Captain James A. Wheeler was a U.S. Air Force pilot serving with 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group. At approximately 9:30 AM on April 18, 1965, Wheeler was piloting a Douglas A-1E Skyraider (#52-132601) in a flight of four aircraft during a combat mission over Châu Đốc Province, RVN. During a bombing run one mile northwest of Núi Giai Mountain (Hill 549), Wheeler’s Skyraider was seen to release its ordinance which detonated immediately. The aircraft rolled into a steep dive and exploded on impact. Wheeler’s remains were recovered thirty-three years later when they were repatriated on April 28, 1998. They were positively identified on October 30, 2001.
James has a memorial stone at South Lawn Cemetery, Tucson, Arizona. He is honored on the Wall at Panel 1E, line 103.
Easter Sunday. Christians in every land will mark today the joyful Feast of the Resurrection with its promise of a world free from hate, prejudice and wars.
U.S. planes hit several targets throughout Vietnam; some barracks at Đông Thạnh, a ferryboat in the Sông Tróc River, and highways in the southern section of North Vietnam. On one mission, two propeller-driven Skyraider fighter-bombers flew within 60 miles of Hanoi, the North Vietnamese capital. Despite their penetration farther into the North than most other strikes have gone, the pilots did not sight enemy aircraft. They did not fire or drop bombs during their half hour over the highway. Four Skyhawk jet fighter-bombers, supported by about 10 Crusader and Skyraider propeller craft from the carrier USS Hancock, patrolled Highway 1 from the demilitarized zone to about 60 miles inside North Vietnam. They sank a ferryboat at Giáp Tam, 50 miles north of the South Vietnamese border on the Sông Tróc River. Three more Skyhawks from the Hancock flew over the same route early in the evening, hitting barracks at Đông Thạnh with rockets and gunfire. The degree of damage to the barracks was not known, a spokesman said.
In the Tây Ninh area of South Vietnam, the government’s assault on a Việt Cộng jungle stronghold, in which more than 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped last week, ended yesterday with reports of moderate success. South Vietnamese ground forces moved over the area, 70 miles northwest of Saigon, searching for traces of what was believed to be a large Việt Cộng headquarters. They found huts and supplies for a medium-size training area but nothing to indicate that the bombing raid, the largest of the war in South Vietnam, had crippled Việt Cộng effectiveness.
United States military officials, who have often watched major government actions end with disappointing results, were reluctant to discuss the intelligence reports that led to the raid last Thursday. “We’ve told you what we found,” one spokesman said to reporters. “We’re not going back to tell you what we thought was there.” The military spokesman added that the operation had given the government’s Fifth Division, a “psychological lift.” The final accounting at Tây Ninh showed that the raid had destroyed 43 buildings and 150 shacks and 100 sets of one-man living quarters. Among the 22 pounds of documents found at the camps were papers showing that a training course was held at the site. March 22 to 30. No Việt Cộng bodies were found. But a military spokesman, quoting American advisers returning from the scene, said “the unmistakable stench of death” was in the air.
North Vietnam asserted today that two United States planes were shot down yesterday in a raid against Tiger Island (Cồn Cỏ), in the Vĩnh Linh area. The official Chinese press agency, Hsinhua, quoting a Hanoi dispatch, said the two planes had been among several waves of United States aircraft that bombed and strafed the island.
Taking issue with Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Senator J. W. Fulbright said today that a temporary half in air strikes against North Vietnam might open the way to peace negotiations. Secretary Rusk said yesterday that the Administration had considered and rejected the idea of suspending the air raids because the action “would only encourage the aggressor and dishearten our friends.”
President Johnson also commented on the bombings in an Easter statement yesterday. saying he regretted that “the necessities of war have compelled us to bomb North Vietnam.” But he emphasized that the United States was “ready to begin discussions next week, tomorrow, or tonight.”
Newspaper publishers claim there is widespread support for Johnson’s policies. Two Queens College students report that they have collected 2,000 signatures on a petition backing the President’s policies.
United States policy in Vietnam was attacked repeatedly today in an African-Asian verbal onslaught against imperialism, colonialism and neocolonialism at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Bandung conference in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Two senior members of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist party gave new pledges of support today to the Vietnamese Communists and called on the rest of the world to join Peking in driving United State “aggressors” out of Vietnam.
Uganda today became the first non-Communist country to join the Soviet Union in a formal denunciation of United States “aggression” in Vietnam.
In his annual Easter message, Pope Paul VI calls for “constructive collaboration” to obtain peace but does not mention Vietnam by name.
A right-wing mutiny by 300 Laotian Government soldiers — the second revolt in three weeks — was reported today by military sources here. The sources said the men had deserted positions in the Mekong River town of Paksane, 100 miles east of here. The 300 mutineers, supporters of the exiled rightist general, Phoumi Nosavan, were believed to be heading north. One unit involved in the latest mutiny was part of a pro-Phoumi Nosavan force that attacked neutralist Government troops in February. After that uprising, the general fled to Thailand, where he sought political asylum. Troops revolted three weeks ago and seized the town of Thakhek, 150 miles southeast of Vientiane. They were given a 48-hour ultimatum, and forces moved in from Savannakhet, 100 miles to the south. Then the rebels 500 to 1,000 men fled northward.
The Indian Army withdrew from the disputed Great Rann of Kutch area where it had clashed with the Pakistan Army, after military leaders concluded that the troops were at risk of being cut off from the rest of India if the Rann flooded during the rainy season. “Upon their withdrawal,” an author would note later, “morale soared in Rawalpindi and slumped in New Delhi. It was one thing for the Indian army to be drubbed by the Chinese in the Himalayas, but quite another to receive a bloody nose from the Pakistanis.”
Supporters of the former Crown Prince Muhammad al-Badr of Yemen seized control of the region around the Sarawat Mountains in the successful Wadi Humeidat military operation in conjunction with neighboring Saudi Arabia, in a setback for the Yemen Arab Republic in the ongoing North Yemen Civil War.
The United Arab Republic has asked the United States for more than $500 million in aid over the next three years, informed sources in Cairo reported. Assistant Secretary of State Phillips Talbot met with President Gamal Abdel Nasser today to discuss the future of United States aid to the United Arab Republic land possible American arms deals with Middle Eastern countries.
The Government of the United Arab Republic has ordered 12 foreign airlines to cut drastically their excursion fares from New York to Cairo to combat Israeli competition for the lucrative American tourist trade.
The leader of the pro-De Gaulle bloc in West Germany, former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, apparently is losing his enthusiasm for policies advocated by the French president.
Several thousand Turkish Cypriotes demonstrated in Nicosia today against a four-day blockade of their sector by the Greek Cypriots. Rising tensions threatened to involve the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus in a showdown. The government banned all traffic to and from the Turkish Cypriot quarter after a Greek Cypriot shopkeeper was fired on Thursday on the “green line” dividing the Greek and Turkish sections. The shooting and the blockade brought tempers near the boiling point on this island.
The South Korean Government moved today to hobble the instigators of the current violent movement against the regime. The balmy Easter Sunday passed peacefully, the first day without civil strife and bloodshed in South Korea since last Tuesday. The authorities were braced for any renewed outbreak in conjunction with the anniversary tomorrow of the bloody 1960 student revolt that deposed Syngman Rhee as President. Working from informants’ tips and photographs taken by the police during yesterday’s rioting in Seoul, the authorities arrested 1,172 persons last night and today. Among these, 401 were identified as “activist” members of Opposition political parties and 771 were listed as “hoodlums.”
Semarang, Indonesia, once one of the great ports of Asia, is now a depressing example of the economic stagnation and neglect that have overcome Indonesia’s cities. In Dutch colonial times, Semarang, a city of about 650,000 set at the head of a wide bay 262 miles east of Jakarta, was the main port for central and west Java. The first railroad in Indonesia was built in the 19th century from Semarang to the city of Jogjakarta in the interior. Semarang’s harbor warehouses were filled with tobacco, sugar, lumber, tea and coffee on their way to Europe from Dutch plantations and with imported manufactured goods awaiting sale in the markets of Java.
Ocean-going freighters, however, no longer enter Semarang’s harbor. The inner channel became so badly silted more than a decade ago that the ships must lie offshore and unload into small wooden lighters the cargo that enters the port. The harbor authorities have not even bothered to remove a lighter sunk in one side of the channel. Since the seizure of the Dutch plantations by the Indonesian Government in 1958, exports going through the port have dwindled to a trickle. The harbor cranes and railway sidings to the warehouses are rusty from disuse and the port area, once a bustling place, is quiet and still.
Indians were puzzled and hurt today by the sudden postponement of the June visit of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to the United States.
Swinging a machete in a field of sugar cane, Premier Fidel Castro denounced today what he termed “new signs” of United States aggressiveness against his regime.
Jose A. Mora, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, is opposing moves by some member countries to amend the charter of the hemisphere body when American foreign ministers meet in Rio de Janiero next month.
Premier Aldo Moro and Foreign Minister Amintore Fanfani cut short their Easter vacation today to prepare to fly to the United States for talks with President Johnson and other American leaders.
British police in Brighton fought a battle witha crowd of some 400 stone-throwing teenagers on the beach. Four boys and a girl were arrested.
Before the year is over, the tobacco situation may get worse for those already uncomfortable in the knowledge that many medical and health officials consider smoking harmful. There is a strong likelihood that when Congress gets back from its Easter vacation it will enact a law requiring that each pack of cigarettes carry a label warning that continued smoking may lead to lung cancer or other diseases. The pros and cons of this controversy have been spelled out in great detail before two major committees of Congress in the last month.
Whites hurled rocks and eggs at Blacks marching in an Easter parade today in St. Augustine, Florida and sheriff’s deputies arrested two boys in connection with the incident. About 100 men and boys hooted and tossed eggs and stones as the two-mile-long parade went by. One of the men was identified as Warren Folks, who said he was the Jacksonville organizer of the National States Rights party. He said the two boys had come here with him from Jacksonville.
President Johnson appointed three subcabinet officers, four ambassadors, one minister and a five-member Central American Canal Commission.
Exposure of law enforcement involvement in the Ku Klux Klan “could be one of the real values” of the investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee, said Rep. Charles L. Weltner of Atlanta.
Thousands of workers sandbagged and kept an around-the-clock vigil at dikes along the Mississippi River from the Twin Cities in Minnesota to Cairo, Illinois, as icy, high water menaced levees.
As the record flood crest of the Mississippi River moved downstream from St. Paul today, officials turned their attention to repairing the damage wrought by the worst recorded flooding in Minnesota history — and to efforts to prevent a reoccurrence.
Senator Olin D. Johnston (D-South Carolina) who championed many causes of working people during a colorful 43-year political career, died of pneumonia at 68.
Senator Richard B. Russell’s 11-week illness has prompted speculation that he may leave the Senate when his sixth term expires next year.
President and Mrs. Johnson attended Easter rites at the Blanco Episcopa Mission near the LBJ ranch in Texas. President Johnson attended Easter services at the little Episcopal church today, and spent the rest of the day relaxing.
African-American contralto singer Marian Anderson gave her farewell performance, ending a fifty-city tour with a concert at Carnegie Hall. She stepped across the stage yesterday afternoon and the applause rose from the audience in a sweeping and throbbing wave. Her eyes glistening, her lips in a tight smile, she whispered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” as two elderly women stood up in the parquet. Suddenly and dramatically, the entire audience — 2,900 persons — stood, clapping, cheering and acclaiming the woman onstage — Marian Anderson. For Miss Anderson, yesterday’s concert at Carnegie Hall was the finale of her formal singing career — a career that has spanned 30 years, stretched across the United States, Europe, and Asia and transcended racial barriers.
Her appearance, however, was not so much as a singer than as a legend, not so much as a African-American contralto than as a regal and majestic celebrity. She stood on the stage, her severely cut ruby brocade gown glistening, and began singing Handel’s “Tutta raccolta ancor.” The audience sat rapt. And if her voice wavered at times, the audience’s devotion did not, for the applause came with roars of “Bravo! Bravo!” after her Haydn and Schubert medleys. “The wealth that comes out of that woman is incredible.” Montgomery Clift, the actor, remarked during intermission.
The Boston Celtics, playing at home, routed the Los Angeles Lakers, 142–110, in Game One of the NBA Finals. Bill Russell pulled down 28 rebounds and Sam Jones scored 25 for the Celtics. Jerry West scored 26 points for the Lakers.
Major League Baseball:
California Angels rookie Rudy May has a no-hitter ruined in the 8th inning of his Major League debut by Jake Wood’s double. The Angels lift him after 9 innings of one-hit ball, and Detroit wins in 13 innings.
A struggling Sandy Koufax, showing definite signs of his arm ailment, today pitched the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6–2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies despite struggling with his control and velocity.
Washington Senators took advantage of some loose fielding by the Chicago third baseman, Pete Ward, and the effective pitching of Pete Richert today to gain a 4-1 victory in the second game of a double-header for a split with the White Sox.
Frank Robinson and Pete Rose belted homers and drove in four runs today to lead a 14-hit attack as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2.
Jimmie Hall’s two-run home run and the relief pitching of Dave Boswell and Al Worthington carried the Minnesota Twins to a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians today.
Tony Conigliaro got four hits, including a home run, in leading the Boston Red Sox to an 11-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles today.
The New York Yankees won their third straight game today by overpowering the Kansas City Athletics, 10-4, in their strongest showing in five weeks. Mickey Mantle cracked a two-run homer.
Baltimore Orioles 4, Boston Red Sox 11
Detroit Tigers 4, California Angels 1
Washington Senators 1, Chicago White Sox 5
Washington Senators 4, Chicago White Sox 1
New York Yankees 10, Kansas City Athletics 4
Cleveland Indians 3, Minnesota Twins 6
Chicago Cubs 6, Milwaukee Braves 9
San Francisco Giants 4, New York Mets 1
San Francisco Giants 1, New York Mets 7
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Philadelphia Phillies 2
Houston Astros 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
Houston Astros 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 5
Cincinnati Reds 8, St. Louis Cardinals 2
Born:
Steven Stayner, American kidnapping victim and the younger brother of serial killer Cary Stayner; in Merced, California (died in a hit-and-run, 1989).
Jim Boylen, American basketball head coach (Chicago Bulls, 2018-19; University of Utah, 2007-11), in East Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Diana Villegas, American-Mexican rocker (The Triplets), in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Sylvia Villegas, American-Mexican rocker (The Triplets), in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Vicky Villegas, American-Mexican rocker (The Triplets), in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Died:
Guillermo González Camarena, 48, Mexican inventor who pioneered the introduction of color television to Mexico; in a car accident at Puebla, while returning from inspecting a television transmitter in Las Lajas, Veracruz.
History Diaries 