May 18

This Day in History

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Lead Story
Pope John Paul II born, 1920
American Revolution
United Empire Loyalists reach Canada, 1783
Automotive
Lotus makes Formula One debut, 1958
Civil War
The siege of Vicksburg commences, 1863
Cold War
One million protesters take to the streets in Beijing, 1989
Crime
Popular evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears, 1926
Disaster
Mount St. Helens erupts, 1980
General Interest
Lincoln nominated for presidency, 1860
Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
India joins the nuclear club, 1974
Mount St. Helens erupts, 1980
Facebook raises $16 billion in largest tech IPO in U.S. history, 2012
Hollywood
Shrek released, 2001
Literary
Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe, 1593
Music
Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide, 1980
Old West
Chief Satanta massacres teamsters, 1871
Presidential
Newspaper report criticizes Mrs. Lincoln, 1861
Sports
Randy Johnson throws perfect game at 40, 2004
Vietnam War
Laird charges, 1966
Communists attack Xuan Loc, 1969
World War I
U.S. Congress passes Selective Service Act, 1917
World War II
Hitler gives the order for Operation Alaric, 1943
Polish Corps takes Monte Cassino, 1944

Vietnam War

May 18, 1966:

Laird charges

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U.S. Representative Melvin Laird (R-Wisconsin) states that because the Johnson administration is not providing the American public with precise information on planned troop deployments to Vietnam, a "credibility gap" is developing. Informed sources reported that 254,000 U.S. troops were serving in Vietnam, and that another 90,000 were performing tasks directly concerned with the war. These numbers were higher than those provided by the government. This was emblematic of the gap between what the administration said and what it did, leading to a growing distrust of the government among a large part of American society. This mistrust also plagued Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon, who made Laird his secretary of defense. Like the Johnson administration, Nixon's administration was marked by attempts to manage the information released about the war. Under Nixon, this included the secret bombing campaign of Cambodia, which was kept from the American public until it was exposed by William Beecher, a military correspondent for the New York Times, in May 1969.

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This Week in History, May 18 - May 24

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
May 23, 1967
Congressman claims M-16 is defective
May 23, 1971
North Vietnamese infiltrators attack U.S. base
May 23, 1972
United States widens aerial campaign
May 24, 1964
Goldwater suggests using atomic weapons
May 24, 1971
Soldiers place controversial ad in antiwar newspaper

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