Lt. General Walt receives varied welcome in Lawrence
79th Year, No. 41
Tuesday, November 12, 1968
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
UDK News Roundup By United Press International
NATO reports on Czechs
BRUSSELS—The Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia has upset the balance of East-West conventional military strength in Europe but there is no indication the Soviets are preparing an attack on NATO nations, NATO parliamentarians were told yesterday.
The statement was contained in a report prepared for the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly which opened a five-day review of the alliance.
Viet talk rules unsettled
PARIS—American and South Vietnamese diplomats yesterday apparently failed to settle differences over ground rules for a Vietnam peace conference involving officials of the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the Viet Cong.
Saigon diplomatic sources said there was no indication following the meeting that South Vietnam had softened its opposition to any Paris conference that would include representation by the National Liberation Front (NLF) as a separate entity.
Biafra relief started
GENEVA-The International Red Cross yesterday announced its largest relief project since World War II-$25 million, four-month program to fight famine in the Nigerian secessionist state of Biafra.
The announcement said $8 million is needed immediately to get the plan started. The United States has pledged $2.5 million, it said, with Britain and West Germany also making large pledges.
Walt claims Viet Cong hope US will tire of war
The Viet Cong still hope Americans will despair of and abandon the Vietnam War, Lt. Gen, Lewis W. Walt, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said here yesterday.
However, Walt ruled out the possibility of an immediate total United States troops withdrawal. He said a "phase-out" is more likely and that the Vietnamese are approaching the stage at which they can take over the fighting.
"If there is a pullout, it will be a phase-out while the South Vietnamese take over," Walt said. "It will not be long before they are strongest in that area."
Walt spoke at a Rotary noon luncheon in the Eldridge Hotel, in the University Theatre in Murphy Hall, and at the Kansas Union Ballroom.
After the Rotary speech, he came by limousine in a parade to the KU campus.
Walt's Veteran's Day visit was sponsored by the Alford Clarke post no. 852 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars here.
The North Vietnamese have already "been chased out—totally and completely defeated," said Walt, who returned two days ago from South Vietnam.
"If they come back," he said, "they'll get the hell knocked out of 'em again."
The general, met by sign-carrying protestors, said peace demonstrators give encouragement and comfort to the enemy and make them believe they are winning the war.
Weather
Today mostly fair and warmer. Southerly winds 10 to 20 mph. Highs upper 40s. Partly cloudy and warmer tonight and Wednesday. Low tonight near 30. Precipitation probability 10 per cent Wednesday.
"Time is on our side," he said. "The enemy is getting weaker and we are getting stronger."
Walt painted a grim picture of the war in his speeches—the same to all three audiences. He told of Viet Cong atrocities and of American soldiers dismembered in the conflict.
He went on to quote a Vietnam veteran, who had 27 bullet holes, as saying: "They don't know what they're doing."
Dignitaries in Lawrence for the Veteran's Day celebration included Sen. James Pearson.
"Quit demonstrating over here
The Veteran's Day parade was followed by parade of about 200 peace marchers. At the Union, Walt said protestors disturbed him.
"Today there were some students in here carrying signs that bothered me," he told the audience.
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Protesters follow Walt
The first disorders came at 3 p.m., when two women and a man attacked a line of anti-war marchers in North Park awaiting permission to begin their parade behind the Veteran's Day parade with Walt.
The trio grabbed the signs from several of the demonstrators, tore them up, and ripped up a large banner which was to have been carried at the beginning of the parade. The three, who refused to identify themselves, included one middle-aged woman who shrieked, "my son is over there right now," as she ripped up the anti-war signs.
Scuffles, a last minute "escape" by Lt. Gen, Lewis Walt and plenty of bitterness characterized yesterday's anti-war demonstrations here.
Between 5:30 and 6:45 p.m., about 200 demonstrators lined both sides of the Kansas Union lobby and north staircase, leading to the dining room where Walt was to speak. The general slipped in by a back door, missing the demonstrators, but most VFW dinner guests passed through the double line of sign-bearers.
After the dinner began, the demonstrators retired to the Big Eight
Aside from a bit of demonstrator beard-pulling by an irritated veteran, there were no incidents during the arrival of the guests.
The peace parade itself, which started about 3:30 p.m. and extended through the downtown business district, went unmarried by physical violence. The sign-carrying marchers sang patriotic songs and ignored the taunts and jeers of sidewalk bystanders.
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Nixon backs Viet policy; plans no drastic changes
WASHINGTON (UPI)—President-elect Richard M. Nixon generally endorsed the Johnson administration's strategy for seeking peace in Vietnam and warned against expecting any drastic foreign policy changes when he takes over the White House.
With President Johnson standing by his side after a three and one-half hour White House briefing, Nixon also said he would support administration policy during the next two months in the tense Middle East and toward improving relations with the Soviet Union.
Nixon emphasized continuity of government during the transition period between this administration and the next, and expressed hope that cooperation between himself
and President Johnson could bring "some significant progress towards peace" before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
This transition period, Nixon said, if different from ones in the past because "this nation at this time in its foreign policy has several matters-Vietnam of course at the top of the list—which cannot wait decision and cannot afford a gap of two months in which no action occurs.
"If however, the action is to occur, if progress is to be made . . . in any of these fields, it can only be made if the parties on the other side realize that the current administration is setting forth policies that will be carried forward by the next administration," he said.