December 12, 1972

Dec 12: Pres Thieu proposes indefinite truce to begin before Christmas holidays, speech, Dec 12, S Vietnam Legis; offers POWs exch between N and S Vietnam, pledges to release all N Vietnamese POWs held by South in exch for Amer POWs held by North; says South will release 1,015 disabled N Vietnamese POWs and another number of healthy ones on the 1st day of a truce; S Vietnam holds some 35,000 POWs; Thieu does not accept or reject accord being drafted in Paris, but says key issues remain unresolved; they are continuing presence of Hanoi's troops in South and danger that proposed Natl Council of Reconciliation and Concord will become a disguised coalition govt; some observers see Thieu's proposals as a delaying tactic, but say he appears to be yielding in his opposition to a cease-fire; Thieu says that during holiday truce Vietcong and Saigon would discuss pol and mil matters; insists that N Vietnamese troops must be withdrawn to the North; says pol solution for South must be worked only by S Vietnam

Defense Dept on Dec 11 says it will hold Grumman Corp to terms of its contract to produce 48 additional F-14 aircraft and will permit no increase in price despite contentions of co chmn Towl that Grumman may be forced out of business if it is made to honor terms of present agreement; Towl and Grumman pres Bierwirth, in lr to stockholders, contend co has lost $1-million on each of 1st 86 planes ordered for USN; co officials rept Grumman has elected not to continue production of aircraft and, if necessary, to defend its action in cts; strong opposition to plane by Sen Proxmire and other Cong critics seen playing major role in Defense Dept's decision; Proxmire lauds dept's action; says Grumman should be required through ct action to honor terms of agreement

Legal Com meets on Dec 11

Van Doren, Mark

Capt E A Cernan and Dr H H Schmitt, Apollo 17 crew members, land lunar module in Taurus-Litterow Valley on lunar surface on Dec 11; Capt Cernan radios 'the Challenger has landed'; craft lands among boulders and craters of narrow valley, near SE rim of Sea of Serenity; crew explores lunar surface during 7-hr excursion; sets up network of scientific instruments, which will measure heat flow from lunar interior, determine variations in gravity, detect traces of lunar gas, gather data on internal shock waves from explosive charges and observe impacts of micrometeorites; assembles lunar rover and drives 300 ft west of module to set up scientific station; Cernan describes hills surrounding valley as resembling 'wrinkled skin of an old, old, 100-yr-old man'; drills 8-ft holes in lunar surface and inserts heat probes; Schmitt repts seeing 'what appeared to be boulders that are covered up by some of the dark mantle' that covers landing area; lunar excursion is cut short because of astronauts' high rate of oxygen consumption; astronauts illus on moon's surface