I've been reading the November 8, 1968 edition of TIME Magazine. A survey of the stories provides a wonderful snapshot of that moment in history. Highlights include... the Vietnam War; Yugoslovia; the Suez conflict; the nuclear arms race; and the RFK Memorial Foundation.THE BOMBING HALT:
Johnson's Gamble for Peace
Friday, Nov. 08, 1968
"THE Viet Nam war has divided and demoralized the American people as have few other issues in this century... The war's ugliness, and the often misunderstood reasons behind U.S. participation in it, greatly contributed to the rebelliousness of America's young..."YUGOSLAVIA: In Case of Attack. . .
Friday, Nov. 08, 1968
"We have nurtured our sovereignty with the blood of our people, and no one is going to take it away from us." Marshal Josip Broz Tito
"
WITH those defiant words, Yugoslavia's President recently reiterated his country's determination to remain free and independent. As the East bloc's original heretic, who broke with Moscow in 1948, Tito is concerned that the Soviets, having acted to quash a much more recent heresy in Czechoslovakia, may also move against him..."Restraint Running Out?
Friday, Nov. 08, 1968
"When the first shells whistled in, off-guard Israeli troops were playing a Sabbath soccer game. Within moments along the 70-mile Suez front, Egyptian gunners had opened up with everything from long-range artillery to Russian-made Katyusha rockets. In all, 15 Israeli soldiers were killed and 34 wounded, mostly in the first rounds. The Israelis fired back, accounting for five Egyptian dead and nine wounded..."
Nuclear Numbers Game
Friday, Nov. 08, 1968
"The life-or-death question of how the U.S. would come out in a thermonuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union has a nagging habit of cropping up shortly before Election Day. In 1960, the Democrats' misleading charges of a "missile gap" served to confuse and alarm voters. This year it was Richard Nixon who sought a last-minute advantage. "The present state of our defenses is too close to peril point," Nixon charged in a radio speech, "and our future prospects are in some respects downright alarming. We have a gravely serious security gap..."
"A Passionate Intent"
Friday, Nov. 08, 1968
"...Last week his [Robert Kennedy] widow, sisters and surviving brother established a memorial that they hope will accomplish some of what he sought to do. On the sloping back lawn of the Robert Kennedy home in McLean, Va., the family announced its plan for a Robert F. Kennedy memorial foundation. "We hope to form several task-force groups," said Edward Kennedy, "and to enlist the young. It is a most appropriate memorial—a living memorial —to carry on his concern, compassion and interest in the unmet needs of our country..."The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial continues today as a vital organization "dedicated to advancing the human rights movement through providing innovative support to courageous human rights defenders around the world."
Remembering and reflecting... Rob
"In a world where there is a common lament that there are no more heroes, too often cynicism and despair are perceived as evidence of the death of moral courage. That perception is wrong. People of great valor and heart, committed to noble purpose, with long records of personal sacrifice, walk among us in every country of the world." Kerry Kennedy
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