10MAR59 - Tibet Rebellion - Tibet had been under occupation by the Chinese since 1951 and on this day 300,000 Tibetans surrounded the Dalai Lama's Palace because of fears that the Chinese military was going to take him into custody. Today, the Dalai Lama is in exile still. Read more about it here.
8MAR65 - U. S. Marines land in Vietnam - the Marines come ashore in an amphibious landing at Red Beach 2, just north of Da Nang. President Johnson agreed to provide the Marines to protect the air base. The History.com article provides details. It would be 10 years until the last Marine left. I have a previous post on the last Marines in Vietnam here.
8MAR75 - Thieu Orders Withdrawal - South Vietnam's President Thieu orders the military forces in the Central Highlands to withdraw from the NVA's campaign 275 which gained the upper hand in the battle by surrounding Ban Me Thuot. It is the beginning of the end for South Vietnam. I have a previous article posted on the Fall of Saigon here.
1980 11Mar85 - Gorbachev succeeds Chernenko - To use a statement from the above paragraph - It is the beginning of the end - 6 years later the USSR will no longer exist. Read the details of his ascension to power here.
11MAR90 - Lithuania declares independence from the USSR - This headline hits home - I am of Lithuanian decent. Kairis means left handed in Lithuanian according to a service I hired to research my last name. Gorbachev was not amused and declared the act unlawful. In January 1991 the USSR invaded Lithuania and took over. In September 1991 the USSR recognized Lithuania's independence after months of pressure by other world leaders recognizing the Lithuanian independence. Other previous Soviet block countries followed suit and declared their independence as the USSR disbanded. I don't use Wikipedia often as reference but they do have the most detail on this event. You can read more here.
Entertainment -
Top 100 music for this week - WOW! There were so many good ones each year of the Cold War for this week's top song! I chose this one because it is on the mind of so many military men when they get an overnight pass, a weekend of freedom off base, or home on leave! As a sailor, I think of my overseas port visits. If you don't get my drift, the song is about enjoying the pleasure of a "Woman of the Evening". In the singer's case, it was also his "First Time". The Four Season's "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" 13MAR76. I saw the play "The Jersey Boys" a few years ago and this song was a big hit with the audience. The play handled the topic quite well. Here is the Jersey Boys version from the play - Oh What A Night! Enjoy the music!
Comic Book Covers - I have been encountering various comic books as I research stories to add here. Watch for a full article on them soon. Years ago, I did a review of the Team Yankee comic book series and you can see that previous post here.
Special Feature - 8MAR17 - February Revolution in Russia - This week's Special Feature did not occur during the "Official" dates on the Cold War (1945-1991) but without this historical event, there would have been no Cold War at all. It is referenced as the February Revolution because Russia utilized the Julian calendar which showed the month as February. It was the beginning of the end (there is that phrase again) of Czarist rule in Russia. Within a week, the government resigned and on March 15, Czar Nicholas II abdicated and his brother refused the crown. The Petrograd Soviet took over and Lenin returned from exile to oversee the revolution. Read more here.
Sports -
8MAR71 - Ali Battles Frazier for Heavyweight Championship - "The Fight of the Century" - This bout is germane to the Cold war in that it was the first fight for Ali after his WBA fighting ban was lifted. The ban was placed on him and his title taken away because he refused to serve during the Vietnam War. The article is available here and a video is available on YouTube.
If you were part of any of these operations I mention above, or events similar to these, please share your Cold War story with the readers. Email me at proudcoldwarrior@gmail.com and we can develop a post and add it to a future week.
Please consider joining The Proud Cold Warrior Society (lifetime membership includes a choice of t-shirt or coffee mug and a suitable for framing full color certificate). If you join the Society, please email me your contact info (we need it to send the certificate). Spreadshirt.com does not share your purchase information with us for security reasons. I only see which item is ordered. Thank you. JohnnyK
Citations -
Truman Presidential Library website
U. S. State Department website
History.com
Wikipedia.org website
Youtube.com website
Google Images for the photos and the Time magazine covers
No comments:
Post a Comment