On this day in 1962, Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the Vietnam War, takes place

From U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters:

On this day in 1962, Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the Vietnam War, takes place. 

In December 1961, the USS Core (a Bogue-class escort carrier) docked in Saigon with 82 U.S. Army Piasecki H-21 helicopters. Twelve days later, Operation Chopper commenced. The helicopters transported over 1,000 South Vietnamese paratroopers for an assault on a suspected NLF stronghold 10 miles west of Saigon.

This operation heralded a new era of air mobility for the U.S. Army, which had been slowly growing as a concept since the Army formed twelve helicopter battalions in 1952 as a result of the Korean War. These new battalions eventually formed a modern day cavalry for the Army.
(Courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery)