Category Archives: Vietnam War

President Richard Nixon ends U.S. ‘Christmas Bombings’ of North Vietnam after Hanoi agrees to negotiate 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 30 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Wings over Vietnam - Part VIII of VIII - Linebacker II'

(Saturday, December 30, 1972, 9:45 a.m. EST; during Operation Linebacker II, part of the Vietnam War — part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The White House announced today that President Richard Nixon had ordered a halt to “The Christmas Bombing” of North Vietnam above the 20th Parallel after the North Vietnamese agreed to resume negotiations for a settlement in Paris on Jan. 8, 1973. Continue reading President Richard Nixon ends U.S. ‘Christmas Bombings’ of North Vietnam after Hanoi agrees to negotiate 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 30 1972) →

Massive U.S. ‘Christmas Bombings’ of North Vietnam begin 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 18 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Wings over Vietnam - Part VIII of VIII - Linebacker II'

(Monday, December 18, 1972, 7:45 p.m. Indochina Time; during Operation Linebacker II, part of the Vietnam War — part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Operation Linebacker II, described more generally as The Christmas Bombings — an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. forces against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) during the final period of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War — began this evening as the first wave of 129 B-52 bombers attacked the Yen Vien railroad yards. Continue reading Massive U.S. ‘Christmas Bombings’ of North Vietnam begin 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 18 1972) →

Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated on National Mall in Washington, D.C. 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 13 1982)

1980s, Vietnam War


Video: '1982 Vietnam War Memorial Dedication, Washington DC - CBS Evening News - November 13'

(Saturday, November 13, 1982, ceremony scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EST) — Thousands of flag-waving Americans gave Vietnam veterans a belated welcome home Saturday as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War, was dedicated today (click here to watch the dedication ceremony). Continue reading Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated on National Mall in Washington, D.C. 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 13 1982) →

South Vietnamese forces recapture Quang Tri from North Vietnamese 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 15 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - Vietnamizing the War [7/11]' (Sept. 15, 1972, at 47:22)

(Friday, September 15, 1972, 5:00 p.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — South Vietnam’s Army of the Republic of Vietnam defeated the People’s Army of Vietnam today at the ancient citadel of Quang Tri, ending North Vietnam’s three-plus month occupation of South Vietnam’s northernmost provincial capital and the Second Battle of Quang Tri. Continue reading South Vietnamese forces recapture Quang Tri from North Vietnamese 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 15 1972) →

Iconic image of naked and severely burned Vietnamese girl fleeing napalm bombing captured 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 8 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'The Harrowing Story of Napalm Girl'

(Thursday, June 8, 1972, shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Associated Press photographer Nick Ut took a picture today of a screaming 9-year-old girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, as she ran naked and severely burned on her back after a South Vietnamese Air Force jet dropped a napalm bomb onto the village of Trang Bàng, which had been attacked and occupied by North Vietnamese forces. Continue reading Iconic image of naked and severely burned Vietnamese girl fleeing napalm bombing captured 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 8 1972) →

U.S. President Richard Nixon asks Congress to approve missile pact with Soviet Union following dramatic return from Moscow 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 1 1972)

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


Video: 'WATERGATE AFFAIR BBC DOKUMENTATION 1994' (June 1, 1972, at 49:13)

(Thursday June 1, 1972, 9:40 p.m. EDT, during the Cold War) — U.S. President Richard Nixon returned to Washington tonight from his two-week tour of four nations and told a joint session of Congress that his trip to Moscow had laid the basis for “a new relationship between the two most powerful nations on earth.” Continue reading U.S. President Richard Nixon asks Congress to approve missile pact with Soviet Union following dramatic return from Moscow 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 1 1972) →

President Nixon orders mining of North Vietnamese ports to reduce flow of arms to enemy armies 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 8 1972)

1970s, Vietnam War


Video: 'President Richard Nixon Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia, May 8, 1972'

(Monday, May 8, 1972, 9:00 p.m. EDT/Tuesday, May 9, 1972, 9:00 a.m. Saigon Standard Time; Operation Pocket Money, during the Easter Offensive, part of the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Indochina Wars) — In a nationally televised address, U.S. President Richard Nixon announced tonight that the United States would lay mines in North Vietnam’s harbors in order to stop further supply of weapons and material. Continue reading President Nixon orders mining of North Vietnamese ports to reduce flow of arms to enemy armies 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 8 1972) →

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) →