1968 was not completely black. Good news, sometimes great news, sneaked through the otherwise bleak barrage of bad news.
While the Tet Offensive of the Viet Cong against the forces of the U.S. and South Vietnam continued in a few places, the Winter Olympics got underway in Grenoble, France.
On February 10, 1968, Peggy Fleming won the gold medal in women’s singles figure skating.
Photo: IOC photo, via AllSport
It was the only gold medal the U.S. team won at Grenoble, but it capped the dramatic return of the U.S. figure skating team after a 1961 airplane crash that killed many members and coaches of the team, including Peggy Fleming’s coach. Fleming was just 11 at the time of the crash (she was not aboard the airplane), but the recovery of U.S. skating fell on her shoulders.
Without a stable of older mentors, Fleming had to invent the grace and style for which she has remained famous. 40 years later, now a grandmother, Fleming is still in demand as a speaker, commentator, and symbol of grace under pressure.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Yes, after King’s assassination. I believe it was the first time since the great war that DC had been put under military control. The DC area was very different then– still a small, relatively country town. Tyson’s Corner, now a mega-center for the Beltway Bandits (government contractors), was then a genuine corner where Rte 123 crossed Rte 7. There had also been a series of political assassinations in addition to Dr King’s (Malcolm X, George Rockwell(?))
Peggy Fleming’s performance was very heartening. Fleming, as I recall, was a very different skater than the earlier women winners. And, of course, no Tonya Harding.
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Do you mean during the riots?
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I remember the event but had forgotten it was that same year as when the paratroopers invaded DC.
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