August 11

This Day in History

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Lead Story
Federal prisoners land on Alcatraz, 1934
American Revolution
Sir Frederick Haldimand born, 1718
Automotive
"American Graffiti" released, 1973
Civil War
Confederate General Early abandons Winchester, Virginia, 1864
Cold War
Reagan jokes about "outlawing" the Soviet Union, 1984
Crime
Carol Bundy confesses her connection to the "Sunset Slayer", 1980
Disaster
Hurricane submerges Louisiana resort, 1856
General Interest
Hussein succeeds to Jordanian throne, 1952
Watts Riot begins, 1965
Jonesboro schoolyard shooters guilty, 1998
Hollywood
American Graffiti opens, 1973
Literary
Alex Haley's birthday, 1921
Music
Hip Hop is born at a birthday party in the Bronx, 1973
Old West
Meriwether Lewis is shot in the leg, 1806
Presidential
Reagan jokes about bombing Russia, 1984
Sports
Major leaguers walk off the job, 1994
Vietnam War
U.S. pilots cleared to bomb Hanoi-Haiphong area, 1967
South Vietnamese troops assume responsibility for guarding border, 1970
Last U.S. ground combat unit departs South Vietnam, 1972
World War I
Weimar Constitution adopted in Germany , 1919
World War II
Germans begin to evacuate Sicily, 1943

Vietnam War

Aug 11, 1972:

Last U.S. ground combat unit departs South Vietnam

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The last U.S. ground combat unit in South Vietnam, the Third Battalion, Twenty-First Infantry, departs for the United States. The unit had been guarding the U.S. air base at Da Nang. This left only 43,500 advisors, airmen, and support troops left in-country. This number did not include the sailors of the Seventh Fleet on station in the South China Sea or the air force personnel in Thailand and Guam.

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This Week in History, Aug 11 - Aug 17

Aug 11, 1967
U.S. pilots cleared to bomb Hanoi-Haiphong area
Aug 11, 1970
South Vietnamese troops assume responsibility for guarding border
Aug 11, 1972
Last U.S. ground combat unit departs South Vietnam
Aug 12, 1965
Henry Cabot Lodge sworn in as Ambassador to Vietnam
Aug 12, 1969
VC launch new offensive
Aug 13, 1966
Prince Sihanouk criticizes the United States
Aug 13, 1972
Sappers raid Long Binh ammo dump
Aug 14, 1964
Hanoi prepares for more air attacks
Aug 14, 1965
Seventh Marines land at Chu Lai
Aug 14, 1972
Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark reports on his tour of North Vietnam
Aug 14, 1973
U.S. bombing of Cambodia ceases
Aug 15, 1968
Heavy fighting erupts in and around the DMZ
Aug 15, 1969
Woodstock begins in upstate New York
Aug 15, 1970
Regional Forces victorious
Aug 15, 1971
North Vietnamese capture Vietnamese marine base
Aug 16, 1964
General Khanh ousts General Minh as chief of state
Aug 16, 1966
Congress investigates antiwar demonstrators
Aug 16, 1967
Tonkin Gulf Resolution challenged
Aug 16, 1972
Heavy air attacks on North Vietnam
Aug 17, 1968
117,000 combat missions flown over North Vietnam in three years
Aug 17, 1973
U.S. troops to withdraw from Thailand

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