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8 March 1965 - 24 December 1965 | |||||||||
8 Mar 65 |
The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam as 3,500
Marines land at China Beach to defend the American air base at Da Nang.
They join 23,000 American military advisors already in Vietnam.
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8 Mar 65
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3,500 Marines Ordered to Viet | ||||||||
8 Mar 65
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Dockers Go Back to Work | ||||||||
8 Mar 65
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Exercise Points Up Gun Gap | ||||||||
9 Mar 65 |
President Johnson authorizes the use of Napalm, a petroleum
based anti-personnel bomb that showers hundreds of explosive pellets upon
impact.
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11 Mar 65 |
Operation Market Time, a joint effort between the U.S.
Navy and South Vietnamese Navy, commences to disrupt North Vietnamese
sea routes used to funnel supplies into the South. The operation is highly
successful in cutting off coastal supply lines and results in the North
Vietnamese shifting to the more difficult land route along the Ho Chi
Minh trail.
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20 Mar 65
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Russ Takes 'Walk' From Orbiting Ship | ||||||||
20 Mar 65
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Wallace Asks U.S. Officers to Shield Marchers | ||||||||
20 Mar 65
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U.S.-Thai Units Begin Push on Foe | ||||||||
20 Mar 65
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20 Pupils Killed in Bombing of Red Cave | ||||||||
29 Mar 65 |
Viet Cong terrorists bomb the U.S. embassy in Saigon.
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31 Mar 65
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Embassy Hit; Saigon Building Ripped By Bomb; Americans Amongst Heavy Casualties | ||||||||
31 Mar 65
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Wallace to Meet Marchers | ||||||||
31 Mar 65
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Navy Jets Attack Red Radar Base | ||||||||
1 Apr 65 |
President Johnson authorizes two more Marine battalions
and up to 20,000 logistical personnel. The President authorized American
combat troops to conduct patrols in the countryside. His decision to allow
offensive operations is kept secret from the American press and public
for two months.
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7 Apr 65 |
President Johnson delivers his "Peace Without Conquest"
Speech at Johns Hopkins University offering Hanoi "unconditional discussions"
to stop the war in return for massive economic assistance in modernizing
Vietnam. "Old Ho can't turn that down," Johnson privately tells his aides.
But Johnson's peace overture is quickly rejected.
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9 Apr 65
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Ready For Viet Talks - Johnson Proposes $1 Bill. S.E. Asia Aid | ||||||||
15 Apr 65 |
A thousand tons of bombs are dropped on Viet Cong positions
by U.S. and South Vietnamese fighter-bombers
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17 Apr 65 |
In Washington, 15,000 students gather to protest U.S.
bombing.
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20 Apr 65 |
Johnson's top military and civilian aides meet in Honolulu
and agree to recommend to the President sending 40,000 more troops to
Vietnam.
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24 Apr 65 |
President Johnson announces Americans in Vietnam are eligible
for combat pay.
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3 May 65 |
The first U.S. Army combat troops, the 3,500 strong 173rd
Airborne Brigade, arrive in Vietnam from their base in Okinawa.
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11 May 65 |
Viet Cong over-run ARVN troops in Phuoc Long Province
north of Saigon and also attack in central South Vietnam.
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13 May 65 |
The U.S. calls the first unilateral bombing pause in the
hope that Hanoi will now negotiate. There will be six more pauses during
the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign, all with same intention. However,
each time, the North Vietnamese ignore the peace overtures and instead
use the pause to repair air defenses and send more troops and supplies
down the Ho Chi Minh trail.
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13 May 65 |
Viet Cong attack the U.S. special forces camp in Phuoc
Long. During the fighting, 2nd Lt. Charles Williams, although wounded
four times, knocks out a Viet Cong machine-gun and then guiding rescue
helicopters, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor.
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19 May 65 |
U.S. bombing of North Vietnam resumes.
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28 May 65
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Russian Missile Sites Going Up in North: Rusk | ||||||||
28 May 65
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American Dies, 1 Lost in Ambush | ||||||||
29 May 65
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Pound Vietnam Coast - Navy Guns Open Fire | ||||||||
29 May 65
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Kill 85 VC Near Danang | ||||||||
29 May 65
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New Strife in Bolivia | ||||||||
2 Jun 65
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2 Hanoi Battalions Reported in South | ||||||||
2 Jun 65
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Gemini-4 Gets A Green Light | ||||||||
2 Jun 65
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8 M.I.G.S Flee U.S. F-105s | ||||||||
10 Jun 65
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Finest U.S. Space Hour - Astronauts Feel Fine | ||||||||
10 Jun 65
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U.S. Steps Up Combat Role | ||||||||
10 Jun 65
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Stock Market Tumbles in U.S. | ||||||||
15 Jun 65
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Dong Xoai Area - U.S. Troops Move in | ||||||||
15 Jun 65
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Off Australia - U.S. Skipper, All-Girl Crew Rescued As Ship Rams Ketch | ||||||||
15 Jun 65
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3 Marines Die, 19 Hurt in Blast | ||||||||
18 Jun 65 |
Nguyen Cao Ky takes power in South Vietnam as the new
prime minister with Nguyen Van Thieu functioning as official chief of
state. They lead the 10th government in 20 months.
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27 Jun 65
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Terror Bombs Rip Saigon Restaurant; 25 Killed, 33 Hurt | ||||||||
27 Jun 65
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84 Killed in MATS Crash | ||||||||
27 Jun 65
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Viet Cong Execute U.S. Army Sergeant | ||||||||
27 Jun 65
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L.B.J. Calls on U.N. For Peace Efforts | ||||||||
1 Jul 65 |
Viet Cong destroy three aircraft in a mortar attack on
Danang air base.
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1 Jul 65
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U.S., Aussie Troops Join Viet Cong Hunt | ||||||||
1 Jul 65
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4 Marines Killed, 9 Injured in Chu Lai, Danang Action | ||||||||
1 Jul 65
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Okinawa Payroll Looted | ||||||||
8 Jul 65 |
Henry Cabot Lodge is reappointed as U.S. ambassador to
South Vietnam.
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28 Jul 65 |
President Johnson announces to the press he will send
44 combat battalions to Vietnam increasing the U.S. military presence
to 125,000 men. Monthly draft calls are doubled to 35,000.
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30 Jul 65
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Add 50,000 Troops, Double Draft Call | ||||||||
30 Jul 65
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L.B.J. Picks Fortas For High Court | ||||||||
31 Jul 65
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3,700 Paratroops Arrive in Vietnam | ||||||||
31 Jul 65
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Combat Pay Hike Proposed | ||||||||
31 Jul 65
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Marine Assault Kills 552 VC, Wounds 1,000 | ||||||||
3 Aug 65 |
After seven Marines were killed nearby, film crews record
a Marine company destroying suspected Viet Cong villages near Danang.
CBS TV shows the film and generates controversy in America.
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4 Aug 65 |
President Johnson asks Congress for an additional $1.7
billion for the war.
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5 Aug 65 |
Viet Cong destroy two million gallons of fuel in storage
tanks near Danang.
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8 Aug 65 |
Major air strikes are conducted against the VC.
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18-24 Aug 65 |
Marines conduct Operation Starlight as a preemptive strike
against 1,500 VC planning to assault the American airfield at Chu Lai.
614 VC are killed and 9 captured, with 45 Marines killed and 120 wounded.
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21 Aug 65
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VC Batter Armored Supply Column | ||||||||
31 Aug 65 |
A law is signed making draft card burning a criminal act
subject to a five year prison sentence and $1,000 fine.
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28 Sep 65
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Paratroops Find Russ Rifles - Marines Sweep Peninsula | ||||||||
28 Sep 65
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Twins Win The Pennant | ||||||||
28 Sep 65
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Report 2 Advisers Executed | ||||||||
28 Sep 65
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New Fighting Erupts Over Kashmir | ||||||||
7 Oct 65
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Viet Cong Hide Behind Children, Then Shoot Them | ||||||||
7 Oct 65
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Senate Okays $3 Billion For Foreign Aid | ||||||||
7 Oct 65
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U.S. Plane Shot Down, Peking Says | ||||||||
16 Oct 65 |
Anti-war rallies occur in 40 American cities and in international
cities including London and Rome.
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19 Oct 65 |
North Vietnamese Army troops attack the U.S. Special Forces
camp at Plei Me in a prelude to the Battle of Ia Drang Valley.
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27 Oct 65
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Plei Me Siege Broken By Viet, 1st Cav. Troops | ||||||||
27 Oct 65
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No Joy, No Joy,' Gemini Fails | ||||||||
27 Oct 65
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Hershey Calls Pacifist Program A Flop | ||||||||
30 Oct 65 |
Led by five Medal of Honor winners, 25,000 march in Washington
in support of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
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13 Nov 65
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Johnson Okays Hike in Vietnam Troops | ||||||||
13 Nov 65
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Rhodesia Pulls Out, Britain Retaliate | ||||||||
13 Nov 65
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Air Strikes Batter VC Force | ||||||||
14-16 Nov 65 |
The Battle of Ia Drang Valley marks the first major battle
between U.S. troops and North Vietnamese Army regulars (NVA) inside South
Vietnam. American Army troops of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
respond to the NVA threat by using helicopters to fly directly into the
battle zone. Upon landing, the troops quickly disembark then engage in
fierce fire fights, supported by heavy artillery and B-52 air strikes,
marking the first use of B-52s to assist combat troops. The two-day battle
ends with some 2,000 NVA KIA and the NVA retreating. 79 Americans are
killed and 121 wounded.
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17 Nov 65 |
400 soldiers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry moving to Landing
Zone 'Albany' for extraction are ambushed by NVA troops who survived the
Ia Drang battle. 155 Americans are kiled and 124 wounded.
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18 Nov 65
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Cav. Kills 869 Reds | ||||||||
18 Nov 65
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Rice, Foodstuffs - Cambodians Aid VC, 3 P.W.'S Say | ||||||||
18 Nov 65
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L.B.J. to Seek Law For Negro Justice | ||||||||
18 Nov 65
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Rome Council Backs Ban on Birth Control | ||||||||
27 Nov 65 |
35,000 anti-war protesters circle the White House then
march on to the Washington Monument for a rally.
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30 Nov 65
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"Was Fight to Finish" - VC, Viet Toll High in Fiercest Battle | ||||||||
30 Nov 65
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McNamara Opens Talks in Saigon | ||||||||
30 Nov 65
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Fare' Play, U.S. Style P.I. to Send Troops to Vietnam | ||||||||
1 Dec 65
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Tide Has Turned But End Not Near, McNamara Says | ||||||||
1 Dec 65
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Humphrey Urges U.N. Peace Force | ||||||||
1 Dec 65
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U.S. Patrol Fired on Near DMZ | ||||||||
1 Dec 65
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Blast Wrecks Negro Grocery | ||||||||
4 Dec 65 |
Viet Cong terrorists bomb a Saigon hotel used by U.S.
military personnel, killing eight and wounding 137.
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4 Dec 65
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U.S. Backs Bid on Peace Talks | ||||||||
4 Dec 65
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N-Carrier Jets in 1st Strike; 2 Lost | ||||||||
4 Dec 65
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Gemini-7 Ready, Astronauts to Get Day's Grace in Space | ||||||||
4 Dec 65
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SAM Sites Blasted | ||||||||
9 Dec 65 |
The New York Times reports the U.S. is unable to stop
the flow of North Vietnamese soldiers and supplies into the South despite
extensive bombing.
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