tonight "flashpoint vietnam: the road of war." that's next on "war stories." >> they were always talking about this thing ending soon. >> i would say that we have a commitment to vietnamese freedom. >> we were asked to write letters home. >> peace is a journey of a thousand miles. >> i'd only been out of the state of west virginia a couple of times when i joined the marine corps. ♪ >> in 1960, ernie wallace was a 16-year-old in wayne county, west virginia. >> upon graduation, there is only two things to do around our area. that was work in the coal mines or construction. and i was not very much for work. so i wanted to see some world. >> i always wanted to be a marine. the old posters, be a mud marine. >> like ernie wallace, ed rummond joined the marines on the eve of the war in vietnam. >> i went in the marine corps in december of '59. went to boot camp in '60. >> three years after ed brummond arrived at boot camp, ed tried to join the army. >> the army recruiter wasn't there. went to the marines. the marine recruiter wasn't ther

supported south vietnam. that's not at all unusual. that's actually. common in iran where we supported the government and iran supported some of the insurgents and various islamist groups like al qaeda supported other insurgents. that's par for the course. civil wars are just one kind of war work. >> host: the next golfer max boot is from hedgesville west west virginia. you are on you are booktv. >> caller: hello, thank you. i have a simple question. i think you are comparing contemporary wars like iraq and afghanistan to the draft during the vietnam war and now we have volunteer armies but i wonder if the author here had come across in his research any data that would show how many people volunteered for vietnam versus were drafted? >> guest: i don't know the figure off the top my head are there were certainly a lot of volunteers earlier in the war. was pretty much all volunteers before they started using draftees and later on there were a number of soldiers and officers who volunteered for more than one tou

we begin with the vietnam war. covering the major military, political and diplomatic developments in the war that year. our guests are veteran and former navy secretary, jim webb and author david march ra minus. we given with a video on the state of the war in 1967 produced by the photographic center. this is "american history tv." >> these marines return from the a tough battle in the north. now in a defensive perimeter. the weapons are cleaned and cared for. a matter of importance in the life of a professional fighting man. this is neither a clean or easy life for our men but they learn to accept the physical harp shippeds of battle as their fathers did before them. ♪ >>> marines recount battles fight in every climb and place. here in vietnam, except for snow. they prove it. from the soft -- canals and streams. then, push forward into the jungle and the mountains where elephants and lions and giant trees cut off the sun. >> it is not just a matter of long walks in the tropical heat. each step must be cautious bec

on the people, the government and the allies of south vietnam. they attacked during the holiday, failed to achieve its principle objective. it did not collapse the elected government of south vietnam or shatter its army as the communists had hoped. it did not produce a general uprising among the people of the city as they had predicted. the communists were unable to maintain control of any of the more than 30 cities that they attacked. and they took very heavy casualties. but they did compel the south vietnamese and their allies. to move certain forces from the countryside into the cities. they caused widespread disruption and suffering. their attacks and the battles that followed made refugees of half a million human beings. they are trying to make 1968 a year of decision in south vietnam. a year that brings if not final victory or defeat, at least a turning point in the struggle. this much is clear. if they do mount another round of heavy attacks, they would not succeed in destroying the fighting power of south vietnam and its allies. but tragi

you could have seen that same potential in vietnam. >> vietnam was united.is a very different place today. >> there's no way you can wind back the clock. i started working with the inside vietnam in the vietnamese community here for many years. inside it not as i do here, sometimes i got mean trouble, the mantra from the communist on the cd american veteran is shake hands, makepeace. -- let'sshake the hand all move together in the future. host: that your conduct of vietnam on occasions, other physical remnants of the war? >> as i was first going back in the committee 1, 1992, drove the entire length of the country. host: which took how long? >> about a month. we started in hanoi, drove near highway -- the national road all the way to cambodia. the agreement was let's treat veterans from both sides. let us help treat the amputees who were in the south vietnamese army and we will also treat the people from both sides. but bring them together. at that point, there were a lot of what you call remnants or reminders. some of them were deliberate. the communists ar

to south vietnam. landfill up post-it and he wanted them to take your defense. he didn't think the war should be americanized and he was ignored. he went vietnam from 1965 to 1968 and he was there through the tet offensive and left in the summer of 1968 during the jet did and demoralized as he tried to tell policymakers that they were not going to win the war with firepower they could not simply kill the vietcong and the only way to when he said was to stand up to legitimate government in saigon and his advice was ignored and ultimately he was not terribly surprised when in 1975 north vietnam invaded south vietnam. the question i raised in my book in "the road not taken" what would it happen if lansdale's advice would have been listened to. i couldn't say he would have necessarily won the war. at the very least i'm quite certain if lansdale had been listened do we would have not lost 58,000 americans and had millions of vietnamese killed in the crossfire because he never wanted to wage this americanize

max boot, in the vietnam war as a military historian is vietnam war a unique war in american history? >> guest: is certainly the largest guerrilla war that we have ever fought so it's unusual

he explains why teaching the vietnam war has changed and reflects on u.s. vietnam relations today. we interviewed him at the american historical association's annual meeting and washington, d.c. this is about 15 minutes. mark bradley teaches history at the university of chicago and is ace -- as a specialty studies the history of vietnam and human rights. i would like to talk to you with the it -- about vietnam. it's a good year to be a vietnam historian. lots going on. how has america's understanding of the war changed over 50 years? the crucial i think shift has been more recent and certain kinds of ways. during the war itself, the way academic historians wrote about the war was in christ -- was in quite a critical mode. it was a mistake. the reagan era brought a different way of thinking about the war. that was a kind of revisionist notion that maybe in fact it was a necessary war. it really was some kind of strategic point in being in vietnam. that set of a relatively contentious set of debate between historians who want to recover something out of vietnam that is perhaps more p

of north vietnam. we ask that talks begin being on theat they substance of peace. we hope during those talks, hanoi will not take advantage of our strength. beingwe are prepared to move immediately toward peace negotiations. so tonight, in the hope that this action will lead to early talks, i am taking the first step to de-escalate the conflict. we are reducing, substantially reducing, the present level of hostilities, and we are doing at once.erally, and tonight, i have ordered our aircraft and naval vessels to make no attacks on north vietnam, except in the area north of the demilitarized zone, where the continuing enemy buildup directly threatens allied positions, and where the movementof our th -- of their troops and supplies are clearly related to that threat. the area in which we are stopping our attacks includes almost 90% of north vietnam's population and most of its territory. thus, there will be no attacks around the principle populated areas, or in the food producing areas of north vietnam.

a veteran of the vietnam war, go ahead. 21 boys, 12 were vietnam veterans.mericans, 8000 marines wouldrs, volunteer for vietnam almost every year of the war. none of the get presidents to move on the over 400,000 people waiting to three years. infantry people let myself atnot get out of claim zones va hospital where we file claims. here after year they can't make our claims. be one of theto legacies of those who served in vietnam today. you don't put that in the senate. the firstth that of vietnam veteran to serve in the full committee cap -- committee counsel. first i would like to say to the gentleman who called, i appreciate very much your stepping forward and serving. there has been a great misunderstanding in this country about how conservative people in vietnam are. we did a survey when i was on the committee counsel in 1980. a $6 million survey exhausted about attitudes toward vietnam veterans. 91% of the people who served were glad they served. 74% said they enjoyed their time in the military. and to of three said they would go back again. senate in

we begin with the vietnam war. covering the major military, political, and diplomatic developments in the war that year. our guests are vietnam veteran and former navy secretary jim webb and author david maraniss. we begin with a video in the state of the war in 1967 produced by u.s. naval photo graphic center. this is american history tv. >> these marines have just returned from a tough battle in the north. their weapons are cleaned and cared for before thought could be given to personal importance. matter of importance for life of fighting man. this is neither a clean or easy life but learned to accept the physical hardships of the battle as their father is did before them. in the famous hymns, they fought in every time and place. here in vietnam, except for snow, they prove it. from the soft ooze of the rice paddies they move through swift running canals and streams, then push forward through the jungles where elephant grass tear up the feet tan giant vines hold out the sun. not just a matter of long walks in th

it was basically a blank check, and it would be cashed in vietnam. >> when america bombs north vietnamit isn't understood that the north vietnamese communists are going to respond by increasing infiltration into south vietnam. >> but the vietcong were growing larger at the same time that they are stealing the countryside out from under the government in the slow seepage of guerrilla warfare. >> in november of '64, lbj was elected president of the united states. in hanoi, downed pilot everett alvarez had endured three long months of isolation and starvation at the hanoi hilton, but he still managed to hold on the belief he would soon be coming home. >> somehow i was really convinced that someone was going to come along any minute and open my cell and say come on, you're going home. i mean, the fact that i would be left there just didn't even enter my mind. enter my mind. >>> american lives must end and america >>> if american lives must end and american treasure be spilled in countries that we barely know, that is the price that change has demanded of conviction and of our enduring cove

they're going to vietnam in august. i said, that'd be great. >> by 1965, the beatles and rolling stones had invaded america, and there were thousands of american military advisers in south vietnam. early that year, president lyndon johnson decided to increase america's commitment to the south and its leader. and the public agreed. polls showed that 80% of americans supported helping south vietnam. >> the advance of communism had to be stopped. >> jim mcer inny began his military career as a paratrooper in the 82nd airborne. by the korean war, he decided it was better to land them than jump out of them. >> i had the high honor indeed of getting the last kill of the korean war. >> rolling thunder reflecting the caution of the guy who ran it, the president of the united states, lyndon johnson. >> wayne thompson is an author. >> the insurgency in south vietnam was being run from hanoi. so johnson reluctantly agreed to a very limited bombing campaign. >> gradualization basically violates every known rule of war. >> principal

you could have seen that same potential in vietnam. >> vietnam was united.is a very different place today. >> there's no way you can wind back the clock. i started working with the inside vietnam in the vietnamese community here for many years. inside it not as i do here, sometimes i got mean trouble, the mantra from the communist on the cd american veteran is shake hands, makepeace. -- let'sshake the hand all move together in the future. host: that your conduct of vietnam on occasions, other physical remnants of the war? >> as i was first going back in the committee 1, 1992, drove the entire length of the country. host: which took how long? >> about a month. we started in hanoi, drove near highway -- the national road all the way to cambodia. the agreement was let's treat veterans from both sides. let us help treat the amputees who were in the south vietnamese army and we will also treat the people from both sides. but bring them together. at that point, there were a lot of what you call remnants or reminders. some of them were deliberate. the communists ar

who spent a lot of time in vietnam. memoir about vietnam. with some of the people who fought.ne of the chief characters in a book. the colonel who was on the , hece grounds in the 1965 always had the rear front was here. it was here to demoralize the war. that turned into a lack of clarity on the political and strategic affect this -- objectives. the policy of the communist government since 1958, the assassinationhave as a key element of a strategy. they would go after people who ofe part of the leadership south vietnam. by 1960, john kennedy decided we needed to do something, we did not know how to do that. we had incidents which were regretful and disgusting. generally, they were the result overload and people blowing it. they were aberrations. that is not true on the other side. if you look at the way it was talked about, the way it is used -- in thisple example. they had 2000 people assisted with the help temporary control did >> let me remind the audience, we have divided our phone lines it if you are a veteran, we would love to hear from you for all others. also follow u

tonight i want to speak to you of peace in vietnam and southeast asia. no other question so preoccupies our people. no other dream so absorbs the 250 million human beings who live in that part of the world. no other goal motivates american policy in southeast asia. for years representatives of our governments and others have traveled the world. seeking to find a basis for peace talks. since last september, they have carried the offer that i made public at san antonio and that offer was this. that the united states would stop its bombardment of north vietnam when that would lead promptly to productive discussions. and that we would assume that north vietnam would not take military advantage of our restraint. hanoi denounced this offer both privately and publicly even while the search for peace was going on, north vietnam rushed their preparations for a savage assault on the people, the government and the allies of south vietnam. their attack during the tet holidays failed to achieve its principal objective -- it did not collapse the elected government of

several of them about vietnam. this was a memoir partly about vietnam. with the leaders of the north and the people who fought. one of the key characters in stanley carnile's book, he was the colonel who was on the palace grounds at the end of 1975 and later said that the rear-front of the economy in stafford was here to galvanize the anti-war movement, and that folded into a lack of clarity on the political and strategic objectives. and the other thing that needs to be said because it is not talked about enough. is the policy of the communist government since 1958. it's a classic policy of communism to have assassination as a key element of a strategy. they would go after people who were a part of in any way in the leadership of south vietnam. 11 government officials a day by 1960, when john kennedy decided we needed to do something. we didn't know how to do that. we had incidents that were regretful and disgusting. generally they were the result of emotional overload and people blowing it. they were aberrations from what our policy is legally or morall

>> of the vietnam war?n i think of the vietnam war, first of all, i can't help but think about the omission in our conversation is the south vietnamese who were with us and how they were treated after the war and the greatest mission i think for really healing the process is for the -- to reach across and have the vietnamese be together. and that will eventually happen, i think. >> on the other side, martin luther king, on april 4, 1967, one year before he was assassinated in new york said if america's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy will be vietnam. >> david meredith, associate editor and the author of nearly a dozen books, including, "they marched into sunlight." and marine veteran, former u.s. senator james webb, who's the author of ten books, including his memoir, "i heard my country calling." gentlemen, thank you both for being with us. >> thank you. >> coming up later this morning, british prime minister theresa may appears before the house of commons liaison committee. she'll be ta

i spent 18 months in vietnam.ost of that time i was up on areasz in a populated fighting north vietnamese regulars. but with no contact with the vietnamese civilians. the last six months of my tour, i was down in the rice paddies and gotd west of danang a much, much different view of to war and saw how poorly, put it mildly, we were treating our so-called allies, the south vietnamese whose hearts and minds we were supposed to be winning. doings not what we were at all. we're operating in free fire zones. i was involved in a small massacre of about 15 people in may -- i'm sorry, april 1970. my entire view of the war. amy: can you talk about the massacre you said you were involved with? >> we were running what the pacificationed programs. essentially, we would go out from our base and sometimes only for a few hours, and we would sweep into a village and round of everybody and put them on trucks or helicopters and evacuate them to the strategic hamlets. we did that many times. this particular incident, we had been ou

both south vietnam and north vietnam. probablycambodia and the vast majority of it was agent orange but there were that had thedes same chemical in it. that is what caused issues. 1971 the using it in start recognizing that there was a problem, they stopped using it but they wouldn't admit to use later that there was an issue with it. during that time, they had spread 19 or 20 millions of gallons of it throughout the country. war, i think people coming on started having issues with the agent orange, health issues. finally, after so many years, of the v.a. helping and other organizations helping, it was a court case, it was a class that this chemical cause these problems and then finally i think it was the first president bush that signed up on it. arising froms were exposure to agent orange. diseases tonymore the list of their recognizing. >> what is the particular problem you have had associated with agent orange? jerry: i am diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. it is a long two words. it is a combination of those two t

in vietnam you had a bunch of different story. the chinese were not in the -- were not in vietnam.t is a very good question. anybody that has been involved in any way, i was not over there. i was writing speeches in the white house and working for nexen as an aide. you have to ask yourself, the vietnam war a compass to a lot of good things. it held a lot in southeast asia. those countries did not move with the chinese or toward communism. they moved toward the west. should we have gone and in the first place? host: was richard nixon undercounting such that -- undercutting the johnson administration? that is what the latest literature says about that. i'm going to pass it over to pat because i think he was there and he will know the answer to it. the historians are saying yes, that indeed nixon was back channeling. whittle -- widow of .laire -- from world war ii and the go-between between the nixon cap and the south vietnamese. encouraging the president to -- president of south vietnam to hold off on dissipating in peace talks. get a better deal. saying that heng had a plan to end t

third tour in vietnam. but he had a drinking problem and he used to pack some booze in his back pocket and beer and everything else. i had to deal with that. platoon, i would say at that particular time, the platoon i took over was a favorite of the battalion commander for some reason or another. what i heard is there a been some severe firefights and they had had -- they had been lucky enough not to lose too many, but they had a lot of young soldiers who it been wounded and returned to duty. officersmmissioned that were then serving were what they then called in those days instant bakes. they went through a crash course to become noncommissioned officers. , who for all6 intents and purposes was my platoon sergeant who had been in the army for two years. >> about the same amount of time as you have been. >> the differential was that he been in combat for six months. that was a big differential of course. 19, 18 inll young, some cases. ,hey had been hastily promoted i had one that was a battlefield .romotion

in vietnam, you had a bunch of -- you had a much different different stories. -- in vietnam, you had a much different story. the chinese actually were not in vietnam. the north vietnamese are in the south. it is a very good question. looking back, and obviously, anyone who has been involved -- i was not there, but i was writing speeches in the white house and working for nixon as an aid before he ran but you have to ask yourself afterwards, the vietnam were accomplished a lot of good things and held the line in southeast asia and this countries did not move toward communism from indonesia but moved to the west. but should we have gone in in the first place? host: barbara perry, was richard nixon undercutting the johnson administration in trying to keep the war going through the election of 1968, saying, you will get a better deal with me? barbara: that is what the latest literature, the historical literature says about that question. but i will pass it over to pat because i think he was there and he will know the answer. but the historians are saying, yes, that indeed, nixon was back

lalay's sister is from vietnam and she escaped south vietnam. >> oh. thank you. >> nice to meet you. >> so nice meeting you. thank you. [ clapping ] >> nice meeting you. nice meeting you. >> lalat who has family connections will share a few words as we begin to wind down. >> thanks for the honour and privilege to share a little bit. i get to work out with jerry at the gym. i see him on kaightss, he is -- occasions, he works out hashed. i haven't met darrell. i would love to speak to you afterwards. and when i walked in kenneth was kind enough to come up and greet me, introduce himself and he was sharing a little bit of his story and his eyes would well up, and you could feel the emotion that continues after all these years, that i think a lot of people share, my family shares, and we appreciate you, gentlemen and what you have done. i'm here to share a little of my story and thanks to you gentlemen and men and women out there. and i think there's another part of the story in way you have heard the gratitude that many vietnam he is feel to the veterans

you could have seen that same potential in vietnam. >> vietnam was united. a very different place today. >> there's no way you can wind back the clock. i started working with the inside vietnam in the vietnamese community here for many years. inside it not as i do here, sometimes i got mean trouble, the mantra from the communist on the cd american veteran is shake hands, makepeace. -- let'sshake the hand all move together in the future. host: that your conduct of vietnam on occasions, other physical remnants of the war? >> as i was first going back in the committee 1, 1992, drove the entire length of the country. host: which took how long? >> about a month. we started in hanoi, drove near highway -- the national road all the way to cambodia. the agreement was let's treat veterans from both sides. let us help treat the amputees who were in the south vietnamese army and we will also treat the people from both sides. but bring them together. at that point, there were a lot of what you call remnants or reminders. some of them were deliberate. the communists are

with vietnam, you had a much different story. the chinese were actually not in vietnam. the north vietnamese were in the south. but it's a very good question. looking back, obviously anybody that's been involved in any way, and i wasn't over there, but i was writing speeches in the white house, and working for nixon as an aide before he ran. you have to ask yourself afterwards, the vietnam war accomplished a lot of good things. it held the line in southeast asia and all those countries did not move for the chinese or towards communism from indonesia all around, but moved towards the west. but should we have gone in, in the first place? >> barbara perry, was richard nixon undercutting the johnson administration in trying to keep the war going through the election of 1968, saying you'll get a better deal with me? >> well, that's what the latest literature, the historical literature says about that question. but i'm going to pass it over to pat, because i think he was there and he will know the answer to it. but the historians are saying yes, that indeed nixon was back chan

or in the food-producing areas of north vietnam. even this very limited bombing of the north could come to an early end if our restraint is matched by restraint in -- >> the president issued an appeal for unity among the american people. and went onto speak in moving words of the future he foresees america attaining. it wasn't a final moment of the speech that he voiced the syllables which stunned the nation and reverberated around the world. to a disbelieving audience of countless millions, president johnson announced the decision that had been many months in the making. only resolved within himself in the final hours of march. >> with americans sons in the field far away. with america's future under challenged right here at home. with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace and the balance everyday. i do not believe that i should devote an hour of our day of my time to any personal partisan causes. or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office. the presidency of your country. accordingly, i shall not seek and i w

in vietnam, you had a bunch of different stories. the chinese actually were not in vietnam. the north vietnamese are in the south. it is a very good question. looking back, and obviously, anyone who has been involved -- i was not there, but i was writing speeches in the white house and working for nixon as an aide before he ran but you have to ask yourself afterwards, the vietnam war compost a lot of good things and held the line in southeast asia and this countries did not move toward communism from indonesia and did -- but moved to the west. but should we have gone in in the first place? host: barbara perry, was richard nixon undercutting the johnson administration in trying to keep the war going through the election of 1968, saying, you will get a better deal with me? barbara: that is what the historical literature says about that question. but i will pass it over to pat because i think he was there and will know the answer. but the historians are saying, yes, that indeed, nixon was back channeling with anna chennault, who was the widow of the general from world war ii, a

tonight i want to speak to you of peace in vietnam and southeast asia. no other question so preoccupies our people. no other dream so absorbs the 250 million human beings who live in that part of the world. no other goal motivates american policy in southeast asia. >> first addressing himself to the continuing problem of vietnam the president outlines plans for a unilateral american de-escalation of that conflict. >> tonight i ordered our aircraft and naval vessels to make no attacks on north vietnam except in the area north of the demill terroriitarized zone ande movement of their troops and supplies are clearly related to that threat. the area in which we are stopping our attacks includes almost 90% of north vietnam's population and most of its territories. thus, there will be no attacks around the principle populated areas or in the fuel producing areas of north vietnam. even this very limited bombing of the north could come to an early end if our restraint is matched by restraint in hanoi. >> the president issued and went on to speak in moving words

that wasn't enough to get him out of vietnam. it's going to be really bad to sit here and watch these guys flame out and glide until they have to get out of the airplane and then see them get captured. >> if ayman and his backseater went down in this part of north vietnam, there was little chance of rescue. but if they could make it to laos, their chance of survival skyrocketed. >> so i asked earl to get his drag sheet. i attempted to put the nose of the airplane right in the drag sheet. there was so much turbulence coming off his airplane, i couldn't get close enough to even touch him. so i backed away. we dropped down underneath him. i said, okay, we'll try to put the top of our fuselage up against his belly and just piggy back him a little bit. we'd get within a couple feet, and it felt like a vacuum, pulling us into him. i said, well, we can't do that. >> he tries again, this time by pushing the crippled f-4 by its tail hook. will his push succeed? find out when "war stories" continues. i'm leaving the track behind, but i'm n

vietnam has most of the lucky, which is programmers.rammers. a lot of them instead of aiming for big companies, they wa nt to of aiming for big companies, they want to do startups. one of the main challenges, there are lots of graduates who come out of the system but are not of a global mindset yet. so there is a tremendous amount of training and coaching that needs to ta ke training and coaching that needs to take place to help develop them, but i think with investment and learning the culture, you can really do it. let's ta ke let's take a quick look at markets before we go. asian shares are down this morning. japan's nikkei is down again, china has is open for trade as well, and it is down again after having the worst monthly fall in over two years. that is it for this edition of asia business report, thank you forjoining us. the top stories this hour: another resignation, president trump's communications director hope hicks is to step down. it comes a day after she testified to congress. the children of parkland, florida, have retur

john: in 1967, i arrived in vietnam. prior to coming to vietnam, i was a highly motivated world-class journalist and in fact combat photographer. i ended up with the best job one could have in vietnam. i was the only photographer assigned to the "stars & stripes." they gave me total freedom to go where i wanted to go and do what i wanted to do. i spent a year there photographing combats throughout the country. in january 1968, the tet offensive broke out. if you are combat photographer, you can't fake it, you need to be in the middle of the things. the more dangerous, the better. shortly after tet broke, i learned the fighting was vicious. i traveled away. i went to vietnam as a 19-year-old draftee. when i went to hue, i was 20 years old. we have a series of photographs to 18, 19, 20-year-old marines. this was house to house fighting. they have never seen this before. they were jungle marines. the photographs i made stood out. they were published in stars & stripes and life magazine. being published in life magazine laun

my story in vietnam was a success story. i went into hue as a draftee and i was hired as the youngest photographer ever hired at "life magazine." in spite of my success, and came back and spent decades not talking about vietnam. as the 50th anniversary of tet approached, i began to wonder what had happened to the veterans that i had photographed as young men. by chance, i learned of one veteran and reached out to him. one led to another, which led to another. i began to capture audio interviews with them, in which i asked them to explain to me. tell me about hue and how it affected your life following it. as we approached the anniversary, i reached out to senior management at the museum, and i told them i thought there was an opportunity here of a historic exhibition. once they realized what we had, they seized the opportunity, and put together an exhibit in less than three months. normally it would be a year to 18 months. but they put this exhibit together in less than three months. i was fortunate that in this process, i h

in vietnam, you had a bunch of different stories. the chinese actually were not in vietnam.th vietnamese are in the south. it is a very good question. looking back, and obviously, anyone who has been involved -- i was not there, but i was writing speeches in the white house and working for nixon as an eight before he ran -- but you have to ask yourself afterwards, the vietnam war compost a lot of good things and held the line in southeast asia and this countries did not move toward communism from indonesia and did not move to the west. but should we have gone in in the first place? host: barbara perry, was richard nixon undercutting the johnson administration in trying to keep the war going through the election of 1968, saying, you will get a better deal with me? guest: that is what the historical literature says about that question. but i will pass it over to pat because i think he was there and will know the answer. but the historians are saying, yes, that indeed, nixon was back channeling with anna chennault, generalthe widow of the from world war ii, and was the go betwe

that is five vietnam. had been at one point in time these old instant nco's, but now we are into their fifth year, si year, so they had learned combat and every thing else after that. so i had a very good core of leaders, noncommissioned officers in particular. but i also got to choose my lieutenants. that was a great thing. then we got to train together before the enlisted forces came. so we got to do tactical exercises without troops, that is we got to go out and we got to do sand table exercises, we got to go through manuals, battle drills, all by ourselves and impart on one another our standards to get ready, then we were ready, or we thought we were when the first recruits came in. unfortunately, the recruits were not necessarily ready for us. first of all, there were two significant differences that i saw it right away. the first was the criminal element, a large criminal element that you had that you had to weed out. in the early 1970's, the army did not have the administrative process to get rid of