US VP Is Stoned And Booed On May 8, 1958, irate students at San Marcos University in Peru gave US Vice President Richard M. Nixon a rough time. They spit on him, threw stones at him, and made fun of him. One stone missed him by a hair’s breadth, while another cracked a tooth when it struck Secret Service agent Jack Sherwood. CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The demonstrators kept chanting, “Nixon get out!” Lima journalists identified them as either Communists or sympathizers. Fearing escalating violence, Nixon called off his scheduled address at San Marcos, expressing concern that someone could be seriously injured. Reflecting on the tumultuous events, Nixon remarked, “It was a day that will live in infamy.”
The protesters tore apart an American flag that Nixon had laid at a monument honoring South American liberator San Martin. However, Nixon disclosed in a subsequent press briefing that Foreign Minister Raul Porras had extended official and personal apologies for the desecration of the U.S. flag.
Despite the chaos, Nixon remained resolute, declaring, ”the Communists “think they won a victory, but they suffered, as time will tell, a great defeat.” He condemned the act of being spat upon, saying, “When one of the demonstrators spit in my face… he spit on the good name of Peru and the ideals of the liberator San Martin.”
Muhammad Ali Indicted For Refusing To Join US Army
On this day in 1967, boxing legend Muhammad Ali was indicted for refusing to join the US army. Ali had earlier on April 28, 1967, during the Vietnam War, refused induction into the armed forces. He gave religion as his reason for refusing to be inducted and defiantly stated, “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.”
Consequently, on June 20, 1967, Ali faced a conviction for draft evasion. Ali was then slammed with five years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, and a three-year boxing ban. However, he did not go to jail because his case was appealed.
Returning to the ring on October 26, 1970, Ali swiftly defeated Jerry Quarry in Atlanta, signaling his triumphant comeback. But, a remarkable victory for Ali came on June 28 of the same year, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his draft evasion conviction. CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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