Timeline, March 16th

[David]

March 16, 1966 (25th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): Operation Silver City update. During the operation, the Reconnaissance Platoon of the 173rd Airborne's 1/503rd HQ company takes heavy fire while moving to reinforce its sister battalion.

March 16, 1967 (5th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Action during Operation Sam Houston.

March 16, 1968 (18th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Operation Box Springs starts in III Corps. As part of the operation, Company D, 3d Battalion. 187th Infantry, 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne, is inserted by helicopter into a suspected enemy stronghold in a RIF operation.

March 16, 1968 (18th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): At about 8:00 A.M. the first platoon of Charlie Company, TF Barker, enters the village of Beautiful Jasmine, or My Lai. It's later reported to HQ that a battle has ensued in which 128 Viet Cong were killed and three weapons were captured. That night, the VC return to bury the dead. Twenty months later US Army investigators will discover three mass graves containing the bodies of about 500 villagers.

March 16, 1968 (18th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): In Darlac Province, eight UH-1H and two UH-1C helicopters of the 155th AHC support ARVN elements at Cheo Reo. In a combat assault 128 troops are inserted in 26 sorties. The following day some 209 troops are extracted by company aircraft in 54 combat sorties without incident.

March 16, 1969 (29th day of the 1st month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]): Task Force Remagen leaves Ca Lu, heading down Route 9 toward Khe Sanh.

BORDER CLASHES:
March 16, 1977 (27th day of the 1st month, Year of the Snake [Dinh Ti]): Refugees report that anti-Communist guerrillas have blown up the Long Binh ammo dump near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City); similar acts of resistance are reported throughout the year.