Nixon Begins Secret Bombing of Cambodia: In an effort to destroy Communist supply routes and base camps in Cambodia, President Nixon gives the go-ahead for “Operation Breakfast.” This was the covert bombing of Cambodia conducted without the knowledge of Congress or the American public, and it continues for fourteen months.
Policy of “Vietnamization” Announced: Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird describes a policy of “Vietnamization” when discussing a diminishing role for the U.S. military in Vietnam. The objective of the policy is to shift the burden of defeating the Communists onto the South Vietnamese Army and away from the United States.
Ho Chi Minh Dies at Age 79
News of My Lai Massacre Reaches U.S.: Through the reporting of journalist Seymour Hersh, Americans read for the first time of the atrocities committed by Lt. William Calley and his troops in the village of My Lai. At the time the reports were made public, the Army had already charged Calley with the crime of murder.
Massive Antiwar Demonstration in DC
Nixon meets with President Nguyen Thieu and visits with U.S. military personnel stationed near Saigon