President Kennedy approves sending 400 Special Forces troops and 100 other U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam. On the same day, he orders the start of clandestine warfare against North Vietnam to be conducted by South Vietnamese agents under the direction and training of the CIA and U.S. Special Forces troops. Kennedy's orders also called for South Vietnamese forces to infiltrate Laos to locate and disrupt communist bases and supply lines there.
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May 11, 1961:
President Kennedy orders more troops to South Vietnam
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This Week in History, May 11 - May 17
- May 11, 1961
- President Kennedy orders more troops to South Vietnam
- May 11, 1969
- Paratroopers battle for "Hamburger Hill"
- May 12, 1961
- Lyndon B. Johnson visits South Vietnam
- May 12, 1971
- Heavy fighting erupts in A Shau Valley
- May 13, 1971
- Paris peace talks at standstill
- May 13, 1972
- Heavy fighting continues at Quang Tri and Kontum
- May 14, 1969
- President Nixon responds to National Liberation Front proposal
- May 14, 1970
- South Vietnamese sustain second highest casualties of war
- May 15, 1967
- U.S. positions south of the DMZ come under heavy fire
- May 15, 1970
- Air Force sergeant awarded Medal of Honor
- May 16, 1965
- Accident at Bien Hoa kills 27 U.S. servicemen
- May 16, 1968
- Navy Corpsman receives Medal of Honor for action
- May 16, 1972
- U.S. bombing destroys main fuel line
- May 17, 1970
- Operations continue in Cambodia
- May 17, 1972
- South Vietnamese reinforcements near An Loc
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