Good Morning RallyPoint on this day, 11 January, 2021, thank you for your service. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 11 January through the years of the war. And I have the honor of introducing RP members to an Army Medal Of Honor recipient due to actions on this day 11 January in Vietnam History. Welcome home all Veterans.. and to those that gave their all, …may you rest in peace...!

Today, 11 January in Vietnam history;

January 1950 - The People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union recognize Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
China then begins sending military advisors and modern weapons to the Viet Minh including automatic weapons, mortars, howitzers, and trucks. Much of the equipment is American-made and had belonged to the Chinese Nationalists before their defeat by Mao. With the influx of new equipment and Chinese advisors, General Giap transforms his guerrilla fighters into conventional army units including five light infantry divisions and one heavy division.

January 1955, The first direct shipment of U.S. military aid to Saigon arrives. The U.S. also offers to train the fledgling South Vietnam Army.

January 1957, The Soviet Union proposes permanent division of Vietnam into North and South, with the two nations admitted separately to the United Nations. The U.S. rejects the proposal, unwilling to recognize Communist North Vietnam.

11 January 1956, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem issues Ordinance No. 6, allowing the internment of former Viet Minh members and others “considered as dangerous to national defense and common security.” The Viet Minh was a largely communist organization that overthrew French colonial rule in Vietnam and assumed control of the government in North Vietnam in October 1954. Diem’s internment of former Viet Minh members was an attempt to consolidate his control of South Vietnam. He had already subdued opposition from various religious sects and had launched a drive against Viet Minh who remained in the South. Although by the end of 1956, Diem had smashed 90 percent of the former Viet Minh insurgent agents in the Mekong Delta, his ruthless drive against all dissidents did little to enhance his popularity, and he lost many potential allies. He managed to stay in power until November 1963, when he was assassinated during a coup by South Vietnamese army generals. Diem's anti-communist repression reduced communist party membership in South Vietnam by about two-thirds between 1955 and 1959.
In the words of scholar Bernard Fall (Bernard B. Fall was a prominent war correspondent, historian, political scientist, and expert on Indochina during the 1950s and 1960s., Ordinance No. 6 gave the Diem government "almost unchecked power to deal with the opposition--and the non-Communist opposition, least inured to clandestine operations, was hit hardest. The non-communist opposition to Diem came mostly at this time from the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects and the Bình Xuyên criminal mafia.

January 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pledges support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world. His statement greatly encourages Communists in North Vietnam to escalate their armed struggle to unify Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh.

11 January 1962, During his State of the Union address, President Kennedy states, "Few generations in all of history have been granted the role of being the great defender of freedom in its maximum hour of danger. This is our good fortune..."

11 January 1963, Senior White house aide Michael V. Forrestal advises President Kennedy to expect a long and costly war. ‘No one really knows how many of the 20,000 “Vietcong” killed last year were only innocent, or at least, persuadable, villagers, whether the strategic hamlet program is providing enough government services to counteract the sacrifices it requires, or how the mute class of villagers react to the charges against Diem of dictatorship and nepotism.’ he points out that Vietcong recruitment in South Vietnam is effective enough to continue the war without any infiltration from the North.

11 January 1965, Major cities–especially Saigon and Hue–and much of central Vietnam are disrupted by demonstrations and strikes led by Buddhists. Refusing to accept any government headed by Tran Van Huong, who they saw as a puppet of the United States, the Buddhists turned against U.S. institutions and their demonstrations took on an increasingly anti-American tone. Thich Tri Quang, the Buddhist leader, and other monks went on a hunger strike. A Buddhist girl in Nha Trang burned herself to death (the first such self-immolation since 1963). Although Huong tried to appease the Buddhists by rearranging his government, they were not satisfied. In the end, Huong was unable to put together a viable government and, on January 27, the Armed Forces Council overthrew him in a bloodless coup and installed Gen. Nguyen Khanh in power. Khanh was ousted by yet another coup on February 18, led by Air Commodore Nguyen Cao Ky and Maj. Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu. A short-lived civilian government under Dr. Phan Huy Quat was installed, but it lasted only until June 12, 1965. At that time, Thieu and Ky formed a new government with Thieu as the chief of state and Ky as the prime minister. Thieu and Ky would be elected as president and vice-president in general elections held in 1967.

11 January 1966, A new CIDG camp opens at Luong Son for Det A-237. (Dennis' note; SGT Robert Pryor sent me this additional info on this CIDG camp post: History of A-237 -- TDY team, A1/212 (1st Special Forces Group, established a camp at Luong Son (AKA Luong Thien) Hoa Da District, Binh Thuan Province, in the vicinity of the former Vietnamese Special Forces Training Center at Song Mao in January of 1965. This team started at An Tuc with an Apache Force, went to Song Mao and its satellite Phi Ho to train a CIDG force, and then opened the camp at Luong Son before returning to Okinawa. A1/212 was technically replaced by A7/7 (7th SFG) on January 8, 1966 and A7/7 was redesignated A-237 on January 11th, using the same personnel. The earliest assignments I can find using the name A-237 was on January 26, 1966. A full 12 man team was assigned on that day. The camp was converted to a Ruff-Puff unit on August 3, 1968.

11 January 1966 – 14 January 1966, Operation Quick Kick II, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division search and destroy operation, Bình Dương Province

11 January 1967, 11 GVN Constituent Assembly Drafting Committee unveils draft constitution.

11 January 1967, USMC UH-34D helicopter down off coast of Chu Lai in Quang Tin Province due to engine failure, 9 US KIA and 1 US MIA.

1967-1972, Operation Phoenix, CIA-organized assassination campaign against Vietcong cadres, across South Vietnam.

11 January 1968 – 21 January 1968, Operation Akron V, 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry Division search and destroy operation, Biên Hòa Province

11 January 1971 – 29 March 1971, Operation Upshur Stream, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines and 1st Battalion, 11th Marines search and destroy operation, Quảng Nam Province.

11 January 1973, With most details of a peace agreement worked out, Kissinger and Tho reached secret agreements regarding cease fires in both South Vietnam and Laos, the release of American POWs and political prisoners in South Vietnam and the partial withdrawal of North Vietnamese forces from South Vietnam.

11 January 1973, The Governor General of Australia Paul Hasluck proclaimed the cessation of hostilities in South Vietnam by Australian forces.

11 January 1975, The United States Department of State protested that North Vietnam had violated the 1973 Paris Peace Accords by infiltrating 160,000 soldiers and 400 armored vehicles into South Vietnam. North Vietnam had improved the Ho Chi Minh trail, now a network or all-weather roads, through Cambodia and Laos and expanded their armament stockpiles.

Today is 11 January 2021
Vietnam War Memorial facts
168 Names on the wall were born on 11 January
153 Names on the wall died on 11 January
245 men earned the Medal Of Honor in the Vietnam war and 160 of those men are listed on the wall

Other wall information/quotes; None today



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

“This country has not seen and probably will never know the true level of sacrifice of our veterans. As a civilian I owe an unpayable debt to all our military. Going forward let’s not send our servicemen and women off to war or conflict zones unless it is overwhelmingly justifiable and on moral high ground. The men of WWII were the greatest generation, perhaps Korea the forgotten, Vietnam the trampled, Cold War unsung and Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan vets underestimated. Every generation has proved itself to be worthy to stand up to the precedent of the greatest generation. Going back to the Revolution American soldiers have been the best in the world. Let’s all take a remembrance for all veterans who served or are serving, peace time or wartime and gone or still with us. 11/11/16 May God Bless America and All Veterans.” ― Thomas M Smith


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;
“All Great Change in America begins at the Dinner table.” -Ronald Reagan

“One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project.” – Ronald Reagan

“Man is not free unless government is limited.” – Ronald Reagan

“We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.” – Ronald Reagan


Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Vietnam War on this day 11 January in Vietnam War history; Captain (Then 1Lt, Ret. Lt Col) Harold A. Fritz, U.S. Army

Harold Arthur "Hal" Fritz (born February 21, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Vietnam War

Military career;
After earning a degree in elementary education from the University of Tampa, Fritz joined the United States Army from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1966. By January 11, 1969 he was serving as a first lieutenant in Troop A, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. During a firefight on that day, in Bình Long Province, South Vietnam during Operation Toan Thang II, Fritz showed conspicuous leadership despite being seriously wounded. He was subsequently promoted to captain and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Fritz reached the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring from the army after 27 years of service.[3][4] In addition to his Medal of Honor, Fitz was awarded the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with "V" device and oak leaf cluster, Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.

Later life;
Fritz currently lives in Peoria, Illinois, and works there at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Bob Michel Outpatient clinic.


FRITZ, HAROLD A.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Troop A, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Place and date: Binh Long Province, Republic of Vietnam, 11 January 1969. Entered service at: Milwaukee, Wis. Born: 21 February 1944, Chicago, 111.

Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. (then 1st Lt.) Fritz, Armor, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while serving as a platoon leader with Troop A, near Quan Loi. Capt. Fritz was leading his 7-vehicle armored column along Highway 13 to meet and escort a truck convoy when the column suddenly came under intense crossfire from a reinforced enemy company deployed in ambush positions. In the initial attack, Capt. Fritz’ vehicle was hit and he was seriously wounded. Realizing that his platoon was completely surrounded, vastly outnumbered, and in danger of being overrun, Capt. Fritz leaped to the top of his burning vehicle and directed the positioning of his remaining vehicles and men. With complete disregard for his wounds and safety, he ran from vehicle to vehicle in complete view of the enemy gunners in order to reposition his men, to improve the defenses, to assist the wounded, to distribute ammunition, to direct fire, and to provide encouragement to his men. When a strong enemy force assaulted the position and attempted to overrun the platoon, Capt. Fritz manned a machine gun and through his exemplary action inspired his men to deliver intense and deadly fire which broke the assault and routed the attackers. Moments later a second enemy force advanced to within 2 meters of the position and threatened to overwhelm the defenders. Capt. Fritz, armed only with a pistol and bayonet, led a small group of his men in a fierce and daring charge which routed the attackers and inflicted heavy casualties. When a relief force arrived, Capt. Fritz saw that it was not deploying effectively against the enemy positions, and he moved through the heavy enemy fire to direct its deployment against the hostile positions. This deployment forced the enemy to abandon the ambush site and withdraw. Despite his wounds, Capt. Fritz returned to his position, assisted his men, and refused medical attention until all of his wounded comrades had been treated and evacuated. The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by Capt. Fritz, at the repeated risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect the greatest credit upon himself, his unit, and the Armed Forces.