October 1972 - October 12, 1972 (Thursday)

October 12, 1972 (Thursday)

• A brawl on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk injured 46 people. About 100 black and white sailors fought for hours with knives, forks and chains, before the fight was broken up by a squad of U.S. Marines. Details were released six weeks afterward by the U.S. Navy. The fight began when a sailor asked for two sandwiches at the ship's mess hall and was given only one. Twenty-five men, all black, were charged.
• The Dai Gohonzon, inscribed by the Buddhist monk Nichiren (1222–1282) was placed at a special location, 693 years after its inscription. An object of veneration among Buddhists of the Nichiren Shōshū branch of Nichiren Buddhism, the Gohonzon had been inscribed on October 12, 1279, and was placed in the specially constructed Sho Hondo at Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan.
• Troops from Portugal invaded the West African nation of Senegal, believed to be housing the rebel group Acção Revolucionária Armada (ARA), in an action condemned by the U.N. Security Council.