IT IS with a profound sense of sorrow that the President learned today of the tragic death of John Paul Vann.

Following the dinner, the President and General Secretary Brezhnev signed a treaty and an interim agreement on the limitation of strategic arms in a televised ceremony in St. Vladimir Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace.

In the afternoon, the President met for more than e hours with General Secretary Brezhnev.

I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of May 1972 as National Arthritis Month.

The United States, with the full concurrence of our South Vietnamese allies, has offered the maximum of what any President of the United States could offer.

I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim April 28, 1972 as National Arbor Day.

The Board shall report its finding to the President with respect to these disputes within thirty days from the date of this order.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the United States, including the Act of December 16, 1967, and section 3 of the Economic Stabilization Act Amendments of 1971, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

President Pompidou and I have just concluded our very extensive discussions.

This President, this Government, is unwilling to take that step.

Usually at an occasion like this the President stands up and says, 'I did it,' or the Congress says, 'I did it,' or the Democrats say they did it, the Republicans say they did it, or labor takes the credit, or management takes the credit.

Then I called President Eisenhower and asked him if I could go by and talk with him because I needed his counsel and I needed the strength that comes from it.

President Johnson pledged his continued strong support for this policy.

Happy birthday, Mr. President, and God bless you.

In recognition of these facts, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 22 of May 16, 1957 (71 Stat. 30), has requested the President to proclaim annually the third Friday of May of each year as National Defense Transportation Day.

I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, acting under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, including Section 201(a) (2) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, do proclaim that

Paraphrasing what Secretary Rusk said the other day in response to a question from Congress, he said, 'Well, Senator, could it be that they could perhaps be wrong?' And it just could be that the President was wrong when he made his original request.

It was an act of faith on the part of that great President who established the Peace Corps by Executive order 5 years ago today.