Senator George McGovern (D-South Dakota) announces at a news conference that he would go "anywhere in the world" to negotiate an end to the war and a return of U.S. troops and POWs. McGovern, who had swept the Democratic Party spring primaries, was one of the earliest and most vocal opponents of American policy in Vietnam and he made the war one of the central issues of the campaign. To many American voters, McGovern's call for an immediate end to the war was tantamount to unconditional surrender. Incumbent Richard Nixon, who had campaigned on pursuing "peace with honor" in Vietnam decisively defeated McGovern when it became known that his envoy, Henry Kissinger, was close to negotiating a settlement with the North Vietnamese in peace talks.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- First successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, 1913
- American Revolution
- Lee Resolution presented to Continental Congress, 1776
- Automotive
- Switzerland welcomes first drive-through bank, 1962
- Civil War
- Rebels turned back at Milliken's Bend, 1863
- Cold War
- Czechoslovakian president Benes resigns, 1948
- Crime
- Michael Skakel convicted of 1975 murder in Greenwich, 2002
- Disaster
- Earthquake destroys Jamaican pirate haven, 1692
- General Interest
- Gandhi's first act of civil disobedience, 1893
- British king visits U.S., 1939
- Battle of Midway ends, 1942
- Hollywood
- Jean Harlow dies, 1937
- Literary
- Louise Erdrich is born, 1954
- Music
- New York magazine publishes the story that becomes Saturday Night Fever, 1976
- Old West
- Chief Seattle dies near the city named for him, 1866
- Presidential
- Reagan nominated for governor of California, 1966
- Sports
- Bo Jackson drafted by Kansas City Royals, 1986
- Vietnam War
- Westmoreland requests 44 battalions, 1965
- McGovern continues to campaign against the war, 1972
- World War I
- Battle of Messines Ridge, 1917
- World War II
- Japanese land troops on the islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians, 1942
McGovern continues to campaign against the war
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This Week in History, Jun 7 - Jun 13
- Jun 07, 1965
- Westmoreland requests 44 battalions
- Jun 07, 1972
- McGovern continues to campaign against the war
- Jun 08, 1965
- U.S. forces are available for ground support
- Jun 08, 1969
- Nixon and Thieu meet at Midway
- Jun 09, 1964
- CIA report challenges "domino theory"
- Jun 09, 1972
- South Vietnamese soldiers reach An Loc
- Jun 10, 1965
- Battle begins at Dong Xoai
- Jun 10, 1968
- Westmoreland gives farewell press conference in Saigon
- Jun 11, 1963
- Buddhist immolates himself in protest
- Jun 11, 1970
- Battle for control of Kompong Speu in Cambodia
- Jun 12, 1965
- South Vietnamese premier resigns
- Jun 12, 1972
- Lavelle testifies before Congress
- Jun 13, 1971
- The New York Times publishes the "Pentagon Papers"
- Jun 13, 1973
- Kissinger and Le Duc Tho sign new peace agreement
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