This Day In 1970's History: Sunday November 7, 1971
- President Nixon will announce more troop withdrawals from Vietnam soon. It is believed that he will order an end to America's ground combat role in Vietnam; the last division will be pulled out starting in 1972. Air, artillery and logistical units will be left with two brigades to protect them.
South Vietnamese leaders are anxious to know about the U.S.' future troop commitments. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird assured them that the Nixon administration has things under control, and he stated that the military aspects of Vietnamization are moving forward. [NBC]
- The last Australian battalion left Vietnam. [NBC]
- A battle occurred east of Saigon between Americans and Viet Cong. B-52 bombers reportedly hit Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam. The Center for International Studies at Cornell University released a report regarding the air war in Vietnam. Their study shows that the level of bombing is greater under President Nixon than it was under LBJ: from 1965-68, 3,015,000 tons were dropped; from 1969-71, 3,400,000 tons were dropped. The U.S. dropped only 2 million tons of bombs in all of World War II and 1 million tons in Korea.
1,050,000 Vietnamese civilians have been killed since 1965, and 6,000,000 refugees have been reported. Defoliation since 1962 has affected 14% of the total land area in Vietnam: 5,200,000 acres of forest and 560,000 acres of crop land. [NBC]
- Scientists from the Atomic Energy Commission are studying the effects of yesterday's Amchitka nuclear blast; the test is being called a success. 242 people were on Amchitka Island during the test, 23 miles from the blast site. Atomic Energy Commission chairman James Schlesinger was there with his wife and two children. No radioactive gases escaped, but two buildings above the test site were damaged. The AEC said that even though the test was successful, testing will never occur there again. [NBC]
- In Moscow, the Soviet Union celebrated the 54th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution; military hardware was displayed, but no new weapons. No direct verbal attack on the U.S. was made. [NBC]
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