1960s Timeline

Mar. 17, 1962 - The Soviet Union accused the U.S. today of fighting an “undeclared war” in South Vietnam and demanded the immediate removal of American military personnel. At the same time, Moscow defended incursions into South Vietnam by Viet Cong guerrillas as a “national liberation movement.” The statement asserted that the guerrillas had been prevented from toppling the Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem only by the presence of U.S. troops. The statement insisted that

Mar. 17, 1962 - United States Army helicopters flew within a half-mile of the Cambodian frontier Thursday to land Vietnamese troops. This region is the haunt of Hoa Hao, a Buddhist sect often in arms against the Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The sect sometimes cooperates with Viet Cong guerrillas. The object of the attack by Government forces was to flush guerrillas from trees and brush along a canal and strafe them as they fled across open fields toward the frontier

Mar. 15, 1962 - A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation carrying 107 persons, including 93 U.S. soldiers, disappeared during a night flight from Guam to Manila early today. It was presumed to have crashed at sea. An Army spokesman in Washington said the soldiers were bound for Saigon to join the growing force of U.S. military men in South Vietnam. The passengers also included three South Vietnamese enlisted men. There were four women in the civilian crew of eleven. A vast air

Mar. 15, 1962 - Asked today about the United States’ huge military training program in South Vietnam, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (pictured) said: “I think our mission in South Vietnam is very clear. We are there at the request of the South Vietnamese Government to provide training.” He at a press conference that “there has been sporadic fire aimed at U.S. personnel and in some minor instances they’ve had to return that fire.” It is believed that nearly 4,000 U.S.

Mar. 14, 1962 - United States pilots flying American-made planes spearheaded a major counterattack last week which resulted in one of South Vietnam’s greatest victories to date against Communist guerrillas, sources disclosed today. The sources said that American pilots, flying in planes with South Vietnamese trainees, were the main offensive force used in a battle Saturday in southern Vinh Binh Province. The sources added that the two-seated T-28’s — used as trainers by the U

Mar. 9, 1962 - U.S. officials said today that American pilots were engaged in combat missions with South Vietnamese pilots in training them to fight Communist guerrillas. No clarification was made by the State Department as to whether this conformed with U.S. policy as enunciated by President Kennedy — that Americans in Vietnam are assigned for training, not combat, but are under orders to fire back if shot at. Officials emphasized that the American pilots were always accompa

Mar. 8, 1962 - United States Army helicopters carried a Vietnamese battalion in a successful raid against the Communist stronghold of Cai Ngai near the southern tip of Vietnam. Five helicopters were struck by Communist bullets, and one was disabled. There were no American casualties. Cai Ngai, a clutter of huts along a canal 20 miles southwest of Ca Mau in An Xuyen Province, fell easily after a brief fight. Three Communist guerrillas were killed in a bamboo thicket at the edg

Mar. 7, 1962 - Five battalions of South Vietnamese troops launched a major drive today against a Communist stronghold in the Mekong Delta where a company of Government rangers was wiped out in a Viet Cong Communist ambush Thursday. An informed source said government troops had made contact with the enemy on the bank of the river a short distance from the South China Sea and that a battle was underway. The government force was said to total about 1,500 men. During the last 12

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. 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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. 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, 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, 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