June 27

This Day in History

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Lead Story
Truman orders U.S. forces to Korea, 1950
American Revolution
Schuyler dispatched to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 1775
Automotive
Route 66 decertified, 1985
Civil War
Confederate and Union forces clash at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, 1864
Cold War
U.N. approves armed force to repel North Korea, 1950
Crime
Four-time thief escapes Baumes law, 1921
Disaster
Ebola breaks out in Sudan, 1976
General Interest
Smithson's curious bequest, 1829
Mormon leader killed by mob, 1844
First Newbery Medal for children's literature, 1922
Hollywood
“Frankly, My Dear…”, 1939
Literary
Alice McDermott's birthday, 1953
Music
Elvis Presley tapes his famous TV "comeback special", 1968
Old West
Buffalo hunters and Indians clash at Adobe Walls, 1874
Presidential
JFK visits Ireland, 1963
Sports
Tyson knocks out Spinks, 1988
Vietnam War
Kennedy appoints Lodge as ambassador, 1963
U.S. forces begin to evacuate Khe Sanh, 1968
World War I
Colonel House meets with British foreign secretary in London, 1914
World War II
Germans get Enigma, 1940
U.S. troops liberate Cherbourg, France, 1944

Vietnam War

Jun 27, 1963:

Kennedy appoints Lodge as ambassador

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President John F. Kennedy appoints Henry Cabot Lodge, his former Republican political opponent, to succeed Frederick E. Nolting as ambassador to Vietnam. The appointing of Lodge and the recall of Nolting signaled a change in U.S. policy in South Vietnam. Lodge was a firm believer in the "domino theory," and when he became convinced that the United States could not defeat the communists in Vietnam with President Ngo Dinh Diem in office, he became very critical of Diem's regime in his dispatches back to Washington. Diem was ultimately removed from office and assassinated during a coup by opposition South Vietnamese generals that began on November 1, 1963. On orders from the Kennedy administration, Lodge had conveyed to the coup plotters that the United States would not thwart any proposed coup. Lodge served in Saigon until June 1964, when he resigned his ambassadorial post to pursue the Republican presidential nomination. Ultimately, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona secured the nomination and was defeated by Johnson in the general election. Lodge returned to Saigon in 1965 for another two-year stint as ambassador.

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This Week in History, Jun 27 - Jul 3

Jun 27, 1963
Kennedy appoints Lodge as ambassador
Jun 27, 1968
U.S. forces begin to evacuate Khe Sanh
Jun 28, 1965
U.S. forces launch first offensive
Jun 28, 1972
Nixon announces draftees will not go to Vietnam
Jun 29, 1964
First New Zealand troops arrive
Jun 29, 1970
U.S. ground troops return from Cambodia
Jun 30, 1967
Thieu becomes president
Jun 30, 1970
Cooper-Church Amendment passes in Senate
Jul 01, 1965
Ball recommends compromise in Vietnam
Jul 01, 1966
Bombing of North Vietnam continues
Jul 02, 1964
Republican Congressional leaders attack Johnson's policy
Jul 03, 1968
U.S. command announces new high in casualties

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