May 17, 1972 – NBC Nightly News – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
May 17, 1972 – News on George Wallace, who was victim of an assassination attempt only days earlier. Good news; Wallace won primaries in Michigan and Maryland. Bad news; no feeling in his legs since the shooting.
The latest medical bulletin indicated there was less than a 50/50 chance George Wallace would recover completely. But Doctors also said it was too early and they couldn’t make a definitive assessment until they removed the bullet in Wallace’s spine and that wouldn’t be for another 10 days to 2 weeks, or until his condition stabilized. Family members were upbeat, saying Wallace would be walking again and quickly resume his Presidential campaign. Doctors however, said there was a chance he could regain some use of his legs, but a complete recovery was remote at best. This latest disclosure from Doctors cast a pall on the optimism, but Governor Wallace vowed to fight it.
There was other news – Details were revealed regarding President Nixon’s upcoming trip to the Soviet Union by the Russians, who said Nixon was to make a stopover in Salzburg, Austria before heading to Russia for several days of talks along with visits to Leningradand Kiev.
From Helsinki came word that the SALT talks on the limitation of Nuclear arms were not going to reach agreement by the time Nixon arrived in Moscow. Additionally, the White House learned that two Russian seamen were killed during recent American bombing raids of North Vietnamese ports. One sailor was reportedly killed outright, while the other later died of injuries sustained sometime over the previous two weeks. Administration officials were under orders from the White House not to discuss the matter, apparently to avoid an awkward situation for all concerned just prior to President Nixon’s visit.
And that’s just a sampling of what went on, this May 17, 1972 as reported by NBC Nightly News.
