South Vietnamese officials claim that two companies from the North Vietnamese army have invaded South Vietnam. A battle resulted in Quang Tri Province, just south of the Demilitarized Zone, but the North Vietnamese forces were defeated with heavy casualties. Since North Vietnamese main force units had not been seen in South Vietnam before, U.S. military advisers questioned whether these were actually North Vietnamese troops, but in fact Hanoi had ordered its forces to begin infiltrating to the South. This marked a major change in the tempo and scope of the war in South Vietnam and resulted in President Lyndon Johnson committing U.S. combat troops. North Vietnamese forces and U.S. troops clashed for the first time in November 1965, when units from the newly arrived 1st Cavalry Division engaged several North Vietnamese regiments in the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Capitol cornerstone is laid, 1793
- American Revolution
- Washington reports to Congress on Battle of Harlem Heights, 1776
- Automotive
- Canada mall sets parking-lot record, 1981
- Civil War
- McClellan lets Lee retreat from Antietam, 1862
- Cold War
- Castro arrives in New York, 1960
- Crime
- A serial killer is executed, 1959
- Disaster
- Accidental poisoning in Brazil, 1987
- General Interest
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- Hammarskjold dies in plane crash, 1961
- Patty Hearst captured, 1975
- Hollywood
- Doris Day wins lawsuit, 1974
- Literary
- Aldous Huxley is hired at Eton, 1917
- Music
- Bobby Vee earns a #1 hit with "Take Good Care Of My Baby", 1961
- Old West
- The struggling Donner Party sends ahead to California for food, 1846
- Presidential
- Carter files report on UFO sighting, 1973
- Sports
- Clemens strikes out 20, again, 1996
- Vietnam War
- North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration, 1964
- "March Against Death" to be held in Washington, 1969
- World War I
- Battle of Epehy , 1918
- World War II
- MacArthur in Tokyo, 1945
North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
This Week in History, Sep 18 - Sep 24
- Sep 18, 1964
- North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration
- Sep 18, 1969
- "March Against Death" to be held in Washington
- Sep 19, 1966
- Pressure mounts against continued U.S. involvement in Vietnam
- Sep 19, 1969
- Nixon cancels draft calls for November and December
- Sep 20, 1968
- U.S. officials defend use of defoliants
- Sep 20, 1972
- U.S. planes mine waters in northern Quang Tri
- Sep 21, 1961
- 5th Special Forces Group is activated at Fort Bragg
- Sep 21, 1967
- Thai troops arrive in Saigon
- Sep 22, 1964
- Goldwater attacks Johnson's Vietnam policy
- Sep 22, 1971
- Medina is acquitted of all charges
- Sep 23, 1965
- South Vietnam executes three accused VC agents
- Sep 23, 1969
- Chicago 8 trial opens in Chicago
- Sep 24, 1963
- McNamara and Taylor assess situation in Vietnam
- Sep 24, 1967
- Political instability continues in South Vietnam
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