Video: 'Gerald Ford: Mayaguez Incident'
(Thursday, May 15, 1975, 6:12 a.m. ICT; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang today and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez in the last official battle of the Vietnam War.
All 40 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia; some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the operation, including 23 when their helicopter crashed due to a mechanical failure.
(Saturday, May 14, 1955) — “Unchained Melody” by Les Baxter was the #2 song on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for six weeks.
(Saturday, May 14, 1955) — “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets (featuring the late Danny Cedrone on the electric guitar solo), widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world, debuted at #22 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores top 30 chart.
(Saturday, May 14, 1955, during the Cold War) — Representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact, a collective defense treaty to counter NATO, today in Poland. The Pact was dissolved in July 1991.
