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19571776 Club

Diem arrives in Washington; South Vietnam's president seeks U.S. support without surrendering independence

The state visit tests how far America's main client in Southeast Asia can press his sponsors for aid while insisting his government stands on its own terms.

In 1957, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem embarked on a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor. This visit was not just a diplomatic gesture but a pivotal moment that would shape the future of South Vietnam and its complex relationship with the U.S. The stakes were high as Diem navigated the delicate balance of seeking support while asserting his nation's independence…

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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
1958

Eisenhower signs Alaska into the union; the territory has waited forty years for this moment

The House voted 210-166, the Senate 64-20; Alaska is cleared to become the 49th state, though formal admission is not yet complete.
1962

AT&T's Telstar 1 rides a Delta rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral

The 88-centimeter sphere is now circling Earth; AT&T says it is built to carry live television across the Atlantic.
1962

NASA picks lunar orbit rendezvous as its path to the Moon

A command ship will hold orbit while a separate lander descends to the surface, and one Saturn V rocket can carry the whole mission.
1979

Carter tells the nation it suffers a 'crisis of confidence'; he never says the word malaise

With gas lines stretching for hours and inflation gnawing at paychecks, the President goes on live television to diagnose a mood, not announce a fix.
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