Timeline, May 31st
SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
May 31, 1964 (20th day of the 4th month, Year of the Dragon [Giap Thin]) (US Advisory): Operation Quyet Thang 303 begins in Kontum Province.
May 1964 (3rd and 4th months, Year of the Dragon [Giap Thin]) (US Advisory): This month, 25 government officials and 105 other South Vietnamese men, women and children have been killed by the VC, while 74 officials and 727 other South Vietnamese have been abducted. There have been 175 VC attacks, 1418 incidents of terrorism, 217 acts of sabotage and 140 forced propaganda sessions.
May 31, 1965 (1st day of the 5th month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Total Australian strength in Vietnam is now 1120. Total US troops in-country now 82,000.
May 31, 1965 (1st day of the 5th month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): The 173rd Airborne conducts its first brigade-sized operation in Vietnam.
May 31, 1968 (5th day of the 5th month, Year of the Monkey (Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): The 135th AHC provides combat assaults, tactical troop lifts and field resupplying missions to operations throughout III Corps from its base at Camp Black Horse.
May 31, 1968 (5th day of the 5th month, Year of the Monkey (Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Foxtrot Ridge: The Marines engage the NVA in a daylight battle on a nearby ridge, killing 44 of the enemy.
May 31, 1968 (5th day of the 5th month, Year of the Monkey (Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): The 50th Medical Detachment's new home at Gia Le is ready.
May 31, 1968 (5th day of the 5th month, Year of the Monkey (Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): The 61st AHC reports on its May activities from LZ English.
May 31, 1969 (16th day of the 4th month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): The Air Ambulance Platoon newsletter reports a Camp Eagle Dustoff helicopter was shot down earlier in the month.
May 31, 1971 (8th day of the 5th month, Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Counteroffensive, Phase VII): North Vietnamese troops are reported to have driven South Vietnamese troops from Snoul, Cambodia.
May 31, 1971 (8th day of the 5th month, Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Counteroffensive, Phase VII): RAAF No. 2 Squadron Canberra jet bombers fly their last mission in Vietnam (some sources give this date as May 2, 1971). The contribution by No. 2 Squadron over four years has been 11,963 sorties (of which 11,696 were combat missions), dropping 76,389 bombs, with the loss of two aircraft.
May 31, 1972 (19th day of the 4th month, Year of the Rat [Nham Ty]) (US Cease-Fire): Nguyen Hue/Easter Offensive: By mid-day, the battle for Kontum city is over and the NVA main force has withdrawn. Only a few pockets of resistance remain inside the city.
BORDER CLASHES:
May 31, 1975 (21st day of the 4th month, Year of the Hare [At Mao]): An American contract C-130 crew in Laos reports that armed Pathet Lao soldiers at Vietntiane have threatened to seize the aircraft because it has been "stolen from Vietnam."
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