>> you have to have the government's with very little power. the more efficient the government is the more liberties the individual has to give up to give to them. they cannot do their job efficiently unless they have the power to tell you what to do. very interesting, isn't it? and get our society today generally believes that we have to have an efficient government because we have been told time

after time after time we must make the government efficient. that is the road to a loss of freedom. >> to watch this program in its entirety does to booktv.org. simply type the title or the author's name at the top left of the screen and click search. now a recounting of time as flight nurse for the french air force and the agency provided for many who were wounded during a battle in vietnam. she discusses her book at the annual association of the u.s. army to the program is about an hour. >> i have got to begin in washington after so many years. the first time it was in 1954 with president eisenhower give me the medal of liberty. truly honored. gave their life to save the

vietnam from the communists. so many died. asked to give, i could not refuse. i wrote a book which has been translated and published by the association of the u.s. army. i stayed three months in china in 1953 and six months in 1954. i was a flight nurse, and nurse specializing in air operation because air transport may need special care. the plan. position tour established. side. on the fields. gabrielle and marie, dominique

to the east. finally this self isabel for mutual artillery support. the hospital, a surgeon and seven male nurses. in january the second surgeon and his male nurses team were sent. after the attack three parachutes were part of it. for each of them to shelters, one for each. but there was no other hospital.

nick did receive 55. the shelters and 15 in the real animation room. that was quite enough. they went every day. becoming possible. in the first day of march i have been sent for a fortnight. the operation that long and the south of vietnam. when i learned of the terrible attack launched by the vietnamese, at 515 planes were destroyed and the ground before they could take off. miraculously to nesses minutes

to evacuate. i was very sad. far from the battlefield to be the first attack was directed to miles of the central position with artillery fire. heat supporting position fought fiercely, but already in the trenches they had dug ten times greater in number. in a few hours this shelters exploded under enemy fire. by early morning there was practically no able-bodied officers. a shell landed in the middle of the central position.

it fell on the shelter. the commander of the last regime our -- around 5:00 p.m. in the artillery barrage started. after the dailies and shells and the ground assaults the bookish and fell into enemy hands. it could oddly.fought all night. the collapse of the post, to important posts which protected landing. on march 16th 120 mortar shells fell.

3500 refugees. there were wounded. several were killed. in the extra room the only x-ray machine had been destroyed. on the 17th of march and aircraft with the red cross managed to start firing as the loading began. able to walk, the rush to give the board. as the bullets came the pilot pushed. some of the injured were unable. it grows slowly and painfully.

they counted the charged and found 32 of them. many piled together at the rear. it was miraculous that the plane managed to take off. on march 18 when they landed on the streets the flight nurse and the doctor, this one was injured despite his bullet proof vest. they were hit in flight. on march 19th been menaced to save it from of the show which exploded on the very spot he had just left. took off with 15 wounded. the same day i returned to take my place.

400 wounded were still waiting. the commander landed at night. there were plans for the first night which would each make two trips if all went well. the landing strip would be marked by three small lights, to pointing out and one at the end of the airfield. the pilot would have to land. another plan would be circling the area so as to camouflage with its engine the sound of landing aircraft.

the landings, the wanted to make the first one just after. somebody asked for a flight nurse. immediately i got my medical bag and drove off in the jeep. the aircraft was already turning . during the flight there was a short briefing for loading the wounded. thirteen were able to walk on one side of the plan. six severely wounded lying down on stretchers were to be put right on the floor to be as quick as possible and take off before the artillery started firing. we arrived back. the night was dark.

i thought of all the injured man waiting for the recreation. the attempt would succeed. the landing was well. the ambulances were there. everything went smoothly. i shall always remember the expression of joy on the face of the men here directed when he saw me. in the darkness the tired faces of the medical men from the unit then i knew well seemed to emerge. with the plan at take off the wounded celebrated their joy. we were full of hope. we would now start the evacuation's do that night they managed to transport the

wounded. fortunately the ruse was discovered. the last of three plants had to turn back without landing. over the next day's the nighttime stops in order to lower the enemy vigilance. the helicopter evacuated to one side where the sea for seven waited to return them. on march 23 helicopter hit by mortar on takeoff fell and burst into flames. it was the end of the evacuations by helicopter. on march 22 it started again. on the night of march 23 the pilot mechanics have been

injured inside the plant. happily the pilots was seriously injured. the pilot could fly his plane back. on march 24th to ben rest and were hit by the anti-aircraft fire as they dropped. the first plane exploded. the second crashed west. the enemy anti-aircraft became frighteningly accurate. the dropping of the parachuting had to be done he's time. the plans were easy prey. two more planes landed.

the landings were planned on the night of march 26. because of troubles on landing strip when we arrived the shelling intensified. the pilot consider rescheduling because his engine has shown signs of trouble on the way over . when i saw that i rushed to the cockpit. today. the plan was already underway. mao was crushed. on the way back i could only think of those men who believed they were close to freedom. i imagine there despair and went back. i asked my team leader to let me go again since my mission had

not been completed. but that evening the wrote a love letter. i hope that letter would help if i did not return. on march 28 at 415i was off again. but very poor. twice the pilot took off again. on the third attempt we landed on the landing strip, but we drove slightly off track. the ticket of barbwire. they were setting the wounded. the mechanic discovered that the armor had been pearson was leaking. that was terrible news for the

patience. it was still night and it rendered the plane in visible to vietnamese. we watched the flames and the the day was called. i could walk about can't freely, but i was given the following night. prevented the up-and-coming. when the commander arrived the

the artillery fire. the world. the impact shook our bunker. peace is fell from the roof. nobody said a word. to satisfy been used to chant. i could not do descent.

the shelling lasted all night. unit was full. the sketches were placed on the there. according to the unit it was the outside a gentry of the unit, man waited on the the injured had mixed in. as the wounded were brought then

they have been prisoners of war. they give them as much as they could. they put me in charge of emergency care of the most seriously wounded as i had to protect them. i worked under the light of an electric lamp in the corridor one knee on the ground and one on the edge of the stretcher. how could i describe this uninterrupted flow of injured our inability to shelter all of them and to it treats them fast enough. on the basis of this experience the doctor connected then decided it he should be operated on first.

this post terrible choices. the operation texas much time, 546 invitations. the doctor was operating without a break with or without the assistance. we each shook and debris fell in the operating room. fortunately it was covered with parachutes. we head of xv beds. it was packed with the addition of 15 stretches of the ground. the wounded were quickly attended and returned to their units under mortar shells because we had no room to them.

that night the vietnam to three of our positions. only the lead to our unit and the headquarters. the commanding a battery of artillery, running toward him. pulling back the artillery for direct fire right in front of his position moving down the enemy columns. on march 21 at night the wounded could no longer be brought to the hospital because of the shelling which left me more time for those already in the unit's. but the deafening sound of the artillery fire never ceased

during more than three days. the sense of our helpless and ability to saved all our wounded or even bring them under shelter from the shelling became intolerable. when the shelling calmed down the vietnamese were close to the landing field. evacuation's were now impossible . for me it was different. having spent terrible days, the feminine presence for them. of wanted to stay. the second time in april of found the unit transformed into

a small subterranean hospital. the doctor trusted me with the care and oversight of 40 men, but came out. as the center of the units, a long, narrow hallway openings on the right to the shelter for the wounded with beds were. on the left a small corridor led to the operating room. there was an extra room. always started. the trio's room. the study room.

the medical unit was directed by two soldiers. in this every day i attended to the wounded giving shots unchanging bandages and distributing medicine. very soon realized the importance of the presence of a woman in the middle of the battle. when one did the toughest man becomes as vulnerable as a child . i was in no way a mother, a sister, a friend. my mere presence, because i was a woman, seemed to render these men of middle less in human.

if she had not been there i could not have gone through said one man. this is not because. it eliminated the rest of my life. how could i not. it told me every time i walked into the shelter because up. i felt adjuration. so very young. nineteen year-old boy hit by a grenade. his eyes bursts and his hands were a mess. he tried with his poor mutilated hands to play the harmonica to

the great joys of his comrades. nineteen years old, he displayed horribly mutilated by shell fragments. both arms and one leg par to be amputated to avoid the risk of infection there were left open. each band dish cost them. one day. a column in the battle they person expressed a desire to breathe fresh air at the entrance of the surgical unit. asked me to accompany have. so off we went down the long dark tunnel hoping of this could lead been leaning on me.

when we arrived at the end of the total a will to keep dancing these are words one can never forget. never complained. he was in battle with the vietnamese. there were taking part in the attack. one charge end broke out in full voice. hope can back. the injured needed daily attention.

they returned to their quarters. often back into combat. the assault continued every day bringing new casualties. but dropped by to bring cigarettes. the doctor asked him to connect our unit to the neighboring shelter and the engineers creeley. to increase even further drove in the deaths, received parachutes, placed on the there were called the catacombs. it is in the middle of that place that the colonel offer to meet a tiny sheltered tended with parachutes with the caught.

having led the for three weeks of would be sleeping on a stretcher i settled between two on easter day mass was celebrated in the operating room all those who could walk joined. a great favor fill the space. many receive communion. we hope that the rainy season would bring a halt to the fighting, but we had to raise the level beds. the transport and the carrying of stretchers was increasingly difficult.

the the number of troops was diminishing day-by-day. insufficient. many of the injured soldiers returned to the fight to our great admiration. in more than 4,267 men trapped as reinforcements 680 volunteers got through without having been certified as paratrooper. that is something unique. on april 24 if the vietnamese had 35,000 combatants while there were only 3,250 able-bodied men left and 1,000 isabel. on april 209th the colonel

invited me to his cabinet post. he wanted to give me something. when i opened the envelope he held out to me. i discovered to decorations. my heart filled with emotion. the following day the traditional celebration. i joined the colonel at the province post. they honored me with the first class of honor. i was now considered as one of them. that made me happy.

for me the battles raged without ceasing on the post. the positions were being shot by the vietnamese transience of. the position became dramatic. many of them remained unconscious for hours in the mud of the morning of may 6th it was a sound made by a rocket launcher. when my work was done later on that night i returned to the command post lie on a parachute closing-not to disturb. i followed minute by minute listening to radio.

it said the colonel who ask me to stay with them saying that i can bring shills to them. i heard the terrible explosions. the explosives that have been placed the being launched. i heard the are breaking of the unit commander. 30 feet away, give our love to our families. it's over for us. by dawn all of them appeared. the breakout was planned for that evening. there will stay behind to guarantee the safeguarding of the wounded. i returned to the surgical unit where the injured were to be brought in.

i learned that any breakout would not occur. the last combatant was too exhausted. the fighting would cease. the men were ordered to destroy their arms by 5:00 everything possible to allow weapons and ammunition. at 430 of whatever it to say goodbye. we all were close. they gave me letters and addresses of their families. back the unit i informed my patient that it would stop at 5:00. they were greatly relieved.

i distributed the last of the cigarettes. a strong silence settled over. we waited. at about 530 in the afternoon of may 30th they didn't fire and brought us out of the shelter. the wounded remained on the stretchers. the unit offered a vision. was covered. that was for the first few days. after marching for 150 meters we received an order to return to our troops unit. on may 8 the injured the could

walk left the shelter of the unit happy to escape the suffocating atmosphere, but the wounded were asked for three more days until the fall. i remained alone with the loan these in there. those three days left an awful memory. we had no electricity. antibiotics which were so essential. though large bandage for those injured. the vietnamese made it a point

to organize a hospital under the tents made of the parachutes. during the installation, which took two days we were forbidden to approach. we use that break to rest a little. it was sufficient. after those two days a was allowed to treat the wounded, but under the watching of the vietnamese. under the parachute tent where the wounded were brought on a stretcher. strips of fabric. i was not allowed in the tense, especially the officers. been separated for the man.

it could only make a few signs of. on may 21st the vietnamese announced that with the manifestation of joy. i refused to leave my patients behind. besides i did not want to take the place of one of them. so i requested to postpone my departure until the end of the recreation and they allowed it. on may 24th the vietnamese forces forced me to leave because international opinion was suggesting that they were holding me against my will. i was very sad to leave my patience and the medical staff.

the last evacuation stood place on may 26. they knew so well how to make us relax and laugh during the darkest moment. they accompanied me where there were waiting. with tears in my eyes i had both of them as i walked away. he called out what is going to become of us know? the next day the medical team took the direction of the camp prisoners. happily a week later they were liberated. adapted did news on the first of june when i arrived.

may 26th was the last. a lot of injured would not be released, left for the prison camps. live in of a condition. 70 percent of them died during the march. the time. in those little bit took me they told me i do not know if you realize that the whole world has its eyes on you. the only frenchwoman. a prisoner. dozens of journalists and photographers a wait for your

arrival. i answered him, so it seems that the hardest part is behind me. happily the welcome where there were waiting for us. in military. it was a special moment that still warms my heart every time i think of it. the detachment presented us. i was elated. she knew that i had been named first class. under the tent of the medical units i rejoined by patients and

the flight nurses. flow of joy. after a moment i left. when we arrived it was nighttime as the door opened blinded by let me and the camera flashes i could not help stepping back and thinking about what i said. it seems that the hardest part is not behind. however, i was glad to be free and to rejoin the family. never did i regret finding myself trapped. the difficult moments that i experienced their remain firmly unforgettable. i attach a great prize to the

and the sympathy of those brave men with whom i had the privilege to share my life for almost two months. it is their courage which in spite of the defeat saved. [applauding] [applauding] that you very much. >> to you have any questions to back. >> i have a question. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> i am personally very curious because sitting next to you is a gentleman who served with the american forces in the delta and vietnam. the separation of many years, 1954 and 1968, i am just curious the difference, the feeling that might be expressed.

[inaudible conversations] >> i've filled much sympathy for you. my time of prisoner has been very short. of around me there were very there were very. [inaudible] they wonder what we learned. i was never -- i am a woman.

i don't think they will keep me. i was. at what time after the first days they decide to give to the team, to the medical team a place to stay. they would like me to go and live with their girls. at that time i was very afraid. happily the doctor told them she has been with us in a difficult time. we want to keep it with us.

>> greatly respect your courage. did you ever go back? >> i never went back. i went back to vietnam 21, but go, and i didn't want to go. decide to build the new house the soil, ec. mckenzie said.[inaudible conver]

[inaudible conversations] >> thai. i really don't have a question, but i think i speak on behalf of some of the military spouses that are here with me. in light of your great courage if that ever happened to anyone of our husbands somebody like you would always be there. >> thank you. [applauding] and it was not only for the wounded. one day the weather was very

clear. there was a parachute. and we went out to see them, and it was beautiful. coming down the sky. very young close to me. when he get up he said, aw, a woman here. his voice had something optimist iqbal. not so terrific as they say.

>> thank you very much for your presentation. did you remain in the military after in the china? >> yes. in basement. after that once. a left at that time. another doctor, the order of the rehabilitation center invited me to come. at that time the center which is beautiful, of the starting to be renovated. perhaps the cadel if i go to the state. that was very interesting.

after that i could work during the two years before i went to madagascar with my husband. >> any of the questions to mack. >> i could not go back. it was forbidden. >> do the survivors of the camp get together periodically? the meet with them periodically? >> there was an association of the combatants. but the president and the general secretary were so tired

that after the anniversary of the 15th anniversary they decide to close it. but it remains some small association where the committee. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] for instance, it is no more an association. there are many, but it's not the

said. we had news every three months. we received a letter, a big ledger. the stop all association. [inaudible conversations] >> you may not be aware, but her husband is here. with the stand-up? three tours in indochina. he commanded the unit. then he was an intelligence officer. then he parachuted into the country north.

he is serving -- we are honored to have them. [applauding] >> this event was part of the annual association of the u.s. army meeting. for more information visit a usa got word. >> at the national press club of this night. this school of maryland is represented, and they are seeking donations for their library. joining us is one of steve's students. what is the cs code? >> a preparatory school that just opened last year. it's a boarding school. it focuses on address kids in the city. >> why are you at risk?

>> well, i'm not getting the of vicinity i would be getting at a public school. that's why. >> what are you studying at the scene school? : have you been doing there? >> right now i'm studying. taking algebra to. and doing physical science. i've been going to see the school for the past three years now. >> and? >> and i'm in the eighth grade. >> to you like it? >> i do like it. it's very enjoyable. >> what do you want to study in college? >> i'm planning on majoring in computer engineering. and maybe philosophy. i have not made up my mind get. i plan on going to princeton university. >> it looks from this brochure like you have a pretty famous visitor at the school. >> well, our sister school at barack obama, the president.

>> and is see a supporter? >> yes. yes he is. he actually passed a bill that day for the school. >> thanks. going to meet some of your fellow students. want to start here with cathy. kathy, what are you doing at the national press club office? >> i have a library assistant. >> ended somebody wanted to make a donation how could they do that? what kind of books the looking for? >> well, that would pick which one they want. anyone. they put it in the bag. they get to check out. >> are people donating? >> is, they are. >> reporter: told you and what are you studying? >> thirteen, and i'm in the eighth grade. >> raven is also with us. one of you reading? >> right now i'm reading deep, dark and dangerous. >> what is it about? >> it is about a girl named

alice who really wants to know what the photograph is. her mom is going crazy about that. she goes to figure out of the mystery. the mystery. >> now, our boats important to you in new studies to back to you enjoy reading? >> yes. books are very important. it helps me figure out different tanks and subjects. yes. >> thanks. cynthia. what your reading to mack. >> i'm reading it's a small world after all. it is a book about a girl. different people find themselves. they go for love. they go just to shop. one day she finds her best friend's boyfriend in the mall with another girl and tries to

tell her best friend. her best friend as a believer. now she has to fight to defend herself. >> to this stress reading and writing? >> yes. that is of date value. it is a 24 hour school. >> how long have you been going? what did you choose? >> i've been going for three years. i'm an eighth grader. access to go because of done it would be a better opportunity for me to go. >> the people listening to this interview want to donate books is there a web site? >> yes, you can go to the library web site. >> what is the seed schools would set? >> sees cool indeed that award. >> so if people want to donate what kind of book so you looking for? it looks like you have some pretty high classbooks year. time, alex kirch up.

>> yes. ap level. taking sats again this year. so what we read is not the average will school level. we're looking for fiction books and nonfiction. >> ladies and a think you very much. chris, thank you very much. this is this the school in maryland that we are talking about. >> next pulitzer prize-winning historian joseph ellis and recounts the 1200 letters that john and abigail adams exchange to throw out there over 50 year marriage. the letters provide an understanding of the addamses personal relationship as well as an extended discourse on the politics of their time. joseph ellis discusses his book at politics and prose bookstore in washington d.c. the program is just over 45 minutes. >> i'm not going to read to you. and going to read a