Naval History and Heritage Command

The Marshall Island Invasion begins with US Marine and Army troops landing at Kwajalein and Majuro atolls and then on Roi and Namur the following day. Vice Adm. Raymond A. Spruance, Task Force 50, commands the overall operation, while the landing force is under the command of Marine Maj. Gen. Holland M. Smith.

USS Guest (DD-472) and USS Hudson (DD-475) sink the Japanese submarine I-171 off the Bismarck Archipelago. Also on this date, USS Trigger (SS-237) sinks the Japanese minelayer Nasami and damages a destroyer in the Central Pacific area, while USS Tullibee (SS-284) sinks the Japanese auxiliary netlayer Miro Maru north-northwest of Saipan.

USS Boarfish (SS-327) attacks Japanese HI 88 convoy and sinks freighter Enki Maru 50 miles southeast of Tourance, French Indochina. She also damages a cargo ship that runs aground and 14th Air Force aircraft destroys it the next day.

Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. becomes first African-American to command a combat ship. By 1976, he attains the rank of vice admiral.

The main phase of the Tet Offensive begins as Communist Vietnamese troops attack military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, attempting to incite an uprising in the general populace that will topple the Saigon government.

The era of enlisted naval aviators comes to a close when the last enlisted pilot, Master Chief Robert K. Jones, retires after 38 years of naval service.