May 16

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
First Academy Awards ceremony, 1929
American Revolution
Georgia Patriot Button Gwinnett receives fatal wound in duel, 1777
Automotive
GM dedicates new technical center, 1956
Civil War
Union wins the Battle of Champion Hill, 1863
Cold War
U.S.-Soviet summit meeting collapses, 1960
Crime
A nurse steals another woman's unborn baby, 1975
Disaster
New York City establishes hospital for cholera victims, 1849
General Interest
Louis marries Marie Antoinette, 1770
Warsaw Ghetto uprising ends, 1943
Protests mount in France, 1968
Japanese woman scales Everest, 1975
Hollywood
First Academy Awards ceremony, 1929
Literary
Voltaire is imprisoned in the Bastille, 1717
Music
Mary Wells gives Motown Records its first #1 hit with "My Guy", 1964
Old West
Outlaw Dick Fellows is released, 1881
Presidential
Senate acquits Johnson of high crimes and misdemeanors, 1868
Sports
Magic plays center as a rookie, wins championship, 1980
Vietnam War
Accident at Bien Hoa kills 27 U.S. servicemen, 1965
Navy Corpsman receives Medal of Honor for action, 1968
U.S. bombing destroys main fuel line, 1972
World War I
U.S. Congress passes Sedition Act, 1918
World War II
As Brits launch Operation Chastise, Germans launch Operation Gypsy Baron, 1943

Vietnam War

May 16, 1965:

Accident at Bien Hoa kills 27 U.S. servicemen

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What is described by the United States government as "an accidental explosion of a bomb on one aircraft which spread to others" at the Bien Hoa air base leaves 27 U.S. servicemen and 4 South Vietnamese dead and some 95 Americans injured. More than 40 U.S. and South Vietnamese planes, including 10 B-57s, were destroyed.

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This Week in History, May 16 - May 22

May 16, 1965
Accident at Bien Hoa kills 27 U.S. servicemen
May 16, 1968
Navy Corpsman receives Medal of Honor for action
May 16, 1972
U.S. bombing destroys main fuel line
May 17, 1970
Operations continue in Cambodia
May 17, 1972
South Vietnamese reinforcements near An Loc
May 18, 1966
Laird charges
May 18, 1969
Communists attack Xuan Loc
May 19, 1964
U.S. Air Force begins Operation Yankee Team
May 19, 1972
South Vietnamese fight to open road to An Loc
May 20, 1953
French see "light at the end of the tunnel" in Vietnam
May 20, 1969
Kennedy criticizes the "Hamburger Hill" battle
May 21, 1969
Military spokesman defends "Hamburger Hill"
May 22, 1964
Rusk warns North Vietnamese
May 22, 1969
Negotiators differ on diplomatic exchange

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