“Giant U.S. Air, Naval Task Force Begins Mining Entrances To Haiphong, Other Ports” article from Greenfield Recorder newspaper

To view or search transcription, use the button to open the sidebar. To search, use the button in the sidebar.

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information


About this item

On May 8, 1972, President Nixon announced that North Vietnamese harbors would be mined in order to cut off supplies. Foreign ships would have three days to leave the ports before the mines were set to activate. In addition to the mining, rail lines and highways would be bombed. He took this action without first consulting Congress. Nixon warned that these actions would only stop when all U.S. prisoners of war were returned and an internationally supervised cease-fire was initiated. If these conditions were met, the United States would “stop all acts of force throughout Indochina and proceed with the complete withdrawal of all forces within four months.” This announcement triggered antiwar protests which led to 1,800 arrests on college campuses. Republicans generally supported the measures, while Democrats denounced it as dangerous. “A dangerous flirtation with World War III,” said Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota. Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Edmund Muskie said Nixon was “jeopardizing the major security interests of the United States.”

Related Items

Details

Item typeArticle
AuthorShaw, Gaylord
PublisherGreenfield Recorder
Date1972-05-09
TopicMilitary, Wars, Battles
Politics, Government, Law, Civics
EraCounterculture, Civil Rights, and Cold War, 1946–1989
EventVietnam War. 1955–1975
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPrinting
Dimension detailsProcess Material: printed paper, ink Height: 19.00 in Width: 4.25 in
Catalog #L07.002
View this item in our curatorial database →
Shaw, Gaylord. “Giant U.S. Air, Naval Task Force Begins Mining Entrances To Haiphong, Other Ports.” Greenfield Recorder, May 9, 1972. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l07-002/. Accessed on February 9, 2025.

Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data.