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&P A C I F I G

VoL24r No.' 103 AN AUTHORED HjBUCATiON OF TH6 U,S, ARM6D FORCES IN THI FAK lASf Sunday, April I4r 1%S

-SSfe

Pope Paul VI walks in his stocking feet across the chillmarble floor of the altar platform at the Basilica of St. MaryMajor in Koine to pray before a cross on Good Friday. TheItoman Catholic pontiff did not wear his papal ring as a signof sorrow for the death of Jesus Christ. (AP Kadiophoto)

e Leads PilgrimsIn Good Friday Rif es

&

ROME (AP)—Pope Paul VI carried a tall crossFriday night in a sorrowful Good Friday procession mark-ing Christ's agony and death, for which he said all man-kind was "co-responsible."

Addressing tens of thousands of pilgrims amid theruins of pagan Rome, the pontiff urged Roman Catholicson this saddest day of their liturgy to regain the senseof sin through contemplation of Christ's passion and crucifixion.

Curtailing his participation in the ceremony as a consequenceof his operation last fall, the 70-year-old Pope did not walk theentire way with the procession from the ancient Colosseum tothe Temple of Venus.

The procession made its way to 14 prayer stations on a routesimulating Christ's journey to Calvary.

For the last four stations, the Pope took the two-meter-high, lightweight wooden ero.vs from a companion and carriedil himself.

The stat ions marked the nailing of Christ to the cross, hisdeath, his removal from the cross and his entombment,

(Continued oa Back Page, Col. 3)

SAIGON (AP)—Fighting from foxholes at a range of a few feet,American infantrymen repulsed 400 newly-equipped enemy troopswho stormed U.S. positions early Friday in War Zone C, 49 miles north-west of Saigon.

After five hours of close-quarter fighting, the North Vietnameseand Vief Cong attackers fled, leaving 123 dead and more than 50weapons on the battlefield. All the enemy dead were killed inside or on the fringesof the U.S. perimeter.

Sixteen U.S. troops were killed and 47 wounded.Associt Press photographer Al Chang reported from the battlefield that the

fighting was to ^lose that at one point American infantrymen fixed their bayonets forhsnd-to-hand fighting as their ammunition got low. They didn't have to use them.

Chang said it was likely that '. ___,more enemy troops had beenkilled or wounded outside theperimeter by massive air andartillery strikes.

Two American infantrymenwere found dead inside theirbunker. Around them were eightViet Cong troops, gunned downby the two before they werekilled, Chang said.

A radio operator held outagainst 10 Viet Cong until acompany commander, Lt, Rich-ard J. Prairie and three otherinfantrymen reinforced h i m.Prairie was awarded a SilverStar on the spot for heroicaction.

Field reports said most ofthe enemy dead were NorthVietnamese Army regulars, al-though there were some VietCong among them. A woundedNorth Vietnamese prisoner iden-tified his unit as the 245th Bn.of the 271st Viet Cong MainForce Regt.

"For quite some lime, the271st regt. has been well-stockedwith North Vietnamese Armycadre," a U.S. military spokes-man said.

The heavy fighting broke aweek-long lull in the war andwas the first major action re-ported in Operation Toan Thang(Complete Victory), biggest co-ordinated allied campaign ofthe war, involving 100,000 troopsof five nations. The operationkicked off Monday, with alliedtroops sweeping through 11provinces around Saigon, en-compassing 10,000 square miles.

The U.S. spokesman said theenemy troops were wearing newuniforms, some black and somegreen, lie said their weaponsalso were new or in good condi-tion, indicating the troops wererecent replacements, having in-{Continued on Hack Page, Col. 4)

I Is it aFORT DODCE, l«wa (AP)—

Gwendolyn Lepiey, a teacher atSouth Junior High School, toldIUT class to he sure, and watchthe eclipse of the jnuon Fridaynight.

"What channel?'* came aquery from ihe back of theroom*

WASHINGTON (UPI)—The White House said Fri-day efforts were still in progress to find a "mutuallyagreed upon" site for U.S.-North Vietnam talks.

George Christian, President Johnson's press secre-tary, made the statement in response to questions aboutthe status of a site selection after the United Statesindicated Thursday it was against a Hanoi proposal toset initial contacts in Warsaw. ,

Christian reiterated that John-son originally suggested Genevafor the meeting. He said Hanoicame back with a suggestion ofPhnom Penh in Cambodia "oranother place to be mutuallyagreed upon."

He added: "That is the statusand I doubt if I'U have anythingfurthercontactsdetermine

to say about itare under waya location."

(Meanwhile, AP reported,agency Tuss

asto

there-

LBJ,To ConferIn Hawaii

Soviet newsported from Hanoi Friday (hatNorth Vietnam considers as"legally untenable" 'Washing-ton's rejection of Warsaw as Ihe.site for preliminary p o a c etalks,

(Ta.ss said Hanoi officialcircles took this position be-cause "Uie United Stales hasexpressed repeatedly its willing-ness to meet a DRV (Demo-cratic Republic of V ie tnam)representative at any place andany time."

(The Ta.ss dispatch gave thefirst . Nor th Vietnamese, reac t ionto Thursday's W h i l e Houses ta tement which set-wed to ruleout Warsaw.

(The account from Tassseemed to mean tha t North Viet-nam will insis t on Warsaw asthe place for f i rs t contacts \ \ i t hthe United States .

f 'U .K . actions cmly de lay suchon Back Page, Col, 1)

WASHINGTON (UPI)—- President Johnson willmeet South Korean Presi-dent Chung Hee Park inH a w a i i Wednesday, theWhite H o u s e announced,,Friday.

The White House said the twoleaders would discuss a "wholerange of issues of concern be-tween the two countries." Viet-nam and tensions arising fromNorth Korean inf i l t ra t ion andseix.ure of the USS Pueblo wereexpected to f igure prominentlyin the ta lks .

Johnson was to have met Parkin H o n o l u l u last Sunday, but the,(Continued on Buck Page, < ol. !>

Nugent Vief-BoundAUSTIN, Tex. C A P ) — Presi-

dent Johnson ' s son- in- law. A i r -man l.C. Patrick N u g e n t , is onhis way to V i e t n a m . The Presi-dent 's daugh te r , Lnei , lohl n e w s -men .she had bade f a r e w e l l 10N u g e n t Friday n igh t as S H - ioosioi'f f rom Amlresvh j Ai l - - . iVUi.

Khe Bank Road Open

LANG VEI, Vie in am"(AP) ~* Troopers of theU.S. 1st Air Cav, Div, ocxcupied the Lang Vei Spe-cial Forbes camp Friday,tmdef the gun si gilts ofNorth Vietnamese artilleryless than two miles awayalong the Laos border.

There was no resistance to aground attack by a Cavalry bat-talion that moved through thoconcrete bunkers and wreckedtanks in the camp in the north-West corner of South Vietnam.

The Cavalry unit had gonequickly through the camp atdusk Wednesday, then h a dmoved on 700 yards to the eastto the site of an old abandonedSpecial Forces camp for thatnight. When they sought to goback into Lang Vei Thursday,the Cavalry troopers ran intoenemy resistance that held backthree drives,

It was believed a company ofenemy troops, about 80 men,had slipped back into the campWednesday night to fight a rearguard action. But they weregone Friday.

North Vietnamese artillery-men sent about 20 rounds intothe jump-off point for the at-tack Friday. One cavalrymanwas wounded.

Big U.S. guns laid down a500-round barrage in five min-utes and helicopter gunshipsswept back and forth across thecamp before the Cavalrymenadvanced.

To the north, there was onlylight action in Operation Pe-

, gasus, the 20,000-man operationbegun April 1 to relieve the be-sieged combat base at KheSanh.

Senior American officers saythe announced aims of Opera-tion Pegasus now have beenlargely fulfilled with Khe Sanhrelieved. , Crucial highway 9,linking the base with easternallied positions, is open andnearly completely restored.

A company of Marines onThursday drove the entire 12miles from Ga Lu to Khe Sanh.In addition, South Vietnameseand U.S. Marine battalions areclose to matching the pace ofthe Air Cavalry in westwardsweeps from Khe Sanh towardthe Laos frontier.

Mortars Kill 5 VietsSAIGON (S&S) — Five Viet-

namese civilians were reportedkilled and another 22 woundedearly Wednesday morning whenseveral rounds of mortars, firedby a U.S. un i t , exploded in asmall village one n y southeastof Cat Lai in Bien Jfloa province.The incident is under investiga-tion, according to the U.S. Coin-in and.

SAIGON (AP) —.The.U.S. Military Commandfeported Friday that 2,059planes and 1,551 helicop-ters have been lost in theVietnam war over Northand South Vietnam,

In a report Covering the period,through April 9, headquarterssaid 821 planes and nine heli-copters have gone down overNorth Vietnam. The helicoptersall were lost on rescue missionsto pick up downed pilots.

The last plane to go downover the North was on March 31,the day President Johnson an-nounced a. limitation in bombingof North Vietnam.

Where they once would only appear In the Sanh now stand in the open, unworried by enemyopen for a few seconds, U.S. Marines leaving Khe guns which have fallen silent. (AP)

Viet Rangers Get Ml 6S A I G O N (AP) — The elite

South Vietnamese 3rd RangerGroup has been issued 3.492U.S.-made M16 rifles, it wasannounced. Every man in thesix battalions of the group isarmed with the same weaponcarried by all American troopsin South Vietnam.

KHE SANH, Vietnam (UPI)— Col. David Lownds, the topMarine at Khe Sanh, steppeddown as commanding officer ofthe 26th Marine Reg. in a briefceremony Friday amid the rub-ble of his battered base.

Lowrids was succeeded by Col.Bruce F. Myers of Seattle,Wash.

Members of the regimentalheadquarters staff were present,but the regimental battalionswere out scouring the hills forfleeing North Vietnamese troops.

"I am more than pleased thatI had the opportunity to be regi-mental c o m m a n d e r here,"Lownds, of Plantation, Fla.,said.

He also seemed more thanpleased to see his replacement.

Bouncing around the base ina jeep on an inspection tour,Lownds joked with newsmen,"Don't talk to me. I'm just ahas-been."

Meyers said, "I plan to getwith the regiment, but we willprobably keep my headquartershere for a while."

Asked if the Marines wouldcontinue to hold Khe Sanh, hesaid, "I th ink the entire situa-tion in northern I Corps is veryflexible and 1 really couldn't

SAIGON (AP) - A mechani-cal breakdown at a governmenttransmitter station Thursdaynight caused a 12-hour blackoutof most news and commercialcommunications from Saigon tothe rest of the world.

Authorities said the break-down disrupted outgoing radio-teletype messages on 20 circuitsused by news services, newscorrespondents and commericalfirms.

The transmitter station at PhuTho a few miles outside of Sai-gon was repaired by mid-morn-ing Friday.

Telephone circuits linking Sai-gon with the outside were nota fueled, nor w e r e militaryunits.

WASHINGTON (S&S) — TheDefense Department has an-nounced the following casualtiesin connection with the conflictin Vietnam.

KILLED IN ACTIONArmy

' Robert L. Runkle, Ozark, Ala.James T. Blalock, Salem, Ala.Marvin E. Burrows, New Blaine,

LTCPFCSSG

Ark.PFC

Ark.PSGSP4

Calif.PFCPFCPFCPFCSP4SGTSP4SP4PFC

Ga.SP4

Jewel L. Rainwater, Van Buren,

Doyle Williams,Gilbert De La

Marina, Calif.Pena, Pinedale,

Dean H. Burns, Sonoma, Calif.Jack D. Downs, Tujunga, Calif.Gene K. Ross, Boron, Calif.Lars P. Sundell, Belrnont, Calif.

Fred R. Glover, Mulberry, Fla.Connie V. Wolls, Vidalia, Ga.Don C. Sykes, Savannah, Ga.Donald W. Queen, Epworth, Ga.William f. Hancock, Brunswick,

Theodore W. Sandldge, Pawnee,

U.S. Jets PoundPanhandle Areas

SAIGON (S&S)—Despite poor-weather over North VietnamThursday, U.S. warplanes flew105 missions over 108 miles ofthe southern panhandle.

All missions were flown southof the 19th Parallel, 60 milessouth of the northern l imitplaced on U.S. air strikes byPresident Johnson on April 1.

Navy pilots flew the deepestpenetration into North Vietnam,hit t ing a highway ferry 30 milesnorth of the coastal ci ty of Vinhand eight miles south of the li)thParallel.

SP4 Rcnald L. Zach, Oak Lawn, III.SGT Jerald A. Borman, Hammond,

Ind.SGT Michael W. Downing, Elwood,

Ind.SGTSSGSGTPFCPFCSGTCPL

began,PFC

Head,SGT

Mich,SP4

Mich.SP5SP4

N.J.SFC

N.Y.SGTSP4

N.Y.PFC Matthew J. Buono, Staten Island,

N.Y.SP4SP4

N.CPFC William E. Grace, Winston-Salem,

N.C.MAJ Roaer A. Quinn, Columbus,

Victor R. Miller, Beach

Gerald F. Gilbert, Goshen, Ind,Tommy D. Knapp, Newton, Iowa.Mark G, Stickels, Afton, Iowa.Chester Bob, Grand Coteau, La.Robert Smith, Converse, La.John H. Libby, Portland, Maine,Joseph G. L. Qulrlon Jr., Skow-Maine.Thomas S. Woodland Jr., IndianMd.

Heinrich Gerstheimer, Detroit,

David T. Connors, Cheboygan,

JimmyKenneth

D.F,

Pickle, Loqan, Mont,Schorndorf, Garfield,

William M. Thompson, Jamaica,

PatrickDonald

J, Coivoy, Bronx, N.Y.B. Kearney, Crhenectody,

Corl L. HillCharles L.

Jr., Kinston,King, H,;nd<

N.C.rsonville,

SAIGON (UPI) — At least 70forest fires are raging througha huge Viet Cong sanctuarycausing greater destruction t h a nany French or Allied aliack ofthe past 20 years, intelligencesources disclosed Friday.

The fires s tar ted early thisweek and by Thursday between70 and HO were observed ragingthoughout the vast U MinhForest at the tip of the MekongDelta in Vietnam's southern-most An Xuyen Province.

fa Pacific Stars & StripesSunday, April 11, 19«8

Tho sources said the fires al-r e a d y have destroyed hugeareas of fores t and have trig-gered numerous secondary ex-plosions, i n d i c a t i n g a m m u n i t i o ndumps and fuel storage tanksare being blown up.

The U Minh Forest has beenthe mo;->l impregnable Viet Congsanctuary in Vie tnam, remain-ing f i r m l y in Communist control— and seldom challenged —since 19i(i.

Intelligence sources said pi-lots have described the series offires as an "inferno."

The .sources said it was not

definitely determined how thefires were started, but therewere reports a group of Viet-namese f ishermen set them inreprisal against taxat ion by theViet Cong.

The fires come during thearea's driest season, about twoweeks before monsoon rains aredue.

Although the heavy smoke inthe area has prevented preci.sedamage assessment, pilots re-ported tha t the numerous sec-ondary explosions i n d i c a t e dgreater destruct ion t h a n causedby any bombing raids.

1LTOhio,

SP521.TSP-iSFC

S.C.SP-iPFCSSG

Tr mi.SSGSP4SP-1PFC

Tex.PFCSPS

Vo.CPLSSGSFC

PuertoSFC

Puerto

BMCFio,

Ohio.City,

Dean G. Owen, Cleveland, Ohio.Robert J. Sovizal, Polfstown, Pa.William J. Fray, Monroeviile, P-i.William E. Edwards, Columbia/

Freeman Bolen, Surnter, S.C.Levern Cosoni, Society Hill, S.C.Lorry J. Lyons, Johnson Ciiy,

Cl i r tonJohn L.Gory E

James

PabloGene

Mnlonri, MilUnciton, Tenis,,Chambers, Hondo, T»x.Wutson, Midland, Tex.G. Johnson, Marshall,

D.J.

Sanchez,Howard,

Taft, Tex.Williamsburg,

Douglas E. Fulcher, Tacoma, Va.Ernest A. Lang, Sentile, VVrr;h,Condkio Cab.-erj-Rodrkjuez, G.;/ev,

Rica,Aloiuiidro De Jesus-Munoi, Ponce,Rico.

NavySamuel C, Ciuwous, Old Tov.-n,

BM3 John D. Woodard, Morgonton,N.C.

Marine CorpsRFC Donald C. Me Nac, Mobile, Ala.PFC Cecil L. Jones, Jonesboro, Ark.PFC Joseph L. Jordan, Americus, Ga.SGT Ernest L. Bridges, Gary, Ind.CPU John J. Harris, lola, Kan.PFC Robert £. Mentzer Jr., Rockville,

Me!.LCPL Gerald F. Young, Boston, Mass.LCPL Burton W. Peterson Jr., South

Boston, Mass,CAPT George L. Lakey, Springfield,

Mo.LCPL Wesky W. White, Cctrteret, N.J.PFC Allen P. Sheehan, Muitontown,

N.Y.CPL Rooscvell Tharrington Jr., Dur-

ham, N.C.PFC Harry L. Blalock, Albermarle,

N.C.PFC Cecil L. Jones, Corvallis, Ore.LCPL Roger T. Brown, Kitianning,

Pa.PFC David H. Mealy, Pittsburgh, Pa.PVT William G. Wilkins,. Mt. Pleasant,

Pa.PFC Gary M. Carter, Church Hill,

Tenn.PFC Robert K. Horspool, Ogden,

Utah.SGT Daniel Pesimer, Salt Rock, W.Va.PrC Charles L. Yates, Fairmont, W.Va.PFC Kevin W. Moore, Milwaukee, Wis,

Air ForceMSGT Donald A. Harrell, White Oak,

Ga.CAPT William Canup, Indianapolis, Ind.

DIED OF WOUNDSNavy

HN James A. Cardinale, Danville, Calif,Marine Corps

CPL James J, Tedesco, Des Moines,Iowa. ,

MISSING TO DEAD—HostileArmy

SP4 Robert S. Jernberg, San Jose,Calif.

PFC Larry G. Manuel, Mattoon, III.PFC Harold E, Penson, Chicago, 111.SGT Ezekiel Paige, Siler City," N.C.PFC David Gulp Jr., Pineville, N.C.PFC James E. Me Pherion, Rocking'

ham, N.C.CPT Archie A, Hayman, Gallipolis,

Ohio.SP4 Edward Day, Charleston, S.C.PFC James L. Pipes Jr., Richmond,

Va.MISSING IN ACTION

AnnyWO Franklin D. AudiletSSG David A. ParkerS£G David C. ThomasSGT Philip L. KonigifeldSP5 James A. PembertonSP4 Antliony SirnoesSP4 Edward DayPrC Hoyle Terry Jr.PFC Grat A. KeenePFC James R. Sanford, Jr.

Air ForceCPT John C. HaniyCPT Ronald R. Rexroad

MISSING TO CAPTUREDAnny

SP4 Thomas H. Van PuHenDIED NOT AS A RESULT OF

HOSTILE ACTIONSG f Alan R. Cuymon, Lomito, Coiif.SP4 Douglas C. Ristine, Merritt island,

Fl::.CPL Danny E. Guthrie, Monroe, Go.PFC Jonn C. Havlick, Tulsa, Okla,SP4 Harry S. Stayer, Everett, Pa,CWO David W. Timm. Brocfnend, Wis.

Marine CorpsSGT Jose R. Bornal, Honford, Co1 if.PFC Leslie L. Craney, Portland, Maine.P|~C Sni,-«'i!vju ]'. Washiiiiilon, Mariuana,

Pu

Hold Vdby 2 Ytcirs

WASHINGTON (ISO)—"A Free Ballot—a FreeCountry" is the topic se-lected by the FreedomsFoundation for its 1968Letter Awards Program,

The letter writing competitionis open to both active duty andReserve personnel.

Awards for active duty person-nel are: top award $1,000, fiftyawards of $100, and fifty awardsof $50, For Reserve componentstop award is $1,000, up to 50awards of $100, up to 50 awardsof $50,

Letters will be selected forsincerity and understanding ofthe American way of life ratherthan literary excellence.

The top active duty winner inf?ach of the five military serv-ices will be invited to the Presi-dential Inauguration January 20.1969. Their awards will be pre-sented while they are in Wash-ington.

The next five active duty win-ners will be invited to ValleyForgo, Pa., to receive theirawards at the annual FreedomsFoundation presentation cere-mony on Washington's birthdaynext year.

The top winner in each of thethree Reserve components, in-cluding the Reserve $1,OCOwinner, also will be invited tothe Valley Forge ceremony toreceive their award.

Awards for the other activeduty and Reserve componentswill be forwarded through chan-nels for presentation at localceremonies.

Letters must, not exceed 500words. Print or type full name,rank, serial number, full mili-tary address, service or Reservecomponent and full home ad-dress on the letter.

Ventilation:uliets'

CU CHI. Vietnam (10) — One25th Inf. Div. grenadier foundhimself in a drafty situationwhen Viet Cong bullets rippedthrough'his uniform.

B Co. of the division's 4th Bn.,flth Inf. , was on a reconnais-sance in force patrol four milesnorth of Tay Ninh.

"My, platoon was point thatday, and I was close to thefront where my M79 grenadelauncher .would be most effec-tive," said Spec. 4 Phil Mahanof Memphis, Term.

Suddenly Viet Cong force open-ed Fire. The U.S. troops hit theground arid fired back. The VietCong fled.

"1 knew those bullets cameclose,'" Mahan said, "but when1 found out that two rippedthrough my camouflage coverand another grazed my shirtsleeve, I jus t stood there andshuddered."

SAIGON (UPt) -** For morethan two years, North Vietnam*ese troops have brazen" y helda small but immensely impor-tant hunk of South Vietnameseterritory called the A Shau val-ley.

It r e m a i n s in Communisthands today,

American planes have pound-ed it unmercifully, but in spiteof the fantft.stic amount ofbnmbs dropped there over thepast 25 months, A Shau con-tinues to be a major NorthVietnamese base for the infil-tration of men and supplies intoSouth Vietnam's northern prov-inces.

Knifing across the Laotianborder like & thorn in the sideof South Vietnam, the lushgreen valley was lost to theCommunists on March 11, 1966,

When North Vietnamese troopsoverran a U.S. Special Forcescamp there.

And today, A Shau has onceagain become a thorn in theside.

Since the lessening of Com-munist pressure on Khe Sanh inrecent, days, a t t e n t i o n hasfocused on the North Vietnam-'ese stronghold at A Shau. par*ticularly as a result of a tre-mendous increase in the num-ber of B52 raids in the valleyarea.

In the past week, more thanhalf of the B52 raids in Vietnamhave been launched a g a i n s tCommunist t r o o p concentra-tions* weapons positions, anti-aircraft sites, bunkers, truckparks and ammunition and sup-

ply storage areas around thevalley.

On one day last week, five ofseven raids of the big eight-en g i n e Stratofortresses wereagainst targets within 16 milesof A Shau. On a single daythis week, seven B52 strikeswere in the A Shau area.

The increased bombing hasfollowed reports of several sig-nificant developments in the AShau region in recent weeks.

For the first, time in the war,North Vietnamese armored ve-hicles — either tanks or ar-mored personnel carriers —have been detected in the AShau valley by U.S. reconnais-sance planes, according to in-formed sources.

Late last month, a unit of the

U.S. 1st Air Cav, t)iv, ran tatda North Vietnamese force em*ploying some form of armoredvehicles about 25 miles north-West of Hue. It was the furthestinland that Communist armorhad been sighted.

The A Shau valley is a tor*minus of a Communist supplyroute that winds about 50 milesacross South Vietnam's ThuaThien province, ending j u s tsouth of the imperial capital ofHue.

U.S. military sources saidearly last month that the roadis capable of supporting heavytruck convoys and armored ve-hicles at relatively high speeds.

The North Vietnamese report-edly used steel matting to forma carpeting above the road bedin two parallel strips.

'Pour If On!'Cape. Paul Kucha of Ifinsdale, 111., commander of E Co., 3rd

Bn. (Abn.), 187th Inf. puts in a radio call for fire support as 101:.tAirborne Div. paratroopers battle ons'niy forces south of PhuocVinh. (USA)

By BOB CUTTSS&S Correspondent

CAN THO, Vietnam — Youcan rebuild a house turned toashes, shore up a bombed-outpaddy dike, replace dead chick-ens and pigs and even waterbuffalo. P-M. what do you dowhen. youV ost a leg?

Dr. (Capt.) Pham Van Hoangthinks the Vietnamese soldiersand civilians of the Mekong Del-ta have gone too long withoutan answer, and he's trying toprovide one.

Hoang, an ARVN (Army ofthe Republic of Vietnam) medi-cal corps doctor, came to CanTho in June last year with anidea and a lot of plans. Sincethen, he has transformed a bor-rowed hospital building andsome donated funds into toolstha t he,lp Vietnamese amputeeshelp themselves . . . for the firstt ime in delta history.

Working in the backyard ofthe Can Tho Provincial Hospi-tal, Hoang receives all amputeeoutpat ients at his therapy cen-ter. Fi f ty per cent of his pa-tients • are Vietnamese soldiers,50 per cent are women and chil-dren from outlying districts whowere unlucky enough to trip aland inine or be in the way of aViet Cong mortar attack.

They come in without; hands,feet, arms, legs and sometimesw i t h o u t eyes. One l i t t l e girlfrom a mortared village wasbrought in a few months ago.Tu'o years old, she had no legs."She was good for all of us,"says Hour ly , "because she nev-er cried, never knew .she wasdif ferent from oilier children.Sue was always happy, andcheered everyone up."

Hoang and his medical tech-nidaily., Sgls. Pham Tron andNguyen. .Ngoc Cang, start the

patients with braces and aids,teaching them to walk and workwithout an arm or leg.

A new idea of Hoang's is totrain his own outpatients fornew vocations. He teaches typ-ing, .sewing, and the making ofprofessional prosthetic l i m b s.But the classes keep hittingsuags. "There's not enoughroom. We can only teach 14 or15 students at a time. And lastweek, three of my eight work-ers in the prostheiics shop weredrafted. Money's a problem —everything we're doing is doneon charily, and that doesn'tleave enough to buy really goodmaterial fo r the a r t i f i c i a llimbs."

Hoang displayed one plastichand, like a doll's, made by hisshop for $1, alongside a life-likerubber model from the U.S.,that costs $2:>. "We can't affordthe really good things."

But st i l l , Hoang and his U.S.-trained aides have managed toovercome the problems andhelp seine 70 patients a monthfind a t . l eas t a partial answerto their own personal tragedies.

S&S Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON—The Americanserviceman, without the benefitof a French chef or even agentle assist from a mess ser-geant, is becoming a gourmetin—of all places—South Viet-nam.

And, according to the DefenseSupply Agency (DSA), his newappreciation for good food hascome about thanks to "FoodPocket, Long-Range Patiol, In-dividual."

DSA says the packet is gett ing

rave notices from combat menin the fie 'd. DSA, supplier (iffood to everyone in un i fo rm, re-ports the relatively new, pre-cooked and dehydrated rationsnow in use in combat are draw-ing enthusiastic letters seldomheard in the military.

An infantryman wrote "Thoserations are the best chow overhere. Keep up the good work.1 'A marine felt that "It's thegreatest thing since Ma's cook-ing."

As a result of their popular i tyand the Vietnam buildup, DSAplans to buy an estimated eightmil l ion rat ions this fiscal year.

The food packets have eightspecific menus with three ofeach type meal packed in amoisture-resistant case. Simplyby adding water, a varied, well-balanced, nutritious and famil iarmeal can be prepared by a sol-dier or marine in the field inanywhere from seconds to f iveminutes depending upon wheth-er hot or cold water is used.

The olive drab camouflagepackets leal u re menus l ikechicken and rice, chili con carne,spaghet t i w i t h meat sauce orpork wi th esealioped potatoes.They also include a confection,a cereal or fruit-cake bar, coffee,cream, sugar, toilet tissue andmutches.

They cost $1.74 each, have anaverage gross weight of only 11ounces, and are an outgrowthof developments started fiveyears ago by the Army.

UDOJ1\T PvOYAL THAI AB.Tnailand (01) — One hundredThai sU'.donls from the UdornThani SKATO Trade School havestar ted work ul Udorn RTAKBin the f i r s t U.S. Air Force-spon-sored summer hire program tobe conducted in Southeast Asia.

"This program gives the stu-dents a chance to earn extramoney (h i r ing the i r summer va-cat ion and to put i n t o practicethe ski l ls t hey have been learn-ing in .school," said John H.McCleun, 4!;'2nd Combat SupportGroup c i v i l i a n personnel off icer .

The stud-ti ts . , from 17 to 20years old. w i l l work 54 hoursa week alongside Air Forcetechnicians.

Thai s tudents w i l l he learningtelecommunicat ions , vv c \ d i n garid sheet metal , c o n s t r u c t i o n ,auto mechanics and electricity.

Ten teachers from the TradeSchool wi l l work w i t h the s tu-dents se rv ing as supervisors andliaison wi th the Air Force,

Pacific Stars & StripesSunday, Apri l 14, 1%8

(C(Mitiftiiedi Ff0«i Paige 1)Contacts/' Tass said in describ*ing Hanoi's reaction.)

fop Administration officialsremained optimistic about even-tual agreement on a location lot*initial "contacts" once Hanoihas derived as much prbpagan*

- fc. i- - v ,-,- - • . ,-,.-r «^ 1- ' •'••• M . . T , sad,

Johnson(Continued From Page 1)

meeting was postponed becauseof the violence that followed the

.assassination of Martin LutherKing.

• Johnson flew to his Texasranch Friday for an Easter.weekend of rest and preparationfor the trip to Hawaii.

The President probably will•fly to Hawaii from the, ranchnear Johnson City, Tex,, on

'Monday, and will confer with.Adm. U.S. Grant Sharp, com-mander of U.S. forces in thePacific, and ranking staff offi-

.cers Of the U.S. Pacific Com-mand headquarters;

Johnson's plans after hismeeting with Park on Wednes-day were not announced, butwith Congress in Easter recessall next w e e k , the Presidentmight be expected to return toTexas for a few more days ofrelaxation.

The White House said John-son invited Park to Honolulubecause he had not seen theSouth Korean president sincethe Pueblo seizure in la fi Jan-uary.

The President asked CongressFeb. 8 for $100 million worth ofplanes, antiaircraft equipment,naval radar, patrol boats, am-munition and other military sup-plies to bolster South Korea'sdefenses against North Koreanthreats.

He then sent his special trou-bleshooter, Cyrus R. Vance, toSeoul to confer with Park. TheSouth Koreans were reported tohave been concerned that theUnited States, in dealing direct-ly with North Korea for the re-lease of the intelligence shipPueblo and its crew, was pay-ing too little attention to NorthKorean moves against theSouth.

Additionally, South Korea hasnearly 50,000 troops in SouthVietnam, the second, largestAllied contingent next to theUnited States.

As a result, Seoul has soughtassurances of American inten-tions to hold the line both inVietnam and in Korea, and Parkpresumably will be eager toconsult Johnson about recentpeace initiatives with NorthVietnam.

Pak Chung Hun, Korea's de-puty piime minister for econo-mic planning, is to arrive inWashington Saturday for a ser-ies of meetings with U.S. andWorld Bank officials.

da as it can from the U,S,refusal to meet "at any spot oftearth" as President Johnsononce said it Would.

Officials, at the same time,disclosed that, a formal II. S.reply was delivered to NorthVietnamese representatives inLaos Friday declaring that War*saw—the second location sug-gested by the Communists--didnot meet President Johnson'sinsistence upon a truly "neutral"location.

This followed public rejectionof the proposal Thursday bythe White House .in a statementcharging Hanoi with seeking toplay propaganda over thelocation and urging it toexercise "good faith.*'

Top Administration officialsalso said ambassador«at-largeW. Averell Harliman, formerdeputy defense secretary CyrusVance and "three or four otherofficials" \vere ready to leavealmost immediately once thesite is selected.

As of Friday, a rundown onefforts to agree on a meetingplace looked like this:

—The United States initiallysuggested Geneva or someother suitable neutral site.

—Hanoi countered with asuggestion of Phnom Penh thecapital of Cambodia, indicatingthat it wanted an Asianlocation.

—Washington found Cambodia"unsuitable" because it has nodiplomatic relations and thus nosecure communications fromthere. It suggested New Delhi,Rangoon, Jakarta or Vientiane,the capitol of Laos.

—Hanoi carne back with itsWarsaw suggestion, which theUnited States has now turneddown.

Some U.S. officials believethat Hanoi eventually will agreeto Rangoon, although there aresome rumors that the NorthVietnamese may come backwith a counter suggestion ofParis.

Administration o f f i c i a l s ,meanwhile, still are trying toexplain why President Johnson,after having said at San Antoniolast September that he wouldsend a representative to any"spot on earth" to talk with theNorth Vietnamese, was nowinsisting on a truly "neutral"site.

Their argument appeared toboil down to this: When thePresident and Secretary ofState Dean Rusk made suchstatements in recent years theywere thinking of an essentiallysecret contact and were willingto undertake this anywhere.However, the publicity sur-rounding preparation for theinitial Harriman "contacts" hasbeen so great that the selectionof a place has been investedwith ideological significance notpreviously contemplated.

It just wouldn't be Easter without a bunny Easter bunny while napping before going outaround—even in South Vietnam's Mekong Delta, on an operation. The rabbit had broken looseA 9th Inf. Div. trooper cuddles the traditional from a breeding pen.

(USA Photo by Sgt. l.C. Paul Foley)

Pope Leads Pilgrims *usuk Re.mc!ins

I ^J I «| Lj^enifrrt Iff!nntiniif>d From Paee 1\ sands of devout m'lerims. some I I I l lW^MlTMl(Continued From Page 1)

His eyes darkly ringed fromthe fatigue of this Holy Week,the pontiff put aside the crossand walked in the chill night airto the microphones.

His voice was feeble as hespoke of his emotion over the"cruel and humiliating crucifix-ion."

But it picked up power andanimation as he came to hispoint:

"We are co-responsible for thissacrifice. Why? Because Jesusdied for us. He died for ourcauses. We are morally tied tothose who crucified him. It isfor our sins that the Lord died."

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, thou-

Hunt for King's Killer

FBI Pickup Order Called ErrorMEMPHIS, Twin. (AP)—The

FBI issued, then withdrew, apickup order for Eric StaryoGait, a Birmingham, Ala., whiteman, as the widescale searchfor the killer of Dr. MartinLuther King Jr., entered its sec-ond week.

Federal agents refused to saywhy they were seeking Gait.

But a bulletin distributed onthe statewide police teletypenetwork in Florida said Gaitwas driving a white Mustang.Witnesses in. Memphis told in*v?estigators earlier they saw a

24 Pacific Stars & StripesSunday, April 14, 1908

man in a white Mustang driveaway from the rooming housefrom which King was shot.

At about the same time thepickup order was sent in Flo-rida, federal agents in Atlantaimpounded a white Mustangthat had been parked since lastFriday at a public housing proj-ect near the Georgia State Capi-tol.

The message, withdrawn withthe explanation that it was er-roneous, described Gait as awhite male, 36-years-old, about5 feet-11 and 175 pounds withblue eyes and brown hair.

Tins roughly matched the de-scription circulated by federalauthorities the night of King's

slaying.Special Agent John Hanlon of

the Miami FBI office, who with-drew the pickup order aboutfour hours after it was issued,said "I cannot comment" whenasked w h e t h e r investigatorswere releasing the identity of asuspect in the King case.

The FBI in Memphis and At-lanta also refused to discuss thedevelopments. And in Washing-ton, an aide said Atty. Gen.Ramsey Clark would have nocomment.

However, Clark said Thurs-day night in New York that aprogress report would be madeto the nation soon on ihe man-hunt for the killer.

sands of devout pilgrims, somecarrying heavy crosses, shuf-fled slowly through the narrowstreets of the ancient Holy Cityon the path that Jesus took toCalvary on Good Friday nearly2,000 years ago.

No incidents were reported de-spite fears of possible Arab com-mando strikes during the obser-vances of Easter and the JewishPassover, which coincide thisyear.

After receiving a blessingfrom the Latin patriarch of theHoly Land, Msgr. Alberto Lgori,at the first station of the cross,where Jesus was condemned todeath, the faithful of many landsturned to follow His steps.

Some singing, some weeping,but mostly praying, they movedalong the Via Dolorosa, stoppingat each station on the cross:where Jesus fell, where He sawhis mother, where He spoke tothe daughters of Jerusalem.

There was not enough room inthe ancient Church of the HolySepulchre for all the penitents,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secre-tary of State Dean Rusk, under-going medical examination atWalter Reed Army Hospital,will remain there another dayor two, press officer Robert J.McCloskey said Friday.

A member of Rusk's staff hascarried papers to him to goover.

McCloskey said it is uncertainat this time whether Rusk willaccompany President Johnsonto Honolulu next week.

WeatherAsian Weather Central

TOKYO AREASaturday Night: Fair; Low: 44Sunday; Fair/ party Cloudy; High 65

TEMPERATURESApril 12

Attack(Continued From Page 1)

filtrated down the Ho Chi MinhTrail from North Vietnam.

The North Vietnamese over-ran some American bunkers onthe perimeter of the base butwere, quickly repulsed in acrossfire of blazing machineguns, mortars and grenades.

Under the light of flares, AirForce fighter-bombers strafedand bombed the enemy troops,and artillery pounded them untilthey withdrew at daybreak.

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