Good Morning RallyPoint on this November 1, 2020. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 1 November. I am also honored to present to you another MOH award with this post. Welcome home all Veterans and those that gave their all may you all rest in peace...!

Today, 1 November in Vietnam war History


1 November 1946 - 31 December 1946, First Indochina war begins. France is determined to maintain control of its colony. The Viet Minh and the French attempt to negotiate an agreement for more than a year after Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnamese Independence. But with no agreement in sight, increased violence breaks out in the port city of Haiphong in November 1946. A French warship shells the city, killing thousands of Vietnamese civilians. In December, the fighting spreads to Hanoi. By the start of 1947 it sweeps throughout Vietnam and the First Indochina War is underway.

1 November 1955, The Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) was formed to aid South Vietnam. Military and civilian leaders in Washington, D.C. believe that political developments in Indochina throughout 1955—including Diem’s election and a Cambodian election—signal greater stability in the region. They begin seeking ways to increase the effectiveness and coordination of the American military and economic aid program in Indochina.
In response to these developments, MAAG begins to decentralize its operations. Its leaders begin reorganizing the group to recognize newly independent states in the region. In June 1955, the U.S. military’s Pacific Command forms a logistics-oriented MAAG, Cambodia. Lieutenant General Samuel T. Williams then assumes command of MAAG, Indochina on October 24, 1955. Under his leadership, and immediately after Diem’s formation of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the group drops the Indochina designation and officially becomes MAAG, Vietnam on November 1

1 November 1961 – 31 December 1961, Civilian Irregular Defense Groups Formally Established

1 November 1961, Following his one week mission to Vietnam, General Maxwell Taylor writes to President Kennedy from the Philippines, urging the commitment of a ‘US military task force’ to Vietnam and advocates a ‘massive joint effort’ with the South Vietnamese to cope with the flood and the Vietcong. He feels the presence of US ground troops is essential ‘to reverse the present downward trend of events.’ Cabling from japan, Secretary of State Dean Rusk acknowledges the great importance of the security of Southeast Asia, but questions Diem’s abilities as well as the ability of South Vietnam to succeed against the Communists even with US help.

1 November 1963 – 2 November 1963, General Harkins notified Washington that the coup d'état against the Diệm government was underway. A coup by opposition South Vietnamese generals began with troops ordered to seize key military installations and communication systems in Saigon. After midnight on November 2, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu were assassinated. Coup leader Duong Van Minh explained that "They had to be killed… Pres. Diem was too much respected among simple, gullible people in the countryside." A 3rd brother was later tricked into surrendering to US forces and was turned over to coup leaders and killed by firing squad. Col. Nguyen Van Thieu helped organize the coup that killed Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem.

1 November 1964, Viet Cong raiders attacked the U.S. air base at Bien Hoa. In 30 minutes, five U.S. servicemen and two South Vietnamese soldiers were killed and another 76 were wounded. 5 B-57s, 3 A-1Hs and 1 HH-43F were destroyed, and 13 B-57s, 3 A-1Hs, 3 HH-43s and 2 C-47s were damaged. It demonstrated that base operations in South Vietnam are vulnerable to direct enemy attacks. Ambassador Taylor reported that the VC "had changed the ground rules" by targeting a U.S. installation. He advocated a reprisal. The incident is the first of at least 475 attacks on primary air bases in South Vietnam over the course of the war.

1 November 1966, The VC launch an artillery attack on the National Day parade in Saigon firing more than 30 shells into the city, killing seven South Vietnamese and one American officer.

1 November 1965, operation Binder 1, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division search and destroy operation, Bình Dương Province
1 November 1965 – 2 November 1965, Operation Quyet Thang 172 ARVN 22nd Division, 1st Aviation Battalion, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 119th Aviation and the Marine Helicopter Squadron from Qui Nhơn operation to secure the rice rich Tuy Hòa Valley Phú Yên Province
1 November 1965 – 20 November 1965, Operation Custer Flats, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment search and destroy operation, Biên Hòa Province

1 November 1965 – 8 December 1965, Operation Viper I, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment and 1st and 2nd Battalions, 18th Infantry Regiment search and destroy operation, Biên Hòa Province
18 PAVN/VC KIA 0 Allied KIA

1 November 1965 – 7 Jan 1966, Operation Dagger One 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment and 1st and 2nd Battalions, 18th Infantry Regiment search and destroy operation Biên Hòa Province

1 November 1966 – January 1970, Operation Stable Door, US Navy defense of allied shipping against VC attacks

November 1967, Operation Eagle Thrust, Movement of the 101st Airborne Division to South Vietnam

1 November 1967, U.S. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey presents the Presidential Unit Citation to the 3rd Marine Division and the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion.

1 November 1967, Operation Coronado IX began. 9th Infantry Division, US Navy Task Force 117 and 5th Battalion, VNMC operation MRF/ARVN operation in the Mekong Delta. The operation resulted in 434 VC and 76 U.S. killed

1 November 1967 – 20 January 1968, Operation Lancaster , 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines operation to prevent PAVN infiltration from across the DMZ and from the west and to provide artillery and logistical support to the Marines at Khe Sanh. The operation resulted in 46 PAVN and 22 Marines killed.

1 November 1967 – 25 January 1968, Operation Neosho , 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines operation security operation in northern Thừa Thiên Province. The operation resulted in 77 PAVN killed and 9 captured and 12 Marines killed.

1 November 1967 – 28 February 1969, Operation Kentucky was a 3rd Marine Division operation to secure the Con Thien area against PAVN attacks. 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3d Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 1st and 2nd Battalions, 26th Marines and 3rd Tank Battalion anti-infiltration operation. The operation resulted in 3,839 PAVN killed and 117 captured and 520 Marines killed.

1 November 1967 – 20 January 1968, Operation Scotland, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 1st Battalion, 13th Marines and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 26th Marines operations (including the Battle of Khe Sanh). The operation terminates with commencement of Operation Pegasus, westernmost portion of Quảng Trị Province centered on the Khe Sanh area, 1,631 PAVN/VC KIA, 204 Allied KIA

1 November 1967 – 30 November 1967, Battle of Dak To, The North Vietnamese 1st Division attacks allied outposts around Dak To in the Central Highlands, an area that has been the scene of heavy fighting since the summer. Elements of the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), and 173d Airborne Brigade, reinforced by South Vietnamese troops, engage the enemy in difficult, hilly terrain that is thickly covered with jungle. On November 19, in the bloodiest action of the battle, elements of the 173d Airborne Brigade are caught in a well-planned ambush at Hill 875. The enemy is largely destroyed or forced to withdraw by November 23, after weeks of costly fighting. Several North Vietnamese regiments meant to be part of the North’s upcoming Tet Offensive are decimated. The battle of Dak To is the largest and costliest engagement in the Central Highlands since 1965.

1 November 1968, Viet Cong swimmers attach mines to the mobile riverine base LST USS Westchester County LST 1167. The Westchester County is supporting riverine operations along the My Tho River, in the northern Mekong Delta. The resulting explosions kill 26 servicemen.

1 November 1968, All bombing of North Vietnam was halted as directed by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. (Operation Rolling Thunder), Lyndon B. Johnson's halt to bombing in Vietnam went into effect at 8 AM, Washington time. After three-and-a-half years, Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end. In total, the campaign had cost more than 900 American aircraft. Eight hundred and eighteen pilots are dead or missing and hundreds are in captivity. Nearly 120 VPAF planes have been destroyed in air combat, accidents, or by friendly fire. According to U.S. estimates, 182,000 North Vietnamese civilians have been killed. Twenty thousand Chinese support personnel also have been casualties of the bombing.

1 November 1968 – Feb 1969, Operation Napoleon Saline II, 3rd Marine Division, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division strike operation in the vicinity of Quảng Trị City in coordination with ARVN forces including the 1st Regiment, 1st Division to support the pacification of Quảng Trị Province

1 November 1968, In South Vietnam, the Le Loi program was initiated. It was a civil action campaign intended to repair damage done during communist offensives earlier in the year.

1 November 1968, Charles Calvin Rogers (September 6, 1929 – September 21, 1990) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. (See details below)

1 November 1968, In South Vietnam, the Phuong Hoang (Phoenix) program began. The security initiative was run by the Central Intelligence Agency.

1 November 1969 – 1 May 1970, Following the conclusion of Operation Toan Thang III, U.S. and ARVN forces begin Operation Toan Thang IV with largely the same forces and objectives. When the operation concludes on May 1 1970 14,479 PAVN/VC have been killed for the loss of 685 U.S. killed.

1 November 1969 – 18 Jan 1970, Operation Putnam Wildcat, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment and 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment clear and search operation, Bình Định Province

1 November 1969 – 1 May 1970, Operation Toan Thang IV, 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division and 25th Infantry Division search and destroy operations to prevent PAVN/VC movement and operations, III Corps and IV Corps, 14,479 PAVN/VC KIA, 685 Alied KIA

1 November 1969 – 10 April 1970, Operation Commando Hunt II, USAF dry season area interdiction campaign in Laos

1 November 1971 – 9 November 1971 Operation Bedrock was an RLA offensive against the PAVN 46th Battalion near Salavan. The operation succeeded in securing the rice growing area near Salavan.

Today is November 1, 2020
Vietnam War memorial facts
166 Names on the wall were born on 1 November
200 Names on the wall died on 1 November
245 men earned the Medal Of Honor in the Vietnam war and 160 of those men are listed on the wall

Each of the walls is 246.75 feet long, composed of 70 separate inscribed granite panels, plus 4 at the end without names; the panels themselves are 40 inches in width; the largest panels have 137 lines of names, while the shortest have one; there are five names on each line, although with new additions of names, some lines now have six; the walls are supported by 140 concrete pilings driven approximately 35 feet (some are at 20 feet) to bedrock; at the vertex the walls are 10.1 feet in height.


Other Items of Interest;
For many baby boomers around the world — those born after WWII — the Vietnam War was the defining conflict of their generation. It was a conflict that nearly brought revolution to America, and ripped Vietnam to shreds. The conflict left an indelible mark on history, but there’s still much that people don’t know about this pivotal war.

Another aspect that was unique to this war is that we generally did not take, occupy, and control land--our strategy was to kill the enemy. ... The Vietnam War was different than any other war that the United States had fought to that point. This was largely because it was not mainly a war between armies.

The Pentagon Papers, a top-secret study of US involvement in Vietnam, was leaked to the press in 1971. The Papers consisted of 47 volumes and 7,000 pages.

The average age of the American soldier in Vietnam was 19 (compared to 26 in World War II). More than 35,000 of those who died were aged 21 or under.

Vietnam war quotes:

“The Vietnam War required us to emphasize the national interest rather than abstract principles. What President Nixon and I tried to do was unnatural. And that is why we didn't make it.” Henry Kissinger

“We managed to put together a compilation that had some creativity to it. In the meantime I was listening to the free radio stations and I noticed that during their war coverage they were playing these songs born out of the Vietnam War that were all critical of the soldiers”. Joni Mitchell

“Coming of age in the 1960s, I heard the word 'fascist' all the time. College presidents were fascists; Vietnam War supporters were fascists. Policemen who tangled with protesters were fascists - on and on.” David Oshinsky

“America lost its face with the debacle of the Vietnam War.” Tiny Tim

“I deliberately did not read anything about the Vietnam War because I felt the politics of the war eclipsed what happened to the veterans. The politics were irrelevant to what this memorial was.” Maya Lin (The Memorial (wall) was designed by an undergraduate at Yale University, Maya Ying Lin)


Today’s Medal of Honor (MOH) recipient;

Charles Calvin Rogers (September 6, 1929 – September 21, 1990) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. Charles Rogers joined the U.S. Army through the Army ROTC program at West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University), Institute, West Virginia, in 1952, and by 1968 was serving as a Lieutenant colonel in command of 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. On November 1, 1968, during Operation Toan Thang II, 1/5th Artillery was manning Fire Support Base Rita (11.579°N 106.375°E) near the Fishhook region of the Cambodian border when it came under heavy attack. Rogers rallied his men in the defense of the base and, despite being several times wounded, continued to lead the battalion until the attack was repulsed. For his actions during the battle, Rogers was nominated for the Medal of Honor. His nomination was approved and, on May 14, 1970, Rogers and 11 other servicemen were presented with Medals of Honor by President Richard Nixon at a ceremony in the White House.
After recovering Rogers attended the United States Army War College and received an M.S. degree from Shippensburg State College.[1] He rose to the rank of Major general before leaving the army in 1984. He later became a Baptist minister, serving U.S. troops stationed in Germany. After a brief battle with prostate cancer, he died in Munich, Germany, at age 61 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia.
ROGERS, CHARLES CALVIN
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S . Army, 1st Battalion, 5th Artillery, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Fishhook, near Cambodian border, Republic of Vietnam, 1 November 1968. Entered service at: Institute, W Va. Born: 6 September 1929, Claremont, W Va.

Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Lt. Col. Rogers, Field Artillery, distinguished himself in action while serving as commanding officer, 1st Battalion, during the defense of a forward fire support base. In the early morning hours, the fire support base was subjected to a concentrated bombardment of heavy mortar, rocket and rocket propelled grenade fire. Simultaneously the position was struck by a human wave ground assault, led by sappers who breached the defensive barriers with bangalore torpedoes and penetrated the defensive perimeter. Lt. Col. Rogers with complete disregard for his safety moved through the hail of fragments from bursting enemy rounds to the embattled area. He aggressively rallied the dazed artillery crewmen to man their howitzers and he directed their fire on the assaulting enemy. Although knocked to the ground and wounded by an exploding round, Lt. Col. Rogers sprang to his feet and led a small counterattack force against an enemy element that had penetrated the howitzer positions. Although painfully wounded a second time during the assault, Lt. Col. Rogers pressed the attack killing several of the enemy and driving the remainder from the positions. Refusing medical treatment, Lt. Col. Rogers reestablished and reinforced the defensive positions. As a second human wave attack was launched against another sector of the perimeter, Lt. Col. Rogers directed artillery fire on the assaulting enemy and led a second counterattack against the charging forces. His valorous example rallied the beleaguered defenders to repulse and defeat the enemy onslaught. Lt. Col. Rogers moved from position to position through the heavy enemy fire, giving encouragement and direction to his men. At dawn the determined enemy launched a third assault against the fire base in an attempt to overrun the position. Lt. Col. Rogers moved to the threatened area and directed lethal fire on the enemy forces. Seeing a howitzer inoperative due to casualties, Lt. Col. Rogers joined the surviving members of the crew to return the howitzer to action. While directing the position defense, Lt. Col. Rogers was seriously wounded by fragments from a heavy mortar round which exploded on the parapet of the gun position. Although too severely wounded to physically lead the defenders, Lt. Col. Rogers continued to give encouragement and direction to his men in the defeating and repelling of the enemy attack. Lt. Col. Rogers’ dauntless courage and heroism inspired the defenders of the fire support base to the heights of valor to defeat a determined and numerically superior enemy force. His relentless spirit of aggressiveness in action are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.