Timeline, January 31st

[David]

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR: January 31, 1964 (17th day of the 12th month, Year of the Hare [Quy Mao]) (US Advisory): The 121st AVN reports that they have developed an improved door mount for machine guns that allows gunners to place fire directly beneath the aircraft, an area that had previously been vulnerable.

January 31, 1966 (11th day of the 1st month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo])(US Counteroffensive): Operation Double Eagle I update.

January 31, 1967 (21st day of the 12th month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo]) (US Counteroffensive Phase II): Operation Prairie I ends.

January 1968 (late Year of the Goat [Dinh Mui]/early Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase III): Article on fire fighters at Udorn Air Base in Thailand appears in Air America Log, Air America's newsletter.

January 31, 1968 (1st month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Communist forces launch a coordinated, nationwide assault in South Vietnam attacking Saigon, 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals, 50 hamlets, and a number of military installations including most airfields. The second wave of attacks include the following Province capitals and cities: Quang Tri, Hue, Tam ky, Hau Bon, Tuy Hoa, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, Phuoc Le, Saigon, Gia Dinh, Bien Hoa, Duc Hoa, Phu Cuong, Tay Ninh, Moc Hoa, My Tho, Ben Tre, Phu Vinh, Vinh Long, Sa Dec, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Rach Gia, Chau Phu, and Ca Mau. The attacks include military installations near these cities: Phu Bai, Chu Lai, Bong Son, Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Bien Hoa, Long Binh, Saigon, and Ving Long.

January 31, 1968 (1st month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): The 61st Assault Helicopter Company's first major CA mission during MENG HO (Fierce Tiger) near Phu Cat.

January 31, 1968 (1st month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): The 135th AHC supports II Field Force in the III Corps area.

January 31, 1968 (1st month, Year of the Monkey [Mau Than]) (US Tet Counteroffensive): Cancellation of the Tet truce does not cancel the concentrated SLAR/Red Haze coverage of selected areas by intelligence personnel at Long Binh (Red Haze is the radio term for the "people sniffers" on board aircraft).

January 31, 1970 (24th day of the 12th month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Operation Wayne Thrust ends.

January 31, 1970 (24th day of the 12th month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): A Marine helicopter rescue mission extracts elements of a platoon which has inadvertently entered a mine field while attacking enemy positions.

January 1970 (11th and 12th months, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Winter-Spring 1970): Heavy activity in Tay Ninh Province for the 2/20 ARA in support of the 1st Brigade 1st Cavalry and the 7th ARVN Airborne Division.