August 24

This Day in History

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Lead Story
Vesuvius erupts, 79
American Revolution
General Lee recognizes Georgia's value, 1776
Automotive
Maria Teresa de Filippis races in Portuguese Grand Prix, 1958
Civil War
Confederate General George Steuart is born, 1828
Cold War
Congress passes Communist Control Act, 1954
Crime
A Wall Street scheme is hatched, 1982
Killer in Norway massacre is sentenced, 2012
Disaster
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius begins, 79
General Interest
Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, 1572
British capture and burn Washington, 1814
Spain accepts Mexican independence, 1821
Hollywood
John Lennon’s killer sentenced, 1981
Literary
A.S. Byatt, author of Possession, is born, 1936
Music
Paul Anka has a #1 hit with "(You're) Having My Baby", 1974
Old West
Elusive Mount of the Holy Cross photographed, 1873
Presidential
British troops set fire to the White House, 1814
Sports
Captain Webb swims English Channel, 1875
Vietnam War
Washington changes policy on support for President Diem, 1963
U.S. unit refuses commander's order, 1969
B-52s conduct heavy raids along the DMZ, 1970
World War I
Poet Alan Seeger volunteers in French army , 1914
World War II
Brave volunteers save the day in the Battle of the East Solomon Islands, 1942

Vietnam War

Aug 24, 1969:

U.S. unit refuses commander's order

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Company A of the Third Battalion, 196th Light Infantry Brigade refuses the order of its commander, Lieutenant Eugene Schurtz, Jr., to continue an attack that had been launched to reach a downed helicopter shot down in the Que Son valley, 30 miles south of Da Nang. The unit had been in fierce combat for five days against entrenched North Vietnamese forces and had taken heavy casualties. Schurtz called his battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Bacon, and informed him that his men had refused to follow his order to move out because they had "simply had enough" and that they were "broken." The unit eventually moved out when Bacon sent his executive officer and a sergeant to give Schurtz's troops "a pep talk," but when they reached the downed helicopter on August 25, they found all eight men aboard dead. Schurtz was relieved of his command and transferred to another assignment in the division. Neither he nor his men were disciplined. This case of "combat refusal," as the Army described it, was reported widely in U.S. newspapers.

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This Week in History, Aug 24 - Aug 30

Aug 24, 1963
Washington changes policy on support for President Diem
Aug 24, 1969
U.S. unit refuses commander's order
Aug 24, 1970
B-52s conduct heavy raids along the DMZ
Aug 25, 1967
McNamara concedes that bombing is less than effective
Aug 25, 1971
173rd Airborne Brigade departs Vietnam
Aug 26, 1964
Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president
Aug 26, 1967
Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam
Aug 26, 1968
Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago
Aug 27, 1970
Agnew meets with President Thieu in Saigon
Aug 27, 1972
U.S. aircraft conduct heavy raids on Hanoi and Haiphong
Aug 28, 1966
North Vietnamese pilots being trained in Soviet Union
Aug 28, 1967
More voices raised against the war
Aug 28, 1968
DNC endorses Johnson administration platform on the war in Vietnam
Aug 28, 1972
U.S. Air Force gets its first ace since Korean War
Aug 29, 1964
Khanh steps down
Aug 29, 1971
President Nguyen Van Thieu retains control of National Assembly
Aug 29, 1972
Nixon announces another troop reduction
Aug 30, 1966
China agrees to provide aid to North Vietnam
Aug 30, 1969
Ho Chi Minh responds to Nixon letter
Aug 30, 1970
Elections held in South Vietnam

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