RIPPLE SALVO… #514… “…a sharp decline in public approval of the President’s handling of the Vietnam war.”…but first…
Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED FOURTEEN of a journal of remembrance of men with boundless guts and fighting spirit and an air war like no other… classified code name: OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…so secret, nobody ever heard of it…
1 AUGUST 1967…HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a bright, sunshiny Tuesday in NYC…
SUMMER 1967: WHITE HOUSE: Page 1: “Johnson Says U.S. Can Pay For War and Anti-Riot Bid–Tells News Parley Nation is Rich Enough to Fight in Vietnam and Help Cities–Inquiry Aide Is Named–President Declines to Give Date For Tax-Rise Plea–Disagrees With Thant”... “President Johnson announced today he had named David Ginsberg–a Washington lawyer who has held several Government jobs since the 1930s, as executive director of his new Special Advisory Commission on Civil Disobedience…most of his news conference was devoted to recent racial disorders…in contrast to other Presidential news conferences this year that have been devoted mainly to the Vietnam war… The President was asked: “The Gallup poll released today indicated 52% of the public does not agree with you in Vietnam. Do you think that is accurate?’ Answer: ‘I don’t know.’..” Page 1: “Shots fired In Washington as Negro Youths Rampage”... “Policemen were fired upon early today as two Negro gangs of about 50 persons each roamed a predominantly Negro district in Washington amid six or seven fires. The police said firemen and policemen had been fired upon at the intersection of 14th and U Streets…pelted with rocks and bottles. Windows broken…There were 50 arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct.”… Page 1: “Romney Accuses Johnson On Riots–Charges Played Politics–Denies Vacillating in Request for Troops”… “At issue is the Governor’s request for Federal Troops to put down the riots and the 23-hour delay from the first request until the Army paratroopers appeared on the Detroit streets. White House advisors said Romney vacillated about the need for troops.”…
Page 16: “Racial Concern Voiced in Capital–Young Says Time Runs Out On Washington Problems”... “Whitney Young, Jr., Director of the National Urban League, told an emergency meeting of Washington business and government leaders tonight that time is running out for both whites and Negroes to resolve the urgent problems facing the District of Columbia. ‘We have only weeks–months at best–to show that whites and Negroes together can close the credibility gap which has caused many Negroes to believe that it is hopeless to try to achieve justice in America, that the white citizen is so morally bankrupt and corrupt that there is no justice. We cannot punish the 97% of Negroes who do not riot. We are to provide not responsible leadership–that word bothers me–but sane leadership against insane leadership. What happens in Washington may be very crucial for the rest of the country.’ Negroes comprise 63% of the Washington population of 810,000 persons.”… Page 17: “Police Seal Area In Providence, R.I. After Negro Youths Rampage”... “…sealed off a 35-block area…bands of Negroes roamed the streets throwing rocks and bottles at authorities and glass windows. No looting reported…several shots were fired at policemen and the gangs of youth.”... “Rockfort, Ill. Is Watchful After Racial Disorders and forty-four arrests.”... “San Bernardino, California: Rocks, bottles, Molotov fire bombs thrown by gangs of young Negroes.”…“Riviera Beach, FL...400 Negro youth scattered by police tear gas after fire business to businesses.”... Page 17: “McKissick Criticizes Moderates And Defends Rioters”… “Rifles Stolen in Philadelphia”…
Page 32: Editorial; “Riots Aren’t Wars”… “Policing the troubled neighborhoods in the cities demands not force alone but something more difficult–more patience, establishment of sound community relations long before riots occur, integrated police units, and special training and weapons. Police officers called upon to preserve the peace are not social workers but neither are they troops engaged in fighting a foreign country.”…
VIETNAM: Page 1: “Allies Kill 350 In Delta Sweep–U.S. Officer (LGEN Frederick C. Weyand) Reports 5-Day Toll In Largest Action in Delta So Far”... “Operation Coronado II hastily mounted on Thursday to relieve Viet Cong pressure on Highway 4, 40 miles southwest of Saigon. The main route to the south has been closed for as long as 8 hours to clear mines. Force of 4-battalions of Ninth Infantry Division. Four battalions of artillery and six helicopters companies–in all about 7,000 men. South Vietnam allotted 6,000 men to the operation. When the initial engagement ended after two days, 150 guerrillas had been killed and 5 captured…American loses were 16 killed and 58 wounded. South Vietnamese losses were 28 killed and 50 wounded…”
1 August 1967…The President’s TS Daily CIA Brief…COMMUNIST CHINA: More trouble is shaping up as Peking continues trying–with few signs of success–to get rebellious military district commanders back in line… ARAB STATES: Arab foreign ministers gather in Khartoum this week to set the stage for the much-advertised Arab summit conference. Among the agenda items will be discussion of the oil embargo and some stock taking on Arab military capabilities now that the dust has settled a bit. Given the widespread in political outlook and the Arab propensity for arm-waving oratory, we anticipate an acrimonious session.”… CANADA: De Gaulle seems to have chosen Canada as another stage on which to dramatize his personal vendetta against Anglo-Saxon power. After a long cabinet meeting yesterday, de Gaulle issued statement on his Canadian visit that con only be construed in Canada as a definite gesture toward Quebec separatists. While the statement was ambiguous on just about how France would help french Canadians achieve their “Liberating goals.” De Gaulle has made it clear he anticipates a special role in forwarding such aspirations. The statement made a point of emphasizing the differences between French and English-speaking Canadians at the same time it drew a distinction between the federal government in Ottawa and the French Canadian regime in Quebec. There has been no official Canadian reaction noted yet, but De Gaulle’s foray into Canada is going to be debated with a good deal of vigor in the days ahead….
1 AUGUST 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times (2 Aug reporting 1 Aug ops) Page 1: “Three More American war planes had been downed over North Vietnam bringing the total lost there to 628. At the same time, 196 have been lost in the South.”…
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were three fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 1 August 1967…
(1) LT D.W. THORNHILL was flying an A-4C of the VA-15 Valions embarked in USS Intrepid on a strike on an ammunition depot near Hon Gai and was hit recovering from a 45-degree flak suppression run. He turned toward the gulf and was able to clear the mainland before ejecting from his burning aircraft. He came down amid numerous islands and was rescued by a Navy SAR helicopter to fly and fight again…
(2) CAPTAIN CHARLES C. WINSTON was flying an RF-101C of the 20th TRS and the 12th TRW out of Udorn on a photo reconnaissance mission over Vinh Yen, 20 miles northwest of Hanoi at 18,000-feet when hit by an SA-2 SAM. The impact tore the right wing off the Voodoo and CAPTAIN WINSTON was unable to eject and was in the aircraft when it ht the ground. His remains were recovered and returned to the United States in September 1977 and identified on 25 October 1977. CAPTAIN WINSTON was killed in action and died a warrior’s death on the battlefield. He has rested in peace for 50 years as of today… He is remembered… and humbly honored here…
(3) CAPTAIN RICHARD EUGENE WOODSON was flying an F-100D of the 3rd TFW out of Bien Hoa on a close air support mission 100 miles southwest of Saigon and was killed executing a strafing run on 150 Viet Cong who were shooting back. CAPTAIN WOODSON was killed in action with the enemy in his sights and died on the battlefield with honor… He too is remembered on the 50th anniversary of his last flight…
RIPPLE SALVO… #514… On 1 August 1967 the President laid bare his plans for the next few months. Plans that changed a lot of minds about his leadership of the country and the war. The Gallup Poll reported his popularity in “a sharp decline.” No wonder. The President’s plan called for another 45,000 troops headed for Vietnam and a 10% surcharge on all personal and corporate income tax returns. The rest of the news wasn’t good either.
Here is how Don Oberdorfer included this day in his biography of the Senate Majority Leader, Michael Mansfield (Page 325 of “Senator Mansfield: The Extraordinary Life of a Great American Statesman and Diplomat“)…
“…Johnson stood before a blackboard at a press conference in the White House and asked Congress to impose a 10 percent surcharge on ll individual and corporate income tax returns. He also announced he was sending 45,000 to 50,000 additional U.S. troops to Vietnam. With that clear linkage of higher taxes and more troops, the nation’s leading public opinion pollsters George Gallup and Louis Harris, reported a sharp decline in public approval of Johnson’s handling of the war. The drop in support by political elites in Congress and elsewhere was even more notable. A Christian Science Monitor survey of 205 members of the House of Representatives turned up 43 who said they had recently shifted from support of administration policy to more emphasis on finding away out.
“Anti-war protests, which had begun in major fashion two years earlier grew powerfully from mid-1967. There were teach-ins and sit-ins on college campuses, petition drives and rallies, draft resistance and the public burning of selective service cards, and mass rallies and marches. Some protesters were violent, although most were peaceful…”
Senator Fritz Hollings, a long time supporter of President Johnson brought his concerns to the ear of Walt Rostow, the President’s advisor on National Security matters. Rostow passed these concerns along to the President. The Memorandum to the President starts out this way:
“Fritz Hollings called me…He reported as follows. He is worried about the mood on Viet Nam among the men whose support you really need in the Senate for Viet Nam–in particular, Senators Russell, Stennis and Byrd. He says the mood is affected by stories of the Marines ambushed in the DMZ, damage to the carrier, and a general feeling that we are on a treadmill in Viet Nam. Dick Russell’s view is that we should ‘Declare war or get out.’ Stennis: ‘that we are vastly over committed and that we are fighting at the level the enemy dictates.’ He says this mood of frustration lies behind the support Fulbright’s resolution.”Memo at…
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d262
Humble Host reminds that this was the proposal that recommended the UN be “a channel and catalyst” for negotiations on the war. This would include the agreement of the United States to limit Rolling Thunder bombing to 20-degrees for six weeks to await a reciprocal de-escalation initiative from NVN and if they yielded a little, we would back-down to 19-degrees North for six weeks, and so on until both sides had backed off and shared a negotiating spirit. An idea that LBJ and Rusk said had no chance. Nevertheless, many in Congress thought this was the time to support the Majority Leader’s proposal.
On 1 August 1967 support for President Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam war swung into the red never to return… Public confidence in his leadership was on the wane…
RTR QUOTE for 1 August: PUBLILIUS SYRUS: “Confidence, like the soul, never returns whence it has once departed.”
Lest we forget… Bear