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152-582: The base is not to be confused with the planned renaming of Spokane Air Force Base, Washington, as Bong Air Force Base, which was the planned name of that facility until General Muir Fairchild died on active duty in 1950, cementing "Fairchild" onto the name of the current Fairchild Air Force Base. The idea of an air force base for the Chicago area began in 1951 when it was realized that the air traffic at O'Hare International Airport would soon oversaturate control facilities. The United States Air Force then instructed

304-586: A 10-day state visit to the US . President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative. Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in

456-648: A Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union . The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam. In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany . French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh , returned to Vietnam to establish

608-607: A Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $ 1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war. During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and

760-554: A psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs. During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $ 93 million relocation program, which involved

912-640: A recreation area . The Borough Construction Company of New York had complete 10% of their work on a base hospital before the project was cancelled. Similar work on a dorm was only 3% complete. Concrete footings were poured for the dorm but later covered. Some of those foundations are still visible on the Brighton Dale Links golf course at 42°38′40.9″N 88°7′21.9″W  /  42.644694°N 88.122750°W  / 42.644694; -88.122750 (42.644694, -88.122750). Underground storm sewers were also installed that area. Chicago Chicago

1064-403: A $ 3,000,000 ($ 25 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) operational apron, a $ 1,150,000 (nearly $ 10 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) hangar apron, $ 1,500,000 (nearly $ 13 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) maintenance dock, $ 2,400,000 (about $ 20 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) jet fuel hydrants, and a $ 700,000 (about $ 6 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) ordnance storage. It

1216-403: A Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics . In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County. By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known as white flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond

1368-464: A ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel . Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between

1520-528: A completed base on which missile installations could be centered. Besides, there are special problems in converting a base for missile use. The water table is important. The silo for a missile goes down 185 feet below ground.” Construction had been taking place for about a year and half when the cancellation came. Several aspects of the base were already taking form when the project was scrapped. 1,642,600 cubic yards (1,255,900 m) of aggregate base, four feet deep and tightly compacted, had already been laid for

1672-630: A coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia , and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of

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1824-518: A few years after its completion. Under the circumstances, it is not too early to start thinking about what might be done with this $ 83 million airport when the air force does not need it any more." When the base was conceived, the Air Force had a mandate to rapidly build up its manned operations as quickly as possible. The Air Force intended to have 137 air wings scattered throughout the United States by

1976-486: A heart attack soon after. Washington was succeeded by 6th ward alderperson Eugene Sawyer , who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election. Richard M. Daley , son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives for sustainable development , as well as closing Meigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying

2128-660: A model for the new field of social work . During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics of cholera , smallpox , and yellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states. The city established many large, well-landscaped municipal parks , which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago

2280-512: A more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections". The domino theory , which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow,

2432-472: A new grade with the use of jackscrews for raising buildings. While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River , and subsequently into Lake Michigan , polluting the city's primary freshwater source. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs . In 1900,

2584-542: A person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for. According to

2736-463: A policy of " Vietnamization " from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion , escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until

2888-405: A pond. An additional million-gallon elevated steel tank would have been located on the north side of the base near residential section. The sewage and water treatment facilities were being built by the C & C Construction Company of Fort Wayne, IN and were 14% complete when the cancellation order was announced. A 3,500 horsepower central heating plant had been erected. The facility was built by

3040-504: A program where the units were to be dispersed throughout the country, which in theory would lessen losses from a direct enemy attack. Bong became one of these bases. As a result, the 4040th Air Base Squadron was activated on August 1, 1958, to maintain the base. The base was also assigned to the Eighth Air Force as well. The planned tenants of the base were a bomber wing and an air refueling wing. On January 1, 1959, responsibility for

3192-447: A scenario, the nearby city of Racine would experience little to no blast damage, but 100 to 3,000 roentgens of radioactive fallout would cover the city. They further explained that 450 roentgens was sufficient to cause severe sickness or death for those that came in contact with the fallout. Representatives Henry S. Reuss and Charles A. Boyle had gone so far to write a joint letter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 questioning

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3344-540: A site north of Milwaukee where the location would be beneficial to not only the Air Defense Command, but the Strategic Air Command , which was planned to be the base tenant at the time. Only the drainage system was being built in the middle of 1957 and the acquisition of land was not even complete. At that time, the scheduled date of the moving of the two squadrons was changed to mid-1960. On June 5, 1957,

3496-608: Is definitely a better situation for commercial airlines." Newspapers weighed in as well, with the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal adding "Vainly did The Journal and others protest that bombers and tankers -- if a new base was needed -- ought to be "dispersed" to areas where they would not invite attack on already attractive targets and where military planes would not interfere with heavy commercial air traffic nor be interfered with.". Representative Flynn accused then vice president Richard Nixon of having been involved with

3648-407: Is known to botanists as Allium tricoccum and known more commonly as "ramps". The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as " Checagou " was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir. Henri Joutel , in his journal of 1688, noted that the eponymous wild "garlic" grew profusely in the area. According to his diary of late September 1687: ... when we arrived at

3800-451: Is not clear how much of these items were completed before the base was abandoned. The air navigation aid, or TACAN , sat south of the primary runway at 42°37′20.6″N 88°9′22.7″W  /  42.622389°N 88.156306°W  / 42.622389; -88.156306 (42.622387, -88.156294). Information on this structure is scarce, but it is indicated on a map furbished by the GSA, on a map in

3952-554: Is routinely ranked among the world's top six busiest airports by passenger traffic , and the region is also the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) of any urban region in the world, generating $ 689 billion in 2018. Chicago's economy is diverse , with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. Chicago is a major destination for tourism , including visitors to its cultural institutions , and Lake Michigan beaches . Chicago's culture has contributed much to

4104-661: Is scarce, but it is indicated on a map furbished by the GSA and on a map in the collection at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The facility is visible in aerial photography up until 1970, though it appears to have been stripped or partially dismantled by 1970 and the foundation destroyed or buried after 1980. The Assistant Secretary of Defense indicated that the communications receiver cost $ 35,000 (about $ 300,000 adjusted for inflation in 2017) in federal appropriations. A $ 600,000 ($ 5 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) Soo rail spur, built in 1958, rusted from disuse. It

4256-548: Is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States . With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 census , it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles . As the seat of Cook County , the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area , often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on

4408-634: Is the most commonly used title in English . It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia , the Vietnam Conflict , and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ( lit.   ' Resistance War against America ' ). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save

4560-466: Is the start of a chain of events that leads to a change of plans that has eliminated Bong." Concern was voiced that the air base might make an already attractive enemy target even more desirable. The placement of the base meant that anything within a 600-mile radius was considered to be in a direct line of a missile launched from Russia. In March 1959, Colonel George Carnachan, metropolitan Milwaukee Target Area co-chairman for Civil Defense , indicated that

4712-516: The 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976. The war exacted enormous human cost : estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians , 20,000–62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and

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4864-557: The Air Defense Command to study the possibility of locating a base which would house two fighter-interceptor squadrons within a 70-mile radius from the city. The aim of the base was to protect the Milwaukee and Chicago areas from attack by Soviet bombers. A survey team then selected a site south of the unincorporated community of Kansasville, Wisconsin . On August 30, 1954, the Air Defense Command requested funds for development of

5016-473: The Black Belt . While home loan discriminatory redlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known as blockbusting , completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods. Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in

5168-699: The Calumet River in the industrial far South Side—flow either entirely or partially through the city. Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan. While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's waterborne cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's Lake Calumet Harbor on the South Side. The lake also provides another positive effect: moderating Chicago's climate, making waterfront neighborhoods slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer. When Chicago

5320-548: The Chicago School , the development of the City Beautiful movement , and the steel-framed skyscraper . Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture , commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation . It has the largest and most diverse finance derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. O'Hare International Airport

5472-597: The Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to " wildcat " activities separate from

5624-645: The Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. Direct US military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars , which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but

5776-777: The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war . The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between

5928-555: The French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and

6080-580: The Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy . The Chicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were called futures contracts . In

6232-651: The Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem

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6384-525: The Jefferson Township , which now makes up most of Chicago's Northwest Side . The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents. Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States . Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in

6536-638: The Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union. Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating

6688-503: The Miami , Sauk and Meskwaki peoples in this region. The first known permanent settler in Chicago was trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable . Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago." In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in

6840-578: The New Negro Movement , in art, literature, and music. Continuing racial tensions and violence, such as the Chicago race riot of 1919 , also occurred. The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the gangster era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition

6992-803: The Northwest Indian War , an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the U.S. for a military post by native tribes in accordance with the Treaty of Greenville . In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn , which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt. After the War of 1812, the Ottawa , Ojibwe , and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to

7144-608: The Pentagon Papers , which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with

7296-463: The University of Chicago , Northwestern University , and the University of Illinois Chicago , among other institutions of learning . Professional sports in Chicago include all major professional leagues , including two Major League Baseball teams. The name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the indigenous Miami–Illinois word shikaakwa for a wild relative of the onion ; it

7448-587: The Viet Minh , an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies , namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China . Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Throughout the war, Vietnamese guerrilla resistance against

7600-592: The Vietnam War . With $ 15 million ($ 125 million adjusted for inflation as of 2017) already spent on Bong, it was estimated that it would take another $ 15 million just to close the door on the episode and get out of existing contracts. On May 18, 1959, Representative Henry S. Reuss informed the House of Representatives that he felt the Bong project was "shot thru with waste, frills, and extravagance." He further went on to urge

7752-663: The Washington and Jackson Parks. During World War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the Southern United States . Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903. This Great Migration had an immense cultural impact, called the Chicago Black Renaissance , part of

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7904-457: The 12,900-foot (3,900 m) asphalt runway was just three days from having the concrete poured over it. That same day, all construction was halted. The 4040th, now made up of 12 servicemen and no civilians was discontinued on December 1, 1959. The decision to close the base was due to the realization that the B-58 Hustler could be accommodated at other bases through the elimination of B-47 Stratojet units ahead of schedule. Bong Air Force Base

8056-443: The 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals. In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North American time zones . This system for telling time spread throughout the continent. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at

8208-416: The 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of Senator Stephen Douglas , the champion of the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery. These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln , to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for U.S. president at the 1860 Republican National Convention , which

8360-502: The 57th mayor of Chicago. Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of freshwater Lake Michigan. It is the principal city in the Chicago Metropolitan Area , situated in both the Midwestern United States and the Great Lakes region . The city rests on a continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds . In addition to it lying beside Lake Michigan, two rivers—the Chicago River in downtown and

8512-452: The Air Force James H. Douglas told 200 members at a hearing in the Racine County Courthouse on October 8, 1959, that the costs of missiles was another fiscal reason for the cancellation of Bong. Previously, missiles had been considered a development program. At that point in history, missiles had become operational, and the costs were quickly soaring. Citing this shift in priorities, he said the reallocation of funds sprung from an "effort to do

8664-431: The Air Force planned on installing on underground facility with 20-foot deep shaft for missiles. Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas brushed Flynn's comments aside at hearing by saying "I think that Mr. Flynn misunderstood the briefing, and this isn't a very difficult thing to do sometimes." He explained that the briefing in question was aimed at informing congressmen of the shift from manned bombers to missiles in

8816-502: The Bong Air Force Base's presence may raise the area to a #1 rating in case of an enemy nuclear strike. "There's little doubt strategic bomber base like Bong would be the first thing you'd go for if you were the enemy." Bong's location caused Civil Defense to rethink its evacuation strategy for the cities of Kenosha, Racine and the southern part of Milwaukee County. Previously, residents in the lakeside communities were urged to head west in to Walworth County in case of enemy attack. Placing

8968-402: The British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success. On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference , they negotiated

9120-455: The Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat . From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis

9272-406: The GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret. Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought

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9424-651: The H.R. Reger Company of Chicago throughout 1958 and 1959. The plant was estimated to be 72% complete when the cancellation order came down. The Assistant Secretary of Defense indicated that the heating cost $ 250,000 (about $ 2 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) in federal appropriations Three POL (propellant, oil and lubricants) tanks capable of holding 70,000 barrels of jet fuel and 20,000 US gallons (76,000 L; 17,000 imp gal) of gasoline sat vacant. The storage facility consisted of two 20,000 barrel tanks, one 30,000 barrel tank, and one underground 2,000 barrel tank. The H.R. Reger Company of Chicago once again won

9576-536: The House to "put the brakes" on "non-essential" air force expenditures at the nascent base. Among line items he assailed were a proposed massage room, squash courts, hi-fi shop, and a bowling alley. He went on to cite bong's proximity to nearby Racine and Kenosha, and the short drive to Milwaukee or Chicago in either direction. "If Bong were being built in the middle of a great desert, or atop a mountain, or in some inaccessible place far from civilized centers, these grandiose plans might be somewhat justifiable." Secretary of

9728-433: The ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt . The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group

9880-405: The Japanese grew dramatically, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of Vietnamese resistance, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship following the war. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution , overthrowing

10032-423: The Japanese-backed Empire of Vietnam and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on September 23, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of

10184-466: The Mississippi River. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time. Much of the city, including railroads and stockyards , survived intact, and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction. During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed

10336-403: The Nation. It is sometimes called the American War . Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung , established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930,

10488-409: The PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam. Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign

10640-407: The South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards. On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first controlled nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project . This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used in World War II in 1945. Mayor Richard J. Daley ,

10792-408: The State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng , who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under

10944-508: The US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons , though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon , the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called " hawk ", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but

11096-612: The United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis . The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and sent west of the Mississippi River as part of the federal policy of Indian removal . On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago

11248-775: The United States of foreign parentage. Germans , Irish , Poles , Swedes , and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population). Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike . Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889. Programs that were developed there became

11400-522: The Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in

11552-497: The advisability of a Strategic Air Command bomber base placed between Milwaukee and Chicago. According to Reuss, "we urged the President to halt spending at Bong and to order a full investigation of the project." Representative Gerald T. Flynn stated after a hearing on October 8, 1959, that he and Representative Henry S. Reuss had attended a secret briefing in the fall of 1958 in which "eight colonels and two generals" explained how

11704-516: The air base between the lake and the area of refuge meant evacuees might have to drive directly through the base blast area as no alternative routes would be available. A mock nuclear bombing raid was conducted by Civil Defense on April 17, 1959, as part of the nationwide Operation Alert. Residents of southeastern Wisconsin were informed that an imaginary one megaton bomb would explode over the Bong Air Force Base. Officials claimed that in such

11856-452: The air base. The Air Force tried to allay concerns by indicating that intensive flying exercises would not take place at the base. Major General W. P. Fisher indicated in a letter that air base would be fully combat capable and remain on constant ready alert. Roger Sekadlo, manager of Mitchell Field, expressed relief after the announced base cancellation saying "Now we will have no intermingling of military jet bombers and passenger planes. That

12008-528: The airfield would no longer be needed once ballistic missiles were more commonly employed for defense, and presumed the air base would be turned into a Milwaukee metropolitan area airport. "When the base becomes obsolete, it undoubtedly will be offered for sale as surplus government property." Later that year in March, Representative Henry S. Reuss stated "It is perfectly possible that the Bong Base may be obsolete only

12160-433: The base ideal for defending the cities and the area in between, but it also meant putting more airplanes into an already busy air corridor for commercial aviation. O'Hare was considered one of the busiest airports in the world, and the idea of introducing military planes to skies already bustling with passenger planes was not widely embraced. A contentious House debate occurred in July, 1958, when an additional $ 18.5 million

12312-528: The base was transferred from the Eighth Air Force and 4040th Air Base squadron to the Second Air Force . The tenant 4040th was made up of two servicemen when this move occurred. The Air Force then realized that the units planned for the base could be accommodated at other existing bases. Since the base would no longer be needed, the Air Force announced on October 1 that Bong would be closed. At that date,

12464-525: The base's closure after being pressured by private airlines. Nixon, as well as his aides, denied any involvement in the decision. Nixon told a reporter in Chicago "I know nothing whatever about this matter and I had nothing to do with it." Representative Melvin Laird would later go on to serve as President Nixon's Secretary of Defense from 1969–1973. In January 1959, Representative Gerald T. Flynn predicted that Bong would be obsolete in 5 to 10 years. He presumed

12616-478: The base's primary function would not be that of a bomber base. He alleged that once the bomber was outmoded as an instrument of nuclear weapons delivery, Bong would become a missile base. "They told us what the missile would consist of, how it would be fired, and why it was essential to have such a base in that location as a link in the midwest defense," Flynn said. He went on to offer his statement under oath to any governmental investigation committee. Flynn claimed that

12768-842: The border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963. In the 1960 U.S. presidential election , Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later,

12920-553: The city include the central business district, called the Loop , and the North, South , and West Sides . The three sides of the city are represented on the Flag of Chicago by three horizontal white stripes. The North Side is the most-densely-populated residential section of the city, and many high-rises are located on this side of the city along the lakefront. The South Side is the largest section of

13072-529: The city was affected by a series of tenant rent strikes , which lead to the formation of the Chicago Tenants Protective association, passage of the Kessenger tenant laws, and of a heat ordinance that legally required flats to be kept above 68 °F during winter months by landlords. Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924,

13224-415: The city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019. All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the city clerk was Anna Valencia and the city treasurer was Melissa Conyears-Ervin . On May 15, 2023, Brandon Johnson assumed office as

13376-424: The city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of

13528-730: The city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area. The South Side contains most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago . Vietnam War ≈860,000 (1967) ≈1,420,000 (1968) Total military dead/missing: ≈1,100,000 Total military wounded: ≈604,200 (excluding GRUNK / Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao ) Second Third American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975)

13680-511: The collection at the Wisconsin Historical Society, and visible in aerial photography up until 1970. The Assistant Secretary of Defense indicated that the navigational control station cost $ 40,000 (about $ 340,000 adjusted for inflation in 2017) in federal appropriations. The receiver facility sat west of the primary runway at 42°37′37.7″N 88°11′14.27″W  /  42.627139°N 88.1872972°W  / 42.627139; -88.1872972 (42.627139, -88.187278). Information on this structure

13832-555: The contract and built the facility. The tank farm stood at just south of present-day Highway 142 at 42°37′55.4″N 88°8′01.9″W  /  42.632056°N 88.133861°W  / 42.632056; -88.133861 (42.632060, -88.133848) on a five acres of land. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made an effort to lease the tanks after the closure of the base, but they were ultimately never used. An electrical switching station sat idle. The station had three 1,667 kVA oil bath transformers and two 6-amp oil circuit breakers. Input of

13984-515: The convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower , which in 1974 became the world's tallest building ), University of Illinois at Chicago , McCormick Place , and O'Hare International Airport , were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. In 1979, Jane Byrne ,

14136-495: The country . Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War . On March 12, 1947, US President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine , an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine

14288-491: The country to the Virgin Mary . In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in

14440-618: The demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along

14592-432: The district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power. The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $ 1.95 billion. On February 23, 2011, Rahm Emanuel , a former White House Chief of Staff and member of the House of Representatives , won the mayoral election. Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015. Lori Lightfoot ,

14744-536: The early 2000s. Depth of these manholes ranged from 5 ft to 21 feet (6.4 m). An inventory completed in 2001 indicated that upward of 120 manholes still covered the landscape, though some were only located through the use of a metal detector after being entombed in dirt. Sewage and water treatment plants were planned for the north central area of the base. The sewage treatment plant would be two-story structure with an office and laboratory totaling some 1,800 square feet (170 m) in area. The water treatment plant

14896-470: The end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive , which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare . Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon , began

15048-526: The fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding. During World War II , the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more than Nazi Germany from 1943 – 1945. The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave , as hundreds of thousands of blacks from

15200-563: The famous aviator Major Richard Ira Bong , a Wisconsin World War II flying ace. Colonel Charles E. Lancaster, the new commander of the command pointed out that new problems in air traffic control would develop and that the community of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin , only 18 miles west, protested violently when a site there had been proposed for the location of the United States Air Force Academy . His recommendations were to select

15352-499: The future. "There was no definite plan to use Bong as a launching site for ballistic missiles." Reporter Robert W. Wells of the Saturday Evening Post would later ask a Pentagon official, John M. Ferry, about the feasibility of turning Bong in to a missile base. “Missile sites are dispersed around — not necessarily on — existing Air Force bases. The personnel commute between the sites and the parent base. At Bong there wasn't yet

15504-711: The insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near

15656-497: The landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government". In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive

15808-467: The larger Indochina refugee crisis , which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide . The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide , while conflict between them and

15960-481: The late 20th and early 21st century refer to this collection of large concrete pipes as "the tunnels". A 60-inch-diameter (5 ft) storm drainage system had been built with a 96" (8 ft) diameter storm sewer outflow to the Peterson Creek on the south of the property. Most of the 26-inch-diameter manholes or catch basins have long since been capped, either by bulldozers using dirt in the 1960s or metal plates in

16112-526: The long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis. One major issue Kennedy raised

16264-451: The lowest points are along the lake shore at 578 ft (176.2 m), while the highest point, at 672 ft (205 m), is the morainal ridge of Blue Island in the city's far south side. Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's waterfront. Some of the parks along the waterfront include Lincoln Park , Grant Park , Burnham Park , and Jackson Park . There are 24 public beaches across 26 miles (42 km) of

16416-496: The major command for the base was changed to the Strategic Air Command. The two squadrons that were planned to be located there became tenants at the base. As technology increased, the Air Defense Command was able to reduce its aircraft and continue its strength. One of the O'Hare squadrons was eliminated in 1958 while another was transferred to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base . During 1956 and 1957, Strategic Air Command devised

16568-415: The most important things and to do the things we must militarily have." He went on to add that the Air Force didn't reach its cancellation decision sooner because of "the natural strong reluctance to turn around when we had proceeded so far." The same advantage to Bong's location was also a disadvantage—proximity to two urban centers. Placing the jet fighter interceptor base between Chicago and Milwaukee made

16720-450: The name of heaven can you go ahead and throw into a project that is obsolete before it leaves the drawing board?" Concerned with the proximity of civilian air hubs and the possibility of in-air collisions, he went on to recommend cancelling the base over a year before the consensus aligned with his view. Private airlines expressed concern that the base would force them to reroute flights eight or ten miles out over Lake Michigan to accommodate

16872-446: The other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September. In September 1960, COSVN , North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered

17024-551: The present location of Jackson Park . The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influential world's fair in history. The University of Chicago , formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance , a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects

17176-508: The primary runway and taxiways. The 12,900-foot (3,900 m) asphalt runway was just three days from having the concrete poured over it when the cancellation orders came. S.J. Groves and Sons had completed 71% of the air field work, in addition to 19% of the work complete on alert taxiways, hangar units and airport supports. The Assistant Secretary of Defense indicated that the primary runway cost $ 750,000, (about $ 6 million adjusted for inflation in 2017) in federal appropriations. Other costs included

17328-633: The pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after

17480-593: The problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to the Illinois River , which flows into

17632-412: The process. According to Gabriel Kolko , 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners. In May 1957, Diệm undertook

17784-584: The runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term. In 1992, a construction accident near the Kinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of an abandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtown Loop district. The tunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m ) of water, affecting buildings throughout

17936-596: The said place called "Chicagou" which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region. The city has had several nicknames throughout its history, such as the Windy City , Chi-Town, Second City, and City of the Big Shoulders. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi , an indigenous tribe who had succeeded

18088-486: The shore of Lake Michigan , Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed . It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago's population continued to grow. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture , such as

18240-399: The site. The 56th Fighter-Interceptor Group was scheduled to move to the base as soon as it was completed. 5,160 acres of agricultural land was selected in the northwest corner of Kenosha County and an additional 360 acres in neighboring Racine County. Construction had barely begun in 1956 when the Air Defense Command began to doubt the selection of the site. By this time, it was named after

18392-570: The steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Raby led the Chicago Freedom Movement , which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders. Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention , which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside

18544-817: The supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954: I have never talked or corresponded with

18696-402: The transformers was rated at 26.4 kVA, with an additional 10 kVA for three circuit 120/240 V. The Keno Construction Company of Highland Park, Illinois, had erected a $ 100,000 (nearly $ 1 million adjusted for inflation as of research in 2017) corrugated office at the corner of present-day Highways 142 and 75. The 32 ft x 128 ft prefabricated Butler style building with sheet steel exterior

18848-511: The two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles , who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency , then initiated

19000-551: The unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side. In 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was fatally wounded in Miami, Florida , during a failed assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1933 and 1934, the city celebrated its centennial by hosting the Century of Progress International Exposition World's Fair . The theme of

19152-587: The unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War . In response, China invaded Vietnam , with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome , a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal , contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War

19304-625: The visual arts, literature , film, theater , comedy (especially improvisational comedy ), food , dance, and music (particularly jazz , blues , soul , hip-hop , gospel , and electronic dance music , including house music ). Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago , while the Art Institute of Chicago provides an influential visual arts museum and art school . The Chicago area also hosts

19456-644: The waterfront. Landfill extends into portions of the lake providing space for Navy Pier , Northerly Island , the Museum Campus , and large portions of the McCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings are close to the waterfront. An informal name for the entire Chicago metropolitan area is "Chicagoland", which generally means the city and all its suburbs, though different organizations have slightly different definitions. Major sections of

19608-525: The world's first skyscraper in 1885, using steel-skeleton construction. The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including the Hyde Park Township , which now comprises most of the South Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and

19760-431: The year 1957. By 1959, the year in which Bong was cancelled, the Air Force had only 103 air wings. The Bong Air Force Base was conceived in 1954 as a jet fighter interceptor base, the same year that the first ICBM was built. Rapid changes in technology changed America's strategic defense strategies. The speed with which missile advances were made created uncertainty surrounding manned bomber operations. The Bomarc missile

19912-431: Was John H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago. In

20064-577: Was an armed conflict in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China , while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of

20216-427: Was built during the fall of 1958. The office housed Major General Shumaker and his United States Army Corps of Engineers staff. The engineer's office was the first building erected on the base and the last to be torn down. The structure was later turned into a school house and ultimately razed in the early 21st century, making it the only above ground air force base structure to survive the base's later conversion into

20368-467: Was called the Society for Human Rights . It produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom . Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband. The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of

20520-493: Was declared excess on August 23, 1960. Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas, Jr. later explained the decision to close Bong by saying: "Finally we realized that by 1961–62 when Bong would be ready, we would have several other medium bomber bases empty of squadrons & we really don't need Bong." The only military activity that ever occurred at Bong was the training of Special Forces units before they headed over to

20672-451: Was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon . As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended

20824-626: Was dismantled for salvage in 1974. A water distribution system with a length of 3.75 miles of varying sizes of class 150 cast iron pipe had been put in place prior to the termination of construction – 400 ft of 6-inch, 3,500 ft of 8-inch, 14,800 ft of 12" and 1,300 ft of 18-inch pipe. Upward of 25 fire hydrants dotted the prairie landscape. The sanitary sewer system was incomplete, but some 13,500 feet of 8-inch to 21-inch-diameter lines had been laid. Some 29,500 feet (9,000 m) (approximately 5.5 miles in length) of storm drainage pipe had been installed through 1959. Urban explorers of

20976-433: Was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel : the Viet Minh , led by Ho Chi Minh , took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem . The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos , establishing

21128-863: Was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration . John F. Kennedy , then a senator , said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam : "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam." A devout Roman Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism ." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist , and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of

21280-656: Was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of

21432-462: Was founded in 1837, most of the early building was around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. The average land elevation is 579 ft (176.5 m) above sea level . While measurements vary somewhat,

21584-566: Was held in a purpose-built auditorium called the Wigwam . He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for the American Civil War . To accommodate rapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approved Chesbrough 's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system. The project raised much of central Chicago to

21736-521: Was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837, and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city. As the site of the Chicago Portage , the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad , and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on

21888-463: Was intended to bring jet fuel and other supplies in to the base. The five-mile railroad split from the Soo line south of Burlington and entered the west end of the base until turning south east of country trunk B. From there, the single track split into three parallel rail lines for the batch plant. Although a locomotive ran the track once upon completion, the spur never saw a single payload moved on it. The line

22040-468: Was killed in a US-backed military coup , which added to the south's instability. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by

22192-464: Was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners. The south, meanwhile, constituted

22344-404: Was making its debut, and America's first long range missiles were turned over to the Strategic Air Command at Vanderburg Air Force Base in California. When pressed for reasons of the base closure on October 8, 1959, Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas opined "The facts are, if we try to simplify the problem, our highest priority weapons development -- intercontinental ballistic missile --

22496-402: Was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters , including Al Capone , Dion O'Banion , Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era . Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran. From 1920 to 1921,

22648-491: Was requested for the air base project. Representative Melvin Laird took exception with the base' location, stating "Here is an example where the Air Force bullied its way through the Civil Aeronautics Administration and went ahead and got into this construction program in a very improper location." During that same debate, Representative Charles Boyle called placing the airfield 40 miles from O'Hare and 16 miles from Mitchell "the height of folly." He went on to say "How in

22800-411: Was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago. Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, with Unemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief; these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers,

22952-459: Was to be 6,800 square feet in area and would include a 500,000-US-gallon (1,900,000 L; 420,000 imp gal) ground storage reservoir.A 140-foot-diameter (43 m) clarification tank was submerged into the ground north of Highway 142 at 42°38′20.4″N 88°8′26.9″W  /  42.639000°N 88.140806°W  / 42.639000; -88.140806 (42.639000, -88.140806) and never put in to use. The tank has slowly deteriorated into

23104-465: Was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as

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