vietnam in the -- to congress in 1972? >> i ran to stop the war in vietnam. that was my platform. and i was elected on that basis. people in my district didn't want the war, and i made it very clear what my position was on it. and that's, i believe, one of the reasons i was elected. maybe the key reason. >> i was a supporter of the war. he would have been very close to lyndon johnson. he'd been a big supporter of the war from the get-go and received many campaign contributions from contractors who were doing work in connection with the war. >> the steam ship just arrived. 1974-75, the ford administration is looking to provide more

assistance to the government of south vietnam. congress doesn't support that. do you recall what was going on at the time? >> i actually don't recall those votes or that debate, but i don't know that it's not any surprise to me that the house decided not to do that. i mean, we had -- the troops were out. we wanted the war over. the policy of vietnamization that richard nixon claimed was going to work hadn't worked. it was a civil war. and we didn't think the u.s. should be playing a role in it anymore. what i do remember vividly was at the very end there were some efforts to give president ford additional powers to -- war-making powers to help in the evacuation. and there was a big debate in the house about that. i participated in that.

the reason i remember it so vividly is it must have taken place between one and two or 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning so, that stuck in my mind. and those efforts to get him additional war-making powers were rejected given the experience of gulf of tonkan resolution and giving presidents war-making powers unless it was very clear and urgent. and the need was overwhelming. >> what role did you play, if any, if shaping legislation that made it harder for the government to undertake illegal wiretapping? this is in the ford administration, the foreign intelligence surveillance act. >> no, i was not part of that. i helped to draft an amendment that was adopted that required

notice to congress before covert actions could be undertaken, but that was not necessarily a result of the watergate revelations as much as the revelations of the church committee. >> is that the hughes/ryan? wasn't that the hughes/ryan -- this is the -- >> yeah, this is an amendment to legislation that created the -- may have created the intelligence committees. >> liz is there any other anecdotes you'd like to preserve for the library? >> well, i'm sure more will come to mind, but -- oh, yeah, well, the only other one i'd like to mention is that when you asked about my election and campaign for election to congress, and i was very much opposed to the war. and when i got to washington, i think just as we -- just before we were inaugurated or sworn in,

i should say, the carpet bombing of hanoi took place. >> christmas bombing. >> christmas pomg and carpet bombing. and i decided that i would not go to the white house and shake the president's hand after that. and i didn't. >> you worked for john lindsey, didn't you? what did you do for him? >> i worked as one of his assistant assistants. assistant to the mayor. my job was to be liaison to the parks cultural affairs recreation department, and then i did work on economic development for mayor lindsey. you know, actually, when i was in congress it was a very much

more bipartisan endeavor than it has deteriorated into in subsequent decades. democrats and republicans were trying to work together on many issues. i mean, of course there were disagreements but you didn't have the hostility and the enmity and the name calling and the rancor that exists today. and that's wrong. it's bad. we worked -- i mean, i think it was very important that we had a bipartisan result on the impeachment. i don't think it would have been successful otherwise. might have been that richard nixon would have finished his term. >> you wouldn't date the beginning of the rancorous -- >> no. >> -- behavior to this period? >> no, because democrats and republicans continued to work together throughout my tenure in congress. through 1981.

so, no. i don't think that this changed anything because in the end, all the republicans joined with us. so i don't think watergate started this process. not at all. >> thank you, liz. >> thank you. >> thursday on "washington journal," stephen moore, "wall street journal" editorial board member joins us to talk about the president's and republican budget proposals, the buffett rule and tax policy. then howard kurtz, newsweek's washington bureau chief and lauren ashburn, editor in chief of the daily download discuss their newly launched daily download website and the use of social media in the presidential campaign. and barry kluger author of "a life undone, a father's journey." "washington journal" airs every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> our specific mission is to

work to see that human rights remain a central component of american foreign policy. and that when we are evaluating our foreign policy moves globally, human rights can never be the only consideration, but it has to be part of the dialogue. >> katrina lantos swett. >> when we abandon our deepest values. whether we're talking about torture as it relates to the war on terror or the reset policy with russia and the upcoming issue of whether or not the u.s. congress should pass the accountability act which is -- we don't need to go to into the details of that policy issue but whether or not we're going to stay on record as saying human rights matter. they matter in russia. they matter in china. >> more with katrina lanto lantos swett, sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's q&a.

>> we now continue our look at american history tv in primetime with tonight's focus on the life and career of richard nixon. jerry schilling met elvis presley in 1954 and became a close friend and bodyguard to the star. mr. schilling was present in the oval office when elvis met president nixon. we'll now hear about the events leading up to that white house visit and what happened when the two men met. held at the nixon presidential library, this is about an hour. >> you get a call out of the blue. it's elvis. tell us about it. set it up. >> well, i was in culver city, california. across the street from mgm studios. i quit working for elvis. i was doing my film editing stuff, and i had gone to bed, i think. yeah it was saturday and the

phone rings. and i go, who is this? it's me. so i realize it's elvis presley. nobody else would say it's me. and call in the middle of the night. i don't know. you know, i was always glad to hear from elvis. so i perked up. he said, jerry, i'm changing planes in dallas, and could you pick me up at the airport? i said who is with you? he said nobody. this is a guy who hadn't traveled without an entourage in 15 years. he said i don't want anybody in the world to know where i am. i said okay. you know, i said -- and elvis has given me his flight number and what time. he doesn't do those things. people do those things for him. he had it all down. i said, okay. i'll come in my car. it will not draw any attention

for sure. and he said, well, if you want to, we had a limousine driver named gerald peters that elvis trusted because he used to drive for winston churchill. and elvis -- when elvis found that out, from then on, he was -- elvis knighted him the sir gerald. so i called gerald and we went and i guess it was 2:00 in the morning. american airlines flight coming in from dallas and at that particular time you could -- a big vip, you could drive up to the plane. and we actually did. and -- >> this is less than a week before christmas. >> yes. >> this is december? 1970? >> that's right. 2:00 in the morning. you go with sir gerald. >> sir gerald. >> to pick him up. now he's flying commercial. >> he's flying commercial. he's got a credit card. he didn't have any money. >> he's got a credit card. >> he's kind of identifiable

with a credit card. >> i was going to say, that's a pretty darn good credit card. an american express with elvis presley. >> we should do a commercial with elvis presley and american express. >> he did not leave home without it? >> he did not leave home without it. he left everything else, but he had his american express card. >> did you ever find out why he -- why did he -- >> yeah, he -- >> why did he do this? >> elvis, as we all, as history knows he was a very generous guy, and it was christmastime. and he was doing some big shopping. you know, when elvis did big shopping it was buying cars for people, you know, and things like that. and his father and his wife talked to him about it and were kind of -- you know, telling him he had to slow down and he couldn't -- and he got very upset. he told me the next day, he ran this all down to me. he said, you know, it's my money and, you know, i understand why

they are talking to me. and i appreciate all that. and i think what really tipped him off is then they called colonel parker on the west coast about his spending and he said, it's none of his business. and he got in a car. i think he went to the airport, got on the first plane out of memphis. i don't think he knew where it was going. it wound up in washington. he checked into a hotel and then thought, what the hell am i going to do? so then that's when he decided to call me because i wasn't working for him. so i wasn't part of, you know, the whole structure at that time. and decided to come out and get me in los angeles. and i thought that was kind of it. you know, i picked him up and i never will forget, he's walking down the steps of the plane. he's got this little box. and i said, elvis, what's that?

he says, my luggage. don't forget. this is a guy who never traveled and took care of things himself. back at that time if you were first class, they give you a little box with a wash rag and a toothpaste and maybe some mouth -- that was his luggage. he was traveling light. and so he had a home in los angeles on hillcrest drive, kind of part of beverly hills. and after elvis -- he did not want anyone to know where he was. i promised to take a couple of stewardesses home. so we had to drive them home and then we went to the house. and it was very late at that particular time. and he was tired. he said, you know, i think i'll turn in. i said great. he went to bed and then it hit me.

i'm the only person in the world who knows where elvis presley is. i mean, i'm thinking of priscilla, vernon presley. these people. even the guys. has he been kidnapped? has he been killed? you know, this was unheard of. and so there was no way i was going to sleep. and so the next afternoon was sunday and he gets up. he's in a great mood. that's when he tells me what went on in memphis and on this flight from dallas to los angeles, he had a big problem. the steward -- male steward on the flight saw elvis' guns. and elvis showed him. and his badge and everything to carry a concealed weapon. the guy said you can't do it. so elvis just walked off the plane. the pilot came after him, mr. presley, it's okay. you can bring your weapons. he had three guns.

you can bring your weapons on. can you imagine that today? so i'm hearing all this stuff. but we had this nice sunday afternoon. we made coffee. we were -- >> what did he wear on that flight? he didn't wear the vegas outfit, did he? >> he wore the same outfit he -- on the flight that we wore to washington. >> the same outfit, with the international hotel belt? >> yeah. >> the velvet? >> don't forget. he wasn't used to -- he doesn't pack a suitcase. he was mad. he left in a hurry. you know, he had a change of clothes at the hillcrest house, but then basically wore the same thing that he had worn to go to washington the first time. which all he did was check in the hotel and then check out. >> at the hillcrest house is that where he picked up the

ceremonial pistol that he would give -- >> yeah, he had bought that for himself. elvis was -- he was a historian. he read history books. he -- down the street from us was omar bradley. and elvis was just blown away. so he took me to meet -- not on this earlier. i have a signed picture from omar bradley. he was a little old man, very old at the time, but elvis knew his history. and elvis would go and -- this sounds weird, but he would pat omar bradley on the head. they really had this great relationship. now i look at war films and i see the bradley tanks. i know this little guy. who was a great general. and elvis knew that. it is amazing. >> elvis must have watched the movie "patton" then. >> i watched it probably seven times with him. that's another speech he could probably have done, too, when

george scott gets up there and -- yeah, we went down to hollywood boulevard to the egyptian theater, i believe it was. sneak in after the show would start and watch patton three nights in a row. finally by the third night, the word was getting out that elvis was showing up. so, yeah he was a real history buff. elvis knew his history. when elvis walked into the oval room in the office, he knew where he was. he knew what it meant. and he knew that he was in the presence of the president. he knew very much what all that meant. >> all right. well, let's get to that. he's with you in l.a. you know that you are the only person in the world who knows where elvis presley is. you aren't getting much sleep that night. >> none. >> okay. it's the next morning. it's a sunday morning. you are chatting with him. you've been told the story. when do you find out you're going to washington, d.c.?

>> well, now, keep in mind this is elvis time so it's actually sunday afternoon. it's our morning. it's coffee, but it's 3:00 in the afternoon. >> all right. it's elvis time. >> nocturnal hours. we have this nice talk. he tells me what's been going on. it was really great. good friends. one on one coffee and whatever. and i'm feeling pretty good, you know. and he's in great shape because he had a good night's rest. he's not mad at the situation. he's kind of laughing about it. and then he springs this on me. jerry, i'm going back to washington tonight. i want you to go with me. and i said -- here i'd scraped these labels off the boxes for a year to get to paramount as a film editor. it's sunday night. i've got to be at work monday morning. i said, elvis, i can't.

i got this job as you know as a film editor. i have to be at work in the morning. and he -- god he was hard to say no to. he got this look on his face and all of the fun we had just kind of sunk and it was like, all right. i'll go by myself. well, of course, in my mind i'm thinking, maybe the next pilot may not run after him and tell him he can take his gun. so many things could have happened. he said, jerry, i will charter a learjet as soon as we get there to fly you back. and i go, you know, elvis, learjet is not going to get me back any faster than a commercial plane, and then i know part of the problem is he's been spending all this money. so i said, i tell you what i'll do, elvis. you know, your wife and your

father and everybody, they have no idea where you are or what has happened to you. if you'll let me call graceland and if i can have one of the security guys come up and meet us, i will fly back on the all-nighter to washington with you if i can make that call. and he said, okay. you can make that call. and so i immediately had to go into this -- i call graceland. sonny answered the phone. i said, sonny, you know, here's the deal. i checked the airlines. i knew there was an all-night flight. i had elvis' american express card. so i booked us a couple of tickets on the all-night flight. and sonny, i told him when we were getting in. i said just get on the first plane. meet us up there because, man, i've got to get back. i was worried about my assistant editor. i had no idea the histor ike had no idea what we were going to

do. so he just said we're going to washington. and so i started making arrangements and everything. and got them to come pick us up again. charged everything on the american express card, but we had no cash. now elvis will bring with him a signed photograph of lisa marie and priscilla. so did he pick that up at hillcrest? >> no, i think this was pictures that he married in his wallet. carried with him all the time and i think he signed it to the president. >> these are things he carried all the time? >> yeah. he carried a picture of priscilla and lisa with him in his wallet, i think in -- >> these are a little bigger than that. >> then he picked them up at the hillcrest house. >> but he also picked up the gun at the hillcrest house. >> he picked up, i think it was a world war ii memorial gun. that was at the hillcrest house.

and he took that. i didn't know why he was taking it. elvis you know, he didn't just -- when you were used to being with him and not knowing where you were going or what you were doing it was kind of normal. i've been doing that for years with him. he's going to washington. i knew there was a girl he knew back there. there was all kinds of things that -- and, you know, he wanted me to go back with him. when he is saying he's going to charter a learjet and when i saw how important it was that i went back with him, i didn't ask questions. i started making arrangements. hotels, airlines, limos, all that kind of stuff. and i wasn't watching everything he was doing. i mean, at this point, as funny as it sounds, you know, elvis was my friend. he was just another guy. i've been around him -- where he's bored with me, i'm bored with him sometimes. we just hadn't seen each other in awhile so it was really great. on a day-to-day basis you don't watch what your friend does all

the time. so i didn't know what he was doing. i was busy making arrangements, worrying about if i was going to lose my job and all those things. and so, anyway, i think the flight left at 11:00, 12:00, midnight. and we, like i said, we didn't have any cash on us. and i found elvis a checkbook of elvis' at the hillcrest house. he had a desk. in the drawer i thought was a checkbook. i called gerald peters. it was a sunday night. i said, gerald, we don't have any cash. do you have any suggestions where i can get a check cashed? he said i know someone at the beverly hilton hotel that might take a $500 check. so i made out the check and had elvis sign it. so here we go to washington.

we only have $500 and i'm traveling with elvis presley. we go. we get the check cash ed. they preboard us on the american airlines flight to washington, the all-nighter. we have two seats in first class. and then they started letting the passengers on and i couldn't help but notice it was a lot of young boys in military outfits coming back from vietnam. and elvis was always very cordial. if somebody recognized him, he was speaking to certain people. certain people walked by. they didn't know elvis was sitting there. i was by the window. elvis was on the aisle seat. and there was one young soldier that struck up a conversation with elvis. and so i was like reading a magazine. you know, they seemed to be getting along fine. and i get this little elbow

nudge. jerry, where's that money? i said what money? he said, the $500. i know elvis. i'm saying, that's all we got. he said, man, you don't understand. this guy is coming home from the war to see his family. i want him to have it. so there went the $500. and we go to washington penniless. but, you know, elvis, we could get by with a lot. he was fairly well known, so we were okay. >> he decides to write a letter. >> yes. one of the stewardesses that was making sure, you know, everything was okay with elvis and everything toemd him that senator george murphy from california was on the plane. and after we took off, elvis

went back in coach and introduced himself to george murphy. and, you know, i always kind of look to see what's going on because he's a public figure and they seem to be having a nice conversation. so -- and i guess they probably had a 20-minute conversation. elvis came back up and sat down next to me and said, do you think there's any stationery on the flight? and i got the stewardess' attention. and she said, let me go check. and she came back with american airlines stationery. i had known elvis at this point for -- i don't know -- close to 20 years. 18 years. whatever it was. never saw him sit down and write a letter. i think he wrote maybe four or

five in his entire life. most of those were when he was in germany. he wrote his girlfriend. he wrote a couple of guys. that was the letters. and he sat and wrote the letter and then he said, jerry, i just wrote a letter to president nixon. would you proof read it for me? i was honored. you know, that he thought that much of me to proof read a letter from him to the president of the united states. and i said, sure. and i read the letter and, gosh, knowing elvis and knowing him as well as i did, you know, almost brought tears. because i know what his thoughts were. i knew where his heart was and then i had this other emotion like, god is he going to sound like some right wing fanatic? and then i thought, you know

what? who is writing the letter? it is elvis presley and is very reflective of elvis presley. and, you know, we can screw around with it, but i think -- i said, elvis, it's beautiful. send it like it is. he kind of smiled. he sealed it up. and as we were flying, we put, for the president only. i mean, he kept writing things on the outside envelope. and so that's how the letter came about. >> he also included a list of all of his telephone numbers. >> yes. yes. and he also included my name and sonny's name as contacts. he also included his name, jo john burrows, an alias he'd use to check into hotels with. >> where did that come from? >> i don't know. actually, i think there was a character one time in one of the

movies. and then his manners were sometimes you'd call him colonel bu burrows. it was just a combination of something different. john burrows. and i know, i love a letter that says to the president of the united states, i am under an assumed name. you know. it was great. only elvis could do that. >> so the original plan was that he would give it to the senator to send. >> you know, elvis was a doer. he liked to delegate, but by the time he did, he was usually doing something. this was so important to elvis that this letter get to the president. that he -- the only way he knew to make sure is if he did it himself. i tried t t