November 14, 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang is fought, the first major engagement between American and Vietcong troops. Both sides claimed victory. About 1,300 American soldiers were killed.
The battle was part of the Pleiku campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War, in the central highlands of Vietnam, in 1965. It is notable for being the first large scale helicopter air assault, and also the first use of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers in a tactical support role.
General William Westmoreland had been assigned as Commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) on June 20, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson assigned him to the post because Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had told him Westmoreland was "the best we have, without question."
The Pentagon, and the Johnson Administration as a whole, treated Ia Drang as a victory. Time magazine named Westmoreland its Man of the Year for 1965. In a later article, Time suggested Westmoreland as a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1968. After all, successful Generals, even without political experience, were often touted as possible Presidents.
Ia Drang set the blueprint for the Vietnam War with the Americans relying on air mobility, artillery fire and close air support, while the People's Army of Viet Nam (PAVN) neutralized that firepower by quickly engaging American forces at very close range.
In other words, as generals so often do, America's generals were "fighting the last war," and the Vietnam War was not going to be like World War II, because the Vietcong were not the Wehrmacht, nor were they the Imperial Japanese Army. And it wasn't going to be like the Korean War, either. This was guerrilla warfare, and America hadn't been involved in that since... well, since their own Revolution of 1775 to 1783. And the Pentagon didn't know how to handle it. And so, the "quagmire" of Vietnam began.
On July 3, 1968, with the Tet Offensive already well past, and U.S. troop levels in Vietnam having risen from 16,000 to 535,000 under Westmoreland's command, LBJ promoted Westmoreland to Chief of Staff of the Army. At first glance, this would seem to be a reward -- for putting the U.S. in position to win the war, and for not running for President.
In hindsight, it seemed more like "kicking him upstairs," removing him from direct command as a punishment for failure. Westmoreland never achieved a "V-V Day," never got that 5th star, never got serious consideration for President from either major party, never joined the pantheon of legendary American Generals such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, John Pershing, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur. Norman Schwarzkopf would eventually join that list, but Westmoreland died in 2005, at the age of 91, remembered as a General who failed.
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November 14, 1965 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played:
* The New York Giants lost to the Cleveland Browns, 34-21 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins, 21-14 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions, 27-21 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago Bears beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 34-13 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, 6-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Baltimore Colts beat the Minnesota Vikings, 41-21 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* And the Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-17 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
In the American Football League:
* The New York Jets beat the Boston Patriots, 30-20 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers, 31-7 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Houston Oilers, 31-21 at Rice Stadium in Houston.
* And the Buffalo Bills beat the Oakland Raiders, 17-14 at Frank Youell Field in Oakland.
Baseball was out of season. There was 1 game in the NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 129-114 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:
* The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-0 at the Boston Garden.
* And the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings, played to a tie, 2-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
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