U.S. Marine units commence Operation Prairie, a sequel to an earlier operation in the area (Operation Hastings), which involves a sweep just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) against three battalions of the North Vietnamese 324B Division. An additional 1,500 Marines from Seventh Fleet ships off Quang Tri Province conducted amphibious landings on September 15 to assist in the operation, which lasted until September 19 and resulted in a reported 1,397 communist casualties.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Nautilus travels under North Pole, 1958
- American Revolution
- Lord Jeffrey Amherst dies, 1797
- Automotive
- "The Spy Who Loved Me" released, features Lotus Esprit, 1977
- Civil War
- Union General Thomas F. Meagher is born in Ireland, 1823
- Cold War
- Chambers accuses Hiss of being a communist spy, 1948
- Crime
- Sodomy arrest sparks controversy, 1982
- Disaster
- Boeing 707 crashes into a mountain near Agadir, Morocco , 1975
- General Interest
- Columbus sets sail, 1492
- Sir Roger Casement hanged, 1916
- Soviets release Mathias Rust, 1988
- Hollywood
- Multimillion-dollar baby photos published, 2008
- Literary
- Last installment of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is published, 1861
- Music
- "The Macarena" begins its reign atop the U.S. pop charts, 1996
- Old West
- Donner party encounters first delay, 1846
- Presidential
- Calvin Coolidge takes oath of office after Harding's death, 1923
- Sports
- NBA is born, 1949
- Vietnam War
- TV news shows Marines burning village, 1965
- Marines launch Operation Prairie, 1966
- World War I
- Germany and France declare war on each other, 1914
- World War II
- Italians move on British Somaliland, 1940
Aug 3, 1966:
Marines launch Operation Prairie
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
This Week in History, Aug 3 - Aug 9
- Aug 03, 1965
- TV news shows Marines burning village
- Aug 03, 1966
- Marines launch Operation Prairie
- Aug 04, 1964
- Reported North Vietnamese PT boat attacks result in retaliation strikes
- Aug 04, 1967
- Court upholds court-martial conviction of officer who participated in demonstration
- Aug 04, 1969
- Secret negotiations are initiated in Paris
- Aug 05, 1964
- Navy flies retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam
- Aug 05, 1974
- Congress cuts military aid to South Vietnam
- Aug 06, 1964
- Johnson Administration officials argue for resolution
- Aug 06, 1969
- Green Berets are charged with murder
- Aug 06, 1971
- First U.S. Army troops deployed to Vietnam stand-down for withdrawal
- Aug 07, 1964
- Tonkin Gulf Resolution is passed
- Aug 07, 1967
- North Vietnam and People's Republic of China sign aid agreement
- Aug 08, 1968
- Nixon and Agnew receive the Republican Party nomination
- Aug 08, 1973
- Vice President Agnew under attack
- Aug 08, 1974
- Nixon announces that he will resign the Presidency
- Aug 09, 1967
- Marines launch Operation Cochise
- Aug 09, 1974
- Nixon leaves office
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