Category Archives: Vietnam War

North Vietnamese Army captures South Vietnamese province and city of Quang Tri 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 1 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'The battle for Quang Tri Vietnam April 1972: from the archive'

(Monday, May 1, 1972, afternoon local time; in the First Battle of Quang Tri, during the Easter Offensive, part of the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Indochina Wars) — The South Vietnamese abandoned Quang Tri, their northernmost province capital, today, giving the advancing North Vietnamese their biggest prize so far in their month-old Easter Offensive invasion. Continue reading North Vietnamese Army captures South Vietnamese province and city of Quang Tri 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 1 1972) →

John Lennon & Yoko Ono appear at ‘National Peace Action Coalition Rally’ in New York 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 22 1972)

1970s, Popular Music 1970s, The Beatles 1970s, Vietnam War


Video: 'John Lennon vs. FBI & Nixon - CBS Evening News - March 22, 1983' (Apr. 22, 1972, at 0:00-0:20)

(Saturday, April 22, 1972) — Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, appeared today at an anti-war rally organized by the National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC) in New York’s Bryant Park, leading 35,000 chilled protesters in a rousing performance of Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.” Continue reading John Lennon & Yoko Ono appear at ‘National Peace Action Coalition Rally’ in New York 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 22 1972) →

North Vietnamese regulars launch Easter Offensive 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 30 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'North Vietnamese Army, NVA 1972 Easter Invasion'

(Thursday, March 30, 1972, noon Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The Easter Offensive, a military campaign conducted by the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN, the regular army of North Vietnam) against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN, the regular army of South Vietnam) and the United States military, began today when an intense artillery barrage rained down on the northernmost ARVN outposts in Quang Tri Province. Continue reading North Vietnamese regulars launch Easter Offensive 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 30 1972) →

Ray Conniff singer urges President Nixon to ‘stop the killing’ during White House performance 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 28 1972)

1970s, Popular Music 1970s, U.S. Presidents, Vietnam War


Video: ‘Nixon Protest Featuring the Ray Conniff Singers | This is the President’

(Friday, January 28, 1972, 10:50 p.m. EST; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — A young woman in a singing group caused an embarrassed moment at a formal White House dinner tonight when she waved a placard and called to President Richard Nixon to stop the bombing in Vietnam. Continue reading Ray Conniff singer urges President Nixon to ‘stop the killing’ during White House performance 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 28 1972) →

President Nixon announces 45,000 more U.S. troops will withdraw from Vietnam before Feb. 1, leaving 139,000 there as peace aid 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 12 1971)

1970s, U.S. Presidents, Vietnam War


Video: 'CBS Evening News - 1971-11-12'

(Friday, November 12, 1971, 4:02-4:09 p.m. EST; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — U.S. President Richard Nixon announced today that he would withdraw 45,000 more American soldiers from South Vietnam by Feb. 1, 1972, retaining a force of 139,000 men to strengthen his hand in seeking a negotiated settlement of the war. Continue reading President Nixon announces 45,000 more U.S. troops will withdraw from Vietnam before Feb. 1, leaving 139,000 there as peace aid 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 12 1971) →

John Lennon, Yoko Ono complete recording ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 31 1971)

1970s, Christmas, Popular Music 1970s, The Beatles 1970s, Vietnam War


Video: 'HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER). (Ultimate Mix, 2020) John & Yoko Plastic Ono Band + Harlem Community Choir'

(Sunday, October 31, 1971, afternoon/evening EST; during the Vietnam War) — Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, completed recording “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” tonight at Record Plant East in New York City, with overdubs by the Harlem Community Choir – featuring thirty children, most of them four to twelve years of age – in the afternoon and strings in the evening. Continue reading John Lennon, Yoko Ono complete recording ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 31 1971) →

‘Bring the Boys Home’ by Freda Payne peaks at #12 in USA 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 7 1971)

1970s, Popular Music 1970s, Vietnam War

(Saturday, August 7, 1971) — “Bring the Boys Home” by Freda Payne peaked at #12 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the first of two weeks. Continue reading ‘Bring the Boys Home’ by Freda Payne peaks at #12 in USA 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 7 1971) →

States ratify constitutional amendment lowering voting age to 18 for all elections 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 1 1971)

1970s, Vietnam War


Video: '26th Amendment & Voting Age - Decades TV Network'

(Thursday, July 1, 1971, morning EDT; during the Vietnam War) — The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the states and the federal government from using age as a reason for denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States who are at least eighteen years old, was ratified today as North Carolina became the 38th state to approve it, providing the necessary three-quarters majority necessary to become law. Continue reading States ratify constitutional amendment lowering voting age to 18 for all elections 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 1 1971) →

Supreme Court allows publication of top-secret ‘Pentagon Papers’ history of Vietnam War 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 30 1971)

1970s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents, Vietnam War


Video: 'Freedom of the Press: New York Times v. United States'

(Wednesday, June 30, 1971, 2:30 p.m. EDT; New York Times Co. v. United States) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers could publish articles based on the then-classified Pentagon Papers on the origins of the Vietnam War, rejecting government injunctions as unconstitutional prior restraint. Continue reading Supreme Court allows publication of top-secret ‘Pentagon Papers’ history of Vietnam War 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 30 1971) →

The New York Times begins publishing Pentagon Papers, a secret history of the Vietnam War 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 13 1971)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'The Pentagon Papers'

(Sunday June 13, 1971; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War)— The New York Times today began to publish the Pentagon Papers, a U.S. Department of Defense history of the United States’ political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967 that demonstrated, among other things, the Johnson Administration had “systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress.” Continue reading The New York Times begins publishing Pentagon Papers, a secret history of the Vietnam War 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 13 1971) →