1960s Timeline

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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 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 17

GOP Wants Answers on Vietnam

Feb. 17, 1962 - The Republicans charged again today that President Kennedy was hiding the extent of U.S. involvement in South Vietnam. The Democrats replied that the GOP was playing politics with a touchy foreign problem. Senator Kenneth B. Keating, Republican of New York, following up criticism by his party’s National Committee, charged that in South Vietnam a “made-in-Washington smokescreen obscures what is going on, in terms of American commitment and American involvement.

Feb 16

Washington Officials: Defeat of Viet Cong Could Take 10 Years

Feb. 16, 1962 - Washington officials predicted today the ultimate defeat of the Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam by the Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem. They conceded, however, that it may take years — without any spectacular victories — before the Government forces, with material help from the U.S., could wear down the guerrillas. They pointed out that it took over 10 years for the British finally to eliminate the Communist guerrilla movement in British Malaya. Th

Feb 15

Ambassador Nolting Bids South Vietnamese Stop Criticizing Government

Feb. 15, 1962 - Frederick E. Nolting, Ambassador to South Vietnam, said today that social, economic and political reforms in South Vietnam could be accomplished quickly if the Vietnamese stopped criticizing the regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem (pictured) and tried to improve it from within. Mr. Nolting seemed to be trying to convince the Government of President Diem that it would enjoy U.S. support through thick or thin. This is in line with the “sink or swim with Diem” them

Feb 14

President Says He's Being as "Frank as Possible" on Vietnam

Feb. 14, 1962 - Responding to criticism, President Kennedy said today he was being as frank as possible about U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. He asked that such sensitive matters be left to “responsible leaders” of both parties. The President countered charges of excessive secrecy with a statement that no American combat troops “in the generally understood sense of the word” had been sent into Vietnam. Yet he conceded, without giving statistics, that military support

Feb 13

U.S. Destroyer Escorts Arriving in Vietnam

Feb. 13, 1962 - United States destroyer escorts will arrive at Danang in South Vietnam this week to bolster the South Vietnamese Navy’s patrol against Communist guerrilla infiltration by sea. This was made known today as Gen. Paul D. Harkins (pictured center) arrived in Saigon to take charge of the newly created United States Military Assistance Command, which will control the rapidly expanding American military intervention against the Communist guerrillas. Most of the Commu

Feb 13

GOP Wants "Full Report" on Vietnam from Kennedy

Feb. 13, 1962 - The Republican National Committee called on President Kennedy today to “make a full report to the American people” on U.S. involvement in the fighting in South Vietnam. In its publication, “Battle Line,” the committee charged that the President had been “less than candid” in his comments on the extent of American support for South Vietnam’s battle against Communist insurgents. The publication raised the question whether the U.S. was “moving toward another Kore

Feb 11

Katu Tribe Sets Poison Traps in Vietnam

Feb. 11, 1962 - U.S. military personnel on reconnaissance in central Vietnam have run into hostile aborigines, belonging to the Katu tribe, who set traps for them with poisoned arrows. Although the Vietnamese maintain that the Katu are heavily infiltrated with Viet Cong Communist guerrillas, it is extremely doubtful that they are familiar with Marx or Lenin. The Katu are blood hunters who sacrifice animals and humans to appease the spirits. Captives are stabbed to death with

Feb 11

Washington Officials See Mounting Danger in Vietnam

Feb. 11, 1962 - What President Kennedy has called the “increasing ferocity” of the war in South Vietnam and the increasing involvement of the U.S. in it are causing concern in Washington. Officials feel there is a mounting danger that more U.S. servicemen will be killed in what are now openly described as U.S. military operations against Communist rebels in South Vietnam. Last week, a U.S. helicopter piloted by an American was shot down while carrying South Vietnamese supplie

Feb 9

U.S. Build-Up in South Vietnam Continues

Feb. 9, 1962 - The decision announced yesterday to set up a new U.S. command in Saigon under a full general is said to be a result of the growing extent of U.S. involvement in support of military operations against the Communists in South Vietnam. The military build-up in recent weeks has produced these developments: - Three U.S. Army combat helicopter companies and a company of light observation planes arrived. Some units were thrown into action almost immediately. - U.S. Na

Feb 8

President Kennedy Picks General Harkins to Head Vietnam Command

Feb. 8, 1962 - The U.S. established a new military command in Communist-threatened South Vietnam today and named a four-star general to head it. A primary purpose in creating the command was to manifest the determination of the U.S. to prevent a Communist take-over. The new military headquarters, established with the concurrence of the Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem, is called “United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.” Its commander will be Gen. Paul D. Hark

Feb 7

U.S. Military Personnel Pour Into South Vietnam

Feb. 7, 1962 - Two U.S. Army air support companies totaling 300 men arrived in Saigon today from the plains of Kansas to bolster South Vietnam’s jungle war against Communist guerrillas. The U.S. Navy aircraft ferry Core landed the men and 21 Canadian-built U-1A Otters — large single-engine planes that can use short, makeshift runways, carry 10 soldiers each, and range about 600 miles. The new units, which have been based at Fort Riley, Kan., were identified as the 18th Aviati