Good Morning RallyPoint on this day, 9 January, 2021, thank you for your service. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 9 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 9 January in Vietnam History. Welcome home all Veterans.. and to those that gave their all, …may you rest in peace...!

Today, 9 January in Vietnam history;

9 January 1947, French General Leclerc broke off all talks with Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh.

9 January 1965, General Nguyen Khanh and the newly formed Armed Forces Council-generals agreed to support the civilian government of Premier Trran Van Huong.
Huong and the South Vietnamese military again reiterated their commitment to civilian rule through an elected legislature and a new constitution, and that "all genuine patriots" would be "earnestly assembled" to collaborate in making a plan to defeat the communists. Khánh and Taylor were both signatories to this announcement

The coup occurred when Khanh and a group of generals, led by Air Commodore Nguyen Cao Ky and Army Maj. Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu, arrested three dozen high officers and civilian officials and took control of the government. The coup was part of the continuing political instability that followed the November 1963 coup that resulted in the murder of President Ngo Dinh Diem. The period following the overthrow of Diem was marked by a series of coups and “revolving door” governments. In addition to pledging to support Huong, Khanh and the generals agreed to release five High National Council members and 50 others arrested during the coup. They also promised to confine their activities to the military sphere. A national convention was to be convened to “assume legislative powers” and to draw up a permanent constitution. However, this did not happen. Tran Van Huong was unable to put together a viable government and the Armed Forces Council ousted him on January 27 and installed General Khanh to power. Khanh was ousted by yet another coup on February 18, led by Ky and Thieu. Khanh then moved to the United States and settled in Palm Beach, Florida. 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 were elected as president and vice-president in general elections held in 1967. They served together until 1971, when Thieu was re-elected president.

9 January 1966 – 11 January 1966, Operation Flying Tiger VI, ARVN and ROK Capital Division search and destroy operation, Bình Định Province, 192 VC/PAVN KIA, 11 Allied KIA, 69 detained, 42 ROK WIA.

9 January 1967 – 7 February 1967, .Operation: BLACKJACK 31, 5th SFGA, A-304 conducted mobile guerrilla operations in southern Phuoc Long and northern Long Khanh Provinces. 55 contacts were made and 77 airstrikes were directed against enemy forces. 56 enemy killed, 1 CIDG KIA, 4 CIDG WIA.

9 January 1967, An AC-47 gunship was downed by probable ground fire42 km southeast of Quang Ngai City, 7 US KIA.

9 January 1967, World's fourth-largest dredge, the JAMAICA BAY, mined and sunk by VC at Dong Tam, Dinh Tuong Province.

9 January 1967 – 10 January 1967, Operation Caloundra, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment operation against the VC village cadres, cordon-and-search, Bình Ba, 7 km (4 mi) north along Route 2, 9 Enemy detained

9 January 1967, In the Raid on Ban Naden a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-led team raided a Pathet Lao prisoner of war camp in Ban Naden in northern Laos. The operation successfully freed 82 prisoners.

9 January 1967 – 12 January 1967, Operation County Fair 1-29, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines security operation, Quảng Nam Province

9 January 1967, The Agency for International Development (AID) attempts to respond to reports in the American media of widespread corruption and thievery of commodities sent to South Vietnam by the United States. In a report to the president, AID officials asserted, “No more than 5-6 percent of all economic assistance commodities delivered to Vietnam were stolen or otherwise diverted.”

9 January 1968, At a meeting with Commander of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) General William Westmoreland, II Field Force, Vietnam commander Major General Frederick C. Weyand showed Westmoreland that PAVN/VC main force units in the III Corps area were moving in from the Cambodian border towards Saigon. Weyand received permission from Westmoreland to cancel scheduled operations near the border and shift his forces back towards Saigon.

On 9 January 1970, for actions during Operation Toan Thang IV November 1969 and 1 May 1970, The operation was designed to keep pressure on Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces in III Corps. For action during this operation, Specialist Fourth Class DANNY J. PETERSEN, U.S. Army earned and awarded posthumously the MOH (See below for details).

9 January 1973 Kissinger and Le Duc Tho in Paris achieved a "breakthrough" in the peace talks with the main obstacle remaining the opposition of the South Vietnamese government to the agreement.

9 January 1974, Cambodian Government troops opened a drive to avert insurgent attack on Phnom Penh.


Today is 9 January 2021
Vietnam War Memorial facts
178 Names on the wall were born on 9 January
163 Names on the wall died on 9 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;

There is one other wall, of course. One we never speak of. One we never see, One which separates memory from madness. In a place no one offers flowers. THE WALL WITHIN. We permit no visitors. Mine looks like any of a million nameless, brick walls- it stands in the tear-down ghetto of my soul; that part of me which reason avoids for fear of dirtying its clothes and from atop which my sorrow and my rage hurl bottles and invectives at the rolled-up windows of my passing youth. Do you know the wall I mean? -Steve Mason, U.S. Army captain (Vietnam), poet Excerpted from the poem "The Wall Within" by Steve Mason, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran considered the unofficial poet laureate of the Vietnam War. "The Wall Within" was read at the 1984 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, and was entered in its entirety into the Congressional Record.”
— Kevin Sites

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

“The Vietnam War is more than 50 years old and veterans of that conflict are aging. We need to get them to share their stories and experiences during the war with young people who know very little about it.” -RODNEY WHATLEY

“It was to be a "limited war" which accorded well with Johnson's wish to persuade the American people that what was happening in Vietnam was not really a "war."”- WILLIAM R. HAYCRAFT

“In America's nonlinear war, with no frontline or clear political or territorial goals, the number of enemy killed apparently revealed who was "winning".... The military "kill" becomes the primary target -- simply because the essential political target is too elusive for us, or worse, because we do not understand its importance.” -PAUL HAM


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;

“Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him.” – Ronald Reagan

“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.” -Ronald Reagan

“One way to make sure crime doesn’t pay would be to let the government run it.” – Ronald Reagan

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth.” – Ronald Reagan



Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Vietnam War on this day 9 January in Vietnam War history; Specialist Fourth Class DANNY J. PETERSEN, U.S.Army

Danny John Petersen (March 11, 1949 – January 9, 1970) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Biography;
Petersen joined the Army from Oskaloosa, Kansas in 1968, and by January 9, 1970 was serving as a specialist four in Company B, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On that day, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, during Operation Toan Thang IV Petersen repeatedly exposed himself and his armored personnel carrier to enemy fire in order to protect the other soldiers of his unit. After his vehicle was disabled, he stayed behind and was mortally wounded while providing covering fire so others could withdraw.
Petersen, aged 20 at his death, was buried in Netawaka Cemetery, Netawaka, Kansas. A portion of US-75 from Holton to Netawaka is named the "Danny J. Petersen Memorial Highway" in his honor.


PETERSEN, DANNY J.
Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 4th Battalion, 23d Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Tay Ninh Province, Republic of Vietnam, 9 January 1970. Entered service at: Kansas City, Mo. Born: 11 March 1949, Horton, Kans.


Medal of Honor citation;
Specialist Petersen's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Specialist Petersen distinguished himself while serving as an armored personnel carrier commander with Company B during a combat operation against a North Vietnamese Army Force estimated to be of battalion size. During the initial contact with the enemy, an armored personnel carrier was disabled and the crewmen were pinned down by the heavy onslaught of enemy small arms, automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Spec. Petersen immediately maneuvered his armored personnel carrier to a position between the disabled vehicle and the enemy. He placed suppressive fire on the enemy's well-fortified position, thereby enabling the crewmembers of the disabled personnel carrier to repair their vehicle. He then maneuvered his vehicle, while still under heavy hostile fire to within 10 feet of the enemy's defensive emplacement. After a period of intense fighting, his vehicle received a direct hit and the driver was wounded. With extraordinary courage and selfless disregard for his own safety, Spec. Petersen carried his wounded comrade 45 meters across the bullet-swept field to a secure area. He then voluntarily returned to his disabled armored personnel carrier to provide covering fire for both the other vehicles and the dismounted personnel of his platoon as they withdrew. Despite heavy fire from 3 sides, he remained with his disabled vehicle, alone and completely exposed. Spec. Petersen was standing on top of his vehicle, firing his weapon, when he was mortally wounded. His heroic and selfless actions prevented further loss of life in his platoon. Spec. Petersen's conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism are in the highest traditions of the service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.