Timeline, March 15th

[David]

March 15, 1945(3rd day of the 2nd month, Year of the Rooster [At Dau]): FDR discusses French rule in Indochina with Charles Taussig.

March 15, 1964 (2nd day of the 2nd month, Year of the Dragon [Giap Thin]) (US Advisory): The Delta Aviation Battalion (later to be renamed the 13th Aviation Battalion) reports the entire crew of 4 US personnel and 1 ARVN observer were killed instantly during a CA approximately 18 miles south west of Bac Lieu when their armed UH-1B was shot down, crashed and burned escorting troop carriers into the LZ. The report did not identify the company, but the aircraft was from the 114th Aviation Company.

March 15, 1965 (13th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): By this date, the 20th Helicopter Squadron is flying an average of 1000 sorties per month with A Flight of 5 aircraft at Tan Son Nhut, B Flight of 3 at Da Nang, and C Flight of 6 at Nha Trang.

March 15, 1965 (13th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Snake [At Ti]) (US Defense): Rolling Thunder update: Navy planes seriously damage the ammo dump at Phu Qui. During a meeting in Washington of the U.S. foreign policy and military establishment, LBJ authorizes the Pacific Command to carry out a systematic bombing campaign against North Vietnamese lines of communication, military installations, and logistic facilities south of the 20th parallel. Rolling Thunder will now focus less on influencing the enemy's will than on hurting his actual physical capability to support the military venture in the South. Much the same occurs with the Yankee Team and Barrel Roll operations in Laos.

March 15, 1966 (24th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive): River Squadron Five is established.

March 15, 1967 (5th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Blackjack 32 begins in III Corps.

March 15, 1967 (5th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): In Hau Nghia Province, a platoon from Company B, 4/9th, 25th Infantry Division, investigates a reported Viet Cong meeting house and weapons cache.

March 15, 1967 (5th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): An RAAF Caribou aircraft is used in a experiment by dropping drums of fuel onto a suspected VC position with RAAF helicopters igniting the fuel with tracer rounds, in an attempt to burn away ground cover. The experiment is a failure and isn't attempted again.

March 15, 1968 (17th day of the 2nd Month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Operation Macarthur update.

March 15, 1968 (17th day of the 2nd Month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Battle of Cigar Island north of Binh Tinh.

March 15, 1968 (17th day of the 2nd Month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): D/7/17 sees action north of Pleiku.

March 15, 1968 (17th day of the 2nd Month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Khe Sanh: American intelligence notes withdrawal of major NVA units from the base area.

March 15, 1968 (17th day of the 2nd Month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): In Quang Ngai Province, the Americans of Charlie Company, TF Barker, hold a funeral service for their killed sergeant. Afterwards, the company's commander discusses the next morning's mission and gives them a pep talk to "fire them up and get them ready to go in there." The men are told that the VC's crack 48th Battalion is in the vicinity of a hamlet known to the locals as Beautiful Jasmine, which will be the target of a large-scale assault by the company. The soldiers' mission will be to engage the 48th Battalion and to destroy the village. By 7 A.M., he explains, the women and children will be out of the hamlet and all Charlie Company can expect to encounter will be the enemy. The soldiers are to explode brick homes, set fire to thatch homes, shoot livestock, poison wells, and destroy the enemy. Their assault will be supported by gunship pilots.

March 15, 1969 (28th day of the 1st month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): A U.S. Marine force moves into the DMZ for the first time since November 1968.

March 15, 1969 (28th day of the 1st month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive): Tet-69 is over, after attacks on Saigon and 115 other cities throughout Vietnam. The offensive killed 453 US soldiers in the first week, 336 in the second and 351 in the third.

March 15, 1971 (19th day of the 2nd month, Year of the Boar [Tan Hoi]) (US Counteroffensive, Phase VII): Lam Son 719 update: Communist forces launch a heavy mortar and rocket attack on Khe Sanh, the support base for South Vietnamese operations in Laos.