American officials in Saigon report an all-time high weekly rate of U.S. casualties--543 killed in action and 2,547 wounded in the previous seven days. These losses were a result of the heavy fighting during the communist Tet Offensive.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Madame Butterfly premieres, 1904
- American Revolution
- French and British battle in the Indian Ocean, 1782
- Automotive
- Beetle overtakes Model T as world's best-selling car, 1972
- Civil War
- Union troops sack Columbia, South Carolina, 1865
- Cold War
- Voice of America begins broadcasts to Russia, 1947
- Crime
- The first "Trial of the Century", 1906
- Disaster
- Ferry sinks near Haiti, 1993
- General Interest
- Deadlock over presidential election ends, 1801
- Gromyko becomes foreign minister, 1957
- China invades Vietnam, 1979
- Hollywood
- Lee Strasberg dies, 1982
- Literary
- Dave Eggers’ Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius debuts, 2000
- Music
- Brian Wilson rolls tape on "Good Vibrations," take one, 1966
- Old West
- Senate passes Missouri Compromise, 1820
- Presidential
- Thomas Jefferson is elected, 1801
- Sports
- Kasparov defeats chess-playing computer, 1996
- Vietnam War
- Taylor testifies on Operation Rolling Thunder, 1966
- U.S. casualty rate reaches record high, 1968
- World War I
- Zeppelin L-4 crashes into North Sea, 1915
- World War II
- U.S. troops land on Eniwetok atoll, 1944
Feb 17, 1968:
U.S. casualty rate reaches record high
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This Week in History, Feb 17 - Feb 23
- Feb 17, 1966
- Taylor testifies on Operation Rolling Thunder
- Feb 17, 1968
- U.S. casualty rate reaches record high
- Feb 18, 1965
- United States warns of forthcoming bombing operations
- Feb 19, 1965
- South Vietnamese coup unsuccessful
- Feb 19, 1970
- Chicago Seven sentenced
- Feb 20, 1968
- Hearings begin on American policy in Vietnam
- Feb 21, 1967
- Bernard Fall killed by mine in South Vietnam
- Feb 21, 1970
- Kissinger begins secret negotiations with North Vietnamese
- Feb 21, 1972
- Nixon visits China
- Feb 22, 1965
- Westmoreland asks for Marines
- Feb 22, 1967
- Operation Junction City begins
- Feb 23, 1966
- Desertion up in South Vietnamese army
- Feb 23, 1971
- South Vietnamese advance stalls
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