1961 – Bay of Pigs invasion begins as Cuban exiles land in Cuba. On April 17, the Cuban-exile invasion force, known as Brigade 2506, landed at beaches along the Bay of Pigs and immediately came under heavy fire. Cuban planes strafed the invaders, sank two escort ships, and destroyed half of the exile’s air support. Bad weather hampered the ground force, which had to work with soggy equipment and insufficient ammunition.
1970 – Apollo 13 splashes down safely after its in-flight crisis. A perilous space mission comes to a smooth ending with the safe splashdown of the Apollo 13 Command Module (CM) in the South Pacific, only four miles from the prime recovery ship. The spacecraft with astronauts James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr., and Fred W. Haise Jr. aboard, splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST) April 17, 1970, to conclude safely the problem-plagued flight. The crewmen were transported by helicopter from the immediate recovery area to the USS Iwo Jima, prime recovery vessel.
1975 – Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh; Cambodian Civil War ends and the Cambodian Genocide begins. Cambodia’s ruling Lon Nol government collapsed, and the communist forces of the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, entered Phnom Penh and forcibly dispersed its citizenry into rural areas. It marked a first step toward the Cambodian genocide.
1982 – Canada Act / Constitution Act takes effect, patriating Canada’s constitution. The Canada Act, also known as the Constitution Act, was proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II, making Canada a wholly independent country.
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