Freeport Journal-Standard from Freeport, Illinois • Page 1

Colder Tonight Sunny Wednesday FREEPORT JOURNAL-STANDARD Elizabeth Lake See Page 2 124th Year -14 Pages ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE FREEPORT, ILLINOIS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1971 TOTAL NET PAID CIRCULATION OVER MEMBER AUDIT BUREAU Or CIRCULATION PRICE TEN CENTS Jets Raid Enemy Sites In North By GEORGE ESPER SAIGON (AP) The U.S. Command today announced its heaviest air strikes in North Vietnam in three months, South Vietnam's top fighting general was killed in a helicopter crash, and for the sixth day no progress was reported in the South Vietnamese drive in southern Laos. Fifty American fighter-bombers raided surface-to-air missile and other antiaircraft positions in North Vietnam Saturday and Sunday, accompanied by about 20 support aircraft, the command said. It added that no planes were lost. They were the heaviest such raids since Nov.

21. Other sources said the raiders also attacked supply depots. Targets Given A communique said the American planes hit targets near the Laotian border and "below the 19th parallel," or somewhere along a stretch of border that runs for about 190 miles northwest of the demilitarized zone and ends about 160 miles southwest of Hanoi. The U.S. Command said the "protective reaction" strikes were ordered after "repeated hostile acts and recent SAM firings by antiaircraft positions against U.S.

aircraft involved in interdiction of North Vietnamese supplies along the Ho Chi Minn trail in Laos." A spokesman said he did not know what damage the planes the use of American air power in Indochina. There have been 14 previous "protective reaction" strikes against North Vietnamese SAM sites this year, but all were by one or two planes escorting B52 bombers or reconnaissance planes. All 14 of those raids were made in response to radar in- and in the raids last Nov. 21 about 250 American planes attacked North Vietnamese SAM sites, antiaircraft artillery, supply trucks and depots south of the 19th parallel. Gen.

Trl Killed The general killed was Lt. did. 'Protective' Strikes The raids began three days after President Nixon warned that he would place no limitation on DOCAOTRI dications that the SAM sites were about to fire on U.S. planes, announcements each time said. The U.S.

Command made no such claim for the weekend raids, but the attacks did not represent any broadening of the U.S. policy of protective reaction. Last year the Nixon administration expanded this policy to include attacks against supply buildups inside North Vietnam as well as antiaircraft defenses, Gen. Do Cao Tri, commander of the South Vietnamese drive against enemy base camps in eastern Cambodia and a confident, aggressive leader. His death was considered a temporary setback to the Vietnam- ization program.

The government named Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Minh to succeed Tri as commander of the 3rd Military Region and the operation in Cambodia. Minh is the commander of the capital military and the surrounding will retain this command. Tri's helicopter caught fire and crashed shortly after he took off from his headquarters at Tay Ninh to visit his troops in Cambodia.

Nine men were fatally injured with the 42-year-old general, including a veteran French correspondent for Newsweek magazine, Francois Sully, 42. Explosion, Fire Injure 3 Men An explosion and fire at the Freeport Blacktop Construction Co. shop and receiving building on U.S. 20 East at about 9:45 this morning destroyed parts stored in the building and injured three workers. One of the three, Norman Untersee, 620 W.

Elk is reported in serious condition in the intensive care unit at Freeport Memorial Hospital. He is suffering from second and third degree burns to most of his body, a hospital spokesman said. Earl Sigafus, Freeport Route 1, is listed in satisfactory condition at the hospital with second and third degree burns to his face, neck, chest and upper extremities. Gordon Garnhart, Pearl City, is also listed in satisfactory condition. He has second degree burns to his face and right hand.

Drum Explodes A 50-gallon drum containing methanol antifreeze exploded, but what touched off the explosion was not known. The lid of the drum was blown through the roof of the metal building. Warren DeVnes, general superintendent at Blacktop, said there were no torches lighted in the building. One man was grinding, and sparks from his work may have ignited fumes from the methanol, DeVries speculated. There were others in the area where the blast occurred, but none of them was injured.

DeVries said that he had just walked past the methanol when it exploded and he was thrown 3 or 4 feet. Fire damage was extensive although no dollar estimate was immediately made. Move Large Backhoe There were five pieces of heavy equipment in the building when the blast came. Firemen moved one, a large backhoe, out from the smoke filled enclosure before they could enter to put cut the fire. The Freeport Rural Fire Department answered the alarm with all seven pieces of its equipment and at least 20 men, Chief Robert Keeler said.

The Freeport Fire Department sent one engine. The fire was controlled quickly. City firemen returned to the station at 10:40, and rural firemen remained at the scene applying water on occasional flare- ups and working with Blacktop employes cleaning up. Weather Forecast NORTHERN ILLINOIS Clearing tonight and colder with low 15 to 20. Wednesday partly sunny with the high low to mid 30s.

Sunrise 6:42 a.m. Sunset, 5:39 p.m. Unofficial temperature at 1 p.m., 30 degrees. It was believed a fuel leak caused the fire. Meanwhile, 13 miles south of Tay Ninh and a mile from the Cambodian border, about 300 North Vietnamese troops attacked an American artillery base supporting Tri's forces across the border.

Some of the attackers broke into the base and blew up a fuel dump. The Americans said they killed nine of the enemy, while U.S. casualties were two killed and nine wounded. Drive Stalled A South Vietnamese spokesman said there has been "no progress reported" by the 16,000 South Vietnamese troops in southern Laos trying to cut the Ho Chi Minh supply trail. Informed sources said in addition to heavy resistance from enemy troops, the region "has been heavily mined." Saigon's spokesmen have alternately reported the forward- most elements 16 or miles west of the border.

Today a spokesman said they were 16 air miles into Laos and added, "I never measure the winding road." In response to a question, the spokesman said the South Vietnamese force has "no intention to move farther" into Laos. But other sources said the Saigon command still was thinking of moving farther westward once the drive got rolling again. Saigon Bases Attacked Enemy gunners also attacked two South Vietnamese artillery bases and two other field positions with more than 70 rockets aid mortar rounds. The spokesman said a number of South Vietnamese troops were wounded but none were killed. The Saigon headquarters also announced the loss of a South Vietnamese helicopter to enemy ground fire, with one person killed.

It was the fourth South Vietnamese helicopter reported lost since the Laotian campaign began Feb. 8. President Nguyen Van Thieu gave a new explanation of the drive into Laos. In a speech Monday he said its purpose was to thwart an enemy plan to take over the five northern provinces of South Vietnam. Along with U.S.

spokesman in Saigon and Washington and those of his own government, Thieu previously had said the objective was to disrupt the North Vietnamese supply route through Laos. House Opens Hearings On Draft By JIM ADAMS WASHINGTON (AP) The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee proposed today conscientious-objector status be given young men wiling to demonstrate their sincerity with three years of nonmilitary service. Rep. F. Edward Hebert, D- disclosed his "somewhat radical suggestion" in a pre- jared statement opening House learings on the draft.

Heading the witness list were Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird, Roger T. Kelley, assistant secretary of manpower, and Selective Service Director Curtis VV. Tarr. Meanwhile, the Defense Department asked Selective Service to draft 2,100 doctors and dentists this year.

The callup is lecessary, the Pentagon said, because too few medical-school graduates have volunteered. To Serve Two Years Beginning July 1, 1,531 medical doctors, 77 osteopaths and 536 dentists will be drafted into Ihe Army, Navy and Air Force for two years' active duty. Hebert offered the conscientious-objector proposal as an answer to the burden he said was placed on draft boards by a Supreme Court decision that all sincere objectors to war are eligible for CO status. "It is manifestly impossible to determine 'sincerity' with any precision," Hebert said. "The only true test of 'sincerity' is performance." He recommended conscientious objectors be required to serve at least three years with government, public or private gave no have trouble finding qualified men for essential work.

If a CO failed to perform his assignment satisfactorily, Hebert said, the law should make him available for immediate military duty. No Penalty Involved The minimum three-year service compares to two years of active military duty. But Hebert said there would not be a penalty because conscientious objectors would not have the total six-year active and reserve obligation of men in military service. The chairman said Congress should consider an even higher starting pay than the 50 per cent proposed by President Nixon in his plan to have a volunteer Army by 1973. Hebert contended the Nixon administration "has now come around" to his position that the draft must be extended for a while.

He said the President's proposal, is to attract enough volunteers to make drafting unnecessary. "In our present situation," Hebert said, "I think the only way to get an all-volunteer Army is to draft it." Contending again President Nixon already has authority to halt student deferments, Hebert said he will ask his committee to make that fact "crystal clear" in a draft law extension. Heavy Storms Rake Eleven-State Area 79 More Killed; Damage Mounts THIS WAS THE VIEW of the business district of Inverness, following Sunday's tornado which killed at least 13 persons and caused immense property damage. Twisters also hit other parts of Photofax. My Lai Deaths In Today's Paper Page Amusements 10 Church news 5 Classified 11, 12 13 Comics 10 Editorials 6 Local news 4,5,7 Markets 11 Obituaries 4 Radio-TV 10 Sports news 8 9 Medina Ordered Killings: Galley By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A late-winter storm that staggered sections of the midconti- nent with 15-foot snowdrifts aimed an icy and snow-laden punch at the Northeastern interior today.

Seventeen persons were dead as a result of the storm in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Thousands remained snowbound in northern and northwestern Oklahoma, where a snow cover of 2 feet and more in some areas was heaped into 12 and 15-foot drifts. Thunderstorms erupting in the warm sector of the sprawling storm system spawned tornadoes late Monday which hit communities in Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Florida and North and South Carolina. 2 Persons Killed Two persons were killed in a pair of twisters that dipped into the FayettevUle, N.C., area. Some 60 were injured and heavy property damage was reported.

Seven persons were injured by two tornadoes that churned through the east side of Columbus, Ohio. No serious injuries were reported in the other twisters. In Me aftermath of Sunday night's tornadoes in the Mis- Delta, President Nixon declared the region a major disaster area, paving the way for massive federal recovery aid The death toll stood at 82 in Mississippi and Louisiana, with more than 2,300 persons home- ess and damage estimated at S7.5 million. Meanwhile, the National Veather Service issued warnings for northern New xls, over a wide area of (he cen- tal Midwest Flash-flood warnings were out or parts of western Pennsylvania and southwestern New York due to rain and melting snow from earlier storms. Fair skies prevailed through most of the Far West, marred only by light snow inland over the mountains.

FT. BENNING, Ga. (AP) Lt. William L. Calley Jr.

speaking without any emotion, admitted today he killed at My Lai but "it was not my order, it was the order of the day." "Who gave you the order?" asked defense counsel George Latimer. "Capt. Medina, sir," Calley answered. "How many times did he give you the order?" Calley said the order came five at a company briefing the night before the My Lai assault, once at a platoon leaders' briefing, the following morning before the helicopters lifted off, and twice over the radio while the troops were in the village. Calley is charged with killing 102 Vietnamese civilians in the hamlet of My Lai of several numbered My Lai hamlets his company assaulted the suspected Viet Cong stronghold on March 16, 1968.

Describes Briefing Calley described the briefing the night before as given by his company commander, Capt. Ernest L. Medina: Medina "showed the troops where we would be coming in and explained to them that we were going to start at My Lai 4 and we would have to neutralize My Lai 4 completely and not let anyone get behind us. "Then we would move into My Lai 5 and neutralize it arid make sure there was no one left alive in My Lai 5 and so on, until we got into the Pinkvilie area." Charged In Killings Calley is testifying in his trial on charges of killing or ordering killed 102 civilians in My Lai 4, one of a number of hamlets sur- the village that was the main Lai 1. Calley's recital of that briefing, given calmly and without any display of nervousness, was much milder than tiiat given by other defense witnesses.

Others had quoted the captain as saying variously to kill every living tiling, to kill everything that breathes, to leave no one alive, not even animals and livestock. "Did he make any comments about the civilians as to what they might be?" asked chief defense counsel George Latimer. All Considered Enemies "Well, the only remark lie made as to civilians, about civil- that war ians," Calley said, "was the psych (psychological) had propped the area and the area had been completely covered by psych war operations. That all civilians had left the area, there were no civilians in the area. And anyone there would be considered enemies." Q.

In that conversation, do you have any recollection as to whether he mentioned any classifications of civilians as such? A. No, sir. He just said the civilians had left the area, sir. Calley had been on the stand for one hour when his attorney asked for a recess. The questioning was just beginning to touch on the entry of troops into My Lai 4 on that Saturday morning, March 16, 1968.

Second Briefing Told Calley said there was a second briefing attended only by platoon leaders at which more detailed instructions were given. Q. Did anyone at the company briefing ask whether women and children should be killed? A. I believe somebody asked if that meant women and children. Q.

Did Capt. Medina respond to the question? A. Yes sir. Q. What did he say? PLEASE SEE BACK PAGE Freezing rain spread up the Ohio Valley to New England, and icing curtailed highway anc airline traffic for varying peri- Loos Incursion Crucial Test Of Nixon Strategy By JOHN HIGHTOWER WASHINGTON (AP) Although the White House is talking down the point so far, violent North Vietnamese counter attacks are transforming the South Vietnamese invasion of southern Laos into a crucial test of President Nixon's strategy of U.S.

withdrawal from Vietnam. Informed officials concede the stakes are becoming higher than they would have been if the Laos operation had paralleled that in Cambodia last spring when the fighting was relatively light. A major success for South Vietnamese and U.S. the first on the ground and the other in the almost certainly make it possible for President Nixon to speed up the removal of American troops, officials indicate. A major failure in the strike against the Ho Chi Minh Trail complex, however, would raise serious questions about the next stage of the withdrawal program, scheduled for May, since the whole disengagement process is based on the ability of the South Vietnamese army to defend its country.

Not Considered Setback State and Defense Department authorities both put out the administration line Monday that, while disappointed over the heavy losses suffered by the South Vietnamese in one en- gagement, the action is not regarded as a setback in the overall attack against the North Vietnamese supply lines and base areas. Spokesmen, who would not be identified nor quoted directly, indicated South Vietnamese combat ability was being tested, but implied nothing was likely to happen to affect the President's withdrawal strategy. Other officials, however, are by no means so confident. The South Vietnamese ground-force thrust was regarded as a risky action from the beginning, depending on how the North Vietnamese reacted. Counterattacks in the last week have persuaded knowledgeable officials Hanoi decided to react with considerable power.

In the most dramatic action so far, a South Vietnamese Ranger battalion was driven from a hill position, with about 300 of the 450 men in the unit killed or wounded. Drive Stalled Field dispatches said, furthermore, the drive into Laos has been stalled by counter strikes for five straight days. However, some of the best informed officials here challenged a field dispatch that the North Vietnamese have increased the number of vehicles operating on the Ho Chi Minh Trail from 1,000 to 2,000. There is no basis for estimat- ing any such increase in truck volume, these sources said. The North Vietnamese attacks were not unexpected, although the experience in Cambodia last spring suggested the outside possibility Hanoi might again choose to sacrifice some of their Laotian base areas to avoid heavy combat losses.

On the other hand, the threatened bases ami trails in Laos are more vital to the North Vietnamese because of their losses in Cambodia. Moreover the whole Vietnainizatiou program is entering a crucial phase and Hanoi knows it. Officials Won't Speculate No high official has been willing to speculate on the record about what the. results of the at- tack would be if it were turned back without achieving its objective of cutting the supply trails and destroying area bases. Nor has there been discussion of the allied cost should the South Vietnamese task force suffer extremely heavy casualties in the process, which privately authorities concede is always a risk in warfare.

The one point on which U.S. officials are in agreement in public statements and private discussion is that U.S. ground forces will not become involved. Even on this issue President Nixon could face extmnely difficult choices should the fighting go sharply against the South Vietnamese. York and northern and.

New Eng- Court Rules On Loyalty Requirement WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today aw graduates may be required to show they are loyal to the government before they may be licensed to practice law. "Surely the state is constitutionally entitled to make such an inquiry of an applicant for admission to a profession dedicated to the peaceful and reasoned settlement of disputes setween men, and between a man and his government," said Justice Potter Stewart in a majority opinion. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justices John M. Harlan, Byron R.

White and Harry A. Blackmun agreed. Justices Hugo L. Black, William 0. Douglas, William J.

Brennan Jr. and Thurgood Marshall dissented. The rulings rejected claims of five recent law school graduates who refused to answer questions about their personal and political backgrounds in order to practice in New York State. They said the question worked "a chilling effect" upon their freedom of speech and association. Airport, Patton Lead Academy Nominations By BOB THOMAS HOLLYWOOD (AP) "Airport" and "Patton" scored top lonors in the 43rd Motion Picure Academy nominations today with 10 apiece.

"Love Story" placed third with seven, followed by "M-AS-H" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!" with five each. The accent was on youth in nominations for best actress; all were newcomers: Jane Alexander, "The Great White Glenda Jackson "Women in Ali McGraw, "Love Sarah Miles, "Ryan's Daughter" and Carrie Snod- "Diary of a Mad Housewife." Melvyn Douglas, winner for best supporting actor in 1963 in 'Hud," vied with four younger actors for best actor. Douglas was nominated for "I Clever Sang for My Father." The others: James P'arl Jones, The Great White Jack Nicholson, "Five Easy Ryan O'Neal, "Love and George C. Scott, "Patton." Nomintes for best motion picture of 1970: "Airport," "Five Easy Pieces," "Love Story," "M-A-S-H" and "Patton." Other top nominations: Best performance by an actor in a supporting role: Richarc Castellano in ''Lovers and Other Chief Dan George "Little Big Gent Hackman, "I Never Sang for My John Marley, "Lovt John Mills, "fiyan'b Daughter." Best performance by an ac tress in a supporting role: Kar CD Black, "Five Easy Pieces" Lee Grant, "The Landlord" Helen Hayes. Sail; Kellerman, Man reeu Stapleton, "Airport." Best Direction: Federico Fellini, Arthur Killer, 'Love Robert Altman, Franklin J.

Schaffner, Ken Russell, 'Women In Love." Best screenplay based on ma- erial from another medium: 'Airport," George Seaton; "I Vever Sang For My Father," Robert Anderson; "Lovers and Other Strangers," Renee Tayor, Joseph Bologna and David Zelag Goodman; "M-A-S-H," Ring Lardner "Women In Love," Larry Kramer. Best original story and "Five Easy Pieces," story by Bob Rafelson and Adrien Joyce, screenplay by Adrien oyce; "Joe," story and screen- ilay by Norman Wexier; "Love itory," story and screenplay by Srich Segal; "My Night at Maud's," story and screenplay by Erich Rohmer; "Patton," tory and screenplay by Francis Coppola and Edmund North. Best Song: "For All We (now," from "Lovers and Other title song of "Pieces of Dreams," "Thank You Very Much," from "Till Touches Your Life," from "Whistling Away the Dark," from "Darling Lili." Best foreign language film: "First Love" a i Switzerland; France; "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" Italy; "Paix Sur Les Champs" Belgium; "Tristana" Spain. Best cinematography: Ernest Laszilo, Fred Koenekamp, Fred A. Young, "Ryan's Charles F.

Wheeler, Osami Furuya, Himeda and Masamichi Sapoh, "Tora Tora Tora' 1 and Billy Willianw, "Women In Love.".