Diplomats and military analysts here have managed to piece together an account of the fall three weeks ago of Phước Bình, the first provincial capital to be captured by the Communists since their 1972 spring offensive, despite government efforts to seal off from the public and press the soldiers who got out alive. It appears, according to these experts, that while some defenders fought bravely, many ran away; that the South Vietnamese Air Force, reluctantly called in to what it considered a hopeless fight, killed many government troops with imprecise high‐altitude bombing, and that the North Vietnamese further refined tactics intended to lose as few of their own men as possible. “It is a shame to us all — not only to us, but to any other military man of any rank who had something to do with this battle,” said an officer who was sent to defend Phước Bình.
Several South Vietnamese military sources paint a similar picture — one of indecisiveness and confusion at the highest command levels, uncertainty about whether the North Vietnamese intended to take Phước Bình or slowly strangle it, bad information on the size and quality of the opposing forces in the rolling plantation country around the encircled town These sources argue that decisions were made with less consideration than is now believed. Beginning in mid‐December, the North Vietnamese easily took four government‐held district capitals and one base camp in Phước Long Province, which had never been far from their complete control. Only the isolated province capital, with garrison of regional and provincial forces totaling 3,000 men remained.
The first government reinforcements — a battalion of regular troops and three reconnaissance companies, or about 800 men — were reportedly sent into Phước Bình on December 28, when the North Vietnamese were already within mortar range of the town, which lies 75. miles north of Saigon near the Cambodian border. On the first day of the new year, the North Vietnamese chased a small garrison of Stieng tribesmen off the top of Bà Rá Mountain on the southeastern edge of the town. From this point on, in the opinion of several military analysts, the battle was lost. The North Vietnamese could shell the town at will, which they began to do with great accuracy Reliance on heavy artillery bombardment rather that ground troops characterized the North Vietnamese tactics, as it has in other battles recently.
Civilians — the province capital had a largely Montagnard population of 26,000 — began to slip out of the town, crossing the Daklung Bridge over the Song Be. So did many montagnard militiamen and some regular soldiers. The first ground attacks came on January 3, but the North Vietnamese put few troops behind their T‐54 tanks. Demolition troops cleared obstacles for the tanks. Many defenders reported later that their American‐made, shoulder‐fired rocket launchers were useless against the tanks, which had penetrated the southern edge of the town. “We took aim on one of them, waited, waited until it was well in good range and then fired,” said one officer. “Oh, it did not explode. It did not stop. To our amazement, the turret was moving, the big gun was pointing toward our trenches. Oh God, we sank down to the bottom of our trenches, crawled away like rats, with our mouths open in amazement.” In their analysis of the battle, Americans believe that the defenders fired the rockets at a range that was too close; to destroy a tank, they must be fired from 30 feet away, they say.
By January 3, the Foreign Ministry in Saigon was preparing a press conference to announce the loss of Phước Bình. But the next day the government sent into Phước Bình by helicopter two companies of the elite 81st Airborne Rangers — which fought well around Saigon during the 1968 Tet offensive and at An Lộc during the 1972 offensive. To their dismay, the 200 rangers found that the situation on the ground nowhere resembled the somewhat confident picture sketched by Colonel Nguyễn Thống Thành, the commander of the town, in his bunker. According to one ranger, the colonel described various positions around the town that were being held by battalions and companies that had in fact been reduced to handfuls of men who were looking for way to escape.
Meanwhile, forced to altitudes of 10,000 feet or higher by intense 57‐mm. heavy machine‐gun fire, government fighter‐bombers were unable to provide significant support. Still they bombed. “Never before had I seen such heavy casualties inflicted on our own lines by our own air force,” said one member of the 81st Rangers. “The hospital was bombed, three or four military doctors were killed and hundreds of patients were killed, or wounded for a second time. Stieng and Vietnamese refugees who managed to walk to government positions, 30 miles away in neighboring Quảng Đức Province, confirmed the bombing of the improvised hospital. According to another report, about 50 Montagnards were killed when an antipersonnel bomb landed in their hamlet outside Phước Bình.
A suit was filed by 21 U.S. House Democrats today to halt United States supply airlifts, reconnaissance flights and any other direct military involvement in Cambodia. The suit, filed in United States District Court in Boston by aides of Representative Robert F. Drinan, Democrat of Massachusetts, the principal plaintiff, maintains that American personnel are involved in aerial reconnaissance, intelligence and military advice, including recommendations of targets and offshore maneuvers, in defiance of a Congressional prohibition on military involvement. It asks, the court to find the activity in violation of law and order it halted. Rob Pratt, an aide to Father Drinan, said the suit was filed in Boston because the court there had indicated that it would declare United States military activity illegal if plaintiffs could prove that it violated specific law. The suit contends that the Pentagon confirmed reconnaissance flights and that Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger confirmed airlifts. It says John Gunther Dean, United States Ambassador to Cambodia, has been quoted as saying that he gives military advice to the Cambodians and that the legal limit of 200 military men is violated daily.
The Pentagon has temporarily suspended installation of multiple‐warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles, apparently because of the opening of United States‐Soviet arms negotiations in Geneva today. Involved are the last 50 Minuteman ICBM’s to be converted from single‐warhead models to an advanced version carrying multiple independently targetable warheads or MIRV’s. The Air Force already has converted 500 of its 1,000 Minutemen missiles to MIRV’s. Administration officials reportedly are concerned that the Russians might misinterpret the continued conversion of the Minutemen at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. There are 150 other Minutemen at Malmstrom that are not scheduled for conversion. American officials are said to be worried that the Russians would assume that if the 50 were converted, the other 150 would also be converted. They felt that this could, have led to a dispute over how many MIRV missiles the United States actually had in place.
Official Portuguese sources said that the Soviet Union had urgently requested port facilities in Portugal for its Atlantic fishing fleet. Soviet fishing boats in the Atlantic have long been suspected by officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, whose members include Portugal, of having sophisticated electronic intelligence equipment aboard. Some Portuguese officials believe that if Portugal were to grant port rights to the Soviet Union, the move would be a major breach of NATO security on the approaches to the Mediterranean and the South Atlantic. A treaty with the Soviet Union was reported to be in preparation, but because of the political and strategic implications it was expected to meet strong opposition in the Portuguese cabinet.
The Soviet Union’s reported request to Portugal for port facilities for its fishing fleets was regarded by United States and British military analysts as the opening of a campaign to establish Soviet naval power on the perimeter of two vital Western maritime areas. These sources pointed out that, while it was not clear whether Soviet intentions were military or simply to cause political trouble, the establishment of Soviet naval facilities in Cuba, Guinea in West Africa and in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean had also begun with requests for facilities to refuel fishing fleets. Portuguese agreement to the Soviet request, they agreed, could result in Soviet naval deployments blocking movement through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean. The Russians would be in position to interfere with seaborne reinforcements and supplies to Europe in the event of a confrontation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Warsaw Pact.
Secretary of State Kissinger has made tentative plans to meet with the Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers around February 10, somewhere in Europe, in an effort to spur progress at negotiations over Cyprus, State Department officials said today. They stressed that Mr. Kissinger’s precise plans were not fixed but that as of the moment he plans to confer with Foreign Minister Dimitri S. Bitsios of Greece and Melih Esendel of Turkey, possibly in London or Paris, on his way to an already scheduled Middle East tour. Mr. Kissinger, faced with the discouraging slow pace of the talks in Nicosia between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, was reported today to believe he probably must try to meet with the Greeks and Turks once again. Tomorrow Mr. Kissinger is to meet at the State Department with a group of Representatives and Senators who have supported the Greek side, to discuss the pending cutoff of American military aid to Turkey, set for midnight Tuesday night.
At that meeting, Mr. Kissinger will bring the others up to date on progress so far toward a Cyprus settlement and about his tentative plans to meet again with the Greek and Turkish leaders. Unless Congress votes to extend the aid cutoff, all military assistance to Turkey must cease on February 5. Mr. Kissinger will argue that some progress has been made and that the cutoff would set back, rather than advance, prospects for a Cyprus settlement. The pro‐Greek Congressmen and Senators, who have won maority backing in both houses to set deadlines for Turkish aid cutoffs, say that unless they are assured that significant progress has been made at Nicosia, particularly on resettlement of the bulk of the Greek Cypriot refugees displaced by Turks, it would be unlikely that they, would recommend an extension. Those who led the drive to stop the aid charged that Turkey was using American supplies aggressively, in violation of her agreement with the United States.
The Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, said today that two proposals made at the peace talks here, on the reopening of the Nicosia international airport and the use of the Famagusta seaport by the Greek Cypriots, had been rejected by his side. There had been. rumors that Turkey would finally announce a long‐awaited goodwill gesture, involving withdrawal of Turkish occupation troops from the Greek Cypriot sector of Famagusta and the return to their homes there of the 45,000 Greek Cypriot inhabitants, who are now refugees. But the United Nations spokesman on Cyprus, George Yacoub, said at a press briefing after the meeting today that the refugee issue had not been discussed. The Greek Cypriot leader, Glafkos Clerides, said that he and Mr. Denktaş had not yet taken up the issue of a central government. Before the two resumed their talks on January 14, they said in a joint announcement that the issue of the functions of a central government in a federal state would be the first item on their agenda.
Turkish troops and Greek Cypriot soldiers exchanged heavy gunfire today near the American‐owned Skouriotissa copper mines of western Cyprus.
RUC Constable George Coulter was shot dead by the IRA while at a mobile Police patrol near Dungannon, Northern Ireland. He was the ninth and last official Northern Ireland Troubles related fatality during the month and the only Police Officer killed.
The Élysée Palace announced today the first Cabinet reshuffle since President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing took office eight months ago.
Moshe Dayan, the former Defense Minister, was reported today to be “relieved” by the findings of an inquiry into Israel’s lack of preparedness for the Arab attack in October, 1973. He had said repeatedly that he was staking his political future on the conclusions of the commission. The commission, headed by Shimon Agranat, President of the Supreme Court, found that Israeli law had never defined whether any minister was responsible for directing the defense forces on the operational level or for the order of forces and their deployment. The commission said the Defense Minister had never been made “a sort of super Chief of Staff.” Israel’s Chief of Staff during the war, Lieutenant General David Elazar, resigned after an interim report by the commission found him responsible for shortcomings. Mr. Dayan retired from the Government later under strong public pressure.
Brigadier General Misbah Budeiri, chief of staff of the virtually inactive Palestine Liberation Army, complained today in a newspaper interview that his force has been refused arms and money by Yasir Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The Palestinian Liberation Army, a professional military force of about 7,000, is technically under the political direction of the P.L.O. Mr. Arafat, chairman of the organization, is also the army’s commander in chief. But ever since the rise of the Palestine guerrilla movement after the 1967 ArabIsraeli war, the army has been virtually inactive, with its forces scattered in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where General Budeiri has his headquarters. In an interview in Damascus. Syria, that was published in the English‐language Beirut newspaper The Daily Star, the Egyptian‐trained chief of staff was openly critical of Mr. Arafat. “We are the biggest force of Palestinians, but also the poorest,” said General Budeiri. He’ said this was due to the “refusal” of Mr. Arafat to seek arms, from the Soviet Union for the Palestine Liberation Army.
The State Department has informed Congress that it intends to grant $25 million to Syria from a special Middle East contingency fund to provide an incentive for the Syrians to pursue a moderate course. This would be the first economic aid to Syria, except for food assistance, since 1965, and the administration has lobbied vigorously to persuade key members of Congress not to block the grant.
Trans World Airlines, which has been having financial difficulties, announced that the Iranian government had bought six of its 19 Boeing 747 jumbo jets for $99 million. It was believed to be the largest used-plane sale on record. Negotiations for the purchase of six more of the airline’s 747’s were said to be continuing.
The white posters all over the city of Seoul carry President Park Chung Hee’s message urging the voters to reconfirm him and the Constitution in a forthcoming national referendum. Daily radio announcements contend that Mr. Park’s system of “revitalizing reforms” is necessary to overcome threats from North Korea and economic recession. A major newspaper, on Government orders, carries an article in which two professors accuse Mr. Park’s critics of jeopardizing national security by opposing him. No word against the Constitution, the President or his program is seen or heard as South Korea prepares for the controversial referendum, whose date is yet to be fixed. The Government has forbidden its opponents to debate the issues, and the press cannot report anything except the Government’s views.
Eritrean insurgents using mortars and bazookas attacked three Ethiopian milltary installations for two hours tonight in the provincial capital of Asmara, reports reaching Addis Ababa said. There were no immediate reports of casualities. The assault was a major step‐up in the 12‐year war for Eritrean independence. Witnesses said guerrillas fired from balconies at a navy headquarters in downtown Asmara separated by only a wall from the United States consulate. More than 30 Americans—including children—who had been watching movies at a social club in the consulate sector, huddled in the club as machine‐gun fire and grenade explosions rocked the base, witness reported.
A transitional Angolan Government formerly took over power from Portugal in Luanda today. A crowd of about 5,000 waved the flags of the three main Angolan liberation movements and chanted “glory, glory” as the Portuguese High Commissioner and the transitional government member stepped out on a balcony of the former colonial governor’s palace after the announcement. Earlier, the representatives of Portugal and the three liberation movements observed a minute’s silence’ in honor of those Angolans who died fighting for independence during the 13 year guerrilla war against Portugal.
Federal District Court Judge Charles Richey ruled that the government owns almost all of the documents, tape recordings and other items assembled during former President Richard Nixon’s five years in the White House, and that presidents are stripped of claims of privilege when they leave office. The only exception to government ownership, Judge Richey said, are purely personal items. Administration papers had been regarded as personal property of presidents since George Washington. Mr. Nixon’s tapes and papers are closely linked to the Watergate affair, which caused Mr. Nixon to become the first President in American history to resign. The major points made by Judge Richey today were these:
- A President is no exception to the general rule that materials gathered or generated during public service belong to the government.
- Mr. Nixon’s claim of ownership is contrary to the “nature of the office” and the Constitution There are no precedents, despite historical practice. Congress has not sanctioned such ownership.
- Under the Freedom of Information Act, under which two of the suits were brought, almost all executive branch materials are official records. The exceptions are personal items and tapes and documents between the President and his small personal staff. The tapes and documents may become available through the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.
- Former Presidents cannot assert claims of executive privilege to protect the confidentiality of their office documents. Only Presidents can make such claims and the concept of privilege itself “belongs to the government.” Only President Ford could claim privilege for Mr. Nixon.
- Mr. Nixon’s Presidential papers are of “uncalculable value” and giving them to him would constitute a violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution that prevents Presidents from enriching themselves while in office.
- Mr. Nixon has a right to privacy as does any other citizen. Machinery is set up for asserting this right on the documents and tapes. Mr. Nixon can select the personal ones in secret but the burden of proof is on him if this choice is challenged, and the courts will decide any disputes.
Judge Charles R. Richey’s ruling today that the Government owns the papers and documents of former Presidents is likely to have little impact on access to the records of Richard M. Nixon’s predecessors. However, the ruling is likely to be important to historians in the future, according to scholars and government experts.
President Ford made his final review today of the budget for the fiscal year 1976 to be sent to Congress Monday and told reporters, “I never thought I’d sign one this big — or sign any one really.” The President declined to give any clues to the numbers involved as he flipped through the pages of the red, white and blue covered document that he said was “the first volume off the press.” But he has said that his proposals for economic recovery and energy conservation would require federal deficits on the order of $30‐billion in the current fiscal year and $45‐billion in the 1976 budget. The 1976 fiscal year begins July 1.
Charles W. Colson, a former special counsel to President Nixon, was released from prison today on the ground of “serious family difficulties.” The order for the 43‐year‐old Mr. Colson’s release was issued by Federal District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell late this afternoon. He noted that a motion to reduce Mr. Colson’s Sentence “has been under consideration for some time.” Mr. Colson was also fined $5,000; the judge’s order did not affect this part of his sentence, which he began serving on July 8, 1974. In the application for reduction of sentence, Mr. Colson’s lawyer cited the death of his father, which the application said had left “his 73‐year‐old mother wholly dependent emotionally on the defendant, her only child.”
Former Gov. Tim M. Babcock of Montana was sentenced today to serve four months in jail and fined $1,000 for concealing the source of a $54,000 contribution to the 1972 reelection campaign of President Nixon. The money was contributed by a wealthy oil man, Armand Hammer, who remains under investigation by the Watergate special prosecutor’s office. The chief United States District Court judge, George L. Hart Jr., sentenced Mr. Babcock to the full one‐year maximum, but said the former governor must spend only four months in prison. Judge Hart said that Mr. Babcock would then be on probation for two years.
The Bank of the Commonwealth, one of the largest in Michigan, announced that a Saudi Arabian businessman had agreed in principle to acquire a substantial interest in the bank. The prospective investor was identified as Ghaith Pharaon, an American-educated Saudi with broad international interests who hopes “to establish Detroit as a major center for trade between the Middle East and the United States.”
The last victim of the serial killer known as the “Skid Row Slasher” was claimed after Clyde Hay, a 43-year-old cash register repairman, was found dead in his home in Hollywood, California. Hay was the killer’s ninth victim in two months. The first seven had been transients in Los Angeles. Two days later, the killer was forced to flee during his next murder attempt but left a clue that would end his spree. Vaughn Greenwood would be convicted on nine counts of first-degree murder almost two years later.
The FBI arrested a security guard with the Federal Protection Service today and charged him with making telephoned bomb threats to at least three government buildings.Donald W. Moore Jr., special agent in charge of the Washington field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that special agents arrested Donald W. Gooding of nearby Hillside, Maryland, at 6:14 PM. Mr. Gooding was on duty at the time as an officer of the protection service at the Internal Revenue Service Building on Constitution Avenue. He was charged with telephoning false bomb threats against the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which, when completed, will house the FBI, the revenue service and the Justice Department.
Twenty-seven people on board the Greek oil tanker SS Corinthos were killed after their ship was struck by the American freighter Edgar M. Queeny. The Corinthos had been docked at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, and was unloading its cargo of crude oil at a dockside refinery operated by British Petroleum when it was struck by the freighter, which was making a course change.
Two top officials and a retired executive of the 3M Company will pay $425,000 to the corporation to repay alleged illegal campaign contributions under an agreement approved by a federal judge. In addition, District Court Judge Earl Larson yesterday ordered Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing to inform all of its stockholders of the activities of the three officers and their involvement in the contributions. Ordered to make payment to 3M were Harry Heltzer, chairman of the board and chief executive officer; Irwin Hansen; retired treasurer; and Bert Cross, former president and chairman of the board and now a director on the board.
The Federal Trade Commission said today that it would extend “for an indefinite period” the time for commenting on its proposed rules for food advertisers who make nutritional claims.
Sears and Roebuck closes its store in San Francisco’s Mission District at 6 PM tonight. The store has been losing money for years.
John Lennon releases single “#9 Dream.”
Barry Manilow’s single “Mandy” goes gold.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 703.69 (+7.27, +1.04%)
Born:
Janelle Bynum [née Irick], American politician, Oregon’s first black member of Congress (Rep-R-Oregon, 2025–), in Washington District of Columbia.
Kenard Lang, NFL defensive end, defensive tackle, and linebacker (Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos), in Orlando, Florida.
Fred Coleman, NFL wide receiver (NFL Champions, Super Bowl 36-Patriots, 2001; New England Patriots), in Tyler, Texas.
Zebbie Lethridge, NFL defensive back (Miami Dolphins), in Lubbock, Texas.
Cintia dos Santos, Brazilian National Team and WNBA center (Olympics, silver medal, 1996; bronze medal, 2000; Orlando Miracle), in Maua, Brazil.
Preity Zinta, Indian film actress; in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh state, India.
Kate Shutt, American jazz singer-songwriter and guitarist, in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Jackie O, Australian radio host, in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Died:
Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, 66, the Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom who choreographed coronations, funerals and other state occasions.
Ida May Fuller, 100, former legal secretary and first American to ever receive social security benefits.
Štefan Németh-Šamorínsky, 78, Slovak organist, choirmaster, composer and pedagogue (“Birch Trees”).
History Diaries 