European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 23, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes Friday september 23,198s Vincennes rescues vietnamese refugees by Norman Black a military writer washingj9n the Vincennes he guided missile Cruiser thai Mistak enly shot Down an iranian Airliner Over inc persian Gulf Eric cd a Boatload of 26 vietnamese refugees Early thursday just before their fishing junk Sank the Pentagon and Navy said. Dan Howard the defense depart ment s chief spokesman said the Cruiser was in the South China sea when it spotted what appeared to be a burning Torch. After changing course and mov ing closer to investigate the Vincennes found a Small double ended junk carrying 26 vietnamese refugees there were 10 children and 16 adults including 0 males and six females Howard continued. The com manding officer determined the vessel to be a seaworthy and look All 26 peo ple  shortly after the 26 were rescued inc boat broke apart and Sank in heavy seas he said. They were literally spotted in the Nick of time added la cmdr. Craig Quigley a Navy spokesman. They had been adrift for 15 Days and were out of food out of water and subsisting on Rainwater. And As soon As they got on Board the Vince incs their boat  Quigley said the engine on the 30 foot junk was completely inoperative and inc refugees also had no sail. De spite the Long period adrift none of the refugees required any medical Aid he added. The Vincennes is currently trans porting the refugees to its next port of Call the naval facilities at Subic Bay in the Philippines. According o quigly one of the refugees spoke some English and told his rescuers the group had begun its voyage from inc Small port of tra Vinh the Rescue was the second for the Vincennes in the last two months. Early in August the Cruiser rescued five Ira Nian fishermen who had been adrift in it Small Dinghy for More than a week after heir boat Sank the Vincennes. Was operating Al the Lime in the Gulf of Oman. A month before on july 3, the Cruiser led dentally shot Down an iranian Airbus killing Al 290 aboard White in the nearby persian Gulf. The Navy has opened a pretrial investigation of the Captain of the amphibious transport Dock Dubuque for alleged dereliction of duty in failing 10 Rescue another group of vietnamese refugees in Early june. Marines burning to fight wildfires at Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park Wyo. A the marines moved in ready to do Battle. What they found however when they arrived to fight wild fires in Yellowstone National Park was dirty Back breaking often Boring work we just wanted logo Al in. We re ready to go in there right up against it said Lance Cpl. Earl Martin of Bay City. Texas. Martin is with the 1st i n. 5th marines from Camp rendition Calif., which arrived in Yellowstone last week and was moved to inc fire lines after intensive training sessions. The Yellowstone fires which have been burning for three months have consumed More than 1 million acres of the 2.2 million acre Park in Northwestern Wyoming. Rain Snow and cooler weather have curbed their spread during the last 10 Days but As recently As two weeks ago the a hts threatened structures at inc old faithful Complex and two Montana towns Adja cent to the Park. On wednesday National Park service officials said Cool and moist weather kept the fires from spreading Hiil drier weather expected later this week could bum new areas again. When regular fire Crews were stretched thin All across Llie Ecsi. Array troops and then marines were sent to Yellowstone. There now Are 1,100 marines and 2,000 army troops on the fire lines in Yellowstone. Jul the Job has not been what the marines anticipated. They expected a toe to toe Battle with a Forest inferno. They found the dirty Job of mop up a term for strengthening fire lines and searching out and extinguishing hot spots in burned Forest later they will work to rehabilitate areas cleared for Eire tines wastelands deliberately created to deprive inc approaching Lames of fuel. The rehabilitation Effort includes erosion control and is fling Ash and dirt to c j Yellowstone Sheridan National Park j i i i Wyoming Casper of i i i Rock Springs Laramie of a 1 a cheyennes erase signs of human activity. It s not glamorous work. It is important maybe the most important but we d like to Sec some kick up said Marine Cpl Greg Crowe of san Diego the marines said it was their first non military assignment and they have traded their trademark camouflage Field uniforms for Green and yellow firefighter outfits. The part they be found most to their liking so far is the food catered by a Lander. Wyo company called new Way. We d like them to contract to do our food said Lance Cpl. Michael Mcloone of Wilmington Calif. We never cat this Good not even in the  . Forest service fire commanders were uneasy when soldiers and marines first were dispatched to Yellowstone because of their inexperience at fir Chighi ing officials said. People were apprehensive. They had no training and they re too Young said Ren Mann planning chief for the greater Yellowstone area command. Bui their discipline and command Structure paid off he said. I m impressed and i probably will use them  Yellowstone has been a cold weather exercise for the marines who have had to scrape Snow off their tents and Brush ice from their equipment. Marine maj. Jack Carter had spent most of hit sum mers in the Park since he was a boy staying with his grandparents and parents in West Yellowstone mom so he was Able to fill in his superiors on the weather inc marines would face. We brought our Long Johns he said. Carter said coming Back to Yellowstone and seeing some of it charred and smoking hit Prilly hard when 1 first saw  at first you re devastated when you drive in he said. It s a shame thai lots of people for lots of Yean won t see the Park Al its  Carter said he never noticed the buildup of dead and fallen Trees Over the years an accumulation that contributed greatly to the hot fast moving ires. When you re walking on trails you never Nolice. It s the american mentality i think Lillor on the Side of the  the marines will be in Yellowstone Al least until oct. Is which suits Carter Fine. T love this  he said it never gets old 5 killed in shoot out after failed robbery Chicago a a shooting that began in an Aulo parts store and ended Al a nearby school left five dead thursday and at least two wounded authorities Aid. A woman police officer two employees of tin store and a school janitor died and inc gunman also was killed said fire department spokesman Tom Sheppard. We had a  said Thelma Cicitto. A payroll clerk at the Momic Giorc school. Officials said the shooting was not school related though the West Side school is a special one for troubled boys. It is about a half Block from inc store. Scott Lagreca. A spokesman for the Chicago fire department said the Inci Dent began Wilh an attempted Holdup at the store. But police said later thai robbery was not the motive. It appears to be some body who has a grudge said police commander James Maurlr. Classes at the school which has an enrolment of about 135, were in session at the time of the shooting but no Stu dents or teachers were injured said school superintendent Manford Byrd detective Riceardo Abreu said there was no evidence that anyone was involved in the incident except for the gun Man who died. In addition to the five dead a second police officer was injured said Deputy chief John Walsh of the Chicago police department and a Hospital reported treating a Man whose occupation was not immediately determined. The second police officer was shot in both legs. Slip Pard said. A spokesman for mount Sinai Hospital said the officer was in serious but stable condition at the Hospital. The shooting began Al the Comet Auto parts store witnesses and officials said. Shots apparently happened outside the school said Chicago school Board spokesman Bob Saigh. "1 understand the individual was pursued into the building and More shots were  All three died Al the trauma unit she said. The Cook county medical examiner s office said the other two dead per sons apparently died at he scene More americans than Ever Are educated . Reports Washington a Ameri cans Are More educated than Ever set Ling records for the share of people with High school diplomas and College degrees last year the census Bureau reported wednesday. More than three quarters of people aged 25 and Over have completed High school and nearly one in live has finished at least four years of College both re cords inc Bureau said in a new study on educational attainment. The percentage of educated Ameri cans has been increasing gradually Over the Yean As society places stronger emphasis on education said census demo Grapher Robert Kominski. The entire Post second world War Era has been characterized by an expansion of educational opportunities and structures in the country Kominski said. In the 1960s, the civil rights movement added another level of Opportunity. And the expansion of col lege Grant and Aid programs in the 60s and 70s allowed this to continue he went on. Also Kominski added changes in inc age breakdown of the population have had an Impact As the less educated elderly die and the numbers of younger people who have spent More Lime in school increase. People in their teens with so per cent 10 90 percent completing High school Are replacing older folks who were raised Al a Lime when comple Tion of six to eight Yean of schooling was a major accomplish Merit he said. Docs this mean that americans today Are smarter than in the past not necessarily said Kominski we All like to think that we were raised in the generation which produced the Best and the brightest Overall 7s.6 percent or americans were found to Nave completed High school and 19.9 percent had  four years of College As of March 1987. Those figures compare la 74.7 per cent and 19.4 percent a year earlier and Are up significantly from 68.6 percent and 17.0 percent in 1980