1960s Timeline

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Oct 11, 2021

President Kennedy Sending General Taylor to South Vietnam

Oct. 11, 1961 - General Maxwell D. Taylor (pictured left) will go to South Vietnam this week on President Kennedy’s behalf to study means of helping that country against attacks by Communist guerrillas. The President announced the mission today as he opened his news conference with a new expression of concern over the Communist threat to South Vietnam’s independence. The President said that on the basis of General Taylor’s report, a decision would be made on whether U.S. comb

Oct 7, 2021

Kennedy Talks Tough on Southeast Asia

Oct. 7, 1961 - The United States is considering sending troops to Southeast Asia to cope with the worsening situation in Vietnam and a possible new flare-up in Laos. President Kennedy bluntly told Andrei A. Gromyko, the Soviet Foreign Minister, yesterday that the U.S. would not permit Laos to be used as a Communist military base against South Vietnam. The Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists), with some units organized in strength up to 1,000 men, has been infiltrating into South

Sep 22, 2021

Communist Viet Cong Launch Another Attack in South Vietnam

Sept. 22, 1961 - For the second time this week, the Communist guerrillas known as Viet Cong launched a devastating attack in South Vietnam. An outpost in Daclac Province, guarded by a company of South Vietnam's Civil Guard, was besieged Wednesday night. The guardsmen were annihilated. Another company rushed to its aid. Since radio contact has been lost with the second company, it is believe that it, too, was annihilated. The province has been infiltrated by at least two batta

Sep 18, 2021

Viet Cong Launch Major Attack 60 Miles from Saigon

Sept. 18, 1961 - More than 1,000 Communist rebels in South Vietnam attacked and burned the capital of Phuoc Vinh Province, 60 miles north of Saigon, early today. It was the largest rebel assault so far in South Vietnam's civil war. The province chief, an army major, and a large number of Government civil guardsmen were killed. About 50 wounded were rushed to Saigon hospitals after the rebels withdrew under attack. The Viet Cong held the area for several hours in pre-dawn dark

Aug 20, 2021

With U.S. Aid, South Vietnamese Army Gaining on Communists

Aug. 20, 1961 - The South Vietnamese Army, equipped and trained by the U.S. in new jungle warfare tactics, is reported to have assumed the initiative in the seven-year-old struggle with Communist guerrillas. Kennedy Administration officials said today that since May, when the reorganization of the army began, the pro-Western Vietnamese forces had "started 75 percent of the fights" and had won 4 important victories, including a key engagement this week in the Plaine des Joncs.

Aug 17, 2021

South Vietnamese Army Kills over 100 Viet Cong near Saigon

Aug. 17, 1961 - For the second time in a month, the South Vietnamese army (pictured) registered a victory over the Communist guerrillas known as the Viet Cong. The South Vietnamese leader in each battle was Col. Huynh Van Cao, commander of the Seventh Division. Lieut. Col. Frank Clay, United States military advisor, praised Col. Cao's deployment of his forces for the second victory. "Colonel Cao's plan was like a hammer and anvil," he said, "and the Viet Cong were caught on t

Aug 12, 2021

South Vietnamese Troops Disrupt "Ho Chi Minh Trail" in Laos

Aug. 12, 1961 - South Vietnamese troop units are reported to be operating in southern Laos to cut the flow of Communist supplies and guerrilla reinforcements moving down from Communist North Vietnam. They have taken up strategic positions and are patrolling the route the Communists use through southwest Laos known in Saigon as "the Ho Chi Minh" trail. There are also strong indications that small U.S.-trained special units of South Vietnamese troops are operating inside North

Jul 31, 2021

Viet Cong Launch Grenade Attack in Saigon

July 31, 1961 - Communist guerrillas staged a pre-announced hand-grenade incident in Saigon last night to demonstrate their ability to cause trouble in the stronghold of President Diem. One soldier was killed and two were injured when the grenade was thrown at a patrol truck in front of a theatre. The grenade thrower escaped. The incident was part of a guerrilla campaign of increased terrorism and sabotage in the Saigon area. This was viewed as an attempt to offset the effect

Jul 30, 2021

Communist Viet Cong Conduct Campaign of Assassination in South Vietnam

July 30, 1961 - In South Vietnam, Communist Viet Cong guerrillas (pictured) are now estimated to number 12,000. They are taking 500-700 lives a month in a systematic campaign of assassination. Many of the victims are village chiefs and health, agricultural and education officers. In this struggle, the Communists hold most of the cards. They are disciplined and operate in a terrain favorable to guerrilla activities. The South Vietnamese officialdom is often weak, inefficient a

Jul 27, 2021

Communist Viet Cong Terrorize South Vietnam

July 27, 1961 - Communist guerrillas have increased their activity in South Vietnam. Numerous acts of terrorism have occurred throughout the country in the last ten days. A direct engagement between Communist guerrillas and Government forces is taking place in Tayninh, northwest of Saigon. Last week the Government won a large victory on the Plaine des Jones. About 200 guerrillas were killed or captured, and the battle raised the sagging morale of the Vietnamese people. The ne

Jul 16, 2021

South Vietnamese Troops Kill Over 185 Viet Cong in Bloody Fighting

July 16, 1961 - South Vietnamese Government troops crushed a Communist guerrilla force today in the bloodiest battle since South Vietnam gained independence from France in 1954. More than 185 guerrillas were killed and many wounded in fierce fighting that followed the surrounding of a 500-man Communist force in marshlands 80 miles west of Saigon. The Government's losses were 12 dead and 64 wounded in a battalion of 700 men. The battalion had lain in ambush for two days. When

Jul 12, 2021

Hingle joins Brando in Cast of "The Ugly American"

July 12, 1961 - Pat Hingle will portray one of the leading characters in the forthcoming Marlon Brando vehicle, "The Ugly American," based on the novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. The novel depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia. It is believed that the Peace Corps was established partly as a result of the novel. George Englund will direct the Universal release. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classi

Jul 10, 2021

Defense Secretary McNamara Press Conference (Video)

July 10, 1961 - Here is video of Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara's press conference from earlier today. #communism #communist #coldwar #vietnam #vietnamwar #war #warfare #guerrillawar #sovietunion

Jul 6, 2021

Secretary of State Rusk: Don't Cut Foreign Aid

July 6, 1961 - Secretary of State Dean Rusk warned today that any cuts in the Administration's foreign aid program would be "a great mistake" in view of "our present relations with the Communist world." The Secretary spent three hours before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reviewing the increasingly menacing posture of world communism in Berlin, Cuba, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. He said there had been no change in the Soviet demand that the future of Berlin be