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First American dies in Vietnam
Lt. Col. A. Peter Dewey, head of American OSS mission, was killed by Vietminh troops while driving a jeep to the airport. Reports later indicated that his death was due to a case of mistaken identity -- he had been mistaken for a Frenchman. -
US Training South Vietnamese
The US Military Assistance Advisor Group (MAAG) assumes responsibility, from French, for training South Vietnamese forces. -
US Servicemen Killed in Guerilla Attack
Major Dale R. Buis and Master Sargeant Chester M. Ovnand become the first Americans to die in the Vietnam War when guerillas strike at Bienhoa. -
US Military Employs Agent Orange
US Air Force begins using Agent Orange -- a defoliant that came in metal orange containers-to expose roads and trails used by Vietcong forces. -
Operation "Rolling Thunder" Deployed
Sustained American bombing raids of North Vietnam, dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder, begin in February. The nearly continuous air raids would go on for three years. -
Dow Recruiters Driven From Wisconsin Campus
University of Wisconsin students demand that corporate recruiters for Dow Chemical -- producers of napalm -- not be allowed on campus. -
My Lai Massacre
On March 16, the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the village of My Lai. "This is what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -- and you've got it," said their superior officers. A short time later the killing began. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the US political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public. -
Ford Calls Vietnam War "Finished"
Anticipating the fall of Saigon to Communist forces, US President Gerald Ford, speaking in New Orleans, announces that as far as the US is concerned, the Vietnam War is "finished." -
Washington lifts the ban on organized U.S. travel to Vietnam
The U.S. Congress authorizes the United States Information Agency (USIA) to begin exchange programs with Vietnam. -
McNamara Calls Vietnam Policy "Wrong, Terribly Wrong"
Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, one of the key architects of the US's war policy in Vietnam, admits grave mistakes in that policy in his 1995 memoir, In Retrospect. McNamara, in his book, says that "...We were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why." -
