mothers and fathers and they felt the same loneliness. that's how the war ended for me vietnam was our finest hour, a story that was the defining event of our lives and our profession. what a pity so many of our beloved friends died there. for many of us, covering wars will be the biggest thing we do in our lives. our central experience. and it will assure us lasting membership in one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. so we gather here this fall evening to look back over our finest hours, to recapture the excitement and camaraderie of those times to see things the way they were, to review our

lives, and to celebrate each other and those beloved ones who have passed away over the years. it is a great honor for me to be part of this celebration tonight, to sit among those whom i admire and have loved for a lifetime. thank you very much for having me here. [ applause ] we were concerned about getting the people who had worked with us over the years out of the country as kevin delaney told you and in large measure we did. there were, however, a few light moments. deadline pressures did not loosen up at the very end. and the last battle that the south vietnamese army fought was

in a place called swan lock not too far outside saigon. some of us had gone down there every day because, to tell the truth, there was nothing else to do. the only other thing to do was to go and cover the lines of thousands of people outside the u.s. embassy hoping for visas to come to this country and that was even more of a downer than the battle, let me tell you. so we want to swan lock and we went as far as we could until the firefight made us go back. some of our colleagues rushed up one day in a jeep. they were on deadline and they wanted us to understand that. they said what's going on up there? well, we said, those of us who have been up there, there's a firefight up there, there are mortars incoming. there's sniper fire. it's not very pleasant. and one of the them picked up a tape recorder and said mortar fire incoming up the road, not the very police achbt, and they turned around and got out of there. but they made their deadline. i saw their story when i got out of vietnam.

thank you all for being here. it's been a long evening. it's been wonderful to share this with you. [ applause ] >> i'm ron nessen and i covered the vietnam war for nbc. i've always regretted that i was pot in saigon at the end of the war with my reporting colleagues.ot in saigon at the war with my reporting colleagues.not in saigon at the war with my reporting colleagues. but after five tours, my role had changed. i was the white house press secretary to president ford. so the end for me began in march 1975 when president ford went to palm springs, california for his annual easter golfing vacation. every day on the first tee and on the 18th green, he was bombarded with questions from reporters who had seen tv pictures of the south vietnamese army dissolving soldier, shoving

women and children out of the way to scramble aboard evacuation planes and ships. and president ford dispatched his army chief of staff to assess the situation. and he also sent his irrepressible photographer, david kennerly, whom many of you know, he had spent 2 1/2 years in vietnam for a time. and president ford knew that david would give him a plain english appraisal of what was happening. and he did. david came back and said the generals are bull shitting you. meanwhile the networks had asked the white house to help evacuate hair american and vietnamese staffers as you heard aboard chartered jets. and when that work got a surprise when one of its vietnamese cameramen showed up for the evacuation flight with both of his wives. on april 28th, the north

vietnamese began shelling the airport and the evacuation flights were stopped. and the president gave the order to commence operation frequent wind. 34 helicopters shuttling back and forth from carriers on the south china sea to lift people off the roof of the embassy in the final withdrawal. it lasted for 19 hours. during that time, the white house staff, which was feeling great deal of stress and depression, especially david and myself and some others who had been thin vee either family, we tried to relieve that with gallos humor. at one point henry kissinger came into don rumsfeld's office and proclaimed i am the only secretary of state who ever lost two countries in three weeks. first cambodia, now vietnam. as the second dawn approached in saigon, the helicopter pilots

were getting weary, but ambassador graham martin wouldn't leave without a direct order from the president. and so the order was given. and the air lift ended. 1,000 americans and vee aetna piece were lifted out, but thousands left clawing at the gates. it was then time to announce officially the end of the war. and kissinger and i walked across to the old executive office building for a briefing. and i was astounded that the turnout was so small considering the historic moment, but it was late in the afternoon and reporters were close to deadline and many decided to watch the announcement the in their offices. and i thought to myself, this war is not ending where a whimper or a bang, it's ending with a yawn. and i read on behalf of president ford the statement that the evacuation has thousand been completed, this action closes a chapter in the american experience. the president asked all

americans to close ranks to avoid recriminal nations about the past, to look ahead to the many goals we share. and to work together on the great task that remained to be accomplished. when kissinger and i came off the stage, we were told that the evacuation in fact was not over, that 129 marines were still in the embassy compound waiting for helicopters to come back and pick them up. and we then haggled over how to explain the erroneous announcement that the evacuation was over. and to break the tension, kissinger again tried some bleak humor. he said i guess you could say the end of the evacuation is at hand. a reference to his premature 1972 declaration that peace was at hand. some in the white house proposed not saying anything about the erroneous announcement and the delayed evacuation of the marines. but don rumsfeld objected to that and said this war has been

marked by so many lies and evasions, that it's not right to end with one last lie. so we didn't. we did announce that there had been a mistake in pronouncement that the evacuation was over, it wasn't, but it soon would be. everyone obviously in the white house was feeling sad about the occasion. and again particularly those of us who had been there. and we did manage to laugh at one last kennerly joke. those of who you know david know that he is page us for his good news/bad news jokes. and he said the good news is the war is over. the bad news is we lost. [ applause ] when i was embedded in

eastern afghanistan, soldiers started telling me that the u.s. government was wasting tens of billions of dollars on totally mismanaged development and logistics contracts. >> in funding the enemy, douglas wissing follows the money in afghanistan and finds corruption from top to bottom right into the hands of the taliban. >> i was in one meeting where the brigade commander, in-creditly effective guide named colonel mike howard, this is not long after president obama took office, and the state department was out there saying, okay, water going to give and you whole bunch of development money. it's counter insurgency.going tu whole bunch of development money. it's counter insurgency. win their hearts and minds. and colonel howard said don't send me anymore money. send me contract officers that can oversee this stuff. i need people. i don't need more money. >> douglas wissing on bank rolling the enemy sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. and on may 6th, look for our q&a

interview with robert c ocharo. his multivolume biography of the 36th president. up next is a 1967 cbs news special report titled "the ordeal of con thien" about and ongoing battle in the vietnam war. mike wall has hosts this half hour special report. >> because of the following cbs news special report, the program normally seen at this time will not be presented today. [ gunshots ]

>> we can't reach those big guns and they keep dropping in. like a big bull's-eye on the top of the hill. you can't be safe. you can be lucky that's it. >> stuff handing all over. bouncing off you. and you're just scared every time. and it gets worse. closer get, the more they throw. the more you get scared. and you get up feeling just to be alive after one of those. >> about if i live 100 year, i'll never ever be able to tell the storys, i'll never ever be able to tell the story the twa really happened. these young kids, when we were all boxed in, they were all over our perimeter and we're throwing grenades and i got pretty close and just run up to one these kids and say marine, we're going

to get out of here, aren't we? and the kid looked up to you and say you're damn right we are, skipper. >> those marines are talking about a place named con thien, an obscure output in vietnam. con thien is a bit areally exposed target just two miles below the bmz. american marines have been under fire there since last may in just the last four weeks, they have suffered over 70 dead, 1,000 wounded. in the next half hour, we shall examine the ordeal of con thien. >> this is a cbs news special report. the ordeal of con thien. this broadcast is brought to you by -- here is cbs news correspondent mike wallace. >> con thien is here. two miles south of the demilitarized zone at the narrow top of south vietnam, 12 miles inland from the south china sea.

it is a desolate hilltop collection of guns and bunkers looking north across the dmz into north vietnam. its importance lies in the fact that it's on a main infiltration route into the south pft loss of con thien could help open the way for the estimated 35,000 communist troops now massed in the dmz area. to seal off south vietnam from the north. but more than that its loss would give the north vietnamese that one big elusive prop began it take victory they've been searching for. they would prize a victory as a miniature replica of their vehicle koefr over the french in 1954. it is vulnerable. it is the least defensible because it is so close to north vietnamese territory. the enemy artillery can pound con thien around the clock with devastating effect.

and our ground troops cannot go into north vietnam to knock out those guns. for the marines at con thien, this is what it's like.

>> medevac asap. >> put your arm around him.

>> want me to give you a hand?

>> i'll call and get a medevac.

>> 680100. 680100. >> 680100. >> here are the the two tanks, you see them? the small planet about 300

meters right where that big tree is out there. southeast. >> what happened to your squad 134. >> she was hit. most of him was hit by slan nell. >> you came here full strength. >> i had 13 men when i came. >> and it's four days later and how many are still here? >> six. >> i think we're just occupying too many men. i'm losing too many men. we stay here too much longer, we

wouldn't have much left of this platoon, let alone the company. i see about three, four people get it a day. not real bad, but enough to be medevacked. cut my platoon down. >> isn't that all part of war as the generals say? >> sure it is, but for even months up here, one battalion ain't going to have much left if that's much war. ought to rotate more i think. send us back where we can get new men and train people thp they're coming out green and can't kn don't know how to act. >> rifle's been jamming. mud has slowed everything down. artillery comes in everywhere. and just gets pretty futile and frustrating sometimes. >> really depressing part about it is there isn't really much you can do. you see the rounds come in, you you see your buddies get blown away an woud wounded. stuff like that.

>> i can't say i'm scared stiff, but i'm scared. after a while, you know it's going to come. you can't do nothing about it and you just let the guy. about only they think you can do. >> do you have any idea how the war is going? >> yeah if we don't get more people up in this area real quick, we don't get more b-52s real fast, then these people will be all the way down as hanang before anybody knows it. >> nerve agree? >> 100%. >> what kind of support are the marines get something jen westmoreland says the americans are responding with the greats concentration of conventional fire power in history. the u.s. artillery fire is ten times greater than the enemies. it comes from the outpost corners of what is called leather neck square. the batteries fire off as many as 10,000 shells daily. lobbing them over the heads of the men of con thien deep in to

the demilitarized zone. and then there are the b-52 bombers striking from nearby thailand. they pound the zone day in, day out, with tons of explosives. with this sat chur race, why haven't the positions been destroyed? marine commanders say enemy guns are out of deep caves and tunnels, only a direct hit can silence them. and there has been no silence at the con thien. the story of how con thien came to be a miniature korea began last may. the marines there were in construction battalions clearing

strips to help protect against attacks. the outpost was little more than a few trenches doug in a hilltop tooen still green and unscorched, manned by 300 south vee aetna piece civilian regulars advised by a dead. 200 of them like this one. north vietnamese regulars. the enemy had struck with a force of 1200 men. captured enemy weapons would gadhafi frer all over the perimeter. the cost to the americans included 124 wounded, ever these 110 were marines. the rest special forces men.

and there were our own dead, 44 americans all-together, all of them marines. the first to fall at con thien. for the next few months, there was less action than preparation for action. the marines had come to stay, to it take control of con thien from the south vietnamese. the plan was to establish a post on the hill stop that could be more easily defended. that meant more bunkers and well protected gun emplacements. the expectation was for another ground assault. enemy artillery was fairly inactive until july when it got busier. the americans retaliated with air strikes. for the rest of july and august, the marines at con thien used their own l. own guns to good effect. the ammunition, an endless supply, came in daily. and it was used up daily. this was the end of a supply life line that began and arrived

at con thien six miles to the south. there were tents near by to house a complimeement that incld about 1,000 men. no matter how you look at it, those were better days. more time for thing wills like the casual cleaning of weapons. but nothing hat con thien has been casual since september came.at con thien has been casual since september came. the first 25 days of this month, con thien had to fight back against ground assaults and a sudden calculated escalation of enemy artillery, the most intense about a rachblgt war. at times, the shouts of incoming coming heard above the noise of our own guns. there has been a slight let up in the last few days. but marines still must patrol the perimeter of con thien and for these men, the dangers multiplied by the threat of ambush. the kind of war that's going on around con thien inspired one young marine to put his feelings into a poem. >> one youthful soldier and i fought across the sea, we were

young and cold hearts, a bloody savagery. born of in-dig nation, children of our time, hashens of creation, dieing in our prime. >> what made you write that poem? >> just the way things are. >> the commanders in vietnam, the men who must decide when ordeals must be born, look at the ordeal at con thien from a different vantage point. we talked with general william westmoreland, commander of american xwrund forces, and lieutenant rob gert curb man, who xhabds the marines this. >> there have been some questions from outside and inside your own command structural the way down to some privates i met on con thien about the defense of that outpost. and some who perhaps aren't as confident as the general may be. >> well, when sit in a place such as that and night comes on, really have to rely upon yourself and upon supporting fires and naturally the confidence may not be as great

as it is back here where i can see the many forces that can be brought to bear. and which those right on the spot may not be aware. i am confident that we can hold this area and we have been doing it. furthermore, from what reports we've had from prisoners and document, we've been hurt willing the enemy badly. >> they have attempted to make it appear that they are winning a military victory t. their target is american public opinion. they had hoped that by inflicting these casualties, it being fully understood by them that the casualties inflicted upon their ranks were unknown to us, that they would achieve their psychological victory. and this is the only way they can conceivably win this war. >> con thien then you're saying is not really a military action

but a political or psychological warfare action? >> precisely. it is designed to weaken the will of the american people to neighboring appear in world opinion that they are stronger than they are in fact. and to discourage our resolve. >> we asked two of our cbs news koerp correspondents who have been under fire with the marines for an assessment of the situation there. we asked them first what are the marines saying right now about con thien. >> well, mike, if the marine happens to be an infantryman, he feels he'd rather be someplace else. i've heard a lot of marines say that con thien is a very poor place to defend because the marines conditions move out on the ground with infantry men and with tanks to attack the positions from which the north vietnamese are firing their

artillery. that's in the under side of the border. if the marines were to pull back 5 or 10 miles in the north vietnamese were to follow them with their artillery, the communists would in longer be vulnerable from counter attack on the ground. the marine rifle men on con thien or grunts as they calls themselves would rather be anywhere out on an operation marching or back at the rear sleeping, anywhere but con thien. in their simple teenaged november, they don't understand the significance of holding on to what you've got or as it's said in the orient, saving face. the pentagon gives orders to the generals and the generals give orders to the colonels and so on and all the orders are obeyed. but the grunts don't seem to understand that they're holding con thien because of a pentagon decision to win the war with a kind of modern marginal line that hasn't been built yet. >> and what lies ahead for con thn