In a televised speech to the nation, President Lyndon B. Johnson announces a partial halt of bombing missions over North Vietnam and proposes peace talks. He said he had ordered "unilaterally" a halt to air and naval bombardments of North Vietnam "except in the area north of the Demilitarized Zone, where the continuing enemy build-up directly threatens Allied forward positions." He also stated that he was sending 13,500 more troops to Vietnam and would request further defense expenditures--$2.5 billion in fiscal year 1968 and $2.6 billion in fiscal year 1969--to finance recent troop build-ups, re-equip the South Vietnamese Army, and meet "responsibilities in Korea." In closing, Johnson shocked the nation with an announcement that all but conceded that his own presidency had become another wartime casualty: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Eiffel Tower opens, 1889
- American Revolution
- Abigail Adams urges husband to "remember the ladies", 1776
- Automotive
- Knute Rockne, Studebaker namesake, dies, 1931
- Civil War
- North and South skirmish near Dinwiddie Court House, 1865
- Cold War
- Warsaw Pact ends, 1991
- Crime
- Evidence of murder is uncovered in New Mexico, 1999
- Disaster
- Mississippi River reaches peak flood level, 1973
- General Interest
- Jews to be expelled from Spain, 1492
- Treaty of Kanagawa signed with Japan, 1854
- Dalai Lama begins exile, 1959
- Hollywood
- The Matrix released, 1999
- Literary
- First installment of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens' first novel, 1836
- Music
- Oklahoma! premieres on Broadway, 1943
- Old West
- Western novelist Vardis Fisher born, 1895
- Presidential
- Abigail Adams asks her husband to "remember the ladies", 1776
- Sports
- Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden wins 10th national title, 1975
- Longest strike in Major League Baseball history ends, 1995
- Vietnam War
- Johnson publicly denies actions contemplated in Vietnam, 1965
- Johnson announces bombing halt, 1968
- Fighting intensifies with North Vietnamese offensive, 1972
- World War I
- The First Moroccan Crisis, 1905
- World War II
- Germany's Atlantis launches, 1940
Mar 31, 1968:
Johnson announces bombing halt
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
This Week in History, Mar 31 - Apr 6
- Mar 31, 1965
- Johnson publicly denies actions contemplated in Vietnam
- Mar 31, 1968
- Johnson announces bombing halt
- Mar 31, 1972
- Fighting intensifies with North Vietnamese offensive
- Apr 02, 1972
- North Vietnamese troops capture part of Quang Tri
- Apr 02, 1975
- South Vietnamese evacuation begins at Qui Nhon.
- Apr 03, 1969
- Nixon administration will "Vietnamize" the war
- Apr 03, 1972
- Nixon orders response to North Vietnamese invasion
- Apr 04, 1967
- Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks out against the war
- Apr 04, 1975
- Operation Baby Lift aircraft crashes
- Apr 05, 1969
- Antiwar demonstrations held across United States
- Apr 05, 1972
- North Vietnamese launch second front of Nguyen Hue Offensive
- Apr 06, 1965
- U.S. ground combat troops to take offensive measures
- Apr 06, 1972
- U.S. forces respond to North Vietnamese offensive
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