Merry Chrstimas Uncle Ho, [Ho Ho]

 

December 19, 1972 – When the North Vietnamese walked out on the Paris Peace talks on December 13, 1972, then President Nixon told Hanoi to get back to the table “or else.”  When they refused, he ordered Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing campaign of the densely populated areas between Hanoi and the port city of Haiphong to commence on December 18. On December 19th, the Vietnamese call the acts “barbaric” and “insane” and condemnation reigned down on Nixon from around the world calling this the “Christmas Bombing”  and deliberately targets civilians.   Over the next 11 days, the U.S. dropped over 20,000 tons of bombs in 1700 missions.  Approximately 1600 Vietnamese civilians were killed in the largest bombing attack since World War II. On December 26, the North Vietnamese indicated they were willing to return to negotiations, and on December 29, President Nixon ordered the raids stopped.  The talks resumed on January 2 and The Paris Peace Accords were finally signed on January 27, 1973.  By the time the bombing stopped, 43 Americans were killed with another 49 taken prisoner.

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Hell No We Won’t Go!

December 16, 1965 – General Westmoreland, Commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam, sends Defense Secretary McNamara a request for additional troops.   At this point there were nearly 200,000 soldiers in Vietnam and Westmoreland states that he will need and additional 243,000 by 1966 and 600,000 by the end of 1967.  His vision was never fully realized, but U.S. involvement would max at 540,000 by 1969.  Most of them drafted.

Any wonder why they protested in the streets?  Ever wonder what would have happened if they drafted for Iraq and Afgahnastan?

The Race to the Moon

May 25, 1961 in a speach to joint Houses of Congress, JFK proposes sending a man to the moon:  “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out,
of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish… ..This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, materiel and facilities, and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always  characterized our research and development efforts.”

Hamburger Hill

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           On May 20, 1969 the real battle of Hamburger Hill ended after 10 days.  Although heavily fortified by the North Vietnamese, the hill was of little strategic value but the American command ordered a direct assault.  The battle would involve about 1,800 men, and ten batteries of artillery.  The Air Force flew 272 support sorties dropping 450 tons of  bombs and 69 tons of napalm.  The hill would be abandoned June 5^th.  The stupidity of the battle enraged Americans.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

May 19, 1962 – At a pre-birthday party for President Kennedy held at Madison Square Garden in New York, Marilyn Monroe gave her famous rendition of Happy Birthday.  With 15,000 in attendance, Monroe’s sultry and seductive vocal was upstaged only by her dress.  So tight she had to be sewn into it, it was flesh-colored appearing almost sheer with over 2500 rhinestones.  She sparkled and exuded sexuality.  Allegedly, she wore nothing underneath.

It was to be Marilyn’s last public appearance.  She would be found dead two and half months later.  Rumors persist that she and Kennedy had had an affair.

Apollo 10

May 18, 1968 Apollo 10, the last of the Apollo missions that did not land on the moon, launched on its 8 day voyage.  It was basically a dry run of all systems that would be used in the moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission. Its success ensured that the United States would beat the Soviet Union and win the Race to the Moon.

The Cultural Revolution When China Went Insane

May 16, 1966 – Chairman Mao and the Communist Party of China issue the May 16th Notice signally the beginning of the The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.  “Those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have snuck into the Party, the government, the army, and various spheres of culture are a bunch of counter-revolutionary revisionists. Once conditions are ripe, they will seize political power and turn the dictatorship of the proletariat into a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Some of them we have already seen through; others we have not.”  Commonly refered to as the Cultural Revolution, millions of people were persecuted in the violent factional struggles that ensued across the country, and suffered a wide range of abuses including torture, rape, imprisonment, sustained harassment, and seizure of property. A large segment of the population was forcibly displaced and historical, cultural and religious sites were ransacked.  China became isolated from the world and images that escaped instilled fear and bewilderment in the west.

Free Speach Is Born

May 13, 1960: Several hundred University of California, Berkeley students protest the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in San Francisco. When the demonstrators are barred from the hearing room, a loud scuffle breaks out. The police turn on high-pressure fire hoses and blast the crowd down the marble steps. Officers arrest 64 people, including 31 Berkeley students, but instead of discouraging the protest, the confrontation becomes a call to arms.  Many consider this the begining of the Free Speach Movement that would sweep American campus protesting the war in Vietnam.

What’s Happening Here?

On April 30th, President Richard Nixon announced on television that a massive offensive into Cambodia was in progress. “We take these actions,” Nixon said, “not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam, and winning the just peace we all desire.”  Outraged at the expansion of the war, college campus across the nation  erupted in spontaneous protest in what Time called a nation-wide student strike estimated to include 4 million students.  At Kent State in Ohio, tensions had been brewing for days. The governor of Ohio ordered the National Guard to move onto the campus to suppress student unrest.  After 4 days of intermittent protest, the rally on May 4, 1970 suddenly took a turn for the worse when the National Guard opened fire with 67 rounds in 13 seconds.  In the end, four unarmed students were dead and another nine injured.   The war had been brought home in a horrible and haunting way.  It was never determined if the soldiers had been ordered to shoot.  No one was ever prosecuted.

How Long, Not Long

March 25, 1967 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stands on the steps of the Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama and delivers his “How Long, Not Long” speech.  The first two attempts were turned back.  But the third attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery succeeded and the Civil Rights Movement had reached a new plateau and would never turn back.  Despite state sanctioned racism, the marchers finally reached their objective.  Said Dr. King:

“They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, (Well. Yes, sir. Talk) but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, “We ain’t goin’ let nobody turn us around….”I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” (Speak, sir) Somebody’s asking, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?” Somebody’s asking, “When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?” Somebody’s asking, “When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?” (Yes, sir) I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.” (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because “no lie can live forever.” (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because “you shall reap what you sow….How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”