Mebbbe it was Robert E. Lee's birthday? Seriously, even if it was Christmas, how many South Vietnamese would be in CAMBODIA celebrating CHRISTMAS in 1968? Granted there was residual French Catholic influence in South Vietnam, but ARVN soldiers drunk and celebrating a Christian holiday? Gimme a(nother) break.
Holidays of the Vietnamese
Tet is a three-day holiday marking the New Year. Traditional concepts of ancestor worship, hospitality and friendship are meticulously reinforced through rituals and social customs. No one sweeps the floor during the first day of Tet for fear of sweeping out the good fortune.
According to the lunar calendar, the beginning of the year falls between January and February.
Which was it? Were the Vietnamese allies (ARVN) shooting at him or were they (ARVN) celebrating Christmas while in Cambodia.
I was in Vietnam Christmas of 1968 and I don't remember any Vietnamese celebration of Christmas with gunfire as if it was TET.
Nixon was sworn in on or about Jan 21st.... Inaguration Day. That means he had 10 days, to select John Kerry to lead the attack on Cambodia. Did we win that battle???