JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Jan. 2, 1969 - Operation Barrier Reef began in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
Jan. 3, 1944 - Top Marine ace Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was captured after shooting down 28 enemy aircraft.
Jan. 4, 1910 - Commissioning of USS Michigan (BB 27), the first U.S. dreadnought battleship.
Jan. 5, 1943 - USS Helena (CL 50) fired the first proximity-fused projectile in combat and shot down a Japanese divebomber in the southwest Pacific.
Jan. 6, 1996 - USS Hopper (DDG 70), named for Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, was commissioned.
Jan. 7, 1960 - The launch of the first fully-guided flight of a Polaris missile took place at Cape Canaveral and flew 900 miles.
Jan. 8, 1847 - The Battle of San Gabriel took place. The U.S. Navy, Marines and Army defeated Mexicans in Calif.