History Diaries

Pro-Castro communist gunmen, led by a woman terrorist, hijacked a Venezuelan domestic airliner today and forced it to fly to Port of Spain, Trinidad. The government of Trinidad and Tobago arrested the six hijackers and promised to return them to Venezuela. The plane, the crew and the other passengers flew to Caracas tonight. There were 17 persons, including a Pittsburgh business man, aboard the aircraft, which was en route to Caracas from Ciudad Bolivar when hijacked.

Dr. Abraham Baiz, Venezuelan information minister, said the government of Trinidad and Tobago had assured the Venezuelan authorities that the hijackers would be returned promptly. The twin-engined plane had landed at the Piarco international airport outside of Port of Spain. Authorities questioned the occupants and took the hijackers into custody. The hijackers were dressed in the uniforms of the communist Armed Forces of National Liberation.

President Romulo Betancourt moved today for hemisphere action to end Fidel Castro’s communist subversion of Latin America from Cuba. Betancourt’s embattled government has been the No. 1 target of that subversion for three years. The capture of a cache of three tons of arms and ammunition worth an estimated $350,000 that had been landed by boat from Cuba recently prompted the major diplomatic move. Foreign Minister Marcos Falcon-Briceno summoned the diplomatic corps to announce that Venezuela was invoking articles 6 and 8 of the 1947 Rio treaty against Cuba “in order to safeguard its territorial integrity, its sovereignty and the existence of the national institutions.”

The foreign office issued a statement after the meeting in which it announced that a cache of weapons discovered November 2 on the beach at Macana, on the Paraguana peninsula in the state of Falcon, had been landed by sea from communist Cuba. “Because of the gravity of this situation,” Falcon told the diplomats, “The national government has intensified its air and sea patrols of the coast of the country and will initiate the necessary action before the international organization.”

The Soviet Union announced it would launch a new series of rocket tests over two areas of the Pacific, starting Monday and continuing to January 25.

The Soviet Defense Ministry gave unusual prominence to the advanced techniques of rocket troops in the Transbaikal area bordering on Communist China.

An American seaman decided to stay on in the Soviet Union after his visa expires so he can wed his Russian sweetheart.

A change in direction of what is believed to be a Russian satellite has been observed by an Anglo-American tracking station in England

Reports circulated through Moscow that retail prices of sugar and butter are to be sharply increased Sunday, a normal shopping day in the Soviet Union.

President Tito and regional authorities freed 2,457 political prisoners as Yugoslavia celebrated its 20th anniversary as a Communist state.

Britain will join in an examination of proposals for a NATO mixed-manned nuclear force, but still has not agreed to participate if the force is formed, Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home said.

Yemen stakes out claims in the United Nations for the British protectorates in the port of Aden and adjoining territories. Mohsin Alaini, Yemini delegate, says that Aden is “a territory taken by force from Yemen.” He charges that rulers of 25 states within the Aden protectorate had been paid off by the British.

Roman Catholic Church law against the validity of mixed marriages was challenged by two prelates at the Vatican Ecumenical Council.

The party of President-elect Park has won 108 out of 175 seats in the new South Korean Assembly.

Sir Winston Churchill, one day short of his 89th birthday, is described by a spokesman in his house as “feeling very fit.” However, Churchill is pictured as becoming feeble and with failing hearing. When he is having one of his good days, the spokesman said, Sir Winston’s mind shows its old brilliance and clarity.

Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

President Johnson gives a Thanksgiving address, delivered to the nation over television and radio. It begins:

“My fellow Americans: On yesterday, I went before the Congress to speak for the first time as President of the United States. Tonight, on this Thanksgiving, I come before you to ask your help, to ask your strength, to ask your prayers that God may guard this Republic and guide my every labor.”

“All of us have lived through seven days that none of us will forget. We are not given the divine wisdom to answer why this has been, but we are given the human duty of determining what is to be, what is to be for America, for the world, for the cause we lead, for all the hopes that live in our hearts. A great leader is dead; a great nation must move on. Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose. I am resolved that we shall win the tomorrows before us. So I ask you to join me in that resolve, determined that from this midnight of tragedy, we shall move toward a new American greatness. More than any generation before us, we have cause to be thankful on this Thanksgiving Day. Our harvests are bountiful, our factories flourish, our homes are safe, our defenses are secure.”

On Thanksgiving Day, President Johnson issued an Executive Order the immediate renaming of the space center at Cape Canaveral, in Florida to “Cape Kennedy”, then told the nation about it as part of a televised address. In addition, the President noted that the cape itself “shall be known hereafter as Cape Kennedy”. The day before, at Johnson’s request, the United States Board on Geographic Names had approved the renaming of the peninsula, which had first been identified as “Cabo Cañaveral” by explorer Juan Ponce de León. Despite protests from the residents of the city of Cape Canaveral, Florida, the order affected only the cape itself and the federally-owned property, rather than the town. Florida Governor Farris Bryant told critics on December 5, “The people of Florida, in the year 2063, will look back and understand what President Johnson has done and will approve.” However, the old name would be restored less than ten years later, on October 9, 1973, at the request of Florida Congressman Lou Frey, Jr.

Senate investigators have decided that open hearings, televised to the nation, are essential to dissipate the clouds of doubt and suspicion which have gathered about the Kennedy assassination. Some members of the Senate judiciary committee, which will conduct an investigation exploring all aspects of the tragedy, argued for secret hearings, followed by an official report. But a substantial majority, after examining with dismay the fantastic theories and rumors given world-wide circulation about the killing of the President and the subsequent murder of his alleged assassin, Lee H. Oswald, came up with this conclusion: Any hint of secrecy, of a coverup of evidence, will only serve to strengthen communist propaganda which is seeking to convert the incident into a symbol of “pro-fascist and racist” dominance in the United States.

Jacqueline Kennedy paid another visit to the grave of her assassinated husband this noon before taking off for a Kennedy family Thanksgiving Day gathering at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Dressed in black, she knelt briefly beside the grave with her sister, Lee Radziwill. Her face was still lined with sorrow. It was her fifth visit to the grave since the late President was buried Monday. Mrs. Kennedy made her way quietly through a crowd of several hundred wending their way to the grave. With her, in addition to her sister, were White House Presidential Secretary Pierre Salinger and White House aides, Lawrence F. O’Brien, P. Kenneth O’Donnell, and Jack McNally.

Some 200,000 people visit John F. Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery on this single day. Thousands of people also continue to come to pray and leave flowers in Dallas at the Dealey Plaza site of the assassination.

Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children, Caroline, 6, and John Jr., 3, fly to Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, for a Thanksgiving reunion with the family of her slain husband. Other members of the family arrive throughout the day, except Attorney General Robert Kennedy, his wife, and their eight children, who remain in McLean, Virginia. Sources close to the family say that former Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, who suffered a paralytic stroke December 19, 1961, took his customary place at the head of the table, although in a wheelchair.

The head of the New Orleans public library discloses that Lee Harvey Oswald, alleged assassin of President Kennedy, borrowed numerous books while living in the city last summer. They included “The Huey Long Murder Case,” a word portrait of President Kennedy, spy thrillers, and numerous books on communism.

Jack Ruby’s attorney says he will not ask for a delay in Ruby’s upcoming trial for the murder of presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

The Beatles “She Loves You” unusually, returns to #1 in UK record chart and reaches 1 million copies sold.

NFL Football:

The Detroit Lions, an injured, losing football team this season, tied the Green Bay Packers, 13—13, today by scoring a touchdown with 16 seconds left to play in an exciting game. Nick Pietrosante, the fullback, scored the touchdown that brought about the tie, but the primary hero for the Lions was Earl Morrall. This 29-year-old quarterback, who became a regular and a star this year after seven seasons of secondary status, directed a long, time-consuming touchdown drive at the end with calm, cool confidence. The tie made heroes of all the Lions and dealt a blow to Green Bay’s hopes of defending its championship of the National Football League. The Packer season record is now nine victories, two losses and one tie. So Green Bay is one game behind the Chicago Bears in the important loss column of the standings. The Bears’ record is 9-1-1. The Packers also lost star middle linebacker Ray Nitschke for the rest of the season with a broken arm. Detroit had a star in Morrall and the Packers, alas, had a goat in Jerry Kramer. Green Bay’s guard and kicker missed a field-goal attempt that he will remember. It came at the start of the fourth period on an attempt that looked easy enough to be automatic. But the chip shot kick from the 10-yard-line went wide.

Green Bay Packers 13, Detroit Lions 13

AFL Football:

The Oakland Raiders came alive with two third-quarter touchdowns today and went on to score a 26—10 American Football League victory over the Denver Broncos. Cotton Davidson flipped a 39-yard pass to Bo Roberson for the Raiders’ first touchdown and three minutes later, Jon Jelacic grabbed Don Breaux’s fumble and ran 18 yards for another touchdown as Oakland erased Denver’s 3—2 half-time lead. The victory tightened Oakland’s grip on second place in the Western Division with a 7-4 won-lost record and left Denver at the bottom at 2-8-1. Gene Mingo’s 52-yard field goal put Denver in front in the second quarter after Oakland had scored a safety in the first. After Oakland went ahead, 26—3, in the fourth quarter, Breaux completed three passes on an 80-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 35-yard screen pass to Billy Joe for Denver’s only touchdown. Alan Miller’s 35-yard run to Denver’s 2 led to Oakland’s last touchdown. Glenn Shaw scored on a fourth-down plunge from the one.

Oakland Raiders 26, Denver Broncos 10

Born:

Walt Weiss, American baseball shortstop (AL Rookie of the Year 1988; World Series Champions-A’s, 1989; All Star 1998; Oakland A’s, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves) and manager (Colorado Rockies, 2013-16), in Tuxedo, New York.

Johnny Newman, NBA small forward and shooting guard (Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks), in Danville, Virginia.

Donald Brown, NFL cornerback (San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants), in Annapolis, Maryland.

Loren Snyder, NFL quarterback (Dallas Cowboys), in Yakima, Washington.

Armando Iannucci, Scottish satirist, in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Died:

Karyn Kupcinet, 22, American actress. She was found dead in her West Hollywood apartment two days later by friends, actor Mark Goddard and his wife. The death is officially recorded as an unsolved homicide. Kupcinet was linked by some accounts to President Kennedy’s assassination; there is nothing substantial to back this up.