Good Morning RallyPoint on this, 3 April 2021 thank you for your service. Here is your history for the Vietnam War on this day 3 April through the years of the war..... Welcome home all Veterans… and to those that gave their all, …may you rest in peace...!

Today, 3 April in Vietnam War History;

3 April 1954, President Eisenhower met with eight Congressional leaders, including Lyndon Johnson, to discuss Operation Vulture, a proposal to aid the French trapped in Dien Bien Phu with carrier-based air strikes. The members of Congress said they would support air strikes only if it were part of a multinational effort.

3 April 1963, John Paul Vann departed Vietnam for an assignment in the United States. Vann met with and briefed many officers at the Pentagon about the military situation in Vietnam. He was invited to brief the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on 8 July. However, his briefing was cancelled at the last minute, apparently by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell Taylor. Vann's proposed briefing to the JCS was at odds with what General Harkins was telling Washington. He planned to say that the body counts ARVN reported of VC killed were inflated and included many non-combatants and that the indiscriminate use of artillery and air strikes was alienating the Vietnamese population.

3 April 1965, The first jet-to-jet combat of the war took place when four U.S. Navy F-8E Crusaders from the USS Hancock were engaged by eight Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) MiG-17 fighters from the 921st Sao Do Regiment. One of the F-8Es was set on fire by cannons fired from a MiG-17 but was able to land safely at Da Nang. The VPAF claim to have shot down two F-8Es. In future years, 3 April would be a Vietnamese public holiday commemorated as "Air Force Day."

3 April 1965 – 11 November 1968, Operation Steel Tiger (part of Operation Barrell Roll), U.S. 2nd Air Division aerial interdiction effort targeted against the infiltration of NVA men and material moving south from North Vietnam, southeastern Laos. 132 aircraft or helicopters lost.
Operation Steel Tiger was a covert U.S. 2nd Air Division, later Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction effort targeted against the infiltration of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) men and material moving south from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) through southeastern Laos to support their military effort in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) during the Vietnam War.

The operation was initiated by the 2nd Air Division on 3 April 1965, continued under the direction of the Seventh Air Force when that headquarters was created on 1 April 1966, and had a subsidiary operation code-named Operation Tiger Hound. The purpose of Steel Tiger was to impede the flow of men and materiel on the enemy logistical routes collectively known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route to the North Vietnamese). Four Russian built MiG fighters engage the raiders in the first reported combat by the North Vietnamese Air Force.

Bombing of the trail system had begun on 14 December 1964 with the advent of Operation Barrel Roll. Due to increasing U.S. intelligence of the build-up of regimental-size PAVN units operating in South Vietnam, the increased American military presence in that country, and the initiation of Operation Rolling Thunder, American planners in Washington and Saigon decided that the bombing in southeastern Laos should be stepped up. On 11 November 1968 Steel Tiger and Tiger Hound were combined and renamed Operation Commando Hunt.

It was estimated by U.S. intelligence analysts that, during 1965, 4,500 PAVN troops were infiltrated through Laos along with 300 tons of materiel each month. From April to June 1966, the U.S. launched 400 B-52 Stratofortress anti-infiltration sorties against the trail system. By the end of 1967 and the absorption of Steel Tiger operations into Commando Hunt, 103,148 tactical air sorties had been flown in Laos. These strikes were supplemented by 1,718 B-52 Arc Light strikes. During the same time frame, 132 U.S. aircraft or helicopters had been shot down over Laos. The actions implemented aircraft of the Air Force, Marines, and Navy flying from carriers in the South China Sea as well as bases in South Vietnam and Thailand. While B-52 bombers accounted for a majority of the strikes, the most effective aircraft were fixed wing gunships, including the AC-47, the AC-119, and the AC-130.

Operation Steel Tiger, Operation Tiger Hound, and Operation Commando Hunt inevitably slowed the flow of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong men and supplies into South Vietnam and required them to divert a multitude of assets to keep the Ho Chi Minh Trail in serviceable condition, however airpower was never able to completely close the trail during the war.


3 April 1965, Dean Rusk informs the embassy in Saigon that more units have been approved to go to Vietnam and that the mission of the Marines is to be expanded.

3 April 1965 – 9 April 1965, Operation: QUYET THANG 131, VNMC Task Force ALPHA, 1st and 2nd VNMC Bns, Road clearing Operation, Hoai Nhon, An Thai, Binh Dinh Province.
TF ALPHA was tasked with clearing Route 1 from Hoai Nhon to the Quang Ngai border. On 7 April, an estimated reinforced Bn from the 2nd PLAF Regiment attacked the 2nd VNMC near An Thai hamlet. Results: 205 enemy killed,10 detained, 4 VNMC KIA and 22 VNMC WIA

3 April 1965, Attempts to blow up the Thanh Hoa Bridge. As part of Operation ROLLING THUNDER, the U.S. Air Force launches a strike against the Thanh Hoa Bridge, which spans the Song Ma River in North Vietnam, approximately 70 miles south of Hanoi. The bridge represents a choke point on a crucial North Vietnamese supply route. A total of 79 U.S. aircraft attack the bridge with a variety of munitions but fail to destroy it. Before a bombing halt in 1968, the U.S. Air Force and Navy launch numerous strikes on the Thanh Hoa Bridge. None manage to take the bridge permanently out of service. Not until 1972, with the help of new precision electro-optical and laser-guided bombs, does U.S. air power succeed in destroying it.

3 April 1966, Three-thousand South Vietnamese Army troops led a protest against the Ky regime in Saigon.

April 1966, Operation Cuu Long 7, ARVN 7th Division search and destroy operation, Kien Tuong Province, 140 Enemy KIA, 11 ARVN KIA.

April 1966, Operation Lam Son 255, ARVN 1st Division operation, Quảng Tín Province, 33 Enemy KIA

April 1966, Operation Nevada/Operation Lien Ket 34, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, ARVN 2nd Division and VNMC search and destroy operation, Batangan Peninsula, Quảng Ngãi Province , 68 Enemy KIA, 3 Allied KIA

3 April 1966, Premier Ky declares that Da Nang is in communist hands and indicates GVN troop movement to the city is imminent. Ky and Chief of State Thieu announce a National Political Congress will soon convene to discuss creation of a constitution-drafting body.

3 April 1966, Enemy fires 10 British 25-pounder artillery shells from Cambodia into the Cai Cai Special Forces camp in Kien Tuong Province.

April 1967 – 11 May 1967, Operation Spearhead, 4th Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment and TF 117 search and destroy operation, Rung Sat Special Zone.

April 1967 – Onwards, Operation Daniel Boone, MACVSOG reconnaissance to verify suspected enemy locations, infiltration routes and supply bases. During 1966 and 1967, it became obvious to MACV that the North Vietnamese were using neutral Cambodia as a part of their logistical system, funneling men and supplies to the southernmost seat of battle. Unknown was the extent of that use. The answer shocked intelligence analysts. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, trying to balance the threats facing his nation, had allowed Hanoi to set up a presence in Cambodia. Although the extension of Laotian Highway 110 into Cambodia in the tri-border region was an improvement to its logistical system, North Vietnam was now unloading communist-flagged transports in the port of Sihanoukville and trucking the cargo to its base areas on the eastern border.
Beginning in 1966, SOG conducted prisoner snatch missions of PAVN soldiers behind enemy lines along the Hồ Chí Minh Trail. No matter the team's primary mission, capturing enemy soldiers always remained the team's secondary mission when the opportunity presented itself due to valuable intelligence gained related to PAVN troop movements, size, and base locations. Teams also received rewards including free R&R trips to Taiwan or Thailand aboard a SOG C-130 blackbird, a $100 bonus for each American, a new Seiko watch and cash to each indigenous member. Recon teams succeeded in capturing 12 enemy soldiers in Laos during that year.
In April 1967, MACV-SOG was ordered to commence Operation Daniel Boone, a cross-border recon effort in Cambodia. Both SOG and the 5th Special Forces Group had been preparing for just such an eventuality. The 5th SF had gone so far as to create Projects B-56 Sigma and B-50 Omega, units based on SOG's Shining Brass organization, which had been conducting in-country recon efforts on behalf of the field forces, awaiting authorization to begin the Cambodian operations. A turf war broke out between the 5th and SOG over missions and manpower. The Joint Chiefs decided in favor of MACV-SOG, since it had already successfully conducted covert cross-border operations. Operational control of Sigma and Omega was eventually handed over to SOG. (Dennis’s note, this operation is highly detailed and too large for this post, if you wish to learn more, go to the following link; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Assistance_Command,_Vietnam_%E2%80%93_Studies_and_Observations_Group#Daniel_Boone


3 April 1968 – 7 April 1968, Operation Atlas I, 1st Infantry Division security operation, Bình Dương Province.

3 April 1968 – 7 April 1968, Operation Carlisle 1st Infantry Division security operation, Phước Long Province.

3 April 1968 – 7 April 1968, Operation Waterford 1st Infantry Division security operation, Bình Long Province, 13 Enemy KIA.

3 April 1968, North Vietnam agreed to meet with U.S. representatives to set up preliminary peace talks though Hanoi first denounces bombing limitations as a “perfidious trick.” In its regular radio broadcasts they characterize the meeting to discuss “the unconditional cessation of the US bombing raids and all other acts of war against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam so that talks may start.” President Johnson ignores the rhetoric and simply announces the intent to “establish contact with the representatives of North Vietnam.”

3 April 1969, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States is moving to “Vietnamize” the war as rapidly as possible. By this, he meant that the responsibility for the fighting would be gradually transferred to the South Vietnamese as they became more combat capable. However, Laird emphasized that it would not serve the United States’ purpose to discuss troop withdrawals while the North Vietnamese continued to conduct offensive operations in South Vietnam. Despite Laird’s protestations to the contrary, Nixon’s “Vietnamization” program, as he would announce it in June, did include a series of scheduled U.S. troop withdrawals, the first of the war.

3 April 1969, The Nixon administration announced that the United States was moving to "Vietnamize" the war. This was the process of gradually transferring the responsibility for fighting to the South Vietnamese.

3 April 1969 – 7 April 1969, Operation Hancock Knight, 3rd Battalion, 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment clear and search operation, Lâm Đồng Province.

3 April 1969, The Nixon administration announced that the United States was moving to "Vietnamize" the war. This was the process of gradually transferring the responsibility for fighting to the South Vietnamese.

3 April 1969, At the U.S. military headquarters in Saigon, it was announced the total number of Americans killed in Vietnam had reached 33,641. This was more deaths than the total Korean War deaths of 32,629.

3 April 1970 – 3 May 1970, Operation Tat Thang 18, ARVN 24th Special Tactical Zone reconnaissance operation using elements of the 1st Ranger Group and 42nd, 45th and 47th Regiments, north of Dak Saeng, Kon Tum Province.

3 April 1970, US troops pursuing a Communist battalion toward the Cambodian border meet heavy resistance.

3 April 1971, President Nixon ordered Calley to be transferred from Fort Leavenworth prison to house arrest.


3 April 1972, The United States prepares hundreds of B-52s and fighter-bombers for possible air strikes to blunt the recently launched North Vietnamese invasion. The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was sent from the Philippines to join the carriers already off the coast of Vietnam and provide additional air support. This attack was the opening move of the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive (later called the “Easter Offensive”), a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the blow that would win them the war. The attacking force included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. The main North Vietnamese objectives, in addition to Quang Tri in the north, were Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south. North Vietnam had a number of reasons for launching the offensive: impressing the communist world and its own people with its determination; capitalizing on U.S. antiwar sentiment and possibly hurting President Richard Nixon’s chances for re-election; proving that “Vietnamization” was a failure; damaging the South Vietnamese forces and government stability; gaining as much territory as possible before a possible truce; and accelerating negotiations on their own terms. Initially, the South Vietnamese defenders were almost overwhelmed, particularly in the northernmost provinces, where they abandoned their positions in Quang Tri and fled south in the face of the enemy onslaught. At Kontum and An Loc, the South Vietnamese were more successful in defending against the attacks, but only after weeks of bitter fighting. Although the defenders suffered heavy casualties, they managed to hold their own with the aid of U.S. advisors and American airpower. Fighting continued all over South Vietnam into the summer months, but eventually the South Vietnamese forces prevailed against the invaders and retook Quang Tri in September. With the communist invasion blunted, President Nixon declared that the South Vietnamese victory proved the viability of his Vietnamization program, instituted in 1969 to increase the combat capability of the South Vietnamese armed forces.

3 April 1975, General Weyand met with President Thiệu in Saigon. Weyand promised more American aid to South Vietnam, but declined Thiệu's request for a renewal of American bombing of North Vietnamese forces.

3 April 1975, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm resigned and made preparations to move to Paris, France.

3 April 1975, The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency predicted that South Vietnam would be defeated in 30 days

3 April 1975, President Ford announced Operation Babylift, a plan for the US to bring orphans from South Vietnam to the United States to be adopted by American parents. During the next few weeks, 2,545 Vietnamese children would be flown out of the country of which 1,945 would come to the United States. 51 percent of the children were under 2 years old. 451 of the children were racially mixed, presumably the children of American and other soldiers who had been stationed in Vietnam. Operation Babylift was controversial as critics alleged that not all of the children were orphans and parents had not given their permission for their children to be adopted. There were also criticisms that the children were being removed from their own culture to save them from communist influences.

3 September 1975, Operation New Life, Resettlement of over 110,000 refugees from Indochina.
Operation New Life was the care and processing on Guam of Vietnamese refugees evacuated from Saigon in the closing days of the Vietnam War. More than 111,000 of the evacuated 130,000 Vietnamese refugees were transported to Guam where they were housed in tent cities for a few weeks while being processed for resettlement. The great majority of the refugees were resettled in the United States. A few thousand were resettled in other countries or chose to return to Vietnam on the vessel Thuong Tin.

The story of the Viet Nam Thuong Tin;

Among the refugees in Guam were about 1,600 people who requested repatriation to Vietnam. Many of them were South Vietnamese army and naval personnel. The Vietnamese navy had loaded up their ships with people during the evacuation and sailed out to sea, ending up in Guam. Their families often left behind, the soldiers and sailors requested—then demanded—that they be allowed to return to Vietnam.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees initially took responsibility for the repatriation. The Vietnamese government demanded that a lengthy questionnaire be completed for each potential returnee. UNHCR completed the questionnaires and submitted them, but no response was forthcoming from Vietnam. Meantime, the refugees became more insistent in their demands to return, including staging demonstrations and threatening violence and suicide. In September 1975, Julia Taft recommended that the Vietnamese be given the merchant ship Thuong Tin and allowed to depart Guam for Vietnam. The U.S. Navy renovated the ship for the voyage to Vietnam.

The State Department was concerned that some among the potential returnees were being coerced by their colleagues into saying they wished to return to Vietnam. State isolated the potential returnees and interviewed each of them individually. Those affirming they wished to return to Vietnam were escorted directly from the interview to the Tuong Tin for departure. Those declining to return, numbering 45, were escorted to the mostly-empty refugee camps for onward transportation to the U.S. The total number of Vietnamese crowded onto the Thuong Tin was 1,546, of whom most were men whose families were in Vietnam. The Thuong Tin departed Guam on 16 October 1975.

The fate of the Thuong Tin was unknown for more than a decade. The ship's captain, Tran Dinh Tru, later told his story. On arrival in Vietnam, Tru and at least some of his shipmates were sent to
re-education camps in the rural areas of Vietnam. Tru was imprisoned for 12 years.

The Thuong Tin returnees were nearly the last Vietnamese refugees on Guam. The camps there were closed on 23 October and Operation New Life terminated on 1 November 1975.

Aftermath;
The Vietnamese on Guam were flown to one of four military bases: Fort Chaffee in Arkansas, Camp Pendleton in California, Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania, and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. There, the U.S. military provided them food and temporary housing while the IATF and charitable organizations gave them language and cultural training and sought sponsors and locations for their resettlement. By 20 December 1975 all the Vietnamese had been resettled in every state and in several foreign countries.


Today is 3 April 2021
Vietnam War Memorial facts
185 Names on the wall were born on 3 April
161 Names on the wall died on 3 April
245 men earned the Medal Of Honor in the Vietnam war and 160 of those men are listed on the wall

Other wall information/stories/quotes & Notes left at the wall; None today’


Vietnam war quotes and other interesting items; None today.


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 can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us." - Abraham Lincoln on holding elections during a military emergency.

“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”- George Orwell

"I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." - President George W. Bush, September 14, 2001

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”- Plato

"...we've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion but what's important... "- Ronald Reagan, in his farewell address

Congressional Medal of Honor Citation for actions taken in the Vietnam War on this day 3 April in Vietnam War history. None on this date throughout the war years.