Timeline, October 17th

[David]

FIRST INDOCHINA WAR:
October 17, 1945 (Year of the Rooster [At Dau]): French troops and armor are making slow progress toward My Tho, as the road has been cut in places, with the bridges destroyed and obstacles put up.

October 17, 1952 (Year of the Dragon [Nham Thin]): At 1700, Nghia Lo receives heavy mortar and artillery fire. Half an hour later, the Viet Minh attack. By 2100, the village of Nghia Lo is in Communist hands; the French garrison fights on through the night, eventually in hand-to-hand combat, but is overrun in the early morning hours. 30 km to the northwest, a 6th BPC patrol makes contact with three elements of the Viet Minh 312th Division, but Bigeard and his men in Tu Le can only watch and listen to the distant battle.

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
October 17, 1965 (Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Operation Iron Hand update: The first success -- a flight of four A-4 Skyhawk carrier bombers, led by an A-6 Instruder and carrying anti-radiation missiles, destroy a SAM complex near Kep airfield northeast of Hanoi.

October 17, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Shenandoah begins.

October 17, 1966 (Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Leeds begins.

October 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Operation Shenandoah III update: the battle of Ong Thanh.

October 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Australia now has 8000 troops committed to South Vietnam.

October 17, 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): The US 9th Infantry Division and the Royal Thai Army Volunteer Regiment begin Operation Don Ched.

October 17, 1967 1967 (Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): At around 1015, Battery C, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, makes contact with the enemy during a battalion RIF operation.

THIRD INDOCHINA WAR -- OTHER
October 17, 1982 (Year of the Dog [Nham Tuat]): The government of Vietnam turns over the remains of four Americans and identification data on three others.

[frisco-kid]

17OCT66, while serving as a paratrooper in C co, 2nd bn, 502nd PIR, 1st bde, 101st Abn. Div., somewhere around Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen Province, Sp/4 Horton Coker was KIA by small arms fire. He was in my platoon and my friend. "Coke" was from Seattle, WA. He was 20yrs. old.

[39mto39g]

I'll share a beer with Coke.

Ron

[frisco-kid]

You'da liked him Ron. I know he'll appreciate the beer.