What Happened on March 29?

On March 29, the last American troops came home from Vietnam — and a spacecraft called Mariner 10 became the first visitor ever to fly past the planet Mercury!

• 1973 — Last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam

  Two months after the Paris Peace Accords, the final American combat units departed Vietnam while North Vietnam freed the remaining American prisoners of war. Read the full story →

• 1974 — Mariner 10 performs humanity's first Mercury flyby

  NASA's Mariner 10 swooped within 437 miles of Mercury — the first spacecraft ever to visit the sun-scorched inner planet, revealing craters and a surprise magnetic field. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Cy Young (1867–1955) · John Major (1943) · Walt Frazier (1945) · Eric Idle (1943)

Days & observances

National Vietnam War Veterans Day