1960s Timeline

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Feb 19, 2022

McNamara: "Long, Hard Struggle" in Vietnam

Feb. 19, 1962 - Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara said today that the South Vietnam war “seems to be stabilized,” but that guerrilla...

Feb 17, 2022

GOP Wants Answers on Vietnam

Feb. 17, 1962 - The Republicans charged again today that President Kennedy was hiding the extent of U.S. involvement in South Vietnam....

Feb 16, 2022

Washington Officials: Defeat of Viet Cong Could Take 10 Years

Feb. 16, 1962 - Washington officials predicted today the ultimate defeat of the Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam by the Government...

Feb 15, 2022

Ambassador Nolting Bids South Vietnamese Stop Criticizing Government

Feb. 15, 1962 - Frederick E. Nolting, Ambassador to South Vietnam, said today that social, economic and political reforms in South...

Feb 14, 2022

President Says He's Being as "Frank as Possible" on Vietnam

Feb. 14, 1962 - Responding to criticism, President Kennedy said today he was being as frank as possible about U.S. involvement in the war...

Feb 13, 2022

U.S. Destroyer Escorts Arriving in Vietnam

Feb. 13, 1962 - United States destroyer escorts will arrive at Danang in South Vietnam this week to bolster the South Vietnamese Navy’s...

Feb 13, 2022

GOP Wants "Full Report" on Vietnam from Kennedy

Feb. 13, 1962 - The Republican National Committee called on President Kennedy today to “make a full report to the American people” on...

Feb 11, 2022

Katu Tribe Sets Poison Traps in Vietnam

Feb. 11, 1962 - U.S. military personnel on reconnaissance in central Vietnam have run into hostile aborigines, belonging to the Katu...

Feb 11, 2022

Washington Officials See Mounting Danger in Vietnam

Feb. 11, 1962 - What President Kennedy has called the “increasing ferocity” of the war in South Vietnam and the increasing involvement of...

Feb 9, 2022

U.S. Build-Up in South Vietnam Continues

Feb. 9, 1962 - The decision announced yesterday to set up a new U.S. command in Saigon under a full general is said to be a result of the...

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...

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 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...