LBJ embarks on around-the-world tour: Dec. 20, 1967

The accidental drowning of Harold Holt, Australia’s prime minister, initiated a whirlwind 26,959-mile globe-circling journey in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. On this day, Johnson attended a memorial service for Holt — an avid scuba diver who had been lost at sea and presumed dead — in Melbourne.

Holt had been an LBJ friend and a supporter of American involvement in Vietnam. Johnson also met with the Australian Cabinet in Canberra, the nation’s capital. He told its members the North Vietnamese communists were planning a major offensive in South Vietnam. He reiterated his determination to stand firm against military efforts by Hanoi to seize control of the south.From there, LBJ went to visit U.S. troops at Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam, where he was cheered. Despite widespread protests back home, LBJ told them, they were engaged in a vital mission for their country and most Americans loved them. The enemy, the president said, “knows that he has met his master in the field.” He also conferred with Gen. William Westmoreland, the top U.S. military figure in Vietnam. Westmoreland gave the president an upbeat assessment on the prospects of a military victory.

Johnson arrived in Thailand on Dec. 23 to visit the U.S. airbase at Korat. He told American forces stationed there that the United States and its allies, including Australia, were “defeating this aggression.” He also stopped at the Karachi airport to meet with another U.S. ally, Pakistan President Ayub Khan.

Next, Johnson flew to Rome to meet with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican. They conferred for more than an hour with only their interpreters present. LBJ wanted the pope’s help easing the treatment of U.S. prisoners of war held by North Vietnam and in getting Nguyen Van Thieu, South Vietnam’s Roman Catholic premier, to the peace table. A subsequent Vatican statement said the pope advanced proposals to attain peace in Vietnam.

Somewhere in the Vatican archives — amid the scrolls, the papal bulls and associated worldly and spiritual artifacts — lies a replica of Johnson’s head and shoulders, a gift from the president to the pope.

After being away from Washington only 4½ days, LBJ was back in the White House for Christmas Eve.