1960s Timeline

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Jul 24, 2022

Secretary McNamara in Meetings on Vietnam

July 24, 1962 - Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara says the South Vietnamese are “beginning to hit the Viet Cong insurgents where it...

Jul 23, 2022

Secretary McNamara Cautiously Optimistic on Vietnam

July 23, 1962 - Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara has predicted eventual victory for the West in South Vietnam. “It will take years...

Jul 20, 2022

Government Forces Launch Major Attack in South Vietnam

July 20, 1962 - South Vietnamese Government forces swooped down on the Communist-controlled Plain of Reeds 60 miles west of Saigon today....

Jul 19, 2022

South Vietnamese Troops Launch New Phase of War

July 19, 1962 - At least 1,000 Government troops were landed yesterday and Tuesday about 35 miles north of Saigon by U.S. and Vietnamese...

Jul 18, 2022

Four U.S. Airmen Found Alive in South Vietnam

July 18, 1962 - Four U.S. airmen, missing since their transport plane crashed into a South Vietnamese jungle mountainside Sunday, were...

Jul 15, 2022

U.S. Army Helicopter Shot Down by Viet Cong

July 15, 1962 - A U.S. Army helicopter with five Americans and two Vietnamese aboard was shot down by Communist insurgents today. It...

Jul 14, 2022

Viet Cong Guerrillas Launch Major Ambush

July 14, 1962 - Several hundred Viet Cong guerrillas ambushed a large convoy of Government troops along a main road 40 miles north of...

Jul 8, 2022

(VIDEO) Secretary of State Dean Rusk on Vietnam

July 8, 1962 - Dean Rusk addresses reports out of Vietnam indicating that the war against Communist guerrillas is not going well....

Jul 7, 2022

Military Advisors in Vietnam Learn Hard Lessons on Weaponry

July 7, 1962 - United States military advisors in South Vietnam are learning some hard but useful lessons about U.S. weapons of war. The...

Jul 6, 2022

Secretary McNamara Encouraged by Developments in Vietnam

July 6, 1962 - Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara expressed optimism today that the tide of military developments in South Vietnam...

Jul 3, 2022

JFK Remarks to Special Seminar of Foreign Service Institute

July 3, 1962 - Here are President Kennedy’s remarks at the White House today to members of a special anti-insurgency seminar run by the...

Jun 30, 2022

Communist China Supplying Viet Cong with Weapons

June 30, 1962 - The South Vietnamese Government charged today that new weapons from Communist China had been given to Communist Viet Cong...

Jun 29, 2022

South Vietnamese Paratroopers Attack Viet Cong in Key Rebel Stronghold

June 29, 1962 - In one of the largest combined operations yet against Communist guerrillas, South Vietnamese paratroopers were dropped...

Jun 28, 2022

Released Prisoner of Viet Cong Describes Ordeal

June 28, 1962 - Specialist George F. Fryett Jr., the U.S. soldier who was released four days ago after he had been a prisoner of the Viet...

Jun 27, 2022

Three-Day Offensive Against Viet Cong Yields Meager Results

June 27, 1962 - A three-day land, sea, and air offensive against Communist guerrillas in the coastal area 50 miles south of Saigon ended...

Jun 24, 2022

Viet Cong Release U.S. Prisoner

June 24, 1962 - A U.S. soldier was released today by Communist guerrillas who had held him captive six months. He told military...

Jun 23, 2022

More Intelligence on Captured American Missionaries in Vietnam

June 23, 1962 - Three American missionaries who were kidnapped by Communist guerrillas May 30 are being used to treat the wounded and to...

Jun 21, 2022

Three Captured American Missionaries Spotted in South Vietnam

June 21, 1962 - Three American missionaries kidnapped by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam have been seen alive but are still captives, the...

Jun 18, 2022

Second U.S. Officer Killed by Viet Cong Identified

June 18, 1962 - The second of the two U.S. Army officers killed in a Communist Viet Cong ambush Saturday in South Vietnam was identified...

Jun 16, 2022

Two U.S. Army Officers Killed in Viet Cong Attack

June 16, 1962 - Two U.S. Army officers were slain this morning when Communist guerrillas ambushed an armored convoy 35 miles north of...