The following events occurred in May 1972:
May 1, 1972 (Monday) The North Vietnamese Army captured the South Vietnamese province and city of Quảng Trị. Hutu rebels in Burundi set up their own short-lived, "People's Republic of Martyazo", in the Bururi Province. The Tutsi-dominated Burundian Army ended the secession movement within two weeks, before beginning the slaughter of thousands of Hutus. British commercial diver Robert Taylor vomited and drowned while SCUBA diving from the drill ship Britannia to conduct routine maintenance in the North Sea. Born: Julie Benz, American actress, in Pittsburgh Ramzi bin al-Shibh, 9/11 conspirator, in Ghayl Bawazir, South Yemen
May 2, 1972 (Tuesday)
A fire killed 91 miners at the Sunshine Silver Mine near Kellogg, Idaho, underground. After the blaze started at 11:40 a.m., most of the miners were killed when the mine ventilation system and fans spread carbon monoxide. Another 82 were able to escape. U.S. Patent 3,659,915 was issued to Corning Glass, the first ever for fiber-optic cable. Elections were held in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Hebron for the first time since 1963. In 1967, Israel had extended the terms of the existing Palestinian council members indefinitely following the West Bank's capture from Jordan in the Six Day War. Voting had taken place on March 28 in five other Palestinian cities. Born: Dwayne Johnson, American actor and former professional wrestler, billed as "The Rock"; in Hayward, CaliforniaEncyclopædia Britannica Almanac 2010 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2009) p.53 Died: J. Edgar Hoover, 77, who had been Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1924, was found dead in his home by his maid, Annie Fields. Hoover, who had served for eight Presidents, had died of natural causes.
May 3, 1972 (Wednesday)
Les Harvey, the 27-year-old guitarist of the rock band Stone the Crows, was fatally electrocuted before a crowd of 1,200 people, as he was preparing to perform at the Top Rank Ballroom at Swansea University in Wales, UK. Reportedly, Harvey's hands were wet when he took hold of a microphone that was not properly grounded."Rock Star Electrocuted By Guitar", Pittsburgh Press, May 5, 1972, p1Jeremy Simmonds, The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches (Chicago Review Press, 2008) p52
May 4, 1972 (Thursday) The Paris Peace Talks were suspended indefinitely after the United States and South Vietnam pulled out because of "a lack of progress"."U.S., Saigon Call Halt to Paris Talks", Oakland Tribune, May 4, 1972, p1 When North Vietnam's negotiator Lê Đức Thọ refused to budge on negotiations, even after Henry Kissinger had suggested that the American President was a "madman", President Nixon told Kissinger, "The bastards have never been bombed like they're going to be bombed this time." With talks over, the Operation Linebacker bombing and mining campaign against North Vietnam began.J. Edward Lee and H.C. "Toby" Haynsworth, Nixon, Ford, and the Abandonment of South Vietnam (McFarland & Co., 2002), p51 Born: Mike Dirnt, bassist and backup singer for Green Day, as Michael Ryan Pritchard in Berkeley, California Died: Edward Calvin Kendall, 86, American chemist, 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
May 5, 1972 (Friday) Alitalia Flight 112 from Rome crashed into a mountain as it made its approach to Palermo, killing all 115 people on board. The debris fell near the town of Carini."Alitalia Plane Strikes Peak; 115 Aboard Die", Oakland Tribune, May 6, 1972, p1; Eastern Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked by Frederick Hahneman shortly after takeoff from Allentown, Pennsylvania. On the same day, Western Airlines Flight 407, with 81 on board, was hijacked by Michael Lynn Hansen after takeoff from Salt Lake City. Hahneman released the 48 Eastern passengers and one stewardess in Washington, D.C. after collecting $303,000 ransom money and six parachutes, flew to New Orleans and back after being unhappy with the small denominations of the bills, then had the plane fly over Honduras, where he parachuted safely. Hansen forced the Western plane to fly to Cuba."2 Jetliners Hijacked, $303,000 Ransom", Oakland Tribune, May 6, 1972, p1 Hahneman was captured days later by soldiers, while Hansen was extradited back to the United States in 1975.Bartholomew Elias, Airport and Aviation Security: U.S. Policy and Strategy in the Age of Global Terrorism (CRC Press, 2009), p8 Born: James Cracknell, British rower, winner of six world championships (1997-1999 and 2001–2002) and two Olympic gold medals (in 2000 and 2004); in Sutton, London Devin Townsend, Canadian metal musician, in New Westminster
May 6, 1972 (Saturday) Five American soldiers were rescued 13 days after their helicopter crashed in Vietnam. The five had been presumed dead until two of them had reached a radio to signal a distress call. Ahmadou Ahidjo, President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon, after placing troops on alert, announced that the 11-year-old federation of former French and British African colonies was going to be replaced by a "united republic" dominated by the French section. In a fraudulent election held on May 20, voters in the British area were said to have approved the anschluss end of self-government by a margin of 716,774 in favor and only 89 against. Born: Naoko Takahashi, Japanese women's marathon winner, 2000 Olympics, in Gifu Died: Deniz Gezmiş, 25, Turkish radical and co-founder of THKO, the People's Liberation Army of Turkey, was hanged after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government
May 7, 1972 (Sunday)
Edmund Kemper, 23, picked up two hitchhiking Fresno State University students, roommates Mary Anne Pesce and Anita Luchessa, drove them to a remote location, murdered them, and then dismembered their bodies. It was the start of a nearly year-long crime spree as a serial killer. Prior to murdering his six randomly picked victims, Kemper had killed his grandparents when he was 15 and spent several years in juvenile detention before being released from a psychiatric hospital. Kemper's last two victims were his mother and her friend, after which he called the Santa Cruz police.Elliott Leyton, Hunting Humans: The Rise of the Modern Multiple Murderer (Random House, 1995), pp46–47 In the United States, the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team won their first NBA title since moving to L.A. from Minneapolis, beating the New York Knicks 114–106 in Game 5."Lakers Win NBA Crown", San Antonio Express, May 8, 1972, p1-D
May 8, 1972 (Monday) In a nationally televised address, President Nixon announced that the United States would lay mines in North Vietnam's harbors in order to stop further supply of weapons and material. The mines would be timed to become active after 72 hours."U.S. Mines Red Harbors, Hits Transportation Links", Oakland Tribune, May 9, 1972, p1 Nixon added, "To other nations, especially those which are allied with North Vietnam, the actions I have announced tonight are not directed against you. Their sole purpose is to protect the lives of 60,000 Americans, who would be gravely endangered in the event that the Communist offensive continues to roll forward, and to prevent the imposition of a Communist government by brutal aggression upon people."of speech from Miller Center of University of Virginia. In Operation Pocket Money, mines were dropped at Haiphong harbor by nine American attack aircraft flying from the carrier , and at six other ports, which were blocked for 300 days until the mines were removed by the U.S. in 1973.Charles J. Gross, American Military Aviation: The Indispensable Arm (Texas A&M University Press, 2002), p208 Voting in Italy's parliamentary elections was completed after two days. The coalition of the Christian Democrats and their allies (Socialists, Social Democrats and Republicans), led by Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, retained power, with 371 seats in the 630 member Chamber of Deputies and a lead in the Senate."Italian Neofascists Score Big Election Gains", Stars and Stripes, May 10, 1972, p2 Born: Darren Hayes, Australian singer for the group Savage Garden; in Brisbane
May 9, 1972 (Tuesday) Israeli special forces stormed a hijacked Belgian jet and freed all 97 hostages on board, killing two of the three hijackers. Sabena Flight 571 had been sitting at the Lod Airport in Tel Aviv after being captured the day before by three men, who threatened to blow the jet up unless Israel released imprisoned Arab guerrillas."Israelis Free 97, Kill 2 Hijackers", Oakland Tribune, May 9, 1972, p1
May 10, 1972 (Wednesday) As the next phase of Operation Linebacker began, American warplanes downed eleven North Vietnamese MiG fighters, as air strikes within North Vietnam continued. three MiG-17s were shot down that day by future Congressman Duke Cunningham,"7 MIGs Downed In Big Strikes", Oakland Tribune, May 10, 1972, p1; Air Warfare: An International Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2002), pp157–158 and four MiG-21s by other pilots. An American F-4D was shot down by a North Vietnamese Shenyang J-6, and pilot Maj. Robert Lodge refused to eject.Davies, Peter F-4 Phantom II vs. MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War (Osprey, 2008), p62 His weapons officer Roger Locher was able to eject and landed, unseen by either friendly or enemy forces, only from Hanoi, North Vietnam. In a referendum, voters in Ireland overwhelmingly approved the Accession Treaty for Ireland to join the European Community. Five out of six (1,041,880 to 211,888) voted yes on a constitutional amendment.William J. McCormack, The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture (Blackwell, 2001), pp201–202 Born: Katja Seizinger, German alpine skier and Olympic gold medalist in 1994 and 1998; in Datteln, West Germany
May 11, 1972 (Thursday) All 74 people on board the British merchant ship Royston Grange were burned to death after it collided with the oil tanker Tien Chee in a fog off of the coast of Uruguay. Flaming oil from the tanker (which lost 9 people) created a ring of fire around the freighter."Fiery Ship Collision Kills 83", Milwaukee Sentinel, May 12, 1972, p1 The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup after beating the New York Rangers 3–0 in Game 6 of the National Hockey League finals. Wayne Cashman had two goals, Bobby Orr the other one, and goalkeeper Gerry Cheevers made 33 saves for Boston."Bruins Win Stanley Cup", Winnipeg Free Press, May 12, 1972, p1 Rogers C. B. Morton, the United States Secretary of the Interior, announced that construction would begin on the controversial trans-Alaska oil pipeline."Morton OKs Alaska Oil Pipeline", Oakland Tribune, May 11, 1972, p1 The body of Dr. George Duncan was dragged out of River Torrens in Adelaide, South Australia, where he had been thrown the day before. The law school lecturer and gay activist became a martyr to the gay and lesbian movement across Australia, and his murder led to the decriminalization of homosexuality, starting in South Australia.Graham Willett, A History of Gay and Lesbian Activism in Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2000), pp87–88
Died: U.S. Air Force 1st Lieutenant Michael Blassie, 23, American military officer whose remains were interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from 1984 to 1998."Michael Blassie unknown no more", Visible Proofs, National Library of Medicine, February 16, 2006 Blassie's A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near An Loc in South Vietnam, and his body would be discovered five months later by South Vietnamese troops and classified as unknown by the Mortuary Affairs division. In 1984, twelve years after his death, his remains would be selected as representative of the "Vietnam Unknown Service Member" and interred in a special ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. After another 14 years, he would be identified by DNA testing, and he is now buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
May 12, 1972 (Friday)