Category Archives: Cold War

North Vietnamese gunboats fire on USS Maddox in Gulf of Tonkin incident 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 2 1964)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Part 4 LBJ Goes to War 1964 65' (Gulf of Tonkin incident at 11:46)

(Sunday, August 2, 1964, 4:08 p.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Three North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats from the 135th Torpedo Squadron fired torpedoes and 37-mm. shells at the destroyer USS Maddox today as U.S. forces conducted covert amphibious operations about 30 miles off North Vietnam in became known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Continue reading North Vietnamese gunboats fire on USS Maddox in Gulf of Tonkin incident 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 2 1964) →

Senator Joseph McCarthy’s ‘cruelty’ and ‘recklessness’ assailed during hearing: ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir?’ 70 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 9 1954)

1950s, Cold War


Video: '"Have You No Decency?" | McCarthy | American Experience | PBS'

(Wednesday, June 9, 1954; during the Second Red Scare) — During the Senate-Army Hearings, Army special counsel Joseph N. Welch berated U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy today for verbally attacking a member of Welch’s law firm, Fred Fisher, asking McCarthy: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” Continue reading Senator Joseph McCarthy’s ‘cruelty’ and ‘recklessness’ assailed during hearing: ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir?’ 70 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 9 1954) →

Vietnamese insurgents overrun French forces at Dien Bien Phu 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 7 1954)

1950s, Cold War, First Indochina War


Video: 'Why France Lost The Battle of Dien Bien Phu 1954 (4K Documentary)' (May 7, 1954, at 17:02)

(Friday, May 7, 1954, 5:30 p.m. local time; during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, part of the First Indochina War) — The 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu, fought in Vietnam between the French Union’s colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries, ended this afternoon when rebel Viet Minh forces overran the French stronghold of Dien Bien Phu, bringing about the end of French control in Indochina and creating the division of Vietnam. Continue reading Vietnamese insurgents overrun French forces at Dien Bien Phu 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 7 1954) →

CBS newsman Edward Murrow condemns McCarthyism with epic TV commentary 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 9 1954)

1950s, Cold War, Television 1950s


Video: 'See It Now (CBS) - 1954-03-09'

(Tuesday, March 9, 1954, 10:30 p.m. EST; during the Second Red Scare) — CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s anti-communism campaign on tonight’s edition of See It Now. Continue reading CBS newsman Edward Murrow condemns McCarthyism with epic TV commentary 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 9 1954) →

‘99 Luftballons’ by Nena peaks at #2 in USA 40 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 3 1984)

1980s, Cold War, Popular Music 1980s

(Saturday, March 3, 1984) — “99 Luftballons” by Nena at #2 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for one week. Continue reading ‘99 Luftballons’ by Nena peaks at #2 in USA 40 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 3 1984) →

‘Dr. Strangelove’ black comedy film opens in Manhattan 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 1964)

1960s, Cold War, Movies 1960s


Video: 'Dr. Strangelove' (trailer)

(Wednesday, January 29, 1964, 10:30 a.m. EST) — Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a British-American black comedy film which satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, opened this morning at the Victoria, 1547 Broadway (at W. 46th St.), in Manhattan. Continue reading ‘Dr. Strangelove’ black comedy film opens in Manhattan 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 1964) →

President John F. Kennedy denounces Soviet arrest of U.S. professor in what would turn out to be his 64th and last press conference 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 14 1963)

1960s, Cold War, Television 1960s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'President John F. Kennedy's 64th News Conference, November 14, 1963'

(Thursday, November 14, 1963, 11:00-11:30 a.m. EST; during the Cold War) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy asserted forcefully today that Yale Prof. Frederick C. Barghoorn was “innocent of any intelligence mission” in the Soviet Union and demanded his prompt release. Continue reading President John F. Kennedy denounces Soviet arrest of U.S. professor in what would turn out to be his 64th and last press conference 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 14 1963) →

1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état begins 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 1 1963)

1960s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Nov. 2, 1963 | CBS Special Report on Vietnam: "Death of a Regime"' (aired Sunday, Nov. 3, 1963 at 10:30 EST)

(Friday, November 1, 1963, 1:30 p.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état, part of the Buddhist crisis of the Vietnam War) — The 1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état in which President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother and advisor Ngo Dinh Nhu were deposed by a group of CIA-backed Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with Diem’s handling of the Buddhist crisis and the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong threat to South Vietnam, began today when three marine battalions of South Vietnam initiated their seizure of communications throughout the capital city, taking control of the city’s radio stations, national and municipal police stations, and the public and Defense Ministry telecommunications centers. Continue reading 1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état begins 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 1 1963) →

U.S. troops invade tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 25 1983)

1980s, Cold War


Video: 'NBC News Special Reports: October 25, 1983'

(Tuesday, October 25, 1983, 5:00 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time; during United States invasion of Grenada, part of the Cold War) — U.S. troops, supported by six Caribbean nations, invaded the tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada today, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order to the country, 100 miles north of Venezuela. Continue reading U.S. troops invade tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 25 1983) →

OPEC retaliates for U.S. support of Israel in Yom Kippur War with oil embargo 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 17 1973)

1970s, Cold War


Video: 'The 1973 Oil Crisis' (Oct. 17, 1973, at 2:34)

(Wednesday, October 17, 1973 evening local time; during the 1973 oil crisis and the Yom Kippur War,  part of the Arab–Israeli conflict, the Cold War, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict) — Eleven Arab nations in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War, announcing tonight that they would cut their oil production by five percent every month until Israel agrees to withdraw completely from its occupied territories. Continue reading OPEC retaliates for U.S. support of Israel in Yom Kippur War with oil embargo 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 17 1973) →