of Vietnam indicating that the war against Communist guerrillas is not going well. #vietnam #vietnamwar #history #coldwar

Jul 7

Military Advisors in Vietnam Learn Hard Lessons on Weaponry

July 7, 1962 - United States military advisors in South Vietnam are learning some hard but useful lessons about U.S. weapons of war. The 105- and 155-mm. howitzers American forces used in the Korean War and World War II are of limited use because of the lack of roads in South Vietnam. Tactical air support is used extensively, but it often is difficult to ascertain whether the people killed by napalm or fragmentation bombs were guerrillas or farmers. One of the biggest shocks

Jul 6

Secretary McNamara Encouraged by Developments in Vietnam

July 6, 1962 - Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara expressed optimism today that the tide of military developments in South Vietnam was turning against the Communist guerrilla forces. While cautioning that a final victory over the Communists was years away, Mr. McNamara said at a Pentagon news conference that he was encouraged by developments in recent months. As encouraging evidence, Mr. McNamara noted that the “ratio of killed and captured” was now much more favorable t

Jul 3

JFK Remarks to Special Seminar of Foreign Service Institute

July 3, 1962 - Here are President Kennedy’s remarks at the White House today to members of a special anti-insurgency seminar run by the Foreign Service Institute. #jfk #vietnam #communism #coldwar

Jun 30

Communist China Supplying Viet Cong with Weapons

June 30, 1962 - The South Vietnamese Government charged today that new weapons from Communist China had been given to Communist Viet Cong guerrillas. It demanded action against these “flagrant violations” of the Geneva Agreement. South Vietnam charged that Chinese Communist 57-mm. bazookas, recoilless rifles, and ammunition were being used by the Red guerrillas. It was stated that Chinese Communist bazookas, rockets, submachine guns, and ammunition were captured when a Govern

Jun 29

South Vietnamese Paratroopers Attack Viet Cong in Key Rebel Stronghold

June 29, 1962 - In one of the largest combined operations yet against Communist guerrillas, South Vietnamese paratroopers were dropped this morning by U.S. Air Force planes into a key rebel stronghold in Tay Ninh and Binh Duong Provinces, northeast of Saigon. The latest reports on the major sweep, which is still going on, said the paratroopers had captured nine Viet Cong Communist political officers and seized two rice storage depots and equipment. The sweep is being carried

Jun 28

Released Prisoner of Viet Cong Describes Ordeal

June 28, 1962 - Specialist George F. Fryett Jr., the U.S. soldier who was released four days ago after he had been a prisoner of the Viet Cong guerrillas for six months, said today that his captors had “exhibited” him in numerous villages. The 26-year-old Army code clerk was captured by two guerrillas while cycling on a lonely road near Saigon last Christmas Eve. Until his Communist captors placed him on a bus June 24, he said, he had been kept tightly bound by ropes above th

Jun 27

Three-Day Offensive Against Viet Cong Yields Meager Results

June 27, 1962 - A three-day land, sea, and air offensive against Communist guerrillas in the coastal area 50 miles south of Saigon ended tonight with unimpressive results. Although the operation utilized the equivalent of 10 battalions of South Vietnamese troops, 30 U.S. Army and Marine Corps helicopters, 2 new American warfare craft — M-113 amphibious troop carriers and plastic boats — as well as 40 to 50 U.S. military advisors, the Viet Cong Communist guerrillas easily elud

Jun 24

Viet Cong Release U.S. Prisoner

June 24, 1962 - A U.S. soldier was released today by Communist guerrillas who had held him captive six months. He told military interrogators in Saigon that he had successfully resisted attempts to brainwash him. Newsmen were not allowed to see the soldier, S4-C George F. Fryett Jr. A U.S. military spokesman said that Specialist Fryett had denied any knowledge of letters supposedly written by him and mentioned two weeks ago by a guerrilla broadcast. The broadcast indicated th

Jun 23

More Intelligence on Captured American Missionaries in Vietnam

June 23, 1962 - Three American missionaries who were kidnapped by Communist guerrillas May 30 are being used to treat the wounded and to train the guerrillas in medical aid. This has been reported to U.S. military officials in South Vietnam by Communist prisoners and deserters, who said that the missionaries were in good health and were not being mistreated. Search operations have been called off for fear that harm might befall the missionaries if a pursuit were pressed. The

Jun 21

Three Captured American Missionaries Spotted in South Vietnam

June 21, 1962 - Three American missionaries kidnapped by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam have been seen alive but are still captives, the Christian and Missionary Alliance said today. The captives are the Rev. Archie E. Mitchell of Washington, Dr. Eleanor Ardel Vietti of Texas, and Daniel Gerber of Ohio. The three were at work at a leprosarium 14 miles southwest of Ban Me Thuot in Communist-dominated territory when Viet Cong guerrillas invaded the leper colony and carried them

Jun 18

Second U.S. Officer Killed by Viet Cong Identified

June 18, 1962 - The second of the two U.S. Army officers killed in a Communist Viet Cong ambush Saturday in South Vietnam was identified today as the son of the Army War College’s commandant. The Army identified him today as First Lieutenant William F. Train 3d (pictured), a 24-year-old graduate of West Point. His father is Maj. Gen. William F. Train, who heads the war college at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. The other American killed in the ambush of an armored convoy north of Saig

Jun 16

Two U.S. Army Officers Killed in Viet Cong Attack

June 16, 1962 - Two U.S. Army officers were slain this morning when Communist guerrillas ambushed an armored convoy 35 miles north of Saigon. The ambush was planned and executed with a precision that was considered remarkable. All seven vehicles in the convoy were destroyed. At least 15 Vietnamese troops were killed along with several civilian occupants of a motorbus. The bus was blown up by a land mine immediately ahead of the military convoy. The two Americans, a first lieu

Jun 15

🚨NEW: Evening Report | June 15, 1962

Retro news capsule with vintage commercials. Click here to listen. Headlines: President Kennedy addresses the Peace Corps; Senator Mansfield speaks out on Vietnam; Dr. King meets the press; three convicts escape the Rock; Lee Remick gets money for nothing; the Mets take another beating. #history #JFK #MLK #mets #vietnam

Jun 15

Who Are the Viet Cong?

June 15, 1962 - Who are the Viet Cong? American military advisors and South Vietnamese officers put them in three categories. The first consists of regulars who fight full-time, led by hardened Communist cadres from North Vietnam. These men, paid and sometimes equipped with standard uniforms, are usually 19 to 35 years old. An American colonel said of them: “The most elusive enemy I’ve ever met.” Local forces who are organized in companies of about 60 men form the second cate

Jun 14

South Vietnamese Army, Assisted by U.S. Helicopters, Opens Zone D Offensive

June 14, 1962 - South Vietnamese Army units opened an offensive this morning against Zone D, a jungle sanctuary for the Communist Viet Cong. U.S. Army and Marine helicopters shuttled two battalions of the Fifth Division into the heart of the rain forest, long regarded as an impenetrable guerrilla stronghold 50 miles north of Saigon. Meeting only light opposition, the Government force seized what was described as a “major Communist headquarters and supply base,” killed three C

Jun 13

Viet Cong May Release American Prisoner

June 13, 1962 - Communist guerrilla leaders are seeking to win a propaganda advantage from the impending release of an American serviceman, Specialist George F. Fryett Jr. (pictured), who was captured last Christmas. Last Saturday, the Viet Cong radio broadcast what it said was the text of the soldier’s plea for the “liberation” of South Vietnam, denouncing the “United States-Diemist regime” and pleading for leniency. Today, the station broadcast a purported letter by the sol

Jun 11

Specialist 4-C George Fryett is Prisoner of the Viet Cong

June 11, 1962 - A U.S. soldier who disappeared Christmas morning after pedaling out of Saigon on his bicycle is a prisoner of the Communist guerrillas. Radio Liberation, voice of the Viet Cong, said Specialist 4-C George F. Fryett, had signed letters denouncing the “United States-Diemist regime.” Ngo Dinh Diem is the President of South Vietnam. Specialist Fryett apparently has been subjected to intensive brainwashing during his captivity of more than five months, American sou

Jun 10

(VIDEO) JFK Speaks at West Point

June 6, 1962 - JFK addresses the graduating cadets at West Point and pardons 20 from room confinement. #jfk #military #veterans #vietnam #army #navy #airforce #marines