1960s Timeline

Jan. 6, 1962 - An American construction foreman on the $4 million Saigon airport improvement project was fatally wounded in an ambush...

Jan. 4, 1962 - General David M. Shoup, the U.S. Marine Corps commandant, said that today’s Marines need to toughen up. He said the corps...

Jan. 4, 1962 - The United States and South Vietnam announced today a “broad economic and social program” to raise living standards in...

Jan. 3, 1962 - The West was said today to be hoping for a live-and-let-live arrangement with the Soviet Union on Berlin and Germany. It...

Dec. 31, 1961 - Aided by a build-up in U.S. military support, South Vietnam is preparing a strong counter-offensive against Communist...

Dec. 30, 1961 - A United States Army specialist kidnapped by Communist guerrillas on Christmas Day is alive, reliable sources said today....

Dec. 29, 1961 - American military personnel in South Vietnam were instructed today to stay within the Saigon (pictured) city limits....

Dec. 28, 1961 - A United States Army sergeant is believed to have been kidnapped by the Viet Cong (pictured), as the Communist guerrillas...

Dec. 25, 1961 - Communist border guards arrested three East Berliners today who waved at relatives in the West across the wall dividing...

Dec. 25, 1961 - Two South Vietnamese paratroopers were killed and three Americans injured Saturday when a U.S. Army helicopter crashed...

Dec. 21, 1961 - Benjamin J. Davis (pictured), a leader of the Communist party, was the center of violence at New York’s City College...

Dec. 19, 1961 - U.S. military men in South Vietnam were understood today to be operating in battle areas with South Vietnamese forces...

Dec. 15, 1961 - The General Assembly rejected today a proposal to seat Communist China in the United Nations. The vote was 48 against the...

Dec. 14, 1961 - President Kennedy has promised more military assistance to South Vietnam in its fight against the Communists. Mr....

Dec. 11, 1961 - Two U.S. Army helicopter companies arrived in Saigon today. The helicopters, to be flown and serviced by U.S. troops, are...

Dec. 8, 1961 - The U.S. called on non-Communist nations today to rally to the defense of South Vietnam. Warning that the Southeast Asian...

Dec. 7, 1961 - J. Edgar Hoover, director of the F.B.I., received today a gold medal and $10,000 awarded by an insurance company for...

Dec. 7, 1961 - Communist China announced in a broadcast today that it would send a military delegation to Communist North Vietnam “in the...

Dec. 6, 1961 - Premier Khrushchev observed today that it would be a very long time before President Kennedy turned Communist. The Soviet...

Dec. 5, 1961 - War dogs from the U.S. Army are being brought to South Vietnam to hunt Communist guerrillas in underground jungle...