Life magazine came out with its cover emblazoned with "Vietnam Retreat", which featured an ARVN soldier carrying a badly wounded comrade. The story had to deal with ARVN setbacks fighting the 1972 NVA Easter Offensive, which had commenced in March. This had caused the US to ramp up air efforts in a campaign known as Operation Linebacker. The ARVN would ultimately prevail, with the NVA taking large casualties, leading to the illusion in some quarters that the ARVN was capable of fighting without heavy US support.
I would have enjoyed knowing it was Friday and that I had the next two days off from grade school. As it was May, and we were fishing by this point, we probably would have had fried trout for dinner.
