The first major antiwar protest of 1972 is held. The demonstration, held at the University of Maryland, was organized to protest the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). Hundreds of students were arrested and 800 National Guardsmen were ordered onto the campus. Significant protests continued across the country in reaction to the increased bombing of North Vietnam, which had been initiated in response to the new communist offensive in South Vietnam.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Apollo 13 returns to Earth, 1970
- American Revolution
- Colbert launches raid on Fort Carlos, Arkansas, 1783
- Automotive
- Ford Mustang debuts at World's Fair, 1964
- Civil War
- Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, begins, 1864
- Cold War
- The Bay of Pigs invasion begins, 1961
- Crime
- A single horsehair uncovers a murderer, 1936
- Disaster
- Volcanic eruption kills 80,000, 1815
- General Interest
- Benjamin Franklin dies, 1790
- Yugoslavia surrenders, 1941
- Architect of Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring resigns, 1969
- Hollywood
- General Hospital airs 10,000th episode, 2002
- Literary
- Isak Dinesen is born, 1885
- Music
- Eddie Cochran dies, and Gene Vincent is injured, in a UK car accident, 1960
- Old West
- Life of Billy the Kid arrives at Library of Congress, 1882
- Presidential
- JFK waits for word on the Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961
- Sports
- Mike Schmidt hits four consecutive homers, 1976
- Vietnam War
- First antiwar protest of the year is conducted, 1972
- Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge, 1975
- World War I
- Second Battle of Gaza, 1917
- World War II
- The Yugoslav army surrenders, 1941
- General Henri Giraud makes his great escape, 1942
- Americans seize 1,100 tons of uranium, 1945
Apr 17, 1972:
First antiwar protest of the year is conducted
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This Week in History, Apr 17 - Apr 23
- Apr 17, 1972
- First antiwar protest of the year is conducted
- Apr 17, 1975
- Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge
- Apr 18, 1969
- Nixon says prospects for peace in Vietnam are better
- Apr 19, 1967
- Air Force pilot cited for bravery
- Apr 19, 1971
- Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstrate
- Apr 20, 1970
- Nixon announces more troop withdrawals
- Apr 20, 1971
- "Fragging" on the rise in U.S. units
- Apr 21, 1965
- Intelligence reveals North Vietnamese units in South Vietnam
- Apr 21, 1975
- Thieu flees Saigon as Xuan Loc falls
- Apr 22, 1968
- South Vietnamese have increased combat capabilities
- Apr 22, 1972
- Antiwar demonstrations held
- Apr 23, 1975
- Ford says that war is finished for America
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