RIPPLE SALVO… #790… LET THE PEACE TALKS BEGIN…. IN PARIS… but first…
GOOD MORNING: Day SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY of a remembrance of the air war fought over North Vietnam fifty years ago called ROLLING THUNDER…
HEAD LINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES on Saturday, 4 May 1968…
Page 1: “PEACE TALKS SET FOR PARIS–U.S. ACCEPTS HANOI’S PLAN TO BEGIN IN ABOUT A WEEK–Johnson Cautious–But Voices Hope For ‘Serious Movement’ For a Settlement”… “The United States and North Vietnam agreed today to begin formal talks in Paris next Friday or soon thereafter. The break in the deadlock over a place to meet was apparently unexpected here. It came during the night in a message delivered to the United States Embassy in Laos. President Johnson accepted the arrangements in a return message this morning and then announced the agreement at a news conference that had been previously scheduled . Mr. Johnson said he hoped the agreement ‘can represent a mutual and a serious movement by all parties toward peace in Southeast Asia,’ but he cautioned that he foresees ‘many, many hazards and difficulties ahead.'”… Page 17: “PRESIDENT BRIEFS TRUMAN ON WAR–Flys To Independence To Ask For Former President’s Support On Peace Talks”... Page 14: “Hanoi’s Top Negotiator: Xuan Thuy”… “The North Vietnamese who will serve as his country’s chief representative in the forthcoming preliminary peace talks in Paris is regarded by those who know him as a tough and wily negotiator.”… Page 14: “HANOI’S DECISION LINKED TO MAJOR MILITARY PUSH–Some U.S. Aides Say It May Coincide With Peace Talks”… “Some officials blieve that a major military push will be timed by the enemy to coincide with the early phases of the preliminary peace talks in Paris, and with the intensive political campaign in the United States.”…
THE WAR: Page 1: “ALLIES MAUL FOE–KILL 856 NEAR DONGHA AND REPEL DIVISION–JETS STRIKE NORTH“… “United States marines and South Vietnamese troops have hurled back a North Vietnamese division near Dongha, killing 856 of the enemy…American casualites in the four-day battle were 68 killed and 323 wounded seriously enough to be evacuated… South Vietnamese casualties were described as light….the assault on the Marine base at Dongha in South Vietnam’s northernmost province, was the first time in the war that the enemy had massed a full division of troops for a single strike….The battle for the base opened Tuesday by more than 8,000 North Vietnamese troops who swept southward from the demilitarized zone. The allies with a total force of about 5,000 men, broke the back of the attack yesterday when the enemy withdrew after making a counterattack about five miles north of Dongha. United States jets struck repeatedly at the retreating North Vietnamese.”…
Page 1: “SORBONNE CLOSED AS STUDENTS RIOT–500 ARE ARRESTED IN PARIS AS POLICE EVICT LEFTISTS–SCORES ARE INJURED“… “More than 500 students were arrested and scores injured today when armed riot policemen charged the quadrangle of the Sorbonne and evicted left-wing demonstrators… Jean Roche, the rector of the Sorbonne announced that France’s oldest and most prestigious university would close tomorrow for the first time i recorded history.”… Page 1: “COLUMBIA STUDENT UNIT MODIFY STANDS IN DISPUTE”…”A newly formed organization at Columbia University that says it represents 4,000 striking students refueled yesterday to call for the resignation of the university’s president… Page 1: “PRESIDENT VOICES CONCERN ON POOR PEOPLE’S MARCH–Many Inherent Dangers In Poor People’s Campaign in Capital Discerned”… “The President expressed hope at his news conference that the period of demonstrations would be brief so as to avoid possibilities of serious consequences.” … Page 1: “84 KILLED IN CRASH OF BRANIFF ELECTRA IN TEXAS–4-Engine Turboprop Airplane Falls In Electric Storm–Eyewitness Reports That It Exploded While In Air”… “A Braniff International Electra flying through blinding rain and lightning crashed in a ball of flame tonight in a pasture in central Texas near Dawson. All of the 84 persons aboard were killed.”… Page 4: “ISRAELIS REPORT KILLING 17 ARABS IN THREE ENGAGEMENTS”… “…the most serious clash occurred last night when an entire band of 12 Arabs was killed in a two-hour battle near the southern end of the Dead Sea.”…
4 MAY 1968…OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…New York Times…No coverage of air war over the North…”Vietnam: Air Losses” (Chris Hobson) There was one fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 4 May…
(1) MAJOR C.R. GREGORY and 1LT R.F. COOK were flying an O-1G Bird Dog of the 19th TASS and 504th TASG out of Bien Hoa on a FAC mission 20 miles north of Vung Tau when hit by ground fire. Subsequent engine failure required MAJOR GREGORY to crash-land the powerless aircraft. Both aviators were rescued by an Air Force helicopter to fly and FAC again….
USS ENTERPRISE back at Yankee…Humble Host back in the saddle after 10 day layoff (Subic Bay and Hong Kong)… flew #151 and a nite go #152. Day strike on a bridge at Son Diah with mini-Alpha. Dropped 4-MK82s on the bridge and fired two pods of rockets (19 2.75s per pod) at firing flak site…Nite flight put 6 MK-81s on truck lights on Highway 82…
RIPPLE SALVO… #790… The New York Times lead editorial on 4 May 1968 provides a superb introduction to the initial talks between the United States and North Vietnam on this day 50 years ago today… “PARIS IN THE SPRING”
“Yesterday’s agreement on Paris as the site for Vietnam preliminary peace talks marks a major diplomatic breakthrough. Washington’s patient search for a setting suitable for substantive negotiations has been gratifyingly rewarded. Concern about the genuineness of Hanoi’s interest in talking at all has been greatly eased. Paris represents a logical choice for both sides.
“Of special significance was Hanoi’s move to broaden the agenda for the talks that may begin before the end of the week. The North Vietnamese indicated that after discussion of an unconditional bombing halt they will be prepared ‘to hold talks on other problems of concern to the two sides,’ thus setting stage for full-scale negotiations.
“The sooner the talks progress to these ‘other matters’ the better. During the past month of exasperating diplomatic bickering more than 2,400 American and South Vietnamese soldiers died in action and an estimated 10,703 enemy troops were killed. These casualty rates were only slightly lower than those for March, before President Johnson made his dramatic peace bid. If the past is a guide, civilian casualties in South Vietnam during April were higher than the combined total for allied soldiers.
“The prospects for an early total halt to the bombing of North Vietnam still are unclear, but if President Johnson adheres to his modified San Antonio formula this vital next step toward de-escalation and peace should now be possible in the original version last September, the President said the United States would ‘assume’ that North Vietnam would not take advantage of a bombing suspension.
“Defense Secretary Clark Clifford has defined this to mean that North Vietnam could ‘continue to transport the normal amount of goods, munitions and men to South Vietnam.’ Last Tuesday Mr. Clifford said he was ‘not aware of any increase in infiltration since the President announced a partial bombing suspension on March 31.
“Although the fighting his been heavy in the South in recent weeks, most of the action appears to stem from allied offensives aimed at relieving any possible threats to Saigon and Hue. On April 15 a Washington official said enemy forces had carried out a general disengagement throughout South Vietnam.
“There are without doubt, as President Johnson warned yesterday, ‘many, many hazards and difficulties ahead.’ Paris will have a special poignancy this spring as the hope of the world focus on the discussions about to begin there.”…
RTR quote for 4 May: GENERAL DOUGLAS MacARTHUR: “The soldier above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds ad scars of war.”…
Lest we forget… Bear