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Events on Wednesday 31 May 1961 2
1961 – 1962Jimi Hendrix serves in the US Army101st AirborneTrains as a paratrooper before his discharge.
1961South Africa becomes a republicLeaves the CommonwealthSouth Africa left the British Commonwealth and became a republic following a whites-only referendum held under Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. The move deepened the country's international isolation over apartheid policy.