1960s Timeline

May 15, 1962 - South Vietnam will not request American combat troops at this stage of the Southeast Asian crisis, a high American source...

May 13, 1962 - United States helicopters carried more than 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers into the marshlands of the Mekong Delta...

May 12, 1962 - A small Communist force blew up a troop train Thursday in central Vietnam, causing heavy Vietnamese losses. Today, other...

May 11, 1962 - United States aid to South Vietnam has reached a peak and will start to level off, Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara...

May 9, 1962 - Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (hatless at center) said today that there is no plan for introducing American...

May 9, 1962 - Australia announced today that she was prepared to give token military and civilian aid to embattled South Vietnam. The...

May 6, 1962 - Authoritative military sources said yesterday that there had been more than 16,000 casualties this year in South Vietnam’s...

May 3, 1962 - United States Army and Marine helicopters carried South Vietnamese troops today to the edge of Plaine des Jones, a marshy...

May 2, 1962 - Two American sergeants denied today they ever begged for clemency during 22 days of captivity among the Viet Cong. The...

May 1, 1962 - Two U.S. Army sergeants captured by the Viet Cong more than three weeks ago were freed today by their captors. The...

Apr. 30, 1962 - George W. Ball (pictured), Under Secretary of State, warned today that the war against the Communist Viet Cong in South...

Apr. 28, 1962 - The U.S. Special Forces are arming, training, and organizing the Rhade tribesmen of South Vietnam into a surprisingly...

Apr. 27, 1962 - The Chinese Communists are said to be stepping up their military advisory program in North Vietnam to counter the...

Apr. 25, 1962 - Vietnamese Rangers and the Civil Guard, with help from U.S. Marines, dealt a major blow today to Communist insurgents in...

Apr. 24, 1962 - South Vietnamese troops, backed by American air support, killed 69 Communist guerrillas today in a running battle 34...

Apr. 23, 1962 - An American sergeant wounded in the leg by Communist fire has been denied the Purple Heart. Although the incident was two...

Apr. 18, 1962 - The Communist insurgents (pictured) are still winning most of the clashes in the arc of South Vietnamese provinces from...

Apr. 16, 1962 - United States Marines awaited their first action today in the intensified war against Communist guerrillas in South...

Apr. 15, 1962 - Another indication of deepening U.S. involvement in South Vietnam’s campaign against the Communist guerrillas called the...

Apr. 15, 1962 - A U.S. Marine helicopter unit landed in Vietnam today. The Marines will be based at Soc Trang, capital of Ba Xuyen...