July 18

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
FDR nominated for unprecedented third term, 1940
American Revolution
Naval hero John Paul Jones dies in Paris, 1792
Automotive
Juan Manuel Fangio makes Formula One debut, 1948
Civil War
Assault of Battery Wagner and death of Robert Gould Shaw, 1863
Cold War
Charges of communists in the U.S. Army raised, 1945
Crime
Twenty-one people are shot to death at McDonald's, 1984
Disaster
Nero's Rome burns, 64
General Interest
Fire of Rome, 64
Hitler publishes Mein Kampf, 1925
Spanish Civil War breaks out, 1936
Incident on Chappaquiddick Island, 1969
Video of Titanic wreckage released, 1986
Hollywood
The Dark Knight opens with highest-grossing weekend, 2008
Literary
Hunter S. Thompson is born, 1929
Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father" is published, 1995
Music
Fifteen-year-old Brenda Lee earns a #1 hit with "I'm Sorry", 1960
Old West
Singing Wobbly Joe Hill sentenced to death, 1914
Presidential
Truman signs second Presidential Succession Act, 1947
Congress preserves birthplace and property of Theodore Roosevelt, 1962
Sports
David Cone pitches perfect game, 1999
Vietnam War
Soviet Union agrees to grant Hanoi economic aid, 1955
Johnson meets Thieu in Honolulu, 1968
World War I
Allies begin major counter-offensive in Second Battle of the Marne, 1918
World War II
Mein Kampf is published, 1925

Vietnam War

Jul 18, 1968:

Johnson meets Thieu in Honolulu

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President Lyndon B. Johnson meets South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu in Honolulu to discuss relations between Washington and Saigon. Johnson reaffirmed his administration's commitment "to defend South Vietnam." Thieu stated that he had "no apprehensions at all" concerning the U.S. commitment. In a joint communique, Thieu further asserted that his government was determined "to continue to assume all the responsibility that the scale of forces of South Vietnam and their equipment will permit," thus tacitly accepting current U.S. efforts to "Vietnamize" the war. The two presidents also agreed that South Vietnam "should be a full participant playing a leading role in discussions concerning the substance of a final settlement" to the conflict. Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon, made "Vietnamization" one of the pillars of his Vietnam policy. Under the plan, he directed that the combat capability of the South Vietnamese armed forces be improved so that they could ultimately assume full responsibility for the war and U.S. forces could be withdrawn.

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This Week in History, Jul 18 - Jul 24

Jul 18, 1955
Soviet Union agrees to grant Hanoi economic aid
Jul 18, 1968
Johnson meets Thieu in Honolulu
Jul 19, 1964
President Khanh calls for expanding the war
Jul 19, 1972
Peace talks resume
Jul 20, 1964
Viet Cong troops overrun town
Jul 20, 1969
Duck Hook plan completed
Jul 21, 1965
Johnson considers the options
Jul 22, 1967
Taylor and Clifford begin tour of the Pacific region
Jul 22, 1968
North Vietnamese condemn Honolulu Conference
Jul 23, 1964
Taylor and Khanh have "heated" discussions in Saigon
Jul 23, 1965
Johnson urged to declare a state of national emergency
Jul 24, 1965
North Vietnam increases air defense capabilities

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