Good Morning RallyPoint on this day, 5 January, 2021, thank you for your service. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 5 January through the years of the war. Also today I have the honor of introducing RP members to a SF Medal Of Honor recipient due to actions on this day in Vietnam History. Welcome home all Veterans.. and to those that gave their all, …may you rest in peace...!

Today, 5 January in Vietnam history;

5 January 1957, President Eisenhower, in an address to Congress, proposed offering military assistance to Middle Eastern countries so they could resist Communist aggression; this became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine. Under this doctrine a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from US military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression. Eisenhower singled out the Soviet threat in his doctrine by authorizing the commitment of US forces "to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism". The phrase "international communism" made the doctrine much broader than simply responding to Soviet military action. A danger that could be linked to communists of any nation could conceivably invoke the doctrine.

5 January 1964, Un-named Operation, ARVN operation supported by U.S. aircraft to encircle a Vietcong battalion, Long An Province

5 January 1965, Un-named Operation, Six-company CIDG and Special Forces A-114 and A-411 Detachments operation, Search and Destroy, Execution: A-411SF Det from the CIDG camp at Trang Sup and A-114 from Suoi Da conducted a six-company CIDG operation into War Zone C, Tây Ninh Province.

5 January 1968, The "Boston Five" Michael Ferber, Dr. Benjamin Spock, William Sloan Coffin, Mitchell Goodman and Marcus Raskin were indicted by a Grand jury in Boston on charges of conspiring to counsel young men to violate draft laws.

5 January 1967 – 7 January 1967, Operation Niagara Falls, 1st Infantry Division operation to place a blocking force for Operation Cedar Falls, between the Thi Thanh River and Route 13 east of the Iron Triangle

5 January 1967 – 8 January 1967, Operation County Fair 1-25, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines security operation, Quảng Nam Province, Results: (no info).

5 January 1967 – 9 January 1967, Operation Fitchburg, 196th Light Infantry Brigade search and destroy operation to position a blocking force for Operation Cedar Falls, Ho Bo Woods, Tây Ninh Province

5 January 1967, 1st Battalion, 9th U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese Marine Brigade Force Bravo conduct amphibious operations in the Kien Hoa Province in the Mekong Delta, located 62 miles south of Saigon. This action, part of Operation Deckhouse V, marked the first time that U.S. combat troops were used in the Mekong Delta. The target area, called the Thanh Phu Secret Zone by the Viet Cong guerrillas, was believed to contain communist ammunition dumps, ordinance and engineering workshops, hospitals, and indoctrination centers. During the course of the operation, which lasted until January 15,. The joint amphibious operation assaulted an area of suspected enemy concentrations on the coast of Kien Hoa Province in the Than Phu Secret Zone located between the Co Chien and Ham Luong reaches of the Mekong but produced no significant contact. This was the last SLF operation outside of I CTZ and the Vietnamese Marines returned to their previous landlocked role. Results: 21 VC killed, 25 detained, 7 U.S. Marines KIA and 1 VNMC KIA..

5 January 1967 – 8 January 1967, Operation Seine, 1st, 2d and 3d ROKMC Bns., Search and destroy, 140 enemy killed, 76detained, 31 ROK KIA, 57 ROK WIA., Quang Ngai Province.

5 January 1968, U.S. forces in Vietnam launch Operation Niagara I to locate enemy units around the Marine base at Khe Sanh.

5 January 1968 – 8 April 1968, Operation Niagara, USAF bombing, around Khe Sanh Combat Base, KIA info unknown

5 January 1968 – 25 January 1968, Operation Sultan (1968), Special Forces Project DELTA operation, Kon Tum Province

5 January 1968 – 17 January 1968, Operation Big Muddy, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division operations, along the Saigon River

5 January, 1969 – President-elect Richard Nixon names Henry Cabot Lodge to succeed W. Averell Harriman as chief U.S. negotiator at the Paris peace talks. Lawrence Edward Walsh, a New York lawyer and former deputy attorney general, was named deputy chief negotiator to replace Cyrus R. Vance. Marshall Green, an Asian affairs expert and ambassador to Indonesia, was assigned to assist the negotiating team. The peace talks started on May 10, 1968, but had been plagued from the beginning by procedural questions that inhibited any meaningful negotiations or progress. Unfortunately, the change in personnel had no effect in fostering more meaningful negotiations.

5 January 1970 – 8 January 1970, Operation Flying Finn, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment operation against the 2nd Battalion, NVA 95C Regiment, Tây Ninh Province

5 January 1970, For actions of this date the Staff Sergeant Edward D. Miller, U.S. Army 5th Special Forces receives the Medal Of Honor. (See details below)

5 January 1971, The Cooper-Church Amendment goes into Effect. The Cooper-Church Amendment, which is attached to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-652), goes into effect. It cuts off funding for U.S. ground operations and military advisers in Laos and Cambodia and declared that U.S. aid to Cambodia should not be considered a commitment to the defense of Cambodia.
The amendment also stops U.S. support for South Vietnamese operations in those countries. The amendment is a direct legislative response to the U.S. incursion into Cambodia and is sponsored by Senators John Cooper (R-KY) and Frank Church (D-ID).

5 January 1971 – 11 February 1971, Operation Silver Buckle was a Royal Lao Army (RLA) offensive staged in Military Region 4 of Laos and was the deepest RLA penetration to date of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Reaching the Trailside village of Moung Nong, the forward two companies attacked the rear of the 50,000 man People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) garrison on 8 February 1971, just as Operation Lam Son 719 was launched by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and diverted at least six PAVN battalions away from the ARVN assault.

5 January 1971 - 30 May 1971, The ARVN launched Operation Toàn Thắng TT02 which culminated in the Battle of Snuol against PAVN and Viet Cong (VC) forces in the Snuol District of Cambodia. The PAVN/VC lost 1,043 killed while the ARVN lost 37 killed, 74 missing and more than 300 captured. The operation rendered the ARVN 5th Division combat ineffective.

5 January 1973, Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs, Mitchell Sharp, said he found it difficult to understand the reason for the U.S. Christmas bombing (Operation Linebacker II) and that "we deplore the action."

5 January 1979, Vietnamese troops occupy Phnom Penh and the Cambodian ruler Pol Pot is ousted from power.


Today is 5 January 2021
Vietnam War Memorial facts
156 Names on the wall were born on 5 January
125 Names on the wall died on 5 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;
It is reasonable to assume that the V (of the memorial) is a reference to Vietnam and the Vietnam War but it also can be seen to honor the Veterans who lost their lives.


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

“I have had a number of medals pinned on me in my day and this is certainly the highest ranking and the most honors I have received for any pinning ceremony. Even though it might just be a lapel pin to a lot of people, this is like a medal to the Vietnam veterans.” - Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Michael Brazelton’s (four-time Silver Star recipient and former Vietnam War POW) reflections at the July 8, 2015 Congressional Ceremony on the Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin.


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;
“Let us remember those that have gone before us, and let us thank God that such men lived.” Unkown Author

“Not everyone in the 60’s wore love beads, some wore Dog Tags.” Unknown Author

“We are forever indebted to those that gave their lives that we may be free” – Ronarld Reagan

“When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.” – Ronald Reagan



Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Vietnam War on this day 5 January; Staff Sergeant Edward D. Miller, U.S. Army 5th Special Forces.

Franklin Douglas "Doug" Miller (January 27, 1945–June 30, 2000) was an American and United States Army Special Forces staff sergeant during the Vietnam War who was awarded the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions above and beyond the call of duty on January 5, 1970. He was also awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and six Purple Hearts during his six years service in Southeast Asia.
A native of Elizabeth City, N.C., Miller eventually retired from the U.S. Army as a command sergeant major in 1992 before becoming a benefits counselor for the Veterans Administration.

Biography;
Miller joined the U.S. Army from Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 17, 1965. After basic training and advanced infantry training, he took the U.S. Army Special Forces course at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. In March 1966, he deployed with the 1st Cavalry Division to An Khe which is located in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. He undertook two years of airborne infantry reconnaissance work in Vietnam before he was first assigned to an Army Special Forces unit, the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam.[4] Miller also became a member of the elite and highly-secretive Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Studies and Observations Group (MAC-V SOG).

On January 5, 1970, Staff Sergeant Miller, who was administratively a member of the 5th Special Forces Group, was leading a joint American-South Vietnam Montagnard tribesmen (nicknamed "Yards") long-range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy-controlled territory in and from Kontum Province, Vietnam when his seven-man team was attacked by a platoon size North Vietnamese reconnaissance force in Laos after one of his Montangard team members tripped an enemy booby trap wounding five team members. Miller was wounded in the chest, and single-handedly held off an enemy assault, and arranged for a helicopter extraction of his surviving comrades, and again fought off the enemy alone until relief arrived; four team members were killed and all were wounded.
For his actions during the battle, in which he was seriously wounded, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Richard M. Nixon at a White House ceremony on June 15, 1971. Miller retold the story of that day in Vietnam, along with other experiences from his career in the Army Special Forces, in his memoir, Reflections of a Warrior: Six Years as a Green Beret in Vietnam. After receiving the medal, Miller asked to be returned to his unit in Vietnam. During his years (1966-1967, 1968-1972) in Vietnam, he had taken part in many secret operations and raids which included going across the borders of Cambodia and Laos. He left the Republic Vietnam in November 1972.

Miller retired from the U.S. Army on December 1, 1992 as a command sergeant major, and joined the Veterans Administration where he worked as a benefits counselor. He died in 2000 at age 55 from cancer and was cremated, with his ashes scattered in New Mexico. Miller was survived by a son, Joshua; a daughter, Danielle; and a brother, Walter, of Palmer, Alaska, who is also a retired command sergeant major of the Army Special Forces. The Franklin D. Miller Trust was established to provide material support for his two children.
Range 37, part of Fort Bragg in North Carolina, was rededicated in Miller's honor in 2002.


Medal of Honor citation;
Miller's Medal of Honor citation reads:
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces
Place and date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam
Entered service at: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Born: 27 January 1945
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Miller, 5th Special Forces Group, distinguished himself while serving as team leader of an American-Vietnamese long-range reconnaissance patrol operating deep within enemy controlled territory. Leaving the helicopter insertion point, the patrol moved forward on its mission. Suddenly, 1 of the team members tripped a hostile booby trap which wounded 4 soldiers. S/Sgt. Miller, knowing that the explosion would alert the enemy, quickly administered first aid to the wounded and directed the team into positions across a small stream bed at the base of a steep hill. Within a few minutes, S/Sgt. Miller saw the lead element of what he estimated to be a platoon-size enemy force moving toward his location. Concerned for the safety of his men, he directed the small team to move up the hill to a more secure position. He remained alone, separated from the patrol, to meet the attack. S/Sgt. Miller single-handedly repulsed 2 determined attacks by the numerically superior enemy force and caused them to withdraw in disorder. He rejoined his team, established contact with a forward air controller and arranged the evacuation of his patrol. However, the only suitable extraction location in the heavy jungle was a bomb crater some 150 meters from the team location. S/Sgt. Miller reconnoitered the route to the crater and led his men through the enemy controlled jungle to the extraction site. As the evacuation helicopter hovered over the crater to pick up the patrol, the enemy launched a savage automatic weapon and rocket-propelled grenade attack against the beleaguered team, driving off the rescue helicopter. S/Sgt. Miller led the team in a valiant defense which drove back the enemy in its attempt to overrun the small patrol. Although seriously wounded and with every man in his patrol a casualty, S/Sgt. Miller moved forward to again single-handedly meet the hostile attackers. From his forward exposed position, S/Sgt. Miller gallantly repelled 2 attacks by the enemy before a friendly relief force reached the patrol location. S/Sgt. Miller's gallantry, intrepidity in action, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army."
Richard M. Nixon