News stories from Sunday September 3, 1972

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

American F-4 Phantom jets flying out of Thailand attacked a North Vietnamese airfield 10 miles north of Hanoi. Phuc Yen airfield is now said to be wrecked; one MiG was shot down. Gia Lam airfield, which doubles as a civilian airport, was the only one in the area not to be hit. [NBC] Ground action was reported in South Vietnam north of Saigon. Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops are threatening the village of Trong Bom; Catholic residents fear the Communists. The local militia is defending the village with help from American civilian adviser Bill Thompson, a former Green Beret. Thompson directed an observation helicopter toward the V.C. and advised the hamlet chief to deploy his forces; the Viet Cong pulled back. Thompson has been in South Vietnam for nine years and wants to stay. [NBC] There are 37,000 men in American ground forces in Vietnam. By December 1 there will be only 27,000, but replacements are still being sent to the war zone. While most Americans are coming home from Vietnam, some are just going. Sonny Farr said that he volunteered for Vietnam duty because he has a wife there and the likes his helicopter flying job; Richard Fause noted that the pay is better, and he has the chance to do what he was trained for; Ivan Bush said that he doesn't think about being the last American to die in Vietnam. 89 out of every 90 men who are bound for Vietnam are volunteers; some volunteers are even being turned down. [NBC] George McGovern is en route to 11 states for campaigning; he will also attend the Southern Governors Conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina. [NBC] President Nixon issued his Labor Day message from San Clemente, California. He called on voters to choose between the work ethic and the welfare ethic (referring to George McGovern). The President also called on Congress to pass the anti-busing bill. [NBC] In a Labor Day speech, UAW president Leonard Woodcock attacked the Nixon administration on the war, economy, crime, pollution and its treatment of blacks. On CBS's "Face the Nation", AFL-CIO president George Meany called George McGovern an apologist for the Communist world. [NBC] The Israeli foreign minister denied reports that a secret peace plan has been proposed by Israel to withdraw troops from the Sinai. [NBC] Air Line Pilots Association president John O'Donnell once said that the U.S. should deny landing rights to planes from countries which give asylum to hijackers. Representatives of 17 nations are drawing up a treaty for action against countries that harbor hijackers. [NBC] Maria McGuire, a defector from the provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army, said that many provisionals object to its terrorist tactics and she called chief of staff Sean MacStiofain a "bigoted murderer". In Belfast, two British patrols opened fire on each other, each thinking that the other was a band of IRA gunmen.Belfast schools have opened. In the Catholic neighborhood of Andersonstown, British troops are occupying some schools; Catholics resent their presence. [NBC] In Montreal, Canadian police are holding one man and looking for two others in connection with Friday's fire at the Blue Bird Cafe night club which killed 36 people. [NBC] In Richmond, Virginia, two people were killed in a bus accident. [NBC] Bobby Fischer showed up 53 minutes late for the closing ceremonies of the world chess championship. He wore a purple velvet tuxedo. [NBC] At the Summer Olympics in Munich, Mark Spitz won his sixth gold medal and set a world record in the 100-meter freestyle. The American basketball team beat Japan. California's Keena Rothhammer won the women's 800-meter freestyle, upsetting Australia's Shane Gould.Klaus Wolferman of West Germany won the javelin throw and set an Olympic record. Janis Lusis of the USSR was favored (he is world record holder) but lost by ½ inch. American Bill Schmidt won the bronze medal. Finland's Laase Viren won the 10,000-meter run, shaking off Belgium's Emiel Puttemans and setting a world record. West Germany's Bernd Kannenberg won the 50-kilometer (31 mile) walk, but West German Peter Hess lost his lightweight boxing match to Sven Paulson of Norway. [NBC]