RIPPLE SALVO… #572… Charged by the Senator of with being “brainwashed” and committed to a “military solution for the past five years,” the President comes roaring back…. “…there can be no military solution.”… but first…

Good Morning: Day FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO in a row, without a miss…Thank You, Jesus… and for the record: Rolling Thunder Remembered has passed the ONE MILLION WORDS (mostly borrowed) milestone…. Darn, this is fun!!!

29 SEPTEMBER 1967… HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a cloudy Friday giving way to a rainy Happy Hour…

FALL IN AMERICA 1967: “U.S. Agencies Face Cutoff Of Funds–Partisan Battle in Congress Will Prevent Aid Before the Deadline Tomorrow”… “A score of government agencies face temporary cutoff as Congress deals with a mandatory $5-billion spending slash by President Johnson.”… Page 1: “A Negro Majority to Rule Washington, D.C.–Early Approval By Senate of President Johnson’s Nominations Consider Certain”… “Walter T. Washington to be first commissioner.”… Page 1: “Teachers Ratify school Contract–Classes On Today–President of Board of Education Calls For Tolerance after Delay of 14 Days in Start of New Term in NYC–5-1 Vote for Pact–Negro Animosity Stirs Concern”... “…vote 18,171 to 3,442 of the 50,000 member union…141,000 pupils of one million enrolled were in class today…Pact for 26-months adds $135.4-million to salaries and benefits for teachers and union members.”… Page 1: “Foreign Physicians, Many Unqualified, Fill Vacuum U.S.”…”45,000 foreign trained doctors in practice in the country…”… Page 22: “University of Puerto Rico Tense After Riots–Pro-Independence Students Protest Police Brutality”… Page 25: “Reagan Says War is Election Issue–Californian Also Cites Crime as a Factor in Campaign”… Page 30: “Johnson Views Texas Flood Damage and Orders $2.4-Million Disaster Aid”… “Rio Grande River Valley barely recognizable with $20-million in damages…the river still not at crest in some places…President chats with 1,000 refugees at Harlingen High School…death toll of 11 in Texas and 33 in Mexico and Caribbean nations as a consequence of Beulah’s fury.”… Page 36: “New York Head of Building Trades Council Urges Recruiting of Negroes”... “…asks unions to cooperate in drive for new young apprentices.”….

VIETNAM: Page 1: “MILITARY WILL JOIN AIR WAR (TARGETING) SESSIONS AT THE WHITE HOUSE”… by Hanson Baldwin… “President Johnson has ordered that a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attend discussions involving bombing of North Vietnam. Washington sources confirmed that the President’s instruction was issued recently, apparently in reaction to the August 31 report on the air war by the Preparedness Investigations Sub-Committee of the Senate Armed services Committee chaired by Senator John Stennis….The committee emphasized ‘the diametrically opposed views’ of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff about the importance of closing the port of Haiphong and of bombing other targets and urged that greater weight be given ‘to recommendations of ‘our high ranking military officers.” Testimony given to the committee had shown that on some occasions in the past bombing policies and targeting had been discussed at the White House with no military present.’ “... Page 1: “France Attacks U.S. Role In Asia as Peril To Peace”…”Couve de Murville, in U.N. urges an unlimited halt in raids to bring talks…Foreign Minister charges that the United States was endangering the peace of the world through its involvement in Vietnam. Declared in the General Assembly that peace was at stake ‘all the more so–and how fearfully when a major power was involved and fighting directly. An American delegate described the address as ‘a political science lecture for post-graduate students.’…. ‘It would be quite illusory to submit the Vietnam issue to the United Nations. The responsibility for a settlement rests with the United States.”…

29 September 1967…The President’s Daily Brief… SOVIET UNION: THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ON SOVIET UNION FOREIGN POLICY…PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS ARE:

(1) Soviet leaders have not outgrown a dogmatic attitude that the world should conform to their image of it. Their foreign policies, never the less, often reflect an understanding that there are definite limits to Moscow’s ability to shape and exploit world events. This ambivalence will probably persist for some time…

(2) For instance, Soviet anxiety to avoid crisis that could lead to a confrontation will probably continue to govern Moscow’s policy toward the United States. But at the same time, Moscow will be disinclined to seek a significant improvement in relations. The Soviets will remain reluctant to accept extensive arms control and disarmament measures and will probably continue to reject proposals to out real pressure on Hanoi for a settlement in Vietnam.

(3) Elsewhere, the Soviets are likely to take a prudent approach to China, follow ambiguous policies in the Arab States, and wage an active though wary campaign to expand Soviet influence in the Third World.

(4) There are apparently persistent disagreements within the Soviet leadership, some of which bear on foreign policy. Among them are the problems of resource allocation and of relations between the political and military hierarchies. there are no signs, however, of an early return to one-man rule….

29 SEPTEMBER 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…The New York Times…  No air war coverage, a rarity…

“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There were two fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 29 September 1967…

(1) LCOL KENNY C. PALMER, USMC, Commanding, and CAPTAIN CHARLES S. CAHASKIE, USMC, were flying an F-4B of the VMFA-115 Silver Eagles and MAG-13 out of Chu Lai and providing close air support one mile north of the DMZ. their Phantom was hit by ground fire as they were recovering from a dive bomb attack . LCOL PALMER turned east and flew out over the sea before ejecting to be rescued; LCOL PALMER by Air Force HH-3, and CAPTAIN CAHASKIE by Navy frigate…  

(2) MAJOR CULLEN GEORGE STARNES, USMC, and an unidentified back-seater, were flying a TA-4F of MAG-12 at Chu Lai and crashed on landing short of the runway at Chu Lai killing MAJOR STARNES. The rider survived.

RIPPLE SALVO… #571… On 28 September 1967 Kentucky Senator Thruston Morton took his best shot at the President in a speech to a small group –300– of antiwar businessmen at a hotel in Washington. He charged that the President was “brainwashed” into believing that the United States would “win a military victory in Vietnam.” The President kept his powder dry until he hosted a Medal of Honor awards ceremony in the White House on Friday, 29 September… the New York Times coverage:

Page 1: “PRESIDENT DENIES MILITARY VICTORY IS GOAL IN VIETNAM–IN REPLY TO CRITICS OF WAR, HE CALLS POWER ESSENTIAL TO A POLITICAL SOLUTION–GIVES CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR AT CEREMONY”… “At the ceremony in the White House President Johnson said he wished ‘nothing more than successful talks. He said today that he has always realized that there could be no “military solution” to the problems of Southeast Asia. But he insisted that only military power could make possible a political solution. Senator Thruston Morton of Kentucky charged yesterday that President Johnson had been ‘brainwashed’ by the military-industrial complex into a commitment for a military solution in Vietnam. The President: ‘We recognize, and always have recognized, that there can be no military solution in the problems of Southeast Asia. But we have also had to face the hard reality that only military power can bar an aggressor and make a political solution possible.’…

At the Medal of Honor ceremony for Army Specialist 5, David C. Dolby, a soldier from Oaks, PA–Mr. Johnson deplored the consequences of the war but vowed to continue fighting ‘until there is a response that might lead to a just political settlement.’…. ‘I am often asked, why do you say so little to the critics of the war?’…”The answer is simple. No one hates war and killing more than I do. No sane American can greet the news from Vietnam with enthusiasm. Indeed, an American who rejoiced in war and conflict should be instantly removed from any position of responsibility. In the same sense, we cannot cheer as we learn of the impact of our might on the enemy. In the spirit of Abraham Lincoln we must confront our obligations with dedication and resolution, and be moved by anguish and compassion at the consequence.’ The President said he wished for ‘nothing more than a swift and honorable resolution of our differences in Vietnam. We have offered to talk until there is a response that might lead to a just political settlement, we must and will fight to prevent others from imposing their military solution on the people of South Vietnam. Until the day comes when we can lay down our arms and deal in good faith with North Vietnam across a conference table, brave young men like David Dolby will have to fight to assure others their freedom.'”…

RTR QUOTE for 29 Sept: SAMUEL JOHNSON: “No man will be a sailor who has the contrivance enough to get himself into a jail: for being in a ship is being in jail with a chance of being drowned…A man in a jail has more room, better food and commonly better company.”

Lest we forget…       Bear