Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 62, Number 293, Decatur, Adams County, 12 December 1964 — Page 1

VOL. LXII. NO. 293.,

Two More Americans Killed In Viet Nam As Reds Speed Up Attacks

SAIGON, South Viet Nam (UPl)—Communist Viet Cong forces laced into the government in five coordinated daylight actions 110 miles southwest of here Friday, killing two Americans, wounding five, and possibly capturing yet another. The latest American victims were the seventh and eighth killed in action in Viet Nam this week. A ninth is missing. A total of 234 Americans now have been killed in combat since the United States began an active role in the anti-Cpm-munist war in this country in January 1961. An American military spokesman said today the major ComGood Fellows Club Previously Reported $237.59 Mr. & Mrs. Herman Krueckeberg 5.00 First State Bank 25.00 A Friend 1.00 A Friend 1.00 Loyal Order of Moose .. 10.00 A Friend ... 1.00 Totals ...$280.59

T shombe Says Congo Revolt Is Crushed

ROME (UPl)—Congolese Premier Moise Tshombe said today the rebellion in his African country has been crushed. “We are in a position today to announce the end of the revolution in the Congo,” Tshombe told a news conference. He said organized rebel forces in the field had *been rou’ed and that their leaders have fled. The Congolese leader said the claimed rebel defeat was the result of the U.S.-Belgian airlift for rebel-hefil hostages and military actions by the Congolese army. , Tshombe condemned the “tragic massacres” by Congolese rebels of bo'h whites and blacks and added that “the government could not have helped but intervene in the most energetic manner.” (Dispatches from Leopoldville Friday night said the rebels have massacred ano’ber 10 whites in the northern Congo

Reserve Shift, To Guard Seen

WASHINGTON (UPI) — Defeme Secretary Robert 8. McNamarra announced today a bistorts transfer of the’ Army Reserves into the National Guard. He said it will in* crease the nation’s combat r»a< and save >l5O million a y*»r. WASHINGTON (UPI) — De- ' sense Secretary Robert S. McNamara is expected to announce today an historic transfer of all-federal ground and air civilian reserve forces to the National Guard. The move may add 150,000 officers and men to the Army and Air National Guard, now at a combined strength of 480,000, and may drop another 150,000 reserves from drill pay status. National Guard adjutants general from most of the 50 states meanwhile assembled in Washington to be briefed on the program. The plan is to concentrate

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

munist assault began with an attack on the Long My district capital, led to three daring ambushes, and climaxed with an assault on the depleted garrison at the provincial capital itself. Lure Relief Columns The Communists lured three relief columns into ambushes on provincial Highway 42 as it winds through Communist - infested Chuong Thien Province, American military sources said government losses, when tallied, probably will exceed one entire battalion. The spokesman«said the provincial capital was saved from being overrun only by repeated air strike by Vietnamese fight-er-bombers, one of, which was shot down. The two U.S. army officers who were killed, two of the wounded enlisted men, and the enlisted man deported missing and possibly captured by the ■Communists, all were with ground forces which battled the, Communists at five points along a 15-mile. stretch of the highway. " The two remaining enlisted men and one U.S. Army office-

towns of Mungbere and Isanagi. The victims included an American nun who was. thrown into the Congo River.) Tshombe told reporters he was leaving Rome immediately to return to Leopoldville via Munich, Germany. He arrived here Thursday, had a private audience with Pope Paul VI and was scheduled to fly to New York today to participate in the Congo debate at the United Nations. “Our complaint was accepted by the United Nations more rapidly than anticipated so my trip -(to New York) has become unnecessary,” he said today. Tshombe’s government has filed a complaint with the U.N. charging several African nations with aiding the Congo rebels. “We can no longer tolerate the intrusion in our internal affairs by Ghana, Algeria, the Sudan and Eevp’.” Tshombe told today’s news conference.

almost all combat and military operational strength in the National Guard, which the state adjutants general normally command,a nd to convert the Army and Air Force reserves into a manpower replacement and training pool. The Navy and Marine Corps Reserves, now at a combined strength of 170,000 men in drill pay status, will not be affected by the reorganization. The present strength of the organizations involved is: Army National Guard, 376,000; Air National Guard, 72,000; Army Reserves in drill pay statils, 264,000; and Air Force paid reserves; 77.000. Tjhe Army Reserves have more than 4,000 units, including six combat divisions which are at 55 per cent of authorized strength and are expected to be abolished. The Air Force Reserves have 600 units, of which 92 are flying organizations.

Decatur Stores Now Open Every Night Until Christmas

pilot were wounded aboard rocket and machine gun-firing HUIB helicopters which were peppered by Communist ground fire. The coordinated clashes Friday constituted the seventh in a series of major battles with the Communists since Monday. The reported deaths of the two U. S. officer - advisers brought the American combat toll in the battles to eight. Government Losses Serious Government’ losses in three of the clashes have not yet been reported but were believed serious. The Spokesman said some 30 government troops either were killed or wounded, including one American who was killed, in the unsuccessful attack at Vi Thanh, the capital of Chuong Thien Province. There were no reported government casualties at one of the remaining four battle sites, but Vietnamese, and U.S. military authorities still were counting government dead, wounded and missing today at three points where clashes occurred. The five-pronged Communist assault in Chuong Thien Province began at 11 a.m. Friday when an .unknown but large number of Communist troops attacked Long My district town 10 miles southeast of the provincial capital. Pickup 3rd pgh The latest, etc eliminate 6th and 7'.h pghs:The latest U.S. etc The latest Viet Cong attack occurred Friday almost simultaneously with a Vietnamese government announcement that the United States has prortiised more guns and money ’for the anti-Comrhuhist war and continued support for Premier Tan Van Huang’s administration. The government today faced renewed opposition from South Viet Nam’s powerful Buddhists whose.’ leaders plan a hunger strike to protest what they called, the regime’s “anH-revo-lutiongry” position. • Seventh American Killed Friday’s slashing Communist attacks occurred in the guer-rilla-invested Mekong River Delta. The Mekong Delta ba’tle, 110 miles southwest of Saigon, appeared to be a classic in guerrilla tactics. A U.S. military spokesman said the Communists opened the attack with an assault on Long My, a district capital. Two columns of U.S.-suoported Vietnamese troops rushed to the assistance of Long Mv from VI Thanh capital of Chuong Thien Province, but

■j . , Amr . A. ERRE HAUTE, IND.—U. S. Senator Birch Bayh, Jr. D.-Ind., joins victorious Democrats from Vigo county in a victory dinner. Helen .Corey, newly elected supreme and appellate courts reporter, state senator Jack Mankin, senate majority leader, and state representative Frederick Bauer, house majority leader, all approved recent Democratic landslide.—(UPl Telephoto). < -/ ■' * - * * t • **

TERRE

ONLY DAILY NKWBPAPKH IM ADAMS COUWTY

Decatur, Indiana, 46733, Saturday, December 12,1964.

both were ambushed en route. One Shot Down The Communists then launched an attack on VI Thanh. The spokesman said the provincial capital was saved from being overrun by repeated air strikes carried out by U.S. Army helicopters and Vietnamese Air Force • bojnbers. One of the planes was shot down. The slain American officer and two of the U.S. wounded were in the first ambushed relief column from VI Thanh. The two other wounded Americans were aboard rocket and machinegun - firing HUIB helicopters. At least 30 Vietnamese troops were reported t killed and wounded in the assault on VI Thanh. No government casualties were reported in the Long My attack.

Burch Fighting To Keep Chairmanship WASHINGTON (UPI) — GOP National Chairman Dean Burch, fighting for his job in the interest of the Conservative cause, t r fed Friday to explain his positing ta Michigan. Gov. Georgn Romney—but with little reward. “I didn’t get any encouragement,” Burch told United Prses International after his meeting with the governor who is a leader in the “moderates” drive to unseat the 38-year-old chairman. “I didn't try to proselyte him,” he said. “I just don’t want to be in a position where it appears I’m unwilling to talk to anyone.” Burch’s move appeared to be part of an effort—urged by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and former Vice President Richard M. Nixon —to have conservative backers of Sen. Barry Goldwater work out a compromise with the anti-Burch moderates. Eisenhower and Nixon told Goldwater in New York Wednesday Burch could hope to hold the chairmanship only if he found “broadly based support” at all party levels. They urged Goldwater to help break the stalemate. Romney also conferred with Eisenhower, but said after„ the meeting that the prospect was increasing that Burch will be replaced. The Michigan governor,, who met with Burch after his discussions with Eisenhower, declined to say who he favogs as a replacement.

41 SHOPPING II DAYS LEFT CHRISTMAS SEALS fight TB and other RESPIRATORY DISEASES 0 n Jv o• • K C/iustmas o Gi—tinva

Authorities Silent On Call For Jury JACKSON, Miss. (UPD—Federal authorities today maintained an official silence about when they would request a federal grand jury to consider ■charges against 21 white men in the slaying of three civil Jrights workers. \ ! Charges of conspiring to kill the three integrationists last summer remained against only one of the original 21 suspects —Horace Doyle Barnet'e, who the FBI says made a confession. U.S. Commissioner Verta Lee Swetman dismissed charges against James Edward Jordan, ■3B, at Gulfport Friday at the request of the Justice Department. Similar action was taken against 19 of" the suspects Thursday at Meridian, after U.S. Commissioner Esther Carter refused to hear testimony Concerning Barnette’s alleged confession. Attorney D. Robert Owen of the Justice Department’s civil rights division conferred here ’ Friday with U.S. Atty. Robert Hauberg but apparently had not yet asked U.S. District Judge Harold Cox to convene a grand jury. Owen / declined comment on the government’s plans. A dismissal also was expected against Barnette, who was arrested in Shreveport, La. — leaving the federal government free to present cases to the grand jury in a package. Federal sources minimized the effect “of the setback, noting they would have had to take their cases before a federal grand

Harry Ray Is Dead After Long Illness Harry Ray, 75, retired ,St. Mary’s township farmer, one-half mile south and one-half mile east of Pleasant Mills, died at 6:40 p. m. Friday at the Adams county memorial hospital. He had been in failing health for the past 12 years. Born in Berne April 17, 1889, he was a son of George Weslyn and Minerva Fleetwood-Ray, and was married to Fanny Smith Aug. 26. 1910. Mr. Ray was a member of the Pleasant Mills Baptist church. Surviving are his wife: five daughters, Mrs. Durwood (Pearl) Gehres of Van Wert, 0., Mrs. John (Ruth) Spitler of Willshire, 0., Mrs. C. W. (Rosemary) Crabtree of Mt. Sterling, Ky., Mrs. C. H. (Thelma) Snow of Mt. Vernon, 0., and Miss Jean Ray of Decatur; two sons, Glen (Bud). Ray of Muncie, and Robert E. Ray of Clear, Alaska; 19 grandchildren; three great - granddaughters; two brothers, Leland Ray of Decatur, and Charles Ray of Fort Wayne, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary Fuller of Tucson. Ariz., and Mrs. Cora Rickord of Decatur. One daughter, Mrs. Francis Foor, is deceased. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p. m. Sunday at the Zwick funeral home, with the Rev. Oakley Mastern officiating. Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 2 p. m. today until time of the services. Six Marion Firemen Hurl Fighting Fire MARION, Ind. (UPI) — Three of six firemen injured when they plunged two stories into a burning foundry remained hospitalized here today. Meanwhile, damage in Friday's fire at the Pope Foundry was tentatively estimated at $400,000. Company officials said they could not complete the estimate until they were able to examine machinery buried in the smoldering ruins of the big plant. Hie firemen were injured when an upper floor of the building collapsed, dropping them into debris on the ground floor. They were rescued by fellow firefighters and rushed to Marion General hospital. Those hospitalized were Capt. Gerald Robinson, John Peterson, 41, and Edward Taylor, 43. Eugene Carter, 37, Richard Schoolman, 28, and W. L. Stanley, 39, were treated and released. The fire, which sent Hames shooting 200 feet into the air, broke out in a paint and thinner room while most of’the plant's 65 employes were at iunch. All Marion firemen and members of suburban volunteer units were rushed to the scene and battled for two hours to bring the blaze under control.

jury in any event before trials could have been gained. Miss Carter refused to hear testimony from an FBI agent about the alleged confession on grounds Barnette was not in the courtroom and such evidence amounted to hearsay. The Justice Department complained it was the first time in memory hearsay evidence was ruled out at a preliminary hearing. NOON EDITION Stratton Lighting Judging December 18 Judging of the Stratton association lighting contest will take place between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, December 18, the committee announced today. Each year the Christmas decorations in Stratton have improved. the committee stated, and it is hoped that every home will have some decorations and lights on during,the contest this year, for 100% participation. “The amount ot area spirit adds to the total town spirit, a and shows too that the people of Decatur have the Christmas spirit of good will,” the committee concluded.

Camp Atterbury May Be Regional Center

INDIANAPOLIS (UPD— Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., believes that federal officials will announce soon that Camp ' Atterbury has been chosen as the ' site for one of the regional vocational training centers to be set up as part of the anti-pov-erty campaign. At a news conference here Friday night, Bayh also suggested that an Air Force radar station scheduled for closing at Rockville would make an ex-" cellent satellite, camp for the 7 center. Bayh came here after meeting with officials and civic leaders at both Terre Haute and Rockville to discuss the impa'ct of the closing of military installations in their areas. Bayh told newsmen he would ask Defense Secretary Robert Wipes Out Family, Commits Suicide AUBURN. N. Y. WPD — An unemployed father of four, with a history of mental disturbance, wiped out his entire family in a matter of minutes Friday evening and later committed suicide. Police said John Offenberg, 43, a hunting enthusiast, shot his wife and four children shortly after their dinner. Several hours later Offenberg died of a self-inflicted bullet wound in the head. The dead were identified as Offenberg’s wife, Mary, 41. and the couple's children—Patricia, 10, Wayne, 8, John 5, and Site, 3. In his frenzy, Offenberg also killed a pet parakeet and the family dog. Police rushed to the modest green and * white frame twostory home -in a quiet residential' section after a frantic call from Offenberg’s father-in-law, John Pawlyk at 5:50 p.m. "My son just called me and told me he is going to kill the children,” Pawlyk said. "For heaven’s sake get someone to 46 Walnut Street.” Det. Sgt. Ronald Simple' and Patrolman Steve Emmi talked to Offenberg briefly through a locked door. “Call an ambulance and take me to the hospital for an autopsy,” Offenberg told the policemen. It was the last words he spoke.

Probe Fire On U. N. Building

NEW YORK (UPI) — United Nations guards and New York Police today investigated the unsuccessful shelling of the world peace organization headquarters here. Scorers of police were tracing -every clue in an urgent effort to learn who fired a bazooka shell at the towering United Nations building Friday. First reports blamed fanatical anti-Castro Cubans protesting the U.N. visit of Cuban industry minister, Major Ernesto (Che) Guevara. As the shell exploded harmlessly in the cold waters of the East River, Guevara was attacking the United States at a General Assembly meeting. Police reported that if the shot had reached its target many lives probably would have been lost. Crammed With Delegate* The building was crammed with delegates, U.N. staff members, newsmen and visitors. Both the General Assembly and Security Council were meeting, one to hear Guevara;’ the o'her to hear Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak accuse African members of “racism.” At the time the bazooka shell whistled toward the building, anti-Castro Cubans were demonstra'ing against Guevara’s presence there. At one stage, a mob tried to storm the, heavily guarded building. One hysterical Cuban woman • carrying a knife with a seveninch blade tried to force her

SEVEN CENTS

McNamara to reconsider his decision to close the Army Supply Center at Terre Haute and merge it with one at Columbus, Ohio. He conceded, however, as he had at Terre Haute, that there appeared to be little chance of success. Bayh said McNamara should be commended for trying to save money and make the Defense Department more efficient • but that he thought closing the Terre Haute center was -o contradiction of the secretary's announced intention to reduce government competition with private enterprise. The Terre Haute center is operated by a private company under an Army contract while the Army operates the center at Columbus. Bayh’s comments during the news conference ranged from legislative reapportionment to a port and park on Lake Michigan and the anti-poverty campaign. He said he believes the large number of freshmen in the 1965 Legislature will make reapportionment of state legislative districts easier. He said newcomers do not have the sense of proprietorship in their seats which develops when a lawmaker has represented a district for. a long time. Discussing the proposed Burns Ditch port and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Bayh said that "one is not necessarily dependent upon the other but I think we need both.” He said that continued opposition <0 the park on the part of House minority leader Charles Halleck, R-Ind., could go a long way toward blocking the proposal which was part of a compromise worked out to get congressional approval for the port. However, he said, he understood that Halleck’s leadership “will be sorefy tried” by rebellious young Republican congressmen during the coming session. INDIANA WEATHER Partly cloudy tonight and Saturday. A little colder north portion tonight. Low tonight 26 to 34 north, upper 30s south. High Sunday low to mid 40s north, low to mid 50s south. Outlook for Monday : Cloudy and continued rather mild. Rain likely south and central.

way past the guards. Two patrolman seized the woman from police later identified as Gladys Perez, 27, of Jersey City. She told them she was planning to assassinate Guevara. The bazooka explosion rattled windows in the U.N. building, but not one pane in the glass-and-steel building was broken. The shot was heard in both the General Assembly and Security Council meetings. Cuban Seems Unmoved Burly, bearded Guevara commented after his speech that the bazooka attack “has given ’he whole thing more flavor.” Wearing a green fatigue uniform and gleaming black boots, Cuba's second-ranking Communist seemed ufrfapved by the incident. UN. delegates immediately demanded a review of security arrangements planned to protect the 1,000 diplomats from 115 nations attending the assembly session. The weapon used was found in an open lot across the river on the Long Island side. Bomb squad detectives .said it was made from the barrel of a 3.5inch Army bazooka. A range finder and home-made firing mechanism were found with it. The bazooka was mounted on a rail tie anchored by a wooden box and topped by a small Cuban flag. It was aimed directly at the United Nations. Police tested it for finger prints, then turned it over to the Army for further study.