1960s Timeline

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Feb 8, 2022

President Kennedy Picks General Harkins to Head Vietnam Command

Feb. 8, 1962 - The U.S. established a new military command in Communist-threatened South Vietnam today and named a four-star general to...

Feb 7, 2022

U.S. Military Personnel Pour Into South Vietnam

Feb. 7, 1962 - Two U.S. Army air support companies totaling 300 men arrived in Saigon today from the plains of Kansas to bolster South...

Feb 6, 2022

U.S. Army Helicopters Take Fire from Viet Cong

Feb. 6, 1962 - One U.S. Army helicopter crashed and burned, and two others were hit by Communist Viet Cong guerrilla fire today on an...

Feb 4, 2022

South Vietnamese Troops Hit Reds With Assist from U.S. Air Force Helicopter Company

Feb. 4, 1962 - A U.S. Air Force helicopter company carrying Vietnamese troops routed Communist forces today around the village of Hung...

Feb 2, 2022

VIDEO: President Kennedy's Message to the People of South Vietnam

Feb. 1962 | President Kennedy filmed a New Year's message to the people of South Vietnam, calling their struggle against Communist...

Feb 1, 2022

President Kennedy's New Year's Message to South Vietnam

Feb. 1, 1962 - President Kennedy told the people of South Vietnam today that the prospects for peace in their country “will brighten...

Jan 27, 2022

U.S. Pilots Deliver Food and Ammunition to Isolated South Vietnamese Troops

Jan. 27, 1962 - U.S. pilots are risking their lives dropping live pigs and chickens to starving South Vietnamese troops at army outposts...

Jan 24, 2022

General Rosson Will Head "Special Warfare" Unit

Jan. 24, 1962 - The Army assigned its youngest general today to responsibility for directing the ground force’s expanding efforts in...

Jan 18, 2022

Defoliation Efforts Begin in Vietnam

Jan. 18, 1962 - United States planes have sprayed jungle growth along the Saigon-Saint Jacques road in South Vietnam to remove foliage...

Jan 17, 2022

Viet Cong Make Gains with Peasant Population

Jan. 17, 1962 - Despite considerable improvement in its information and propaganda services, the South Vietnamese Government is losing...

Jan 12, 2022

McNamara to Fly to Hawaii for Vietnam Conference

Jan. 12, 1962 - Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) will fly to Hawaii Sunday for a day-long conference Monday on the...

Jan 11, 2022

Defoliation Plan for Vietnam on Temporary Hold

Jan. 11, 1962 - A plan by U.S. officials to “defoliate” trees and bushes in South Vietnam with a chemical sprayed from planes as a means...

Jan 9, 2022

Kennedy Administration Sees Long Struggle Ahead in South Vietnam

Jan. 9, 1962 - The Kennedy Administration believes there is a fairly good chance of saving South Vietnam from communism, but it foresees...

Jan 6, 2022

American Killed by Viet Cong Sniper in Saigon

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

Jan 4, 2022

U.S. Seeks to Boost Diem Regime in South Vietnam

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

Dec 31, 2021

South Vietnam To Use New Techniques to Attack Reds

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, 2021

G.I. Kidnapped in Vietnam is Still Alive

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

Dec 29, 2021

U.S. Military Personnel Told to Stay Within Saigon City Limits

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

Dec 28, 2021

U.S. Army Sergeant Believed Kidnapped by Viet Cong

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, 2021

U.S. Army Helicopter Crashes Near Saigon

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