NEWS

Vietnam War from the pages of The Times in 1967

Gen. William C. Westmoreland saw a need for 600,000 more troops in Vietnam by the end of 1967, according to this United Press International story that was printed in The Times on June 2, 1967. Alongside it was the official word on Capt. Joseph A. Tomko of Aliquippa, whose death was reported the day before.
Gen. William C. Westmoreland saw a need for 600,000 more troops in Vietnam by the end of 1967, according to this United Press International story that was printed in The Times on June 2, 1967. Alongside it was the official word on Capt. Joseph A. Tomko of Aliquippa, whose death was reported the day before.
Beaver County Times
This map showing activity of United States military and the south Vietnamese forces as well as the Vietcong as of Feb. 13, 1967, marking U.S. Special Forces camps and assumed Vietcong bases. Another similar map was published later on June 6.
This map showing activity of United States military and the south Vietnamese forces as well as the Vietcong as of Feb. 13, 1967, marking U.S. Special Forces camps and assumed Vietcong bases. Another similar map was published later on June 6.
Beaver County Times
Mr. and Mrs. John Lightman, and daughter Dorothy, 18, center, of Merchant Street in Ambridge view medals on Jan. 14, 1967, received following the death of their son and brother, Marine Corps Pfc. Samuel Lightman. He died on Nov 2., 1966, in Vietnam from an enemy rifle bullet to the stomach, according to The Times' archives. A 1964 graduate of Ambridge High School, Lightman was employed by Aliquippa Works, Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. prior to joining the Marines. The serviceman, who had enlisted for two years on Dec. 11, 1965, prior to receiving his draft notice had an earlier brush with death in Vietnam. Shipped to the country on Aug. 16, 1966, he suffered shrapnel wounds in both legs in action near Thouck-tay eight days later. After treatment on the carrier USS Iwo Jima, he was returned to action. A Purple Heart, Republic of Vietnam service medal, National Defense medal, and Gold Star Mother medal for Mrs. Lightman were presented to her and Dorothy at Marine Corps Reserve Headquarters, then located on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh.
Mr. and Mrs. John Lightman, and daughter Dorothy, 18, center, of Merchant Street in Ambridge view medals on Jan. 14, 1967, received following the death of their son and brother, Marine Corps Pfc. Samuel Lightman. He died on Nov 2., 1966, in Vietnam from an enemy rifle bullet to the stomach, according to The Times' archives. A 1964 graduate of Ambridge High School, Lightman was employed by Aliquippa Works, Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. prior to joining the Marines. The serviceman, who had enlisted for two years on Dec. 11, 1965, prior to receiving his draft notice had an earlier brush with death in Vietnam. Shipped to the country on Aug. 16, 1966, he suffered shrapnel wounds in both legs in action near Thouck-tay eight days later. After treatment on the carrier USS Iwo Jima, he was returned to action. A Purple Heart, Republic of Vietnam service medal, National Defense medal, and Gold Star Mother medal for Mrs. Lightman were presented to her and Dorothy at Marine Corps Reserve Headquarters, then located on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh.
Beaver County Times
On April 3, 1967, The Times front page featured a photo from the funeral of Army Spec. 4C Bennie J. Paolantonio at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Ambridge. Pallbearers and a firing squad came to pay their respects from the 18th Artillery Group Air Defense Unit in Oakdale.
On April 3, 1967, The Times front page featured a photo from the funeral of Army Spec. 4C Bennie J. Paolantonio at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Ambridge. Pallbearers and a firing squad came to pay their respects from the 18th Artillery Group Air Defense Unit in Oakdale.
Beaver County Times
Capt. Joseph A. Tomko, who would have been 32 in just under three weeks, died May 31, 1967, in Japan where he was being hospitalized for wounds suffered in Vietnam. His wife, Barbara Allen of DuBois, learned that he had died when she called the hospital, hoping to be able to visit him there. Tomko, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Tomko of Lincoln Avenue in Aliquippa, was injured on April 9 in An Khe, Vietnam, to his abdomen and pelvis when hit by small arms fire. Tomko had been a soldier for nine years, serving in Germany and Hawaii, and was a company commander in the First Airborne Calvary. He volunteered for duty in Vietnam, according to The Times' archives, after graduating from Northwestern University in 1957. He played football there and at Aliquppa, where he graduated from in 1954.
Capt. Joseph A. Tomko, who would have been 32 in just under three weeks, died May 31, 1967, in Japan where he was being hospitalized for wounds suffered in Vietnam. His wife, Barbara Allen of DuBois, learned that he had died when she called the hospital, hoping to be able to visit him there. Tomko, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Tomko of Lincoln Avenue in Aliquippa, was injured on April 9 in An Khe, Vietnam, to his abdomen and pelvis when hit by small arms fire. Tomko had been a soldier for nine years, serving in Germany and Hawaii, and was a company commander in the First Airborne Calvary. He volunteered for duty in Vietnam, according to The Times' archives, after graduating from Northwestern University in 1957. He played football there and at Aliquppa, where he graduated from in 1954.
Beaver County Times
Cassius Clay -- not yet known as Muhammad Ali -- was the best known of several speakers at a rally at the University of Chicago on May 10, 1967, reported by this United Press International story that ran in The Times the following day. The speeches, a part of a "day of inquiry" aimed at hardening the stand against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, were broadcast through telephone and tape-recorded hookup to 21 schools in the East, South and at the University of Southern California. "Clay, under indictment on a charge of evading the draft, said he refused to be drafted because, 'in a war it's kill, kill, kill and kill some more.'"
Cassius Clay -- not yet known as Muhammad Ali -- was the best known of several speakers at a rally at the University of Chicago on May 10, 1967, reported by this United Press International story that ran in The Times the following day. The speeches, a part of a "day of inquiry" aimed at hardening the stand against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, were broadcast through telephone and tape-recorded hookup to 21 schools in the East, South and at the University of Southern California. "Clay, under indictment on a charge of evading the draft, said he refused to be drafted because, 'in a war it's kill, kill, kill and kill some more.'"
Beaver County Times
Army Spec. 4C Joseph Paolantonio, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Paolantonio of Larch Street in Ambridge, was killed in action on March 20, 1967, while serving with the Air Mobile Unit, First Cavalry Division. He was the 22nd Beaver County area serviceman reported killed in action or missing in action in Vietnam since 1963, according to The Times' archives. He was 20 years old and entered the service in December 1965. A telegram received by his family said Paolantonio was killed by enemy small arms fire while participating in an air assault mission over Vietnam. He was stationed at An Khe, Vietnam, with the First Air Calvary. He was scheduled for a rest and recuperation leave the following month. He was promoted to his specialist rank and was machine gun team leader of his unit. He wrote his sisters March 16, saying he had just three more months in Vietnam to complete his tour of duty. "We are very, very proud of him," said his sister, identified in The Times' archives only as Mrs. Pagnucco. "He kept in constant touch with all of us. We are very proud of him."
Army Spec. 4C Joseph Paolantonio, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Paolantonio of Larch Street in Ambridge, was killed in action on March 20, 1967, while serving with the Air Mobile Unit, First Cavalry Division. He was the 22nd Beaver County area serviceman reported killed in action or missing in action in Vietnam since 1963, according to The Times' archives. He was 20 years old and entered the service in December 1965. A telegram received by his family said Paolantonio was killed by enemy small arms fire while participating in an air assault mission over Vietnam. He was stationed at An Khe, Vietnam, with the First Air Calvary. He was scheduled for a rest and recuperation leave the following month. He was promoted to his specialist rank and was machine gun team leader of his unit. He wrote his sisters March 16, saying he had just three more months in Vietnam to complete his tour of duty. "We are very, very proud of him," said his sister, identified in The Times' archives only as Mrs. Pagnucco. "He kept in constant touch with all of us. We are very proud of him."
Beaver County Times
"Want a job that guarantees you room, board, clothing, steady work and a guaranteed wage scale? If this sounds good to you, then the Armed Forces are for you" begins a story from the May 6, 1967, pages of The Times' monthly Young World section aimed at teenagers, alongside other stories about career opportunities. The story goes on to detail requirements and specialized programs in the different branches. Beaver County's Air Force recruiters had a two-month waiting list about 30 names long, attributed to the best living conditions by a recruiter. "Summing it up," writes Times reporter Jim Vallela, "even though the services do have some drawbacks, they offer opportunity to today's high school graduate and college student like never before in the nation's history. Anybody for a uniform?"
"Want a job that guarantees you room, board, clothing, steady work and a guaranteed wage scale? If this sounds good to you, then the Armed Forces are for you" begins a story from the May 6, 1967, pages of The Times' monthly Young World section aimed at teenagers, alongside other stories about career opportunities. The story goes on to detail requirements and specialized programs in the different branches. Beaver County's Air Force recruiters had a two-month waiting list about 30 names long, attributed to the best living conditions by a recruiter. "Summing it up," writes Times reporter Jim Vallela, "even though the services do have some drawbacks, they offer opportunity to today's high school graduate and college student like never before in the nation's history. Anybody for a uniform?"
Beaver County Times
"To those men who gave their lives so we could remain free," said a ad sponsored by several local businesses for Memorial Day in 1967 from The Times. "The most fitting tribute we can pay these heroes is a renewed effort to bring peace to the world."
"To those men who gave their lives so we could remain free," said a ad sponsored by several local businesses for Memorial Day in 1967 from The Times. "The most fitting tribute we can pay these heroes is a renewed effort to bring peace to the world."
Beaver County Times
On the same day in 1967 that the construction of the Beaver Valley Mall was first announced on the front page of The Times, so too was the death of the 23rd serviceman killed or missing in the Vietnam War from Beaver County. Army Spec. 4 Julius Edgar Jenkins, 21, was on perimeter defense "when attacked by a hostile force employing mortar and small arms fire," according to the telegram sent to his family, Mr. and Mrs. John Jenkins Sr. of Wilker Street in Aliquippa. Jenkins graduated from Hopewell High School in 1963 and Duff's Business Institute, having worked in the accounting department of the Aliquippa Works of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. He was inducted into the service on Dec. 7, 1965, and had been in Vietnam for eight months, since the previous September.
On the same day in 1967 that the construction of the Beaver Valley Mall was first announced on the front page of The Times, so too was the death of the 23rd serviceman killed or missing in the Vietnam War from Beaver County. Army Spec. 4 Julius Edgar Jenkins, 21, was on perimeter defense "when attacked by a hostile force employing mortar and small arms fire," according to the telegram sent to his family, Mr. and Mrs. John Jenkins Sr. of Wilker Street in Aliquippa. Jenkins graduated from Hopewell High School in 1963 and Duff's Business Institute, having worked in the accounting department of the Aliquippa Works of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. He was inducted into the service on Dec. 7, 1965, and had been in Vietnam for eight months, since the previous September.
Beaver County Times
Mrs. Barbara Allen Tomko leaves the gravesite of her husband, Army Capt. Joseph A. Tomko of Aliquippa after military burial rites on June 12, 1967, at Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Hopewell Township. She carries the flag that had draped her husband's casket.
Mrs. Barbara Allen Tomko leaves the gravesite of her husband, Army Capt. Joseph A. Tomko of Aliquippa after military burial rites on June 12, 1967, at Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Hopewell Township. She carries the flag that had draped her husband's casket.
Beaver County Times
Army Pfc. Jerry Chirichetti, an 18-year-old Green Beret, sent home a poem to his brother Pete, written by an unnamed combat buddy, published in The Times on Aug. 26, 1967. "It's hard to spend a lifetime here, for that's what it is, a life in a year. For some it's spent in 'combat and fire,' for others, it's meant compassion and desire. At times, it's disastrous to see what it's done, I suppose for me it's just begun. To see the multitude in this lonely place, to see the loneliness on each man's face — Lay down your weapons, weep into your hand — Each boy who cam is now a man. Picture your home and what is good. Remember a place where we once stood. I looked and remembered, it must be done." Chirichetti graduated in 1966 from Monaca High School, the son of Dino Chirichetti of Pacific Avenue. "I know I should write home as much as possible, but I think you understand. Take good care of yourself and be good," concludes the soldier to his brother.
Army Pfc. Jerry Chirichetti, an 18-year-old Green Beret, sent home a poem to his brother Pete, written by an unnamed combat buddy, published in The Times on Aug. 26, 1967. "It's hard to spend a lifetime here, for that's what it is, a life in a year. For some it's spent in 'combat and fire,' for others, it's meant compassion and desire. At times, it's disastrous to see what it's done, I suppose for me it's just begun. To see the multitude in this lonely place, to see the loneliness on each man's face — Lay down your weapons, weep into your hand — Each boy who cam is now a man. Picture your home and what is good. Remember a place where we once stood. I looked and remembered, it must be done." Chirichetti graduated in 1966 from Monaca High School, the son of Dino Chirichetti of Pacific Avenue. "I know I should write home as much as possible, but I think you understand. Take good care of yourself and be good," concludes the soldier to his brother.
Beaver County Times
A June 21 story from United Press International in The Times predicted that President Lyndon B. Johnson would order the induction of 19-year-olds first when he signed a new draft bill into effect by June 30. The bill also guaranteed deferments for undergraduate college students. Prior to this, local draft boards started with 26-year-olds and worked backwards to 19-year-olds seeking men to meet their quotas, according to the story.
A June 21 story from United Press International in The Times predicted that President Lyndon B. Johnson would order the induction of 19-year-olds first when he signed a new draft bill into effect by June 30. The bill also guaranteed deferments for undergraduate college students. Prior to this, local draft boards started with 26-year-olds and worked backwards to 19-year-olds seeking men to meet their quotas, according to the story.
Beaver County Times
"The kid is back" That was the sign that greeted Marine Cpl. Clarence C. Yount, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Yount of Chapin Street in Conway. Days before "the kid" arrived in the States, the phone in the Yount home kept jangling. To alleviate the situation, the Younts told all they'd put out the American flag as soon as they learned definitely the time of his arrival. A two-year veteran with the Marines, Yount served for 13 months and four days with the 9th Marines at Leatherneck Square near the Demilitarized Zone above Da Nang, Vietnam. "Like all servicemen in Vietnam, Cpl. Yount firmly believes America should be there," reported The Times. "'We should never allow it to be possible for them (Viet Cong) to come here,' he said." The story went on to describe how Yount had to adjust to the quiet of home at night: "There, when he heard the rustle of trees at night, he knew it would be 'the gooks.' Trees there don't rustle at night. There is a breeze only in the daytime, he told his mother. ... (H)is first night back, he held off sleep for a while, just to listen to the quiet night sounds of home."
"The kid is back" That was the sign that greeted Marine Cpl. Clarence C. Yount, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Yount of Chapin Street in Conway. Days before "the kid" arrived in the States, the phone in the Yount home kept jangling. To alleviate the situation, the Younts told all they'd put out the American flag as soon as they learned definitely the time of his arrival. A two-year veteran with the Marines, Yount served for 13 months and four days with the 9th Marines at Leatherneck Square near the Demilitarized Zone above Da Nang, Vietnam. "Like all servicemen in Vietnam, Cpl. Yount firmly believes America should be there," reported The Times. "'We should never allow it to be possible for them (Viet Cong) to come here,' he said." The story went on to describe how Yount had to adjust to the quiet of home at night: "There, when he heard the rustle of trees at night, he knew it would be 'the gooks.' Trees there don't rustle at night. There is a breeze only in the daytime, he told his mother. ... (H)is first night back, he held off sleep for a while, just to listen to the quiet night sounds of home."
Beaver County Times