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A student newspaper serving KU
WEATHER MILD
78th Year, No.132
See Weather Below
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Monday, May 13, 1968
Photo by Ron Yates
BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE
Minutes after this photo was taken, these KU ROTC students were declared "dead" as they attempted to "capture" a bridge 20 miles south of Lawrence. About 64 men took part in the weekend maneuvers, which are designed for cadets who have not been to summer camp. The maneuvers were dubbed Operation Sunflower.
'Dead' men rise again
Cadets clash in war games
By Ron Yates Kansan Staff Reporter
The troops were walking in single file on both sides of the dirt road when small arms and machine-gun fire was heard up ahead. Men dived for the sides of the road and lay prone, waiting for the order to move out.
The rifle and machine-gun fire stopped and word came back, passed on from man to man, that two men had been killed when they walked into a cleverly concealed ambush set up by the aggressor force.
"Well, at least we know where they are now," one man said as he peered over the side of the ditch.
The "aggressors," a 16-man force made up of members of KU's ROTC program, had been reported to be in the area with plenty of ammo (blank cartridges) and very high morale.
About 11 a.m. Saturday the reports became official and a 48-man contingent of ROTC cadets was trucked to an area about 20 miles southeast of Lawrence.
Operation Sunflower, a search-and-clear operation, was now under way. Its purpose would be to provide training in small unit tactics, communications and leadership for cadets who had not attended ROTC summer camp.
With C-rations and an M-1 rifle for each man, the 48 men, who would become known as "defenders," rested at a crossroads not far from the town of Hesper before moving down the road for the initial contact with the aggressor force.
WEATHER
The U.S. Weather Bureau predicts mostly cloudy and mild weather tonight and Tuesday with a chance of occasional showers or thunderstorms tonight and diminishing Tuesday. The low tonight should be 50-55 degrees. Precipitation probabilities are 70 per cent tonight and 40 per cent Tuesday.
...
Major Buddy Poole, commandant of the Army ROTC program at KU and commander of Operation Sunflower, said the purpose of the operation was to let the cadets see for themselves the problems in conducting a small military operation against a well-concealed and quick opponent.
At 1430 hours (2:30 p.m.) the defenders were ordered to move out along a road leading into a densely wooded area.
After heavy fighting, the bridge was taken by the defenders. The aggressors had disappeared once again into the heavy woods.
Their objective was a small bridge spanning Captain's Creek. About 350 yards from the bridge the point (front) of the contingent was pinned down by heavy small arms fire—"casualties" were high.
The order was given to take the bridge. "Casualties" got up and charged the enemy.
The battle over, the men sat down for a rest, checked their weapons or nibbled C-rations.
Then a noise was heard in the brush.
"Here they come," someone yelled. Heavy firing followed and continued about three minutes until someone called a cease-fire.
"We're friendly," a voice cried out.
If this had been a real combat situation, "we would have wiped out about 20 of our own guys," a cadet lieutenant said.
Major Poole looked at his watch the time was about 1530 hours (3:30 p.m.).
"Well," he said, "in about an hour's time, we've lost almost a platoon of men." A platoon consists of about 40-45 men.
Because four controllers assessed casualties and told them
See ROTC, page 3
Viet delegate says U.S.is 'defeated'
PARIS—(UPI)—North Vietnam said today at the opening of the preliminary talks on Vietnam that the United States had been "defeated" in the war. It said Washington must end all bombing and other attacks on the North before there can be peace talks.
In a tough statement at the three-hour session, Hanoi's chief delegate, Xuan Thuy, charged Washington with being guilty of "monstrous crimes against human rights."
Parts of Thuy's speech were made public afterwards by Nguyen Tham Le, chief spokesman for the Hanoi delegation.
Eleven Americans led by Ambassador-at-Large W. Averell Harriman confronted 11 North Vietnamese led by former foreign minister Thuy, who is known to be a tough negotiator.
Harriman's first comment was only that the talks proceeded in a "very correct" atmosphere and that they would meet again at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday after each side has studied the other's opening statement.
They met at the French Foreign Ministry's International Conference Center, near the Arch of Triumph.
Their prospects for success were shrouded.
In other parts of Paris, millions of workers staged a 24-hour national strike today to support a student power movement and rob President Charles de Gaulle of a day of glory.
DeGaulle's aides labored to ensure nothing would disrupt the American-North Vietnamese peace talks. Emergency power generators were set up for the talks, whose opening had been a proud feather in De Gaulle's cap.
The general strike cut deeply into plane, train, gas, water, electric and postal services. Government offices were all but vacant.
The fact the two nations managed to reach the negotiation table spurred hope among diplomats that the resulting talks would lead to some sort of armistice.
Harriman was braced for a strong dose of North Vietnamese propaganda, his aides said. They anticipated Thuy's opening declaration would consist primarily of a restatement of the Communist regime's condemnation of U.S. "aggression" and a demand for total and permanent cessation of American bombing of the north.
Picadilly Square benefit entertains small audience
Only about 75 people took the trip to Picadilly Square Saturday night in Hoch Auditorium.
Picadilly Square, the theme of a benefit musical show sponsored by the Board of Class Officers, was intended as a fund-raising project for Project Concern. The latter is the organization raising money to help build an addition to a hospital in South Vietnam.
Saturday night's performance consisted of an hour of songs sung by a mixed chorus of students,
and readings from the poetry of Rod McKenan, a contemporary American poet. Both the poems and the songs—the latter including "Sonny," "Love is Blue," "The Look of Love" and the theme from "A Man and a Woman"—were picked to denote stories of lonely people searching for happiness.
Dave Keesling, Herington junior and chairman of Collegiates for Concern, which is the KU committee for Project Concern, said he had no idea how much money was raised by the show.
A STANDING OVATION FOR A LAST CONCERT
Photo by Bruce Patter
Russell L. Wiley, director of bands, received a standing ovation from the members of the KU Concert Band at the conclusion of Sunday's Spring Concert. Wiley, who has taught at KU for 34 years, is stepping down from his post to become time director of the annual KU Summer Arts Camp. His successor is Kenneth Bloomquist, director of marching bands.