News stories from Sunday April 2, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The jury in the trial of the "Harrisburg 7" found Rev. Philip Berrigan guilty of smuggling letters out of a federal prison, but was deadlocked on the other charges. The jury had been deliberating since Thursday. Judge R. Dixon Herman expressed disappointment at the deadlock and sent the jury out again. A new trial is possible, but not probable. Further deliberation by the jury is anticipated. [NBC]
- North Vietnamese forces advanced in the Quang Tri province of South Vietnam and captured bases near the DMZ. Camp Carroll has fallen to North Vietnam, and retreat from Dong Ha has also been reported. American advisors were evacuated after blowing up their headquarters. Four U.S. soldiers were killed and nine were wounded; there are heavy Vietnamese casualties on both sides. Little U.S. air support was given due to cloud cover.
U.S. officials are confident that South Vietnam will be able to withstand this long-awaited enemy offensive, and another which is expected to occur farther south in the Central Highlands. Local support of North Vietnam is said to have been weakened by improved economic conditions. The Communist offensive is expected to continue through the rest of April. Officials believe that its purpose is to undermine the "Vietnamization" program and to try to impact public opinion in America.
[NBC] - Another drive is already underway farther south; Fire Base Pace has been captured. Other military bases and the provincial capital of Quang Tri are said to be the next objectives. North Vietnam is attempting to show its ability to defeat the best South Vietnamese troops. Further proof would be capturing the city of Quang Tri. [NBC]
- The U.S. role is more subtle in Laos, where economic aid is of prime importance. CIA headquarters in Laos has moved from Long Cheng to Ban Son. American planes fly ammunition and supplies to Long Cheng, and food and medical supplies are being sent to Laotian villages. Fighting against the Communists is done by an irregular army, led by Laotian general Van Pao. Thais are also helping to fight near Long Cheng. [NBC]
- Boeing executive Rodney Scheyer is in Wisconsin, campaigning for Senator Henry Jackson. Scheyer is still on salary and is using Boeing travelers checks to pay for newspaper campaign ads for Jackson. Boeing says that the use of its money by Scheyer is simply a matter of convenience. Jackson attacked the story as innuendo and denied that Boeing is making an illegal corporate effort to influence the Wisconsin primary. [NBC]
- Wisconsin has no party registration, and Republican crossover in primary voting is predicted as President Nixon faces no major opposition. With the exceptions of Senators Humphrey and Muskie, all principal Democrats are counting on strong Republican support, including Henry Jackson. Jackson has been pitching for Republican votes, focusing on issues such as welfare reform and opposing amnesty for draft dodgers. George Wallace also expects to benefit from Republican crossover voting; Wallace's strength among Republicans is said to come from farmers, and he too has taken up the issue of welfare. John Lindsay and George McGovern may also get some liberal Republican support. [NBC]
- King Hussein of Jordan admitted that Arabs cannot defeat Israel in a war now, and he invited Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir for talks. Hussein suggested that Jerusalem be made an "open city". In Jerusalem, the Vatican's highest representative in the Holy Land celebrated mass at the scene of the Resurrection. Pope Paul celebrated one Easter mass in St. Peter's Square and another in a suburban church near Rome. [NBC]
- Workmen on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, secured a stray barge which is loaded with poisonous chlorine gas; 4,000 persons had been evacuated from the area. [NBC]
- Charles Lindbergh and an anthropologist who were studying a Stone Age tribe in a Philippine rain forest found themselves stranded there until being rescued by an Air Force helicopter. [NBC]
- Parades marked the Easter holiday in Northern Ireland, without violence. A Catholic leader in Belfast called on the Irish Republican Army to give up its war against British rule; the IRA chief of staff denounced talk of conceding Northern Ireland to the British. [NBC]
- Thanks to the temporary opening of the Berlin Wall, West Berliners spent Easter visiting in East Berlin and elsewhere in East Germany. [NBC]
- President Nixon is reportedly ready to recognize the nation of Bangladesh, and will likely do so early next week. [NBC]
- Satellite pictures of Quang Tri show nearly 20,000 people fleeing down a highway to escape the North Vietnamese advance; it is the biggest evacuation since the 1968 Tet offensive. Both civilians and the South Vietnamese army are fleeing, and U.S. troops have also pulled out. South Vietnam's casualty reports are low in Quang Tri although field hospitals are full. South Vietnamese troops are said to have not performed very well. The success of "Vietnamization" is being questioned. [NBC]