Ladies and gentlemen:
I am announcing today the withdrawal of an additional 70,000 [troops] from Vietnam over the next 3 months.
This means that our troop ceiling by May 1 will be down to 69,000. This withdrawal has the approval of the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Government of South Vietnam.
There will be another announcement that will be made before May 1 with regard to a further withdrawal.
The Secretary of Defense will brief you on the details of the announcement.
Note: The President spoke at 11:06 a.m. in the Briefing Room at the White House. He spoke without referring to notes.
On the same day, the White House released the transcript of a news briefing by Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird on the withdrawal of United States troops. The transcript is printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 8, p. 50).
Richard Nixon, Remarks Announcing Withdrawal of Additional United States Troops From Vietnam. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/254608
