1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson decided to send the Marines — 3,500 of them — to Vietnam as what proves to be just the first American commitment of regular troops to that embattled country. Read about Johnson's 1965 decision on HistoryNet.com.
U.S. Marine loaded heavy with combat gear falls and stumbles into the rough sea as he disembarks from landing craft at Da Nang Bay in Saigon, Vietnam on March 8, 1965.
Photo Credit: AP
Also today in history:
1800: In the Second Battle of Aboukir, a 17,500-man British expeditionary force under Lt. Gen. Sir Ralph Abercromby landed in Egypt, the first 5,000 of whom managed to secure the beachhead against an attack by 2,000 French led by Général de Brigade Louis Friant, albeit at a cost of 130 dead and 600 wounded or missing. When Friant withdrew, his casualties amount to about 300 dead and wounded and eight cannons captured by the British.
1916: In the Battle of Dujaila, a British attempt to relieve its besieged force in Kut-al-Amara is defeated by the Ottoman forces.
1937: The Spanish Civil War Battle of Guadalajara began.
