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March 11, 1969

Introduction

This almanac page for Tuesday, March 11, 1969, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Monday, March 10, 1969

Next Date: Wednesday, March 12, 1969

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at The White House - Washington, D. C.

  • The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents made available transcripts of the President's news conferences; messages to Congress; public speeches, remarks, and statements; and other Presidential materials released by the White House.

    Addresses and Remarks

    • Easter Seal Campaign (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 395, March 11, 1969)
      The President's Remarks at a Ceremony With Miss Carol Burnett and the Easter Seal Child Launching the Campaign.

    Appointments and Nominations

    • Special Emissary to Peru (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 395, March 11, 1969)
      Statement by the President Upon Announcing the Appointment of John N. Irwin II.
    • United Nations (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 396, March 11, 1969)
      Announcement of Intention To Nominate William B. Buffum, Christopher H. Phillips, and Glenn A. Olds as United States Representative.

    News Conferences

    • Meeting With the Minority Leadership (5 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 392, March 11, 1969)
      Press Briefing by Senator Everett M. Dirksen, Representative Gerald R. Ford, and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler Following a Meeting With the President.

    Checklist of White House Press Releases

    The releases listed below, made public by the Office of the White House Press Secretary during the period covered by this issue, are not included in the issue.

    • Biography of William B. Buffurn.
    • Biography of Christopher H. Phillips.
    • Biography of Glenn A. Olds.

    Digest of Other White House Announcements

    Following is a listing of items of general interest which were announced in the press but not made public as formal White House press releases during the period covered by this issue. Appointments requiring Senate approval are not included since they appear in the list of nominations submitted to the Senate, below.

    • A group of businessmen who have just completed a tour under the sponsorship of Time Magazine reported to the President on their meetings with businessmen and government officials in Manila, Saigon, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Djakarta, Seoul, and Japan.
    • The President transmitted to the Congress the Eighth Annual Report of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, covering calendar year 1968, and the report of the Commodity Credit Corporation for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1968.
    • The President designated Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel as Chairman of the Water Resources Council.

    Nominations Submitted to the Senate

    Does not include promotions of members of the Uniformed Services, nominations to the Service Academies, or nominations of Foreign Service Officers.

    • JAMES R. SMITH, of Nebraska, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior.
    • WILLIAM B. BURFUM, of New York, a Foreign Service Officer of Class one, to be the Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
    • CHRISTOPHER H. PHILLIPS, of New York, to be Deputy Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations.
    • GLENN A. OLDS, of New York, to be the Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
    • PRESTON MARTIN, of California, to be a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board for the remainder of the term expiring June 30, 1970, vice Robert L. Rand, resigned.

  • Each Public Papers of the Presidents volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary during the time period specified by the volume. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the text note.

    To ensure accuracy, remarks have been checked against audio recordings (when available) and signed documents have been checked against the original, unless otherwise noted. Editors have provided text notes and cross references for purposes of identification or clarity.

  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

  • The Congressional Record is the official daily record of the debates and proceedings of the U.S. Congress.

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

National Security Documents

  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

    • President's Daily Brief of 11 March 1969 [consult link for visuals and extent of redactions]
      The President's Daily Brief

      11 March 1969
      19
      Top Secret

      LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
      11 MARCH 69

      [redacted]

      12 March 1969

      LATE NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF OF
      11 MARCH 1969

      I. MAJOR PROBLEMS

      VIETNAM
      Signs that [redacted] Communist divisions in III Corps are in the final stages of preparation for ground attacks against allied installations, possibly including some in the Saigon area, have been noted recently.

      There is evidence that the Viet Cong 9th Division has begun to move within southern Tay Ninh Province along its traditional approach route to the Saigon area. Prisoner reports suggest that other elements of the 9th may be moving southeast toward the Phu Tho racetrack in Saigon.

      [redacted]

      * * *

      Thieu announced four cabinet changes today including the appointment of General Tran Thien Khiem as deputy premier in charge of the pacification program. Khiem keeps his old post as interior minister. [redacted]

      MIDDLE EAST
      There is nothing significant to report.

      EUROPE
      France began to get back to business quietly this morning after the one-day general strike.

      SOVIET AFFAIRS
      There is nothing significant to report.

      II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS

      LAOS
      Some 50 enemy troops attacked Luang Prabang airfield and the regional military headquarters there early today. Royal Laotian Army troops repulsed the attackers before they could occupy the airfield. Nine government soldiers were wounded and four killed. At least five aircraft were damaged or destroyed. [redacted]

      PERU
      At a press conference yesterday, Velasco confirmed that a US "envoy" will arrive shortly in Peru for talks. He said that the IPC issue could be discussed, however--"this has been definitely solved and is an irreversible step." He added that they could discuss the Hickenlooper Amendment but doubted that the US will use it. (FBIS 06)

      II MAJOR PROBLEMS

      VIETNAM
      Action reported on 10-11 March included widespread shellings in all four Corps areas, and battalion-sized attacks on allied positions both in the delta and northwest of Tay Ninh city. Heavy pressure continues against special forces camps in the highlands, and enemy activity has picked up somewhat in the coastal lowlands of II Corps. Sensitive areas such as Hue, Da Nang, and Saigon were fairly quiet during the period. [redacted]

      Statements from prisoners captured recently near Quang Tri city suggest Communist forces may launch an attack against the city soon. Moreover, there are continuing signs that Communist forces are moving southward in Quang Binh Province just north of the DMZ. [redacted]

      MIDDLE EAST
      Another day of fighting along the Suez Canal today highlights the Egyptian interest in keeping the situation along that cease-fire line active. [redacted]

      EUROPE
      We detect little that is new in De Gaulle's speech this afternoon. He seems to have replayed many familiar themes: the antithesis between Gaullist "progress" and the "chaos" of the opposition, the advantages of "participation" which his reforms will encourage, the implication that his opponents are engaged in a conspiracy against France, the appeal to the populace to support him personally. There was little to excite either his opponents or his supp6rters. Those among the former who called today's general strike probably had a sense of deja vu as they pondered the speech; we do not think they will be able to use his remarks to whip up new momentum for the strike. Nor did De Gaulle produce many sparks in his appeal for a heavy "yes" vote in next month's referendum, although there is little doubt that the populace will duly approve the reforms he has proposed.

      It is still too early to predict the course of the strike itself with any certainty, but we suspect most of the strikers will be back on the job in the next day or so. If they do go back to work, there seems little chance that the strike will have put much-of a dent in the positions of either management or the government, notwithstanding the massive worker turnout today.

      SOVIET AFFAIRS
      There is nothing significant to report.

      II. OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS

      PERU
      The United States Intelligence Board has approved a Special National Intelligence Estimate on the consequences of the dispute between the US and Peru. In summary, it concludes that:

      --The military regime in Peru will almost certainly not meet the requirements of US law for compensation of the International Petroleum Company. If all the forces now in train continue, the crisis with Peru will be a major one, and perhaps disastrous for Peru and US-Peruvian relations.

      --The initial impact of the Hickenlooper and Sugar Act amendments themselves would not be severe, but if enforcement of the amendments indirectly caused a reduction of official and private foreign investment, the resulting economic strains could force the regime into drastic improvisations.

      --Peruvian-US relations would deteriorate sharply if sanctions were applied. If President Velasco remains in office, he might even feel goaded into expropriating other US businesses and breaking diplomatic relations.

      --Velasco's advisers come from all parts of the political spectrum; the leftists among them do not appear more influential than the others. All seem to be ultranationalistic and anti-American. If Velasco were replaced by more moderate generals, actions against the US might be less extreme, but no one could hold office in Peru who failed to assert the country's independence of US influence.

      --We doubt that Peru's recent moves to establish diplomatic economic ties with the Communist countries will produce a firm and close relationship.

      --The dispute with the us may stimulate a general sharpening of resentments toward the US elsewhere in Latin America, especially in the economic sphere. As a protection against dependence on the US, other countries will probably try harder to broaden their foreign contacts and may care much less about how the US views their efforts.

      THAILAND-CAMBODIA
      [redacted] The path to rapprochement is still a difficult one, however, in view of the many political differences and personal animosities to be resolved. [redacted]

      For Sihanouk, initiatives toward Thailand are only part of a broader adjustment to the post-war situation he anticipates. In addition to softening his attitude toward the US Sihanouk has also put out feelers to the Laos government, which is now considering recognition of the Lao-Cambodian border. So far, however, Sihanouk has given no indication that he intends to make any gesture toward the government in Saigon, a sign that he still doubts that it will survive the war.

      SOVIET UNION - COMMUNIST CHINA
      Both sides continue to exploit the border clash of 2 March, each unwilling to abandon the propaganda field to the other. Soviet media are maintaining the high level of attack begun last Friday, although there have been no further demonstrations against the Chinese Embassy in Moscow since 8 March. Tightly controlled demonstrations were resumed in front of the Soviet Embassy in Peking today to counter the demonstrations in Moscow over the weekend.

      The Soviets are charging that Peking staged the shooting incident both to discomfit Moscow internationally and to unify a badly fragmented Chinese populace. One Soviet publication has used the incident to stress that the Russians are beleaguered "from New York to Peking" and to call for increased vigilance by the Soviet populace. The Soviets are, however, avoiding specifics about the border areas that have been disputed for a long time.

      There are signs that both the Soviet and Chinese military forces have been devoting increased attention to the area of the border clash. Soviet helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft are flying several missions a day along the Ussuri River. Soviet reconnaissance flights, which were increased in mid-February along all of China's northern border, were further intensified after the incident.

      So far, we have detected no troop movements of any consequence on either side.

      [redacted]  

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. III, Foreign Economic Policy; International Monetary Policy, 1969-1972

    Foreign Economic Policy

    • 8. Memorandum of Conversation , Washington, March 11, 1969, 10 a.m.

      Source: Washington National Records Center, Department of the Treasury, Office of the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs: FRC 56 76 108, Studies and Reports, Volume 7, 2/68-11/69. Confidential. Drafted by Petty on March 13 and approved by Volcker. The meeting was held in Room 4426 of the Treasury Department.

    Vol. XX, Southeast Asia, 1969-1972

    Thailand

    Vol. XXIV, Middle East Region and Arabian Peninsula, 1969-1972; Jordan, September 1970

    Persian Gulf States

    • 72. Memorandum of Conversation , Washington, March 11, 1969

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL UK–US. Secret; Noforn. Drafted by Gatch on March 17. Sisco provided Rogers a brief account of this conversation in a March 17 memorandum. (Ibid.)

    Vol. XXXIV, National Security Policy, 1969-1972

    Parity, Safeguard, and the SS-9 Controversy

    Vol. XL, Germany and Berlin, 1969-1972

    Germany and Berlin, 1969-1972

    • 18. Paper Prepared by the National Security Council Staff , Washington, March 11, 1969

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1320, NSC Secretariat, NSC Unfiled Material, 1969 [9 of 19]. Secret; Nodis. No drafting information appears on the paper. Sonnenfeldt forwarded it to Kissinger on March 11 as an attachment to a memorandum drafted by Hyland. Haig noted on the memorandum: “HAK has seen says fine job.” Kissinger presumably requested the paper after his meeting with Dobrynin on March 3 (see Document 17). As Hyland explains in his memoirs: “One of the early surprises for the Nixon administration had been Soviet interest in talking about Berlin. Dobrynin had said as much to Kissinger in early 1969. This was one of my first assignments on the NSC staff: to assemble some background on the history of the long, tedious negotiations over Berlin that had taken place at various times since 1945.” According to Hyland: “The idea of new talks about Berlin appealed to Kissinger. Berlin was a concrete issue on which progress could be clearly measured. In other words, it did not involve a vague, abstract improvement in atmosphere. And given the long history of Berlin, almost any progress would be a significant signal that superpower relations were improving.” (Hyland, Mortal Rivals, pp. 29–30)

    Vol. XLI, Western Europe; NATO, 1969-1972

    Italy

    • 180. Memorandum for the Record , Washington, March 11, 1969

      Source: Department of State, INR/IL Historical Files, Records of the 40 Committee, Minutes. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted on March 13.

    Vol. E-10, Documents on American Republics, 1969-1972

    Cuba

    • 197. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, March 11, 1969, 2:45 p.m. , Washington, March 11, 1969, 2:45 p.m.

      The Swiss Ambassador to Cuba, Alfred Fischli, met with Secretary of State Rogers to discuss Swiss representation of U.S. interests in Cuba.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL CUBA–US. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by J.F. Fitzgerald (ARA/CCA) and approved in S on March 14. In LA Staff Note 1–69, January 27, CIA concluded, “Except that it is in our hemisphere, the Cuban government is not substantially different from many Communist governments with which the U.S. has far better relations.” (Central Intelligence Agency, National Intelligence Office Files, Job 79–T00968A) In a March 17 memorandum to Kissinger, which reported on the March 11 meeting between Fischli and Rogers, Vaky observed that “other recent Cuban actions reflect a more moderate attitude toward the U.S. than has been the case, and there definitely appears to be an overall pattern suggesting a bid for a détente.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 780, Country Files, Latin America, Cuba, Vol. I)

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Audiovisual Holdings

  • The White House Photo Office collection consists of photographic coverage of President Richard Nixon meeting with prominent social, political, and cultural personalities; speaking engagements and news conferences of the President and various high-ranking members of the White House staff and Cabinet; Presidential domestic and foreign travel, including Presidential vacations; social events and entertainment involving the First Family, including entertainers present; official portraits of the President, First Family, and high-ranking members of the Nixon administration; the 1969 and 1973 Inaugurals; the President’s 1972 Presidential election campaign appearances (including speeches) and other official activities of the White House staff and the President’s Cabinet from January 20, 1969 until August 9, 1974 at the White House and the Old Executive Office Building; other locations in Washington, DC, such as The Mall; and the Presidential retreats in Camp David, Maryland, Key Biscayne, Florida, and San Clemente, California. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    Roll WHPO-0476 Photographer: Atkins, Oliver | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-0476-, President Nixon with Easter Seal Child Donna Kay Howell, Campaign Chair comedian Carol Burnett, Mrs. Jack Howell, and Easter Seal Society President Leon Chatelain, Jr.. 3/11/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, Fish Room. President Nixon, Carol Burnett, Donna Kay Howell, Mrs. Jack Howell, Leon Chatelain, Jr., other guests, Ron Ziegler.
    • Frame(s): WHPO-0476-01, President Nixon with Easter Seal Child Donna Kay Howell, Campaign Chair comedian Carol Burnett, Mrs. Jack Howell, and Easter Seal Society President Leon Chatelain, Jr. 3/11/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, Fish Room. President Nixon, Carol Burnett, Donna Kay Howell, Mrs. Jack Howell, Leon Chatelain, Jr., Ron Ziegler.

    Roll WHPO-0477 Photographer: Atkins, Oliver | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-0477-, President Nixon with Carol Burnett after the ceremony with the National Easter Seal Child. 3/11/1969, Washington, D.C. White House, Oval Office. President Nixon, Carol Burnett.

    Roll WHPO-0478 Photographer: Knudsen, Robert L. | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-0478-, Pat Nixon, Interior Secretary Walter Hickel, and an unidentified woman greet guests at ceremony donating 640 acres of land from the Interior Dept. to the Girl Scouts of America. 3/11/1969, Washington, D.C. Department of the Interior. Pat Nixon, Walter Hickel, unidentified woman, guests.

    Roll WHPO-0479 Photographer: Knudsen, Robert L. | Color or B&W: B&W

    • Frame(s): WHPO-0479-, Pat Nixon, Interior Secretary Walter Hickel, an unidentified woman, and guests at ceremony donating land to the Girl Scouts of America. 3/11/1969, Washington, D.C. Department of the Interior. Pat Nixon, Walter Hickel, unidentified woman, guests.

  • The White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection contains public statements that took place between 1969 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    P - Formal Presidential Remarks

    • WHCA-SR-P-690311
      Remarks by President Nixon Launching the Easter Seal Campaign, with Carol Burnett. (3/11/1969, Fish Room at the White House)

      Runtime: 2:07

      Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

Context (External Sources)