Wednesday, May 28, 1975. "NATO is the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy and has the unwavering support of the American public and of our Congress. Our commitment to this alliance will not falter."

Gerald Ford.

The statement was issued to calm NATO fears that the US might back out of its commitments to Europe, the way it had in Vietnam.

Last edition:

Tuesday, May 27, 1975. Americans out of Laos.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Diplomacy, Domino Theory, Laos, Laotian Civil War, United States

Tuesday, May 27, 1975. Americans out of Laos.

The US and Laos reached an agreement which included that all Americans were to leave Laos,by June 30, 1975.

The nation was not yet fully controlled by the Pathet Lao.

Falling like dominoes.  

Last edition:

Monday, May 26, 1975. Memorial Day.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Daily Living, Gerald Ford, Growing up in the 1970s, Memorial Day

Monday, May 26, 1975. Memorial Day.

Gerald Ford issued the following proclamation:

Proclamation 4375—Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, May 26, 1975

May 22, 1975

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

At the height of the Civil War, President Lincoln proclaimed at a battlefield cemetery "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain." Shortly after that tragic war, a day was set aside each year to honor those who gave their lives.

Over 100 years have passed since that simple but moving ceremony at Gettysburg. There have been many Memorial Days, and many more Americans have died in defense of what we believe in. As Thomas Paine said, "Those who would reap the blessings of freedom must . . . undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Today, because of the sacrifice and courage of American men and women, we are a free Nation at peace.

Let us dedicate ourselves today, and every day, to honoring those valiant Americans who died in service to their country. Let us gain strength from their sacrifice and devote ourselves to the peaceful pursuits which freedom allows and progress demands.

With faith in ourselves, future Memorial Days will find us still united in our purpose. Let us join together in working toward the greatest memorial we can construct for those who lay down their lives for us-a peace so durable that there will be no need for further sacrifices.

In recognition of those Americans to whom we pay tribute today, the Congress, by joint resolution of May 11, 1950 (64 Stat. 158), has requested that the President issue a Proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and to designate a period during that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer.

Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 1975, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11 o'clock in the morning of that day as a time to unite in prayer.

I urge all of America's news media to assist in this observance.

I direct that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the Federal Government throughout the United States and all areas under its jurisdiction and control.

I also call upon the Governors of the fifty States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and appropriate officials of all local units of government to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on all public buildings during the customary forenoon period; and I request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the same period.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-ninth.

GERALD R. FORD

It was my father's 46th birthday.

As it was a day he didn't have to work, my guess is that we went fishing on the North Platte. 

Last edition:

Sunday, May 25, 1975. A Sunday in May.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Automobile racing, Growing up in the 1970s

Sunday, May 25, 1975. A Sunday in May.

Bobby Unser won the 1975 Indianapolis 500, which was halted after 435 miles due to a rainstorm.  My father likely would have watched this on television.

There was a lunar eclipse.

I turned 12 years old, although I don't remember it.  In 1975 we probably went to Mass the evening prior.  As this was a Sunday in May, we may have gone fishing on the river during the day.  We wouldn't have had a party or anything, but my parents would have gotten me a few gifts and likely my mother made some sort of a cake.

Last edition:

Saturday, May 24, 1975. Virus variola major.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Disease, India, Somalia

Saturday, May 24, 1975. Virus variola major.

The last naturally occurring case of the smallpox virus variola major was found on a woman named Saiban Bibi in the Assam state of India. 

The last case of variola minor was found in Somalia, at Merca, in October 1977.

The elimination of the disease is a scientific triumph that occured in an era in which the lethality of diseases was still widely appreciated.  

Last edition:

Friday, May 23, 1975. Leaving Laos.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, 1990s, 1992, Cambodia, Crime, Diplomacy, Gerald Ford, Laos, Laotian Civil War, Lebanon, Refugees, Unions, United States, Vietnam

Friday, May 23, 1975. Leaving Laos.

Most American employees of the U.S Embassy in Laos were ordered to evacuate.

The U.S. has an embassy in Laos presently.  In fact, the countries never severed diplomatic relations and normalized them in 1992.

The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 was signed into law by President Ford. The act provided for resettlement of South Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees into the United States. In 1975 it would be amended to include include refugees from Laos.

A military government was appointed to govern Lebanon.

Former President of the Teamsters Union Dave Beck was pardoned by President Ford.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 15, 1975. The Raid on Koh Tang.

Labels: 1960s, 1964, 1970s, 1975, Cambodia, Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Khmer Rouge, Mayaguez Incident, The Mayaguez Incident, U.S. Air Force, United States Marine Corps, Vietnam War

Tuesday, May 20, 1975. Seas of blood.

The Khmer Rouge began to purge Cambodians associated with the former government, a move that would feature mass execution.

This is commonly viewed as the beginning of the Cambodian Genocide.

The House of Representatives voted 303-96 to admit women to the previously all-male service academies.   The move was quite controversial at the time.

The Senate would follow suit, with the first women entering the academies in the summer of 1976.

The final episode of the police series Adam-12 was broadcast.

The series had run for 12 years, and in many ways formed the concept for those raised in the 60s, and even the 70s, as to what being a policeman was all about.  Much more gritty television police dramas, and even comedies, would come in during the 70s and change much of that view.

Last episode.

Monday, May 19, 1975. Executive Order 11860—Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Executive Orders, Gerald Ford, It was because of the Vietnam War, Refugees

Monday, May 19, 1975. Executive Order 11860—Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees.

Executive Order 11860—Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees

May 19, 1975

Since the arrival of the first settlers on our eastern seaboard nearly 400 years ago, America has been a refuge for victims of persecution, intolerance and privation from around the world. Tide after tide of immigrants has settled here and each group has enriched cur heritage and added to our well-being as a nation.

For many residents of Southeast Asia who stood by America as an ally and who have lost their homeland in the tragic developments of the past few weeks, America offers a last, best hope upon which they can build new lives. We are a big country and their numbers are proportionately small. We must open our doors and our hearts.

The arrival of thousands of refugees, mostly children, will require many adjustments on their part and considerable assistance on ours. But it is in our best interest as well as theirs to make this transition as gracious and efficient as humanly possible.

I have determined that it would be in the public interest to establish an advisory committee to the President on the resettlement in the United States of refugees from Indochina.

Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows:

SECTION 1. Establishment of a Presidential Advisory Committee. There is hereby established the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees, hereinafter referred to as the Committee. The Committee shall be composed of such citizens from private life as the President may, from time to time, appoint. The President shall designate one member of the Committee to serve as chairman.

SEC. 2. Functions of the Advisory Committee. The Committee shall advise the President and the heads of appropriate Federal agencies concerning the expeditious and coordinated resettlement of refugees from Southeast Asia. The Committee shall include in its advice, consideration of the following areas:

(a) Health and environmental matters related to resettlement;

(b) the interrelationship of the governmental and volunteer roles in the resettlement;

(c) educational and cultural adjustments required by these efforts;

(d) the general well-being of resettled refugees and their families in their new American communities; and

(e) such other related concerns as the President may, from time to time, specify.

The Committee shall also seek to facilitate the location, solicitation, and channeling of private resources for these resettlement efforts, and to establish lines of communication with all concerned governmental agencies, relevant voluntary agencies, the Vietnamese-American community and the American public at large. The Committee shall conclude its work within one year.

SEC. 3. Assistance, Cooperation, and Expenses.

(a) All executive departments and agencies of the Federal government, to the extent permitted by law, are directed to cooperate with the Committee and to furnish such information, facilities, funds, and assistance as the Committee may require.

(b) No member of the Committee shall receive compensation from the United States by reason of service on the Committee, but may, to the extent permitted by law, be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5703).

SEC. 4. Federal Advisory Committee Act. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1), except that of reporting annually to Congress, which are applicable to the advisory committee established by this Order, shall be performed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

GERALD R. FORD

The White House,

May 19, 1975.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 15, 1975. The Raid on Koh Tang.

Labels: 1960s, 1964, 1970s, 1975, Cambodia, Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Khmer Rouge, Mayaguez Incident, The Mayaguez Incident, U.S. Air Force, United States Marine Corps, Vietnam War

Thursday, May 15, 1975. The Raid on Koh Tang.

A Marine Corps raid on Koh Tang island took back the Mayaguez, which they found deserted, while a Navy air raid destroyed the now Khmer Rouge run Cambodian navy.  

Eighteen Marines were killed in combat and an additional 23 in a helicopter crash in the raid.  Khmer forces were much larger than anticipated and resistance heavy.  The helicopter passengers were not fully accounted for when the withdrawal occurred and it was later determined that three of the Marines (Joseph N. Hargrove, Gary L. Hall, and Danny G. Marshall) a shall) and two Navy medics (Bernard Guase and Ronald Manning) may have been alive when they were left behind on the island.

Sailing under a white flag, a Cambodian vessel brought thirty Americans to the destroyer USS Wilson.

It is really this date, and not the one that was declared several days earlier, that should be regarded as the end of the Vietnam War Era, as this was really the last combat in the US's involvement in the Indochinese War, of which the Vietnam War was part.  It interesting came to an end somewhat in the way in which it had started in earnest, with Marines being deployed over a ship, as they would be because of the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Last edition:

Wednesday, May 14, 1975. Hmong evacuation.

Labels: 1940s, 1947, 1950s, 1956, 1970s, 1973, 1975, 2020s, 2025, Hmong People, House Committee on Un-American Affairs, Immigration, Laos, Laotian Civil War, Movies, Personalities, The written word

Wednesday, May 14, 1975. Hmong evacuation.

Thousands of Hmong soldiers and officers and their families who had assisted the CIA during the Laotian Civil War, reported to the Long Chieng airbase in Laos for air evacuation.  Only two cargo planes were assigned the duty, but they managed to take out 2,500 Hmong.

This brings back up the discussion here earlier of Ma Yang, a Hmong was deported by the U.S. to Laos even though she only speaks English and has lived in the US since she was eight months old.  As far as I know, nothing has yet been done to address her plight.

Today is Hmong American Day in the United States, which is set on this day in recognition of the evacuation and ultimately that a population of the Hmong Diaspora relocated to the U.S.  The largest population of Hmong live in China, which is actually where the ethnic group originates, with Vietnam having the second largest population.

Dalton Trumbo was presented an Academy Award for his 1956 script for The Brave Ones, which had been earlier awarded under a pseudonym due to Trumbo then being blacklisted.

Dalton and Cleo Trumbo at a 1947 House Committee on UnAmerican Affairs hearing.

Trumbo actually was a Communist and pretty up front about it.  1973's Papillon was his last screenplay to be produced prior to his death in 1976.

Last edition:

Tuesday, May 13, 1975. Breakthrough at Long Tieng.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Central Intelligence Agency, Hmong People, Laotian Civil War, North Vietnamese Army, Pathet Lao, Personalities, U.S. Air Force, Vietnam War

Related Threads:

Ma Yang

Labels: Crime, Hmong People, Immigration, It was because of the Vietnam War, Laos, law, Marijuana, Monday at the bar

Tuesday, May 13, 1975. Breakthrough at Long Tieng.

Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese troops broke through the defense lines of the Hmong army headquartered in Long Tieng, Laos, "the most secret place on earth."   From that location, the Hmong has opposed the Pathet Lao and NVA.

Jerry Daniels of the CIA organized an air evacuation of Vang Pao and about 2,000 Hmong, mostly soldiers and their families to Thailand.

Daniels is an interesting character who stayed on in Thailand after the conclusion of the Indochinese wars.  He was claimed to to have died in 1982 due to asphyxiation from a water heater gas leak, but his casket was sealed with instructions not to open it.  After his funeral in Montana, which was widely attended by Hmong refugees, various members of the Hmong community have claimed to have seen him in Indochina or the US.

Last edition:

Monday, May 12, 1975. The Mayaguez taken.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, boats and ships, Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, The Mayaguez Incident

Monday, May 12, 1975. The Mayaguez taken.

The SS Mayaguez was stopped in international waters by the P-128, a Cambodian gunboat manned by Khmer Rouge forces. The boat was taken, and its crewmembers made captives.

The Khmer Rouge crew of the P-128 had acted without informing their superiors.

Last edition:

Sunday, May 11, 1975. Celebrating a peace that wasn't.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Cambodia, Cambodian genocide, Cambodian–Vietnamese War, Hmong Genocide, Irony, Laos, Music, Vietnam War

Sunday, May 11, 1975. Celebrating a peace that wasn't.

A photograph of doves and an Asian woman for the celebration.  In reality, the PAVN and Cambodians were already fighting.  The Khmer Rouge was murdering people and sending the entire population into the countryside, and the Pathet Lao were getting ready to murder the Hmong.

A celebration organized by anti war figure and songwriter Phil Ochs marked the end of the Vietnam War, which of course by necessary implication marked the South Vietnamese defeat.  The event in Central park included performances by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Paul Simon.

The ironies are thick, as the poster above portrays. Rather than smiling Vietnamese women, there were thousands of South Vietnamese going into an uncertain future that included "reeducation", although this time the Communists in Vietnam did not commit mass murders.  The Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao, however, were about to.

A partial solar eclipse was visible in Greenland, Europe, north Africa and north Asia.

Last edition:

Saturday, May 10, 1975. Cambodian aggression.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Cambodia, Cambodian–Vietnamese War, North Vietnamese Army, Peoples Army of Vietnam, Vietnam War

Saturday, May 10, 1975. Cambodian aggression.

The Khmer Rouge captured the Thổ Chu Islands, where they evacuated and later executed 500 Vietnamese civilians. 

The PAVN (NVA) launched a counterattack from Phú Quốc and Thổ Chu and attacked Cambodia's Poulo Wai island.

Peace certainly had not come to the region.

The Federal Government announced it would not cover $1.5B in New York expenditures which had been asked for by the city.  I can recall this really being a topic of conversation.

Sony introduced the Betamax home videotaping system.  It costs $2,488 in 1975 dollars, which would be well over $10,000 now.

Last edition:

Friday, May 9, 1975. The Hmong Genocide.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Communism, Hmong Genocide, Hmong People, Insurgency in Laos, Laos, Laotian Civil War, Pathet Lao

Friday, May 9, 1975. The Hmong Genocide.

Kaho Xane Pathet Lao, the official newspaper of the Lao People's Party, (the Communist Party) announced: that the nation's Hmong people "must be exterminated down to the root of the tribe" because their soldiers had assisted the United States in fighting the Communists. 

Two days later the genocide would begin.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 8, 1975. The last to get out.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Cambodia, Cambodian Civil War, European Community, Islam, People's Republic of China, religion, Thailand

Thursday, May 8, 1975. The last to get out.

550 occupants of the French Embassy in Phnom Penh crossed into Thailand. They included 300 Khmer Muslims.

The People's Republic of China and the European Community agreed to establish trade and diplomatic relations.

Last edition:

Wednesday, May 7, 1975. End of the Vietnam War Era.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Being in college in the 1980s, Being in the military in the 1980s, Cartoons, Growing up in the 1970s, Growing up in the 1980s, Military, Vietnam War, World War Two