By: HISTORY.com Editors

1964

U.S. reconnaissance jet shot down over Laos

Published: November 16, 2009Last Updated: May 27, 2025

A U.S. Navy jet flying low-altitude target reconnaissance missions over Laos is shot down by communist Pathet Lao ground fire. Less than 48 hours later, a second jet, which was escorting an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft, is also shot down.

Washington immediately ordered armed jets to escort the reconnaissance flights, and by June 9, escort jets were attacking Pathet Lao headquarters. The downing of the two reconnaissance aircraft and the retaliatory strikes were made public, but the full extent of the U.S. involvement in Laos was not. In fact, the U.S. fighter-bombers were flying combat missions in support of Royal Lao forces in their war against the communist Pathet Lao and would continue to do so until 1973.

Why Laos Has Been Bombed More Than Any Other Country

American bombers dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs over the country as part of a covert attempt to wrest power from communist forces.

By: Jessica Pearce Rotondi

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on June 6th

1833

President Jackson rides the Iron Horse

In Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland, President Andrew Jackson boards a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad train for a pleasure trip to Baltimore. Jackson, who had never been on a train before, was the first president to take a ride on the “Iron Horse,” as locomotives were known then. The steam locomotive was first pioneered in England at […]

1:10m read

1856

Sitting president Franklin Pierce denied his party’s nomination for reelection

On June 6, 1856, the fifth and final day of the Democratic Party’s national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, President Franklin Pierce becomes the first elected president of the United States not to be nominated by his party for a second term. Instead, the party chooses James Buchanan, who will go on to win the presidency […]

1:40m read

1865

Outlaw William Quantrill dies in military prison after being shot by Union soldiers

William Quantrill, the man who gave Frank and Jesse James their first education in killing, dies from wounds sustained in a skirmish with Union soldiers in Kentucky. Born and raised in Ohio, Quantrill was involved in a number of shady enterprises in Utah and Kansas during his teens. In his early 20s, he fled to […]

1889

The Great Seattle Fire

On June 6, 1889, a fire ignites in a Seattle woodworking shop and sweeps through some 100 acres, destroying much of the city’s business district and waterfront. The Great Seattle Fire culminates in losses estimated at $20 million—and serves as a turning point in the city’s history. The fire started shortly after 2:30 p.m. when […]

1:52m read

1918

Battle of Belleau Wood begins

The first large-scale battle fought by American soldiers in World War I begins in Belleau Wood, northwest of the Paris-to-Metz road. In late May 1918, the third German offensive of the year penetrated the Western Front to within 45 miles of Paris. U.S. forces under General John J. Pershing helped halt the German advance, and […]

1933

First drive-in movie theater opens

On June 6, 1933, eager motorists park their automobiles on the grounds of Camden Drive-In, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Park-In Theaters–the term “drive-in” came to be widely used only later–was the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager at his father’s company, Whiz Auto Products, in […]

2:22m read

1944

D-Day: Allies storm Normandy’s coast

Codenamed Operation Overlord, D-Day began on June 6, 1944.

3:02m read

1966

Civil rights activist James Meredith shot

James H. Meredith, who in 1962 became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, is shot by a sniper shortly after beginning a lone civil rights march through the South. Known as the “March Against Fear,” Meredith had been walking from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, in an attempt to encourage voter […]

1971

“The Ed Sullivan Show” airs for the very last time

Twenty-three years after its 1948 premiere, “The Ed Sullivan Show” has its final broadcast on June 6, 1971. For more than two decades, Sullivan’s variety show was the premiere television showcase for entertainers of all stripes, including borscht-belt comedians, plate-spinning vaudeville throwbacks and, most significantly, some of the biggest and most current names in rock […]

1:52m read

1981

Train derails in India, killing hundreds

More than 500 passengers are killed when their train plunges into the Bagmati River in India on June 6, 1981. The rail accident—the worst in India to that date—was believed to have been caused when an engineer tried to avoid striking a cow. The nine-car train, filled with approximately 1,000 passengers, was traveling through the […]

1:00m read

1984

Indian army storms Golden Temple

In a bloody climax to two years of fighting between the Indian government and Sikh separatists, Indian army troops fight their way into the besieged Golden Temple compound in Amritsar–the holiest shrine of Sikhism–and kill at least 500 Sikh rebels. More than 100 Indian soldiers and scores of nonbelligerent Sikhs also perished in the ferocious […]

3:36m read

1997

A teenaged mother gives birth and murders her baby at the prom

Eighteen-year-old Melissa Drexler gives birth to a baby boy in the bathroom stall at an Aberdeen Township banquet hall in New Jersey during her high school prom. Maintenance workers called to clean up blood found in the stall discover a bag in the garbage with her dead baby inside. An autopsy later revealed that the […]

1:18m read

1998

“Sex and the City” premieres on HBO

On June 6, 1998, the cable network HBO airs the pilot episode of “Sex and the City,” a new comedy series chronicling the lives and loves of four women living in New York City. The show’s creator, Darren Star, was best known at the time for producing the long-running Fox TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, […]

2:24m read

Vietnam War

41 videos

Vietnam War

Behind the Image: Fall of Saigon Helicopter Evacuation

The dramatic rooftop photo was long mistakenly misidentified.

Vietnam War

Fall of Saigon: What Led to the Final, Chaotic Moments

The conflict in Vietnam ended in turmoil with the largest helicopter evacuation of its kind in history.

Vietnam War

Why the Battle for Hamburger Hill Was So Controversial

After 10 days of bruising battle, U.S. forces took the hill, only to abandon it days later. Sniper fire was so intense, one soldier called it 'a human meat grinder.'

About the author

HISTORY.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Christian Zapata, Cristiana Lombardo and Adrienne Donica.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.