1960s Timeline

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May 12, 2022

May 12, 1962 - Gen. Douglas MacArthur at West Point: "Duty, Honor, Country"

May 12, 1962 - General Douglas MacArthur received the Sylvanus Thayer Award “for outstanding service to the nation” in ceremonies today...

May 12, 2022

President Kennedy Orders Marines to Thailand

May 12, 1962 - President Kennedy ordered today that U.S. naval, air, and land forces, including a battle group of 1,800 marines, move...

Apr 24, 2022

Kennedy To Issue Executive Order Making Soldiers in Vietnam Eligible for Purple Heart

Apr. 24, 1962 - U.S. soldiers wounded in the fighting in Vietnam will receive the Purple Heart. President Kennedy will issue within the...

Apr 14, 2022

President Watches Military Demonstration in North Carolina

Apr. 14, 1962 - President Kennedy watched a demonstration of the Atlantic Fleet’s air and sea power today off the coast of North...

Apr 11, 2022

President Kennedy Announces August Release of Military Reservists

Apr. 11, 1962 - President Kennedy announced today that all military reservists who were called to active duty in the Berlin crisis last...

Feb 23, 2022

Iwo Jima Flag-Raising Reenactment in Times Square

Feb. 23, 1962 - Six marines this morning staged a Times Square reenactment of the flag-raising scene on Iwo Jima 17 years ago during...

Jan 26, 2022

General MacArthur Celebrates 82nd Birthday

Jan. 26, 1962 - General of the Army Douglas MacArthur celebrated his 82nd birthday in New York today, saying that he had “reached an age...

Jan 26, 2022

Extended-Tour Army Men To Be Released by July

Jan. 26, 1962 - Secretary of the Army Elvis J. Stahr Jr. (pictured far right) told Congress today that regular Army men whose duty tours...

Jan 11, 2022

U.S. B-52H Super-bomber Breaks World Record

Jan. 11, 1962 - A United States Air Force B-52H superbomber equipped for launching missiles broke a world record today by flying 12,519...

Jan 4, 2022

General Shoup: Marines Need to Toughen Up

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...

Dec 11, 2021

U.S. Army Helicopters Arrive in South Vietnam

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 3, 2021

Uncle Sam Poster Makes Another Comeback

Dec. 3, 1961 - The Army is reviving the famous World War I poster of Uncle Sam pointing sternly at the viewer with the legend, “I Want...

Nov 15, 2021

VIDEO: "Survival Stresses"

Nov. 15, 1961 - “Survival Stresses,” a training film produced by the U.S. Air Force, is designed to introduce servicemen to the stresses...

Nov 10, 2021

Texas Congressman Says U.S. has up to 40,000 Nukes

Nov. 10, 1961 - The United States has 35,000 to 40,000 nuclear weapons in its stockpile, equivalent to 35 billion tons of TNT,...

Nov 2, 2021

General Walker Resigns from Army

Nov. 2, 1961 - Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker made known today his decision to resign from the Army. The general was formally admonished and...

Oct 14, 2021

U.S. Conducts Largest Air-Defense Maneuvers in History

Oct. 14, 1961 - The largest air-defense maneuvers ever held in the Western world were concluded early today. For 12 hours, from 1 p.m....

Sep 26, 2021

Gen. Robert L. Eichelberger Dead at 75, Commanded Eighth Army

Sept. 26, 1961 - General Robert L. Eichelberger (pictured in New Guinea during World War II), retired American commander of the Eighth...

Sep 7, 2021

Admiral Ramsey, Former Commander of Pacific Fleet, Dead at 72

Sept. 7, 1961 - Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, former commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, died today in the Philadelphia Naval...

Aug 25, 2021

Pentagon Orders 76,500 Reservists to Active Duty

Aug. 25, 1961 - The Pentagon today ordered to active duty 76,500 members of the reserve military forces - 46,500 in the Army, 23,600 in...

Aug 14, 2021

Big Jump in Military Enlistments and Applications in U.S.

Aug. 14, 1961 - Recruiting offices for the armed services reported today that heavy increases in enlistments and applications had...