One hundred U.S. troops of the Hawaiian-based 25th Infantry Division are ordered to temporary duty with military units in South Vietnam to serve as machine gunners aboard Army H-21 helicopters. This was the first commitment of American combat troops to the war and represented a quiet escalation of the U.S. commitment to the war in Vietnam.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Napoleon exiled to Elba, 1814
- American Revolution
- Moravian missionary David Zeisberger is born, 1721
- Automotive
- Henry Ford marries, 1888
- Civil War
- Confederates surrender Fort Pulaski, 1862
- Cold War
- Truman relieves MacArthur of duties in Korea, 1951
- Crime
- War is narrowly averted, 1870
- Disaster
- Last survivors of ferry accident rescued, 1968
- General Interest
- Apollo 13 launched to moon, 1970
- Idi Amin overthrown, 1979
- Hollywood
- Cher wins Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck, 1988
- Literary
- Dorothy Parker resigns as drama critic for The New Yorker, 1931
- Music
- Bob Dylan plays his first major gig in New York City, 1961
- Old West
- Talleyrand offers to sell Louisiana, 1803
- Presidential
- President Carter hosts White House Easter egg roll, 1977
- Sports
- Phil Mickelson wins first major at Masters, 2004
- Vietnam War
- Troops from Hawaii sent to South Vietnam, 1963
- B-52s strike North Vietnamese positions, 1972
- World War I
- International Labor Organization founded, 1919
- World War II
- The U.S. army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp, 1945
Apr 11, 1963:
Troops from Hawaii sent to South Vietnam
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This Week in History, Apr 11 - Apr 17
- Apr 11, 1963
- Troops from Hawaii sent to South Vietnam
- Apr 11, 1972
- B-52s strike North Vietnamese positions
- Apr 12, 1961
- Rostow recommends escalation of effort
- Apr 12, 1975
- U.S. Embassy in Cambodia evacuated
- Apr 13, 1966
- SCLC passes resolution about South Vietnam
- Apr 13, 1972
- North Vietnamese launch major attack on An Loc
- Apr 14, 1965
- 173rd Airborne Brigade ordered to South Vietnam
- Apr 14, 1975
- Operation "Baby Lift" concludes
- Apr 15, 1967
- Antiwar protests held in New York and San Francisco
- Apr 15, 1970
- U.S. 1st Infantry Division withdraws from Vietnam
- Apr 16, 1968
- Johnson arrives in Honolulu
- Apr 16, 1972
- United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong
- Apr 17, 1972
- First antiwar protest of the year is conducted
- Apr 17, 1975
- Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge
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