Good Morning RallyPoint on this day, 13 January, 2021, thank you for your service. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 13 January through the years of the war. Welcome home all Veterans.. and to those that gave their all, …may you rest in peace...!

Today, 13 January in Vietnam history;

13 January 1951, 20,000 Viet Minh under Gen. Giap begin a series of attacks on fortified French positions in the Red River Delta (extending from Hanoi to the Gulf of Tonkin). The open areas of the Delta, in contrast to the jungle, allow French troops under the new command of Gen. Jean de Lattre to strike back with devastating results from the 'De Lattre Line' which encircles the region. 6000 Viet Minh die while assaulting the town of Vinh Yen near Hanoi in the first attack, causing Giap to withdraw.

13 January 1962, The first mission under Operation Farm Gate were flown. T-28 fighter-bombers were used to support a South Vietnamese outpost under attack from the Viet Cong.
By the end of the month, U.S. Air Force pilots had flown 229 Farm Gate sorties. Operation Farm Gate was initially designed to provide advisory support to assist the South Vietnamese Air Force in increasing its capability. The 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron arrived at Bien Hoa Airfield in November 1961 and began training South Vietnamese Air Force personnel with older, propeller-driven aircraft. In December, President John F. Kennedy expanded Farm Gate to include limited combat missions by the U.S. Air Force pilots in support of South Vietnamese ground forces. By late 1962, communist activity and combat intensity had increased so much that President Kennedy ordered a further expansion of Farm Gate. In early 1963, additional aircraft arrived and new detachments were established at Pleiku and Soc Trang. In early 1964, Farm Gate was upgraded again with the arrival of more modern aircraft. In October 1965, another squadron of A-1E aircraft was established at Bien Hoa. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara approved the replacement of South Vietnamese markings on Farm Gate aircraft with regular U.S. Air Force markings. By this point in the war, the Farm Gate squadrons were flying 80 percent of all missions in support of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). With the build up of U.S. combat forces in South Vietnam and the increase in U.S. Air Force presence there, the role of the Farm Gate program gradually decreased in significance. The Farm Gate squadrons were moved to Thailand in 1967, and from there they launched missions against the North Vietnamese in Laos.

1964 - 1965, Operation DeSoto Continues, US Navy and Republic of Vietnam Navy operation along the coast of North Vietnam to provoke coastal radar installations so electronic intelligence (ELINT) ships could record the resulting transmissions, South China Sea.

1965 – 1972, Operation Footboy continues, MACVSOG covert operations in North Vietnam and North Vietnamese waters for the purpose of collecting intelligence, conducting psychological warfare operations, and other activities to create dissension among the populace, and for diversion of North Vietnamese resources, Location North Vietnam.

13 January 1965, Two US planes were shot down in Laos while on a combat mission.

13 January 1966 – 17 January 1966, Operation Matador II, 2/1 Cavalry search and destroy operation, Bình Định, Kon Tum and Pleiku Provinces

13 January 1966, An estimated enemy Bn ambushes an ARVN Bn in Hau Nghia Province. 1 US KIA, 2 US WIA, 25 ARVN KIA, 17 ARVN WIA.

13 January 1966 – 17 January 1966, Operation Quick Hop/Operation Tyler, 2nd Battalion, 327th Airborne Infantry Regiment search and destroy operation, Bình Thuận Province.
Interesting side note: The 327th Infantry Regiment (Bastogne Bulldogs) is an infantry regiment of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of the United States Army. During World War II, the 327th was a glider-borne regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. It fought during World War I as part of the 82nd Division. It has also been deployed in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and most recently to Iraq and Afghanistan. The song "Glider Rider" describes (humorously) some of the slights that glider-borne troops felt they received from the Army during World War II; though the regiment's public fame rose with the 1949 movie Battleground about the Siege of Bastogne in late 1944.

13 January 1968, The U.S. reported shifting most air targets from North Vietnam to Laos.

13 January 1968 – 28 January 1968, Operation Altoona, 199th Infantry Brigade search and destroy operation, Biên Hòa Province

13 January 1968 – 18 February 1968, Operation Haverford, 199th Infantry Brigade search and destroy operation, Gia Định and Long An Provinces


13 January 1969 – 9 February, Operation Bold Mariner (part of Operation Game Warden), HMM-362, SLF-A, ARVN 2nd Division, 2/26th Marines, HMM-164 cordon, search, and sweep operation was the largest amphibious assault of the war In Operation BOLD MARINER, a U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet task force puts a brigade-size Marine force ashore on the Batangan Peninsula, Quang Ngai Province, in South Vietnam. The region has long been a Viet Cong stronghold. The operation’s objective is to identify and clear out Viet Cong agents and secure the civilian population. The Marines, working in concert with U.S. Army and South Vietnamese troops, screen some 12,000 civilians and remove them from their villages for resettlement further south. They then identify and destroy nearly eight miles of enemy tunnels. The main portion of BOLD MARINER lasts until early February and is the largest amphibious operation of the war. 239 VC/PAVN KIA, 5 Allied KIA
Background;
The peninsula was believed to be supporting elements of the Viet Cong (VC) 38th Main Force Regiment, the 48th Local Force Battalion, P-31st Local Force Company and C-95th Sapper Company all of which posed a threat to Quảng Ngãi and allied forces in the area. The operation was planned to be the Marine Corps' largest amphibious assault since the Korean War with Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines and BLT 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines assaulting the north of the peninsula by helicopter and landing craft while the 23rd Infantry Division's Task Force Cooksey, composed of elements of the 46th Infantry Regiment and 1st Cavalry Regiment and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 2nd Division launching Operation Russell Beach to seal off the southern boundary.
Operation;
On 12 January the Marines conducted a feint against Mộ Đức District approximately 20 km south of the operation area.
At 07:00 on 13 January the Marines landed on the peninsula meeting negligible resistance. Once ashore the Marines linked up with Task Force Cooksey and then pushed east forcing the VC towards the sea. While encounters with the VC were minimal, the Marines encountered extensive networks of mines, booby-traps and fortifications. On 19 January 2/26 Marines captured 56 Vietnamese of military age, under interrogation they were found to be members of the C-95th Sapper Company. The Marines evacuated numerous civilians for screening, eventually totaling some 11,900 people.

On 24 January 2/26 Marines returned to their amphibious assault ships.
Following the conclusion of the assault phase, Operation Russell Beach continued with Marine combined action teams, the 46th Infantry Regiment and the ARVN 6th Regiment operating to cleanse the peninsula of VC/People's Army of Vietnam forces.
Aftermath;
The operation concluded on 7 February. During the operation the population was largely removed from the peninsula during the assault phase and a clear and search operation was followed by the construction of new roads and hamlets. The population was allowed to return in April 1969 together with South Vietnamese government institutions.

13 January 1971 – 25 January 1971, The ARVN 4th Armor Brigade and 4th Ranger Group and the 2nd Marine Brigade together with Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) forces launched Operation Cuu Long 44-02 to reopen Route 4 in Cambodia. The operation resulted in 211 PAVN and 16 ARVN killed.

13 January 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon announced that 70,000 U.S. troops would leave South Vietnam over the next three months, reducing U.S. troop strength there by May 1 to 69,000 troops. Since taking office, Nixon had withdrawn more than 400,000 American troops from Vietnam. With the reduction in total troop strength, U.S. combat deaths were down to less than 10 per week. However, Nixon still came under heavy criticism from those who charged that he was pulling out troops but, by turning to the use of air power instead of ground troops, was continuing the U.S. involvement in Vietnam rather than disengaging from the war. The last American troops would be withdrawn in March 1973 under the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords.


Today is 13 January 2021
Vietnam War Memorial facts
133 Names on the wall were born on 13 January
132 Names on the wall died on 13 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

When the power of love,
Overcomes the love of power,
Then, and only then, shall we have peace.
Anonymous
(Taken from a bulletin board in the DaNang Red Cross Center. Freedom Hill, 1971)


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

“The aims of the enemy have been put out of reach by the skill and the bravery of Americans and their allies – and by the enduring courage of the South Vietnamese who, I can tell you, last year lost eight men for every one of ours. The enemy is no longer close to victory. Time is no longer on his side. There is no cause to doubt the American commitment. Our decision to stand firm has been matched by our desire for peace.”-Lyndon Johnson, January 1966

“Our enemy was determined, persistent and experienced. This is a fact we cannot in all honesty deny… The communists never worried about their losses. Every military action was as good as any other, provided their political objective could be attained.” Can Van Vien, ARVN general, writing in 1983


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;

“We are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.” Ronald Reagan

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.” – Ronald Reagan

“There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.” – Ronald Reagan

“There are no easy answers’ but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” – Ronald Reagan


Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Vietnam War on this day 13 January in Vietnam War history; None on this day.