Good Morning RallyPoint on this day, 8 February, 2021, thank you for your service. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 8 February through the years of the war.
Welcome home all Veterans.. and to those that gave their all, …may you rest in peace...!

Today, 8 February in Vietnam war history;

8 February 1955, North Vietnam's land reform program was underway and thousands of "landlords" were being executed or imprisoned. Ho said "Some cadres are using the same methods to crush the masses as the imperialists, capitalists, and feudalists did. These methods are barbaric...It is absolutely forbidden to use physical punishment." Ho's admonishment had little apparent impact as the repression continued.

8 February 1955, In South Vietnam, France halted subsidies to the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects, both of whom had armed forces raised and financed by France to fight the Viet Minh. The sects demanded that the subsidies continue to be paid to them by the Diệm government. Diệm refused and with several million dollars supplied by the CIA's Colonel Lansdale bribed sect leaders to gain their support and integrate their forces into the VNA


8 February 1962, The United States activates Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), with headquarters in Saigon. MACV’s first commander is General Paul D. Harkins. The new command absorbs and supervises the Military Assistance and Advisory Group, Vietnam. From 1962 on, MACV directs the conduct of the war. Before MACV, the senior U.S. military command in South Vietnam was the U.S. Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG-Vietnam), which was formed on November 1, 1955 to provide military assistance to South Vietnam. MAAG-Vietnam had U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps elements that provided advice and assistance to the South Vietnamese Ministry of Defense, Joint General Staff and corps and division commanders, as well as to training centers and province and district headquarters. MAAG-Vietnam was disbanded in 1964 and its personnel and responsibilities absorbed by MACV. The establishment of MACV, which greatly enlarged and reorganized the advisory effort, represented a substantial increase in the U.S. commitment to the war in Vietnam, and American assistance to the South Vietnamese doubled between 1961 and 1962. Thereafter, the conduct of the war was directed by MACV and a major build-up of American advisers, support personnel, and eventually an escalation that included the commitment of U.S. combat troops began. MACV commander Harkins reported to CINCPAC Chief, Admiral Felt who kept MACV "on a tight rein."

8 February 1965, President Johnson orders evacuation of US government sponsored dependents from RVN. President also orders HAWK air defense missiles to SVN.

8 February 1965, From Da Nang Air Base, the Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) made its first strike into North Vietnam. Bombing the North Vietnamese communications center at Vinh Linh.

8 February 1965, President Johnson deploys 1st US combat troops to South Vietnam, with 3500 Marines sent to protect key US airbase near Da Nang.

8 February 1965, The USMC 1st LAAM Battalion based on Okinawa arrived at Da Nang Air Base and by 9 April its HAWK SAMs were operational at the base.

8 February 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the bombing of North Vietnam for the first time. Fearing that the loss of South Vietnam to a Communist regime was imminent, Johnson ordered airstrikes against North Vietnamese military targets, both as retaliation for a Communist bombing at a U.S. base facility in Pleiku and as a way to signal American resolve to prop up the non-Communist government in Saigon. The strikes were codenamed Operation FLAMING DART. U.S. Navy carrier aircraft struck enemy installations near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, on February 7. The next day, U.S. Air Force and South Vietnamese aircraft struck North Vietnamese barracks and antiaircraft sites near the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. These were the first U.S. Air Force strikes against North Vietnam. Johnson decided to authorize the systematic bombing of North Vietnam in an attempt to prop up the Saigon regime and deter Hanoi’s support for Viet Cong insurgents. Initial retaliatory bombings eventually develop into the years-long bombing operation called ROLLING THUNDER. Johnson is publicly silent about his decision to authorize the bombings.

8 February 1966, The enemy ambushes an RF company and an RF platoon in Tay Ninh Province (12 enemy killed, 40 ARVN KIA, 47 ARVNWIA).

8 February 1966 – 9 February 1966, Operation Bald Eagle, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division search and destroy operation, III Corps

February 1967, Operation Highrise, Marines and Army shelling of PAVN gun positions, in and north of the DMZ

8 January 1967 – 24 January 1967, Operation Cedar Falls, Elements of the U.S. 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions, 11th Armored Cavalry, 173d Airborne Brigade, and one South Vietnamese infantry division begin Operation CEDAR FALLS. In the largest offensive of the war to date, allied troops use a “hammer and anvil” maneuver to sweep the Iron Triangle region, about 15 miles north of Saigon, and destroy a major Viet Cong base area. Allied personnel forcibly remove thousands of civilians from villages like Ben Suc to create free-fire areas. Engineers and infantry work in unison to deny the Viet Cong concealment, destroying hundreds of tunnels and capturing tons of supplies and a large store of documents.
The operation lasts until January 26 and temporarily curtails insurgency operations in the Iron Triangle. Despite the setback, the Viet Cong avoid the destruction of their major combat forces in the area and soon return. On 13 Jan, after the departure of the last refugees, the destruction of both the sur-face and underground facilities commenced, a job completed by17 Jan after engineers detonated 5 tons of explosives, mostly captured enemy munitions, buried in a hole in the center of what was left of Ben Suc. Results: 750 enemy killed, 280 captured, 540 returnees, 512 detained, 72 US KIA, 337 US WIA, 11ARVN KIA, 8 ARVN WIA.

8 February 1967, President Johnson sent a letter to Ho Chi Minh, by way of Moscow, that began "Dear Mr. President: I am writing to you in the hope that the conflict in Viet Nam can be brought to an end," and outlining his proposal that "I am prepared to order a cessation of bombing against your country... as soon as I am assured that infiltration into South Viet Nam by land and by sea has stopped." Ho would receive the message on February 10 and prepared a response. (Dennis’ note; I have yet to find Ho’s response to President Johnson, but can assume the jist of it!)

8 February 1968, Robert F. Kennedy said that the US cannot win the Vietnam War.


8 February 1968 – 9 February 1968, Battle of Lo Giang the U.S. 1st Marine Division and elements of the U.S. 23rd Infantry Division defeated an attack by the PAVN 2nd Division on Da Nang Air Base. The battle resulted in 286 PAVN and 18 U.S. killed.
Background;
On 7 February 1968, the 1st Marine Division commander MG Donn J. Robertson informed III Marine Amphibious Force commander LG Robert E. Cushman Jr. that the PAVN 2nd Division had evaded Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and Republic of Korea Marine Corps positions south of Da Nang and threatened 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines and 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines positions immediately south of Da Nang Air Base.

After sharing these concerns at a meeting that day with COMUSMACV General William Westmoreland, Westmoreland ordered 23rd Infantry Division commander MG Samuel W. Koster to make some of his battalions available to the Marines to bolster their defense. It was decided to deploy 2 battalions from the 23rd Division to support the 3/5 Marines near Cau Do on Highway 1. One battalion was to deploy immediately, with the other to deploy the next day. Both battalions would be under the operational control of the 1st Marine Division. On the afternoon of 7 February Marine helicopters deployed the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment into the hamlet of Duong Son 2km south of Cau Do.

Battle;
At 03:45 on 8 February, the PAVN began mortaring the Combined Action Program (CAP) E-4 compound in the hamlet of Lo Giang), 4 kilometers northeast of Duong Son and by daybreak had surrounded the hamlet.

At 07:00, MG Robertson moved the 1/6th Infantry to Lo Giang, 1 km northeast of Lo Giang where they were quickly engaged by another enemy force. MG Robertson then deployed the 2/3 Marines and 3/5 Marines to support the 1/6th Infantry and they were engaged in battle until late afternoon.

Meanwhile, a 15-man Marine detachment attempted to move south from Hoa Vang to relieve Lo Giang , but all but 1 were killed. At 15:50, the CAP platoon in Lo Giang was evacuated by Marine helicopters with gunship and air support. PAVN losses were over 150 killed.

On the evening of 8 February, the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment was deployed and the Army task force named Task Force Miracle under the command of Col. Louis Gelling established its command near Duong Son. Col Gelling deployed the 2/1st Infantry in blocking positions south of Lo Giang.

On the morning of 9 February the 2/1st Infantry attacked north, engaging a PAVN force in a 9 hour battle, later finding 46 PAVN bodies and taking one prisoner who revealed that he was from the 3rd Battalion, 31st Regiment, while the forces in Lo Giang were from the VC 1st Regiment. West of Lo Giang the 2/3 Marines engaged two companies from the 1st Regiment killing 90.

Aftermath;
Marine intelligence reported on 9 February that the PAVN 2nd Division was moving its headquarters back to its usual positions in the Go Noi Island area. Task Force Miracle continued to patrol the Lo Giang area for 2 days, but on 11 February LG Cushman released control of Task Force Miracle back to the 23rd Infantry Division.
U.S. Marine losses were 14 killed. Army losses were 18 killed, while claiming PAVN/VC losses were in excess of 286.


8 February 1971, Cambodian Premier Lon Nol suffered a paralyzing stroke and turned his duties over to Deputy Premier Sirik Matak.

8 February 1971 – 24 March 1971, Operation Lam Son 719 began. The operation included an incursion into Laos to disrupt communist activities. Approximately 17,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and marines launch Operation LAM SON 719, along Highway 9 into Laos. Their objective is to interdict enemy supply efforts on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, west of Khe Sanh. Although the South Vietnamese are supported by U.S. Army helicopters and U.S. Air Force aircraft, American ground forces are not permitted to enter Laos but did provide artillery (firing across the border from firebases inside South Vietnam). The operation is an important test of the progress of Vietnamization.
A much larger North Vietnamese force stalls and then reverses the assault, and the South Vietnamese suffer high casualties. LAM SON 719 ends on March 24. 2,163 VC/PAVN KIA, 1529 ARVN KIA, 625 MIA, 215 US KIA, 38 MIA.

8 February 1972, South Vietnamese army forces invaded southern Laos as part of Operation Lam Son 719. The goal of the mission was to disrupt the communist supply and infiltration network along Route 9 in Laos.

8 February 2010, John Murtha (b.1932), Pennsylvania’s Democratic representative, died in Arlington, Va., following complications from gall bladder surgery. He had won a special House election in 1974 to become the first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress.


Today is 8 February 2021
Vietnam War Memorial facts
134 Names on the wall were born on 8 February
213 Names on the wall died on 8 February
245 men earned the Medal Of Honor in the Vietnam war and 160 of those men are listed on the wall

Other wall information/stories/quotes; None today, sorry.



Of possible interest or Interesting things about Vietnam/Vietnam War/ Vietnam War quotes;

“Bones have broken and blood has fallen, the hatred is rising high. Our country has been separated for so long. Here, the sacred Mekong, here, glorious Truong Son Mountains are urging us to advance to kill the enemy. Shoulder to shoulder, under a common flag. Arise!” -Lu Hu Phuoc, Vietnamese musician and Viet Cong supporter, July 1969

“I’m glad the fighting is coming to an end, but I feel shame that it took so long and that we played the role we did in extending it for so long. It has been inevitable that they would win the war for so many years. Now here’s a chance to figure out what kind of foreign policy we should have instead of having Vietnam rip us apart. That hasn’t been possible before.” Anthony Lake, former aide to Henry Kissinger, 1975

“It is tragic that President Roosevelt’s determination not to let the French back into Indochina after World War II was not carried out. It would have saved France, the United States and the Vietnamese people this desperate experience.” W. Averell Harriman, US politician, 1975

“I can’t avoid my responsibility for what happened in Southeast Asia, but I don’t think others, including the peace movement, should either.” Dean Rusk, former US Secretary of State, 1975


Links of interest?

Looking for a Brother or sister you served with? This might help you.
The Viet Nam Veterans Home Page to be quite useful in finding living veterans. They maintain a Lost and Found section http://www.vietvet.org/lostfnd.htm, with listings of people looking for people.

To find information on the availability of U.S. Navy deck logs during the Vietnam war era, check out this link. https://historyhub.history.gov/community/military-records/blog/2020/10/08/update-on-availability-of-vietnam-era-1956-1978-us-navy-deck-logs

Unit Reunions, Homecomings, Gatherings, Newsletters, Etc. can be found at http://www.vietvet.org/unitlist.htm
There are two replica versions of The Vietnam Veterans Memorial that tour the United States regularly. The first of them which is called The Moving Wall, has been traveling the country for almost twenty years. You can find their schedule at http://www.themovingwall.org/
Where can I find the latest information on the status of Prisoners of War and those listed as Missing in Action? A: The Library of Congress maintains POW/MIA information at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pow/powhome.html

Quotes;

“May God have mercy for my enemies because I won't.” ― George S. Patton Jr.

"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth."- George Washington

“No more tears now; I will think about revenge.”- Mary Queen of Scots

“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”- Sir Winston Churchill

“A man who doesn't stand for something will fall for anything.”- Peter Marshall


Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for actions taken in the Vietnam War on this day 8 February in Vietnam War history; None on this day.