>> graham martin never thought that day would come. he was the ambassador in vietnam.had convinced himself the communists would accept a negotiated settlement to the latest hostilities. but he simply had not considered that the war would ever be lost. how could he? graham martin was a cold warrior in the old stripe. he had lost an adopted son in vietnam. it wasn't in his constitution to admit the war was finished. he would not surrender to the godless commune is. >> reporter: but the communists were intent ops on taking saigon. pounded south vietnamese targets, around the clock. the violent barrage cleared the way to clear key cities lie hue and danang. obliterated half of the south vietnamese army. >> i flew into the embattled areas soon after the worst began to happen and i saw the south vietnamese army retreat into the sea throwing away its yurms. ituniforms. it was a horrible sight. bad leadership, on president tu's part was what led to that route. >> the north viet snam ease vietnamese army had surrounded saigon. they had to protect their life's work. >> what did

graham martin had lost a son in the vietnam war. he was dedicated to preserving south vietnam. and he didn't want to see us walk away from south vietnam. largely phobe for those reasons he was resistant to putting an evacuation plan into place and green lighting it. early on when everybody, most people both on the ground and to some degree in washington realize the south vietnam was is going to fund was inevitable. c-span: the former cia agent very controversial was sued by her own government. why did you pick him? >> guest: well we were really committed to finding people who were on the ground who were in the embassy who were in saigon at the end of april when things were falling and he was there. he was sued by her government because he wrote a book about the events that took place. i don't believe that he was sued because he he misrepresented. he was sued because he wasn't supposed to share them in the capacity that they did but the reality is that he had very good first-hand knowledge and i think helps us explain the story for folks and to understand exactly what happened.

ambassador gram martin, wouldn't talk about an evacuation. in 1977, graham published a controversial memoir, revealing that sensitive documents had been left behind in the rush to exit sighing an, and cia operatives were all named in the files leaving them vulnerable to arrest, or worse. 40 years after the fall of saigon frank snepp spends a lot of time here, exercising the demons that he brought home from the war. >> you can watch michael's full report on "america tonight" at 10 p.m. pacific. for a look at what's coming up at the top of the hour, john ig sig is here. >> coming up be tonight the arrests, tens of thousands of people on the streets of american cities, and my conversation with sheila dixon on what's next in race relations, and stopping big oil with kayaks. kaikayakakayak. >>> and barney frank talks about his new back on same-sex marriage before the supreme court decision. >> if the court decides that it is illegal for a government to deny to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity anything that is given to people, that will

graham have a point? >> he does. the default position of the justice department from florida with trayvon martin to ferguson missouri,s that racism is so undiminished that local institutions cannot be trusted. we are seeing something interesting how technology this thing, smart 15 is changing capabilities which change expectations, which changes rights. we have an enormous public of mitigations all over the country of the right of people to film public officials in the performance of their did yous and most especially of course police officers who have the lethal force of the state behind them. this is going to change american life would foundly and for the better. >> i must say chuck, i was truck by that part of hillary clinton's tweet, too familiar, which made it sound like this goes on all the time and that was the narrative in ferguson, hands up, don't shoot get shot in the back and as we know it didn't happen after multiple investigations. what do you think hillary clinton is saying, what happened in south carolina too fall. >> it is a fact that democrats have treated the incidents as an opportunity to remind a

graham have a point? >> he absolutely does. the default position of the justice department with florida to trayvon martin to ferguson, missouri, is racism is so undiminished to force in the american life, local institutions cannot be trusted. what we're seeing is some phenomenon how technology this thing the smart phone, is changing capabilities which change expectations which changes rights at the end of time. we've got an enormous number of litigations all over the country about the right of people to film public officials in the performance of their duties. most especially, of course, policemen who have the lethal force of the state behind them. and this is going to change american life profoundly and for the better. >> you know, i must say, chuck, i was struck by that part of hillary clinton's tweet, too familiar, which made it sound like this is the kind of thing that goes on all the time. of course that was the narrative in ferguson, hands up, don't shoot, get shot in the back as we now know it didn't happen after multiple investigations. so what do you think hillary clinton saying, well, what happened in south carolina,

. >> former governor martin o'malley, who is believed to be clinton's chief rival will make up his mind whether to run at the end of may. lindsey graham said the same thing. in an op-ed yesterday, michael barrone said the united kingdom also has an election there and their campaigning lasts about a month. the thinking here i should say, is if a candidate can weather this grueling attack over two years, that candidate can weather pretty much anything. clinton may find out whether she can do just that. shannon? >> 19 months to go, doug. we'll be on the ride together. >>> what do you think 2016 race is one of the most crowded republican fields in decades. now, is that going to keep one good candidate from standing out or do you think having too many candidates to choose from is good or bad for the party or good for the eventual nominee? we'll see. send your answers to @lelandvittert or@shannonbream. >> we'll be speaking about this for the next 19 months, the only democrat to run for the white house is hitting the campaign trail tomorrow. heading to new hampshire. so how is hillary clinton doing so far? our political panel is standing by