Sunday · September 27, 2026
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19721776 Club

Nixon orders North Vietnamese ports mined; supply lines to Hanoi now at risk

The move is meant to choke off weapons and goods reaching the North, but it carries the danger of drawing a harder response from Moscow or Beijing.

In 1972, President Nixon's decision to mine North Vietnamese ports aimed to cut off vital supplies and shift the war's momentum. This bold move risked escalating tensions and provoking a stronger Soviet or Chinese response, but it was seen as a necessary step to stem the flow of weapons and goods to North Vietnam…

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More from May 8
1639

Coddington founds Newport; a new settlement opens on Aquidneck Island for those driven out by the Antinomian Controversy

The colony takes shape as Coddington plants a settlement built around the promise of religious freedom in Rhode Island.
1846

Taylor's army beats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande; a war is now underway

American troops hold their ground in the first major engagement of the border dispute, with the armies still in the field and the outcome of the wider conflict far from settled.
1976

Six Flags opens the world's first modern looping coaster; the Great American Revolution launches at Magic Mountain

The ride debuts in the park's Bicentennial summer, sending riders through a complete vertical loop for the first time on a modern steel coaster.
19421776 Club
Carrier aircraft do all the fighting as Allied forces move to block a Japanese thrust into the South Pacific.
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More from Cold War America
1983

Soviet jet destroys Korean Air 007 off Sakhalin; 269 dead, a US congressman among them

The Boeing 747 had drifted deep into Soviet airspace before a Su-15 pilot fired his missiles.
1976

Viking 2 sets down on Mars, tilted on a rock at Utopia Planitia

A stray radar echo fires the thrusters early, cracking the ground beneath the lander's feet.
1978

Sadat and Begin sit down at Camp David; Carter will need thirteen days

The Egyptian and Israeli leaders are barely speaking to each other, so the president plans to shuttle between their cabins himself.
1974

Ford pardons Nixon, wiping away any Watergate charges before they're filed

Four weeks into his presidency, Ford closes the door on prosecuting the man he replaced.
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