Page 6 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1975 EMBROIDERY SUPPLIES WORK ’ j SHIRTS MACRAME BEAD 401 DUNN STREET SUPPLIES BRYAN TEXAS x 046 - 4736 Former saviors tossing gas grenades 1 By MICHAEL PUTZEL Associated Press Writer American Marines, once cheered , as saviors by the South Vietnamese, ; scrambled aboard a helicopter from I the roof of the U.S. embassy, tos- ! sing gas grenades in the path of Saigon scavengers. The United States was out of Vie tnam at last. The beginning of the end came weeks ago when the South Viet namese army’s retreat from Pleiku touched off a chain reaction that threw two-thirds of the country to the invading armies from the North. Pentagon officials dusted offlong- standing evacuation plans, drew up new ones, changed those and sought to keep them up to date. There was a slim hope, they were told, that the plans would not be Come To Diamond Country Sankey Park Diamond Salon 21 3 S. MAIN DOWNTOWN BRYAN ^ Engagement Rings Wedding Rings iamoncIs <^xc(uiwe(if A* 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. presents Roger Rozell Terri Jimenez Gladys Lister WASH & WEAR HAIRSTYLES FOR MEN & WOMEN Mon.-Fri. 8:00 to 5:30 Saturday \^331 UNIVERSITY DR. above the Kesami Sandwich Shoppe 846-/614J + AGGIELAND FLOWER & GIFT wm\ 209 UNIVERSITY SPECIAL CORSAGES FOR THE RING DANCE CUSTOM DESIGNED needed. But every day it became clearer they were no longer dealing with contingencies; the final retreat was at hand. “Operation Frequent Wind,” was everybody’s last chance — 81 big rescue helicopters flying into Saigon from ships circling in the South China Sea just out of range of enemy guns. The choppers would be guarded by U.S. fighter-bombers ready to counterattack if anyone cal led he was “taking fire!” Chartered cargo planes and the Military Airlift Command’s great C141 Starlifters and even some giant C5As were made available. One of the first of the giant C5As going in to pick up babies while the scope of the operation was still tak ing shape crashed on takeoff from Saigon. A bad omen? Some won dered. Officials in Washington were i kicking around figures. How many Vietnamese should they evacuate? How many could they? The em bassy in Saigon was counting American heads and finding more all the time; Numbers as high as a million were mentioned, but were quickly cut to a fifth of that, then to 175,000. Many thought that was much too high. It was. On April 18, Defense Secretary James R. Schlesinger told Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger that U.S. military planes were taking off from Saigon half empty. Red tape and paperwork required by both the Saigon and American governmentS| were keeping departures to a trickle, and the North Vietnamese were closing on Saigon’s outer de fenses. Ambassador Graham Martin in Saigon was resisting any visible withdrawal of Americans, fearing it would destroy South Vietnam’s re maining morale and touch off a dangerous panic. Kissinger backed Martin. But time was running out. With the military providing the hardware to lift people out, the State Department hastily set up a task force to begin filling the planes and figuring out what to do with the people when the planes landed. The embassy was still hampered by restrictions on who could leave the country, but indications are that officials didn’t examine documents too carefully as would-be refugees flowed through the gates. The gates opened wider a day later when the Justice Department announced it would authorize entry for tens of thousands of Vietnamese whose lives were considered in danger if they were to stay in Saigon. Swarms of Vietnamese be lieved they qualified, and the flood tide was reached. It was a race against time, and North Vietnam held the stopwatch. The United States tried to make direct contact with Hanoi but got no response. The French and Soviets were asked to help. Maybe they did. On Friday, with the Saigon gov ernment being handed to neut ralists, there seemed to be a chance. On Saturday, no change. The new government was installed on Sun day and appealed for a cease-fire. U.S. officials on both sides of the world held their breath. There was skirmishing on the edge of Saigon and a salvo of rockets fired into the downtown area. A warning signal? A speed-up de mand? Or the end? As the Monday sun was rising in Washington and setting in Saigon, American-built A37 fighter- bombers with South Vietnamese markings made a pass at the Tan Son Nhut airfield on the edge of Saigon. Were they disgruntled government pilots? Crackpots? Enemy agents? Still the signal was not clear, and the sturdy old C130 evacuation planes, veterans of dozens of shel lings at dozens of airstrips, roared in and out, their low-slung bellies packed with people. But just as the sun was rising again over Tan Son Nhut, a stream of rockets and heavy artillery shells crashed into the airfield and around the old Pentagon East headquarters that housed the Defense Attache’s Office. Lance Cpl. Darwin L. Judge of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Cpl. Charles McMahon Jr. of Woburn, Mass., were at the attache’s office as part of an embassy guard detail. A round exploded and killed them both. Boy of the Year in 1971, were the Judge, a former Eagle Scout, and last Americans killed in action in McMahon, who was his hometown’s Vietnam. 5,000-year term said not excessive AUSTIN (AP) —A jail term of 5,005 years assessed one of the kidnappers of the daughter-in- law of Joe Dealey Jr., president of the Dallas Morning News, was not excessive, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Wednesday. In another case the appeals court reversed the murder con viction of William David Hovila, also in Dallas, because of inadequate questioning of prospective jurors on whether they could assess the death pen alty. In the Dealey case, the long sentence was assessed Wood- row Ransonette after he was convicted along with his brother, Franklin, of kidnap ping Mrs. Amanda Mayhew Dealey on Dec. 19, 1972. Mrs. Dealey was released unharmed two days later after her father- in-law paid a $250,000 ranson. The appeals court said the 5,005-year sentence was within the range prescribed by the legislature. The appeals court also denied Woodrow Ransonette’s claims that his trial should have been moved from Dallas County and that he should have been tried separately from his brother. Hovila received the death pen alty in the fatal shooting of Henry McCluskey Jr., a Dallas lawyer. The appeals court said the trial judge excused prospective jurors too readily once they said their consciences would not permit them to send a man to the electric chair. Photo by Alan Killingjwortli The roof of the Calvert High School gym. A Na tional Guardsman remarked that it was “sheared off like a putty knife. ” It was the last place hit in the town. A&M Corps of Cadets names outfit commanders Squadron and company commanders in the 1975-76 Corps of Cadets have been named. The 38 “Century Class’ commanders were announced by Col. Thomas R. Parsons, commandant of cadets. Company and squadron commands are the most coveted in the Corps. At that level, the cadet is in direct leadership con tact with underclassmen. He also usually heads a unit com posed of closest acquaintances. The company-squadron commanders, with rank of cadet major, will lead 14 Air Force ROTC squadrons, 16 Army ROTC companies, six Naval- Marine ROTC companies and the Maroon and White Bands. They will be sworn in next fall with other Cadet Corps com missioned officers. The new unit commanders will first move out in front of their outfits though, at the May 10 Final Re view. The new COs: Squadron 1, Wade Aday, McAllen; 2, Gene McCleskey, Midland; 3, Doug Sultenfuss, San Antonio; 4, Steve White, Houston; 5, Bill Brinkley, Houston; 6, Mark Steele, Graham; 7, Jim Peyton, Houston. Also, Squadron 8, Frank Reagan, Hale Center; 9, Micky Cross, Stratford; 10, Tom Kemp, Lockhart; 11, Mark Bird, Boerne; 12, Gerald Parker, San Antonio; 13, Jimmy Simmons, Bryan; 15, David Cox, Waxahachie. Plus, Company A-l, John Friedli, San Antonio; B-l, John Lockman, San Antonio; C-l, Guy Sheppard, Abilene; D-l, Chuck Ellison, Brenham; E-l, Russell Green, Midland; F-l David Buttery, Lampasas; 1-1, Chuck Kimbrough, Lockhart. In addition, K-l, Al Jackson, El Paso; L-l, Bob Williams, New Braunfels; M-l, Greg Knape, Alvin;. R-l, Clay Boykin, College Station; W-l David Dean, Houston; B-2, Frank Gearing, Elk City, Okla.; C-2, Dennis Naylor, Houston. And, D-2, Danny Davis, Dal las; E-2, Mike Clark, Corpus Christi, F-2, David Elbel, New Braunfels; H-2, Scott Elkins, Irving; K-2, Derrick Suehs, Houston; L-2, Phil Bohlman, Schulenburg; S-2, Rob Urban, Dayton, and N-2, David Heck- emeyer, Lynchburg, Va. The Maroon and White Bands will be commanded, re spectively, by Tom Henry, Huntsville, and Bob Townsend, San Antonio. Combined, the administrative units make up the Texas Aggie Band. Cancer hasrit stopped 1,500,000people from living. Mrs. Evelyn Roll Jeffrey Sensenig They did it by not letting fear kill them. They did it by going to the doctor in time. They did it with the help of the effective methods* of treatment today-surgery, radiation, chemo therapy. They did it because of the advances made through research. More than 1,500,000 Americans are living proof cancer can be cured. The American Cancer Society needs millions to save millions more. Please, give more today. We want to wipe out cancer in your lifetime. American Cancer Society Mr. Donald Perry Mrs. Louise Robinson Mrs Catherine Hopkins Mr. George Walsh Photography by Cailor/Resnick This spaco contributed by the publisher as a public sorvice. MEMORIAL STUDENT CENTER BUILDING STUDIES 0UESTI0NNAIRE The Building Studies Committee of the Memorial Student Center Council and Directorate has been delegated the responsibility of determining policies that will lead to more efficient use of the space in the MSC. Although we are unable at this point to determine what areas we have jurisdiction over, the committee is in a position to recommend usage of the facilities. To assist us in our recommenda tions, we would appreciate your views on how to use the MSC. Please fill out the questions below and return to the secretaries at the Student Programs Office on the second floor of the MSC. Thank you. 1. How often do you use the MSC? 2. Have you ever used the Browsing Library? If so, how often? 3. Do you ever come to the MSC other than to check your mail? If so, what for? 4. How would you use the space along the corridors on the first and second floor? 5. What would you like to see added to the recreational area in the basement (near the bowling alley)? 6. Have you ever used the Beverley Braley Travel Service? If so, often? What were the results? . 7. What are your comments about the snack bar and cafeteria? 8. Do you feel there is an adequate information center? If not, what is lacking? 9. What facilities do you feel are lacking in the MSC? 10. What facilities do you feel are unnecessary or being misused? i 11. Would you like to see the Basement offer beer and/or mixed drinks at its performances? 12. Have you ever attended a banquet held at the MSC? If so, what did you think of the service and price? Who presented the banquet? 13. How would you attempt to increase usage of the student union? 14. Have you ever used the Arts and Crafts Center? If so, what was your opinion?