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ANNOUNCER: MAJOR SUPPORT
FOR "THE VIETNAM WAR"
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WAS PROVIDED BY MEMBERS
OF THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY,
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INCLUDING JONATHAN
AND JEANNIE LAVINE,
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DIANE AND HAL BRIERLEY,
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AMY AND DAVID ABRAMS,
undefined
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JOHN AND CATHERINE DEBS,
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THE FULLERTON FAMILY
CHARITABLE FUND,
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THE MONTRONE FAMILY,
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LYNDA AND STEWART RESNICK,
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THE PERRY AND DONNA GOLKIN
FAMILY FOUNDATION,
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THE LYNCH FOUNDATION,
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THE ROGER AND ROSEMARY
ENRICO FOUNDATION,
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AND BY THESE ADDITIONAL FUNDERS.
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MAJOR FUNDING WAS ALSO PROVIDED
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BY DAVID H. KOCH...
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THE BLAVATNIK
FAMILY FOUNDATION...
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THE PARK FOUNDATION,
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THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT
FOR THE HUMANITIES,
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THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS,
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THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L.
KNIGHT FOUNDATION,
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THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION,
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THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS
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THE FORD FOUNDATION JUSTFILMS,
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BY THE CORPORATION
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FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING,
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AND BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
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THANK YOU.
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ANNOUNCER: BANK OF AMERICA
PROUDLY SUPPORTS
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KEN BURNS' AND LYNN NOVICK'S
FILM "THE VIETNAM WAR"
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(people cheering,
turkeys gobbling)
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("Blues Run the Game" by
Simon and Garfunkel playing)
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♪ Catch a boat to England, baby,
maybe to Spain ♪
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♪ Wherever I have gone
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♪ Wherever I've been and gone
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♪ Wherever I have gone
the blues run the game. ♪
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TIM O'BRIEN:
I grew up in a small
farming community
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in southern Minnesota
called Worthington.
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Small town America--
at least my small town--
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had great virtues.
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It was a safe place to grow up.
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00:02:39,665 --> 00:02:42,466
There was Little League baseball
in the summer,
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and there was hockey
in the winter.
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SIMON AND GARFUNKEL:
♪ When I ain't drinkin', baby,
you are on my mind. ♪
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O'BRIEN:
Everybody knows everyone else's
business and their faults
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and what's happening
in their marriages
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and where the kids
have gone wrong.
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It was full of the Kiwanis boys
and the Elks Club
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and the country club set and
the kind of chatty housewives
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and the holier-than-thou
ministers.
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SIMON AND GARFUNKEL:
♪ Wherever I've been
and gone... ♪
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O'BRIEN:
I remember the day
my draft notice arrived.
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It was a summer afternoon,
maybe June of '68.
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And I remember taking
that envelope into the house
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and putting it
on the kitchen table
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where my mom and dad
were having lunch.
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And they didn't even read it.
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They just looked at it
and knew what it was.
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And the silence of that lunch--
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I didn't speak, my mom didn't
speak, my dad didn't speak--
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was just that piece of paper
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lying at the center
of the table.
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It was enough to make me cry
to this day, not for myself,
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but for my mom and dad,
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who both of them had been
in the Navy during World War II,
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had believed in service to one's
country and all those values.
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HOWARD TUCKNER:
...considers all civilians
potential enemies...
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O'BRIEN:
On the one hand I did think
the war was less than righteous.
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On the other hand
I love my country.
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And I valued my life in a small
town and my friends and family.
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And so the summer of '68,
I wrestled with what to do,
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was for me, at least,
more torturous
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and devastating and
emotionally painful
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than anything
that happened in Vietnam.
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In the end I just capitulated.
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And one day I got on a bus with
other recent graduates,
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and we went over to Sioux Falls
about 60 miles away,
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and raised our hands
and got in the Army.
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But it wasn't a decision, it was
a forfeiture of a decision.
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It was letting my body go,
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turning a switch
in my conscience,
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just turning it off,
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so it wouldn't be barking
at me saying,
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"You're doing a bad and evil and
stupid and unpatriotic thing."
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Last week's casualty figures in
the Vietnam War released today
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showed 299 Americans killed,
the lowest figure in two months.
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("Revolution 1"
by the Beatles playing)
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(music continues,
crowd shouting)
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♪ You say you want
a revolution ♪
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♪ Well, you know
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♪ We all want to change
the world ♪
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♪ You tell me
that it's evolution ♪
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♪ Well, you know
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♪ We all want
to change the world ♪
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♪ But when you talk
about destruction ♪
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♪ Don't you know
that you can count me out, in ♪
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♪ Don't you know
it's gonna be all right ♪
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NARRATOR:
By June of 1968,
the spirit of revolution--
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over the Vietnam War, over
injustice, over human rights--
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seemed to have spread
everywhere.
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The pressure to bring an end
to the war was building.
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President Lyndon Johnson
had already decided
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not to run again,
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assassinations and unrest
had staggered the nation,
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and the country was preparing
to choose a new president.
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Meanwhile, American and North
Vietnamese diplomats in Paris
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00:07:03,266 --> 00:07:04,565
were getting nowhere.
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00:07:04,665 --> 00:07:08,033
The communists insisted there
could be
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00:07:08,132 --> 00:07:10,432
no substantive negotiations
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00:07:10,533 --> 00:07:15,466
until the United States stopped
all bombing of North Vietnam.
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LENNON:
♪ With minds that hate...
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NARRATOR:
The new secretary of defense,
Clark Clifford,
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who had turned from hawk to dove
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after just a few months
in office,
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begged the president
to call a total halt.
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"We can only hope for success
at the bargaining table,"
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he told Johnson.
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"We are in a war we cannot win."
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The president refused
to stop the bombing.
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Over the following months,
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there would be reports of
progress on the battlefield
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and in the countryside.
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But that progress came so slowly
and at so high a cost
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in human lives that the war
against the war
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00:08:00,333 --> 00:08:02,300
intensified back home,
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00:08:02,399 --> 00:08:07,065
pitting classes and generations
against one another,
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00:08:07,165 --> 00:08:11,000
spreading distrust of political
leaders who seemed unable
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00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:14,365
or unwilling to bring
the fighting to an end.
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00:08:18,065 --> 00:08:20,565
Young men from all over
the country would continue
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00:08:20,665 --> 00:08:22,865
to face questions and choices
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00:08:22,966 --> 00:08:26,365
their fathers and grandfathers
had rarely had to face
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00:08:26,466 --> 00:08:29,100
when asked to fight
in other wars:
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What obligation did a citizen
owe his country?
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What should one do when asked
to fight a war
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00:08:37,298 --> 00:08:39,832
in which one did not believe?
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How was a soldier to distinguish
between a shadowy enemy
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and the Vietnamese civilians
he was supposed to be defending?
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LENNON:
♪ Shoo-bee-do-wop
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♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh.
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NARRATOR:
The coming summer of 1968
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would be one of the most
consequential
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00:09:00,133 --> 00:09:03,566
in American history.
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00:09:03,666 --> 00:09:09,832
LENNON:
♪ All right, all right, all
right, all right, all right ♪
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00:09:09,932 --> 00:09:13,100
♪ All right, all right
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00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:14,432
♪ Shoo-bee-do-wop
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00:09:14,533 --> 00:09:18,332
(song fades out)
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Earlier this year,
top U.S. leaders vowed
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00:09:21,932 --> 00:09:24,600
that the U.S. Marine outpost
at Khe Sanh,
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00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:29,166
then under a 77-day enemy siege,
would be defended at all cost.
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00:09:29,265 --> 00:09:30,832
(jet engine roars)
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00:09:30,932 --> 00:09:32,500
(explosion)
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00:09:34,365 --> 00:09:38,200
MAX CLELAND:
Johnson had said
in the fall of '67,
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00:09:38,299 --> 00:09:40,332
and as we went into '68,
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00:09:40,432 --> 00:09:43,332
"I don't want no damn
Dien Bien Phu.”
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00:09:43,432 --> 00:09:48,365
So the whole American military,
from the Joint Chiefs on down,
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00:09:48,466 --> 00:09:52,299
whether they believed in saving
Whether Sanh or not,
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00:09:52,399 --> 00:09:55,466
were hell-bent for leather
to make damn sure
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00:09:55,566 --> 00:09:58,100
the siege was broken.
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00:10:01,399 --> 00:10:04,500
Now the telltale moment
of that is that a week
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00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:05,799
after the siege was broken,
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00:10:05,899 --> 00:10:09,399
they plowed the base under
and abandoned it.
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00:10:09,500 --> 00:10:13,600
That was Vietnam in a microcosm.
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(helicopter blades whirring)
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NARRATOR:
There was a new commander
in Vietnam now,
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00:10:18,533 --> 00:10:23,399
General Creighton W. Abrams,
a hero of World War II,
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00:10:23,500 --> 00:10:26,000
a soldier's soldier,
one reporter said,
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00:10:26,100 --> 00:10:29,832
who "could inspire
aggressiveness in a begonia."
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00:10:29,932 --> 00:10:32,200
LEWIS SORLEY:
Some newsman once described him
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00:10:32,299 --> 00:10:35,832
as looking like an unmade bed
smoking a cigar.
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00:10:35,932 --> 00:10:38,000
He's gruff.
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00:10:38,100 --> 00:10:39,232
He drank a lot.
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00:10:39,332 --> 00:10:41,765
He's grumpy in the morning.
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00:10:41,865 --> 00:10:44,832
Sometimes staff officers would
schedule appointments with him
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00:10:44,932 --> 00:10:45,966
in the morning
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00:10:46,066 --> 00:10:47,700
for, with generals who were
causing him trouble.
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00:10:49,432 --> 00:10:52,566
NARRATOR:
Abrams was a welcome new face
for the American war.
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00:10:52,665 --> 00:10:57,399
Reporters found him more frank
and open than his predecessor.
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00:10:57,500 --> 00:11:00,533
"The overall public affairs
policy of this command,"
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00:11:00,633 --> 00:11:02,432
he told his subordinates,
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00:11:02,533 --> 00:11:05,765
"will be to let results speak
for themselves."
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00:11:05,865 --> 00:11:09,633
"Occasionally," one officer
said, "we are allowed
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00:11:09,732 --> 00:11:14,666
to state frankly that we didn't
do a damn thing this month."
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00:11:14,765 --> 00:11:18,232
Many soldiers would believe
for the rest of their lives
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00:11:18,332 --> 00:11:20,932
that if Abrams had taken command
sooner,
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00:11:21,033 --> 00:11:23,399
the outcome could have been
different.
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00:11:30,332 --> 00:11:32,299
VINCENT OKAMOTO:
You're told very succinctly,
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00:11:32,399 --> 00:11:36,365
"We need to rack up as much
body count as we can.
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00:11:36,466 --> 00:11:39,265
How many gooks did you kill
today?"
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00:11:39,365 --> 00:11:41,700
And it was the kill ratio
that determined
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00:11:41,799 --> 00:11:43,899
whether or not you called it
a victory or a loss.
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00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,566
So if you killed
20 North Vietnamese
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00:11:47,665 --> 00:11:49,765
and lost only two people,
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00:11:49,865 --> 00:11:54,165
they declared a great victory
for that particular firefight.
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NARRATOR:
Lieutenant Vincent Okamoto was
born during World War II
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00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:02,100
in a Japanese-American
internment camp
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00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:07,600
at Poston, Arizona, the seventh
son of Japanese immigrants.
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00:12:07,700 --> 00:12:10,666
All six of his brothers had
served in uniform--
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00:12:10,765 --> 00:12:15,033
two fought with the celebrated
442nd Regimental Combat Team
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00:12:15,133 --> 00:12:16,932
in Italy and France,
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00:12:17,033 --> 00:12:20,133
the most highly decorated unit
of that war--
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00:12:20,232 --> 00:12:25,265
and so, when Okamoto's country
went to war in Vietnam,
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00:12:25,365 --> 00:12:27,466
he believed he should go, too.
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00:12:29,299 --> 00:12:33,432
He was now a platoon leader with
Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion,
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00:12:33,533 --> 00:12:39,265
27th Regiment, 25th Infantry
Division, based at Cu Chi,
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00:12:39,365 --> 00:12:44,133
some 20 miles northwest of
Saigon, an area honeycombed
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00:12:44,232 --> 00:12:47,299
with miles of Viet Cong tunnels.
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OKAMOTO:
My parents are Japanese
immigrants.
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00:12:52,665 --> 00:12:55,566
I had rice literally every day
of my life
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00:12:55,665 --> 00:12:58,865
until I went into the military.
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00:13:00,633 --> 00:13:05,399
So we were conducting a cordon
and search of a village.
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00:13:07,399 --> 00:13:08,799
Didn't find any weapons,
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00:13:08,899 --> 00:13:12,365
didn't find any communist
literature or whatever.
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00:13:12,466 --> 00:13:15,000
So we took a prolonged
lunch break.
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00:13:15,100 --> 00:13:18,432
Everybody wants to get
out of the sun.
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00:13:18,533 --> 00:13:21,732
Well, my RTO, my medic and I
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00:13:21,832 --> 00:13:23,899
went into this particular house,
and there was...
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there were three women,
and a babe in arms,
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00:13:27,265 --> 00:13:29,865
and a kid about four years old.
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00:13:29,966 --> 00:13:33,932
And she was cooking... rice.
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00:13:34,033 --> 00:13:36,299
Well, here, here's Okamoto,
Mrs. Okamoto's son,
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00:13:36,399 --> 00:13:40,100
that hadn't had rice now-- hot,
steamed rice-- for months.
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00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,932
I'm looking at it,
it looks pretty good to me.
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00:13:43,033 --> 00:13:44,966
So I-I get my interpreter.
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00:13:45,066 --> 00:13:49,332
I said, "Hey, tell this woman,
the grandma,
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00:13:49,432 --> 00:13:52,765
"that I'll give her
a pack of cigarettes,
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00:13:52,865 --> 00:13:56,932
"my C-ration turkey loaf,
and a can of peaches
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00:13:57,033 --> 00:13:59,566
for some of that steamed rice
and that fish and vegetables."
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00:14:01,332 --> 00:14:02,432
It was great.
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00:14:02,533 --> 00:14:04,332
And I asked for seconds.
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00:14:04,432 --> 00:14:07,466
My RTO says, "Damn, ain't
these people poor enough
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00:14:07,566 --> 00:14:10,100
without you eating their food?"
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00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,365
I said, "You know, hell,
they got enough rice here
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00:14:12,466 --> 00:14:15,066
to feed a dozen men."
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00:14:15,166 --> 00:14:17,299
And then, it just dawned,
239
00:14:17,399 --> 00:14:19,432
they did have enough rice
to feed a dozen men.
240
00:14:19,533 --> 00:14:23,332
So I had my interpreter
ask the woman,
241
00:14:23,432 --> 00:14:25,500
"Who's all this rice for?"
242
00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:27,100
(speaking Vietnamese)
243
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:28,700
"I don't know, I don't know."
244
00:14:28,799 --> 00:14:32,399
So we started looking
around again.
245
00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:34,165
We found a tunnel mouth.
246
00:14:36,033 --> 00:14:38,033
I was given a grenade.
247
00:14:41,133 --> 00:14:43,765
After the smoke cleared,
we pulled, I think,
248
00:14:43,865 --> 00:14:49,000
seven or eight bodies
to the town square.
249
00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:54,365
And we wanted to see who would
cry over these people.
250
00:14:54,466 --> 00:14:57,500
And then we'd have more people
to question.
251
00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,932
The women that lived
in that house,
252
00:15:02,033 --> 00:15:03,566
and I had eaten their rice,
253
00:15:03,666 --> 00:15:06,332
they're all squatting down,
wailing.
254
00:15:06,432 --> 00:15:08,033
And you couldn't identify these,
these...
255
00:15:08,133 --> 00:15:10,666
they're just charred bodies.
256
00:15:10,765 --> 00:15:12,232
One...
257
00:15:12,332 --> 00:15:14,332
And I think that was
the first time I knew
258
00:15:14,432 --> 00:15:17,066
that I personally
had killed people.
259
00:15:17,166 --> 00:15:21,232
I got an "Attaboy"
from the supervisor.
260
00:15:21,332 --> 00:15:22,732
But, uh...
261
00:15:22,832 --> 00:15:25,066
it wasn't something that you can
say had glory in it,
262
00:15:25,166 --> 00:15:27,500
or you felt a real sense
of accomplishment.
263
00:15:30,332 --> 00:15:33,500
NARRATOR:
Over that summer, Okamoto was
wounded two times
264
00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,665
and made 22 helicopter assaults,
265
00:15:36,765 --> 00:15:40,299
four of them as commander
of Bravo Company.
266
00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:45,732
On the morning of August 23,
he made his 23rd assault.
267
00:15:45,832 --> 00:15:50,033
Nineteen helicopters ferried
the first and second platoons
268
00:15:50,133 --> 00:15:54,633
to a new landing zone
near Cambodia.
269
00:15:54,732 --> 00:15:57,700
Their task was to dig in,
stay put,
270
00:15:57,799 --> 00:16:01,700
and somehow block a battalion
of North Vietnamese troops,
271
00:16:01,799 --> 00:16:05,000
who were trying to escape
across the border.
272
00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:08,033
Okamoto's unit was reinforced
by a platoon
273
00:16:08,133 --> 00:16:12,732
of mechanized infantry,
three APCs, and a tank,
274
00:16:12,832 --> 00:16:16,932
but they were still
badly outnumbered.
275
00:16:17,033 --> 00:16:21,000
He and the fewer than 150 men
under his command
276
00:16:21,100 --> 00:16:24,066
spent the rest of that day
and all of the next
277
00:16:24,166 --> 00:16:27,332
preparing as best they could
for an attack,
278
00:16:27,432 --> 00:16:29,166
setting Claymore mines
279
00:16:29,265 --> 00:16:32,765
and hanging three coils
of razor wire.
280
00:16:35,832 --> 00:16:38,500
OKAMOTO:
August the 24th,
about 10:00 that night,
281
00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:42,133
we got hit with a very heavy
mortar barrage.
282
00:16:42,232 --> 00:16:43,500
(shouting, explosions)
283
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,100
Within the first
I would say ten seconds,
284
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,732
all three of those armored
personnel carriers and tanks
285
00:16:50,832 --> 00:16:53,232
were knocked out with
rocket-propelled grenades.
286
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,399
NARRATOR:
Trip flares briefly lit up
the landscape.
287
00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:03,133
Scores of enemy troops
were running at them
288
00:17:03,232 --> 00:17:05,232
through the elephant grass.
289
00:17:05,333 --> 00:17:06,500
(gunfire)
290
00:17:06,598 --> 00:17:11,532
VC mortar shells blasted
two gaps in the razor wire.
291
00:17:11,633 --> 00:17:15,299
If Okamoto and his outnumbered
men couldn't plug them,
292
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,865
they were sure to be overrun.
293
00:17:17,965 --> 00:17:21,700
He and the four men closest
to him held their M-16s
294
00:17:21,799 --> 00:17:25,665
above their heads
and fired blindly.
295
00:17:25,766 --> 00:17:28,432
The enemy kept coming.
296
00:17:28,532 --> 00:17:30,165
OKAMOTO:
I had my four people.
297
00:17:30,266 --> 00:17:33,732
And through the light
of the flares, I said,
298
00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:35,700
"A couple you guys go and man
the machine guns
299
00:17:35,799 --> 00:17:37,200
out on those APCs."
300
00:17:37,299 --> 00:17:39,365
Well, the response I
got was, like, uh...
301
00:17:39,465 --> 00:17:41,333
"Fuck you, I ain't going
up there."
302
00:17:43,032 --> 00:17:47,532
So I ran to the first armored
personnel carrier, and I...
303
00:17:47,633 --> 00:17:51,133
pulled the, the gunner out of
the turret, dead.
304
00:17:51,232 --> 00:17:54,700
I jumped in there,
manned the machine gun,
305
00:17:54,799 --> 00:17:57,532
and fired until
it ran out of ammo.
306
00:17:57,633 --> 00:18:01,500
NARRATOR:
Okamoto moved to the second
disabled APC
307
00:18:01,599 --> 00:18:05,465
and then the third,
emptying their guns.
308
00:18:05,566 --> 00:18:08,766
OKAMOTO:
And they were still
coming at us.
309
00:18:08,865 --> 00:18:12,500
So I crawled out there, till I
was about ten meters from 'em.
310
00:18:12,599 --> 00:18:16,165
And I killed 'em
with hand grenades.
311
00:18:16,266 --> 00:18:18,965
NARRATOR:
Two enemy grenades fell near him
312
00:18:19,066 --> 00:18:21,532
and he managed to throw
both back.
313
00:18:21,633 --> 00:18:25,365
But a third landed
just beyond his reach.
314
00:18:25,465 --> 00:18:29,099
Shrapnel fragments peppered
his legs and back.
315
00:18:31,066 --> 00:18:34,032
OKAMOTO:
I just knew for sure
I was going to die.
316
00:18:34,133 --> 00:18:36,165
"Okamoto, you're not going
to make it out of here.
317
00:18:36,266 --> 00:18:37,500
"Mom's going to take it hard,
318
00:18:37,599 --> 00:18:40,799
but, you know, you're not going
to make it out of here."
319
00:18:40,900 --> 00:18:42,232
And that's liberating.
320
00:18:42,333 --> 00:18:44,665
When you know you're going
to die, you don't...
321
00:18:44,766 --> 00:18:46,099
the fear leaves.
322
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,000
At least in my case,
I was no longer afraid.
323
00:18:48,099 --> 00:18:50,099
I was just mad because here are
all these little guys
324
00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:53,232
trying to kill my ass.
325
00:18:53,333 --> 00:18:55,165
And if that's the case,
326
00:18:55,266 --> 00:18:58,066
then I'm going to make it as
tough on them as I possibly can
327
00:18:58,165 --> 00:18:59,133
before I go down.
328
00:19:01,865 --> 00:19:04,732
I killed a lot of brave men
that night.
329
00:19:04,833 --> 00:19:06,965
And I rationalized that
by telling myself,
330
00:19:07,066 --> 00:19:09,900
"Well, maybe what you did--
just maybe--
331
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,465
saved the lives of a couple
of your people."
332
00:19:16,333 --> 00:19:20,165
NARRATOR:
During the night, the enemy had
slipped into Cambodia,
333
00:19:20,266 --> 00:19:23,633
dragging as many of their dead
with them as they could.
334
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,799
A third of Okamoto's company
had been lost.
335
00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:33,232
("The Lord Is in This Place" by
Fairport Convention playing)
336
00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:34,833
For his efforts that day,
337
00:19:34,932 --> 00:19:38,766
Vincent Okamoto received the
Distinguished Service Cross,
338
00:19:38,865 --> 00:19:42,333
the Army's second highest honor.
339
00:19:42,432 --> 00:19:44,833
Before his tour of duty ended,
340
00:19:44,932 --> 00:19:48,833
he would become the most highly
decorated Japanese-American
341
00:19:48,932 --> 00:19:51,633
to survive the Vietnam War.
342
00:19:54,465 --> 00:19:56,066
OKAMOTO:
You know what?
343
00:19:56,165 --> 00:19:57,566
(sighs)
344
00:19:57,665 --> 00:20:00,066
The real heroes
are the men that died.
345
00:20:03,532 --> 00:20:07,133
19-, 20-year-old
high school dropouts.
346
00:20:07,232 --> 00:20:09,566
They didn't have escape routes
that the elite
347
00:20:09,665 --> 00:20:13,333
and the wealthy
and the privileged had.
348
00:20:13,432 --> 00:20:14,365
And that was unfair.
349
00:20:17,500 --> 00:20:20,266
And so they looked upon
military service as...
350
00:20:20,365 --> 00:20:22,032
(sighs)
351
00:20:22,133 --> 00:20:23,700
...like the weather.
352
00:20:23,799 --> 00:20:25,665
You had to go in,
and you'd do it.
353
00:20:27,599 --> 00:20:32,066
But to see these kids,
who had the least to gain,
354
00:20:32,165 --> 00:20:33,500
there wasn't anything
to look forward to;
355
00:20:33,599 --> 00:20:34,965
they weren't going
to be rewarded
356
00:20:35,066 --> 00:20:38,032
for their service in Vietnam.
357
00:20:38,133 --> 00:20:43,766
And yet their infinite patience,
their loyalty to each other,
358
00:20:43,865 --> 00:20:48,266
their courage under fire
was just phenomenal.
359
00:20:49,465 --> 00:20:51,900
And you would ask yourself,
360
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,865
"How does America produce
young men like this?"
361
00:21:07,532 --> 00:21:11,032
HUY DUC:
362
00:21:35,766 --> 00:21:39,766
NARRATOR:
At first, Radio Hanoi had
portrayed the Tet Offensive
363
00:21:39,865 --> 00:21:42,633
as a series of
"tremendous victories"
364
00:21:42,732 --> 00:21:46,232
in which "hundreds of thousands
of people have risen up
365
00:21:46,333 --> 00:21:50,333
and destroyed enemy positions."
366
00:21:50,432 --> 00:21:54,232
"But after a couple of weeks,"
one North Vietnamese remembered,
367
00:21:54,333 --> 00:21:57,133
"we didn't hear any more news.
368
00:21:57,232 --> 00:21:59,500
"The Saigon regime
was still there
369
00:21:59,599 --> 00:22:02,865
"and the U.S. planes
were still bombing.
370
00:22:02,965 --> 00:22:06,665
It was obvious the radio wasn't
telling the truth."
371
00:22:11,165 --> 00:22:13,900
Casualty figures were
never revealed,
372
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,599
but to North Vietnamese citizens
secretly listening to reports
373
00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:20,299
on the BBC and Radio Saigon,
374
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,665
it was clear that they
had been heavy.
375
00:22:23,766 --> 00:22:28,333
PHAM LUC:
376
00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:02,232
HUY DUC:
377
00:23:25,333 --> 00:23:30,766
NARRATOR:
In late August 1968, Le Duan and
the North Vietnamese leadership
378
00:23:30,865 --> 00:23:33,833
launched still another
offensive.
379
00:23:33,932 --> 00:23:37,633
The result was the same
as Tet and Mini-Tet.
380
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:44,965
They lost 17,000 more men.
381
00:23:45,066 --> 00:23:47,865
Thousands of fresh recruits
had to be ordered south
382
00:23:47,965 --> 00:23:50,133
to replace them.
383
00:23:50,232 --> 00:23:52,833
"The war began to seem
like an open pit,"
384
00:23:52,932 --> 00:23:55,400
one North Vietnamese remembered.
385
00:23:55,500 --> 00:23:59,633
"The more young people were lost
there, the more they sent."
386
00:24:01,032 --> 00:24:03,333
The sons of some party officials
387
00:24:03,432 --> 00:24:07,232
and their friends were sent
abroad to escape the draft.
388
00:24:07,333 --> 00:24:09,566
University students
were exempted.
389
00:24:09,665 --> 00:24:12,232
People with money
bribed recruiters
390
00:24:12,333 --> 00:24:14,599
to overlook their offspring
391
00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:18,465
or paid physicians to declare
them unfit to serve.
392
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,532
HUY DUC:
393
00:24:35,799 --> 00:24:38,633
NARRATOR:
Most draftees were poor people
from the countryside,
394
00:24:38,732 --> 00:24:41,599
especially receptive
to the slogans
395
00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:45,333
and promises of the revolution.
396
00:24:45,432 --> 00:24:47,633
Thousands of replacements made
their way
397
00:24:47,732 --> 00:24:49,599
down the Ho Chi Minh Trail
398
00:24:49,700 --> 00:24:53,032
past burned-out vehicles
and military graveyards,
399
00:24:53,133 --> 00:24:57,299
the stones neatly marked
with the names of the dead
400
00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,732
and the date each had died.
401
00:25:01,732 --> 00:25:04,900
They encountered small groups
of wounded men
402
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,333
moving in the other direction.
403
00:25:07,432 --> 00:25:10,133
Those without arms walked.
404
00:25:10,232 --> 00:25:13,032
Legless men rode
in camouflaged trucks.
405
00:25:13,133 --> 00:25:15,566
There were blinded soldiers
406
00:25:15,665 --> 00:25:19,865
and others who had been
hideously burned by napalm.
407
00:25:19,965 --> 00:25:22,465
"You'll see all kinds of
pleasures in the South,"
408
00:25:22,566 --> 00:25:27,099
the weary wounded told the
young men moving toward the war.
409
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,599
"Everyone was frightened,"
a political officer remembered,
410
00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:33,700
"especially when we met
those men.
411
00:25:33,799 --> 00:25:36,932
It was like looking
at our future selves."
412
00:25:40,665 --> 00:25:43,133
The youngest delegate
of the New Jersey delegation
413
00:25:43,232 --> 00:25:45,766
casts his vote for the next
president of the United States,
414
00:25:45,865 --> 00:25:46,900
Richard Nixon.
415
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,665
We've got 18.
416
00:25:50,766 --> 00:25:52,799
David, we doubled it, 18.
417
00:25:52,900 --> 00:25:55,333
NARRATOR:
Richard Nixon had been
a prominent
418
00:25:55,432 --> 00:25:58,365
and controversial figure
in American politics
419
00:25:58,465 --> 00:26:01,365
for more than two decades.
420
00:26:01,465 --> 00:26:03,732
He'd been a congressman
and senator,
421
00:26:03,833 --> 00:26:06,799
best known for his fierce
anticommunism,
422
00:26:06,900 --> 00:26:09,099
then served eight years
423
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,266
as Dwight Eisenhower's
vice president.
424
00:26:12,365 --> 00:26:15,232
He narrowly lost
the presidential race
425
00:26:15,333 --> 00:26:18,099
to John Kennedy in 1960
426
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,365
and was defeated again
two years later
427
00:26:20,465 --> 00:26:23,599
trying to become
governor of California.
428
00:26:23,700 --> 00:26:27,865
His career seemed to be over.
429
00:26:27,965 --> 00:26:32,000
But then, in one of the most
extraordinary comebacks
430
00:26:32,099 --> 00:26:34,232
in U.S. political history,
431
00:26:34,333 --> 00:26:36,665
he had outsmarted
and out-maneuvered
432
00:26:36,766 --> 00:26:38,633
and out-campaigned his rivals
433
00:26:38,732 --> 00:26:43,432
to win the 1968
Republican nomination.
434
00:26:43,532 --> 00:26:45,365
MAN:
Richard M. Nixon...
435
00:26:45,465 --> 00:26:46,965
(cheering and applause)
436
00:26:50,032 --> 00:26:52,900
His pick for vice president
was the tough-talking
437
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,266
but largely unknown governor
of Maryland, Spiro Agnew.
438
00:26:59,333 --> 00:27:01,333
Nixon made the case for himself
439
00:27:01,432 --> 00:27:04,965
as the man who could bring
a fractured America together
440
00:27:05,066 --> 00:27:09,000
and bring an honorable end
to the war.
441
00:27:09,099 --> 00:27:12,732
When the strongest nation
in the world can be tied down
442
00:27:12,833 --> 00:27:16,732
for four years in a war in
Vietnam with no end in sight;
443
00:27:16,833 --> 00:27:18,633
when the richest nation
in the world can't manage
444
00:27:18,732 --> 00:27:20,633
its own economy;
445
00:27:20,732 --> 00:27:22,633
when the nation
with the greatest tradition
446
00:27:22,732 --> 00:27:26,500
of the rule of law is plagued
by unprecedented lawlessness;
447
00:27:26,599 --> 00:27:29,799
when a nation that has been
known for a century
448
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:31,299
for equality of opportunity
449
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,799
is torn by unprecedented
racial violence;
450
00:27:34,900 --> 00:27:36,965
and when the president
of the United States
451
00:27:37,066 --> 00:27:40,732
cannot travel abroad or
to any major city at home
452
00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:43,432
without fear of a hostile
demonstration,
453
00:27:43,532 --> 00:27:45,900
then it's time
for new leadership
454
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:47,700
for the United States
of America.
455
00:27:47,799 --> 00:27:49,900
(cheering)
456
00:27:56,633 --> 00:27:58,633
Good evening from Chicago,
457
00:27:58,732 --> 00:28:00,932
where the 35th National
Democratic Convention
458
00:28:01,032 --> 00:28:04,566
opens tomorrow with the promise
of turmoil inside this hall
459
00:28:04,665 --> 00:28:06,532
and a threat of violence
without.
460
00:28:06,633 --> 00:28:10,465
JOHN LAURENCE:
Both sides moved in their troops
on a balmy Sunday morning
461
00:28:10,566 --> 00:28:12,766
for the confrontation
of Chicago.
462
00:28:12,865 --> 00:28:14,833
Some 6,000 crack Army troops,
463
00:28:14,932 --> 00:28:17,732
riot trained and
ready for action...
464
00:28:17,833 --> 00:28:21,365
The Army soldiers moved out to
secret locations around the city
465
00:28:21,465 --> 00:28:24,032
after one of the largest troop
movements in domestic history.
466
00:28:26,700 --> 00:28:30,865
NARRATOR:
Some 15,000 protestors had
gathered in Chicago,
467
00:28:30,965 --> 00:28:34,365
most to register
their anguish over the war...
468
00:28:36,599 --> 00:28:39,599
Some bent on disrupting
the convention.
469
00:28:42,865 --> 00:28:46,633
Richard J. Daley,
the Democratic mayor of Chicago,
470
00:28:46,732 --> 00:28:50,566
was determined that
there be no trouble in his city.
471
00:28:52,333 --> 00:28:56,665
Twelve thousand Chicago
policemen were on alert.
472
00:28:56,766 --> 00:29:00,099
In addition to the
6,000 U.S. Army troops,
473
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,965
there were 6,000 more armed
National Guardsmen
474
00:29:04,066 --> 00:29:07,932
and a thousand intelligence
agents from the FBI,
475
00:29:08,032 --> 00:29:11,165
the CIA, and the military.
476
00:29:12,599 --> 00:29:15,432
Mayor Daley cordoned off
the Chicago Amphitheater
477
00:29:15,532 --> 00:29:17,066
where the convention
was being held
478
00:29:17,165 --> 00:29:20,599
and denied the protestors
permits to march
479
00:29:20,700 --> 00:29:23,299
or to sleep in the city's parks.
480
00:29:24,633 --> 00:29:26,500
INTERVIEWER:
Are you planning to go
without the permit
481
00:29:26,599 --> 00:29:27,732
if you don't get the permit?
482
00:29:27,833 --> 00:29:29,200
RENNIE DAVIS:
Given the fact
483
00:29:29,299 --> 00:29:32,865
that for many months we have
notified this city
484
00:29:32,965 --> 00:29:36,700
and this nation that we wish
to hold a demonstration,
485
00:29:36,799 --> 00:29:38,566
an assembly in Chicago
486
00:29:38,665 --> 00:29:41,165
to register our convictions
about the war,
487
00:29:41,266 --> 00:29:44,665
the tens of thousands of people
coming to the city of Chicago
488
00:29:44,766 --> 00:29:46,532
constitute a permit.
489
00:29:48,599 --> 00:29:50,766
Our fight is with the militarism
490
00:29:50,865 --> 00:29:52,566
that is developing
in this country
491
00:29:52,665 --> 00:29:55,500
in the response to legitimate
political and social grievances
492
00:29:55,599 --> 00:29:57,465
by bringing in troops
493
00:29:57,566 --> 00:30:00,432
rather than dealing with the
real issues and real problems.
494
00:30:03,932 --> 00:30:06,099
CRONKITE:
In the name of security,
freedom of the press,
495
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,432
freedom of movement,
perhaps as far
496
00:30:08,532 --> 00:30:10,566
as the demonstrators themselves
are concerned,
497
00:30:10,665 --> 00:30:14,766
even freedom of speech have
been severely restricted here.
498
00:30:14,865 --> 00:30:19,932
A democratic convention is about
to begin in a police state.
499
00:30:20,032 --> 00:30:22,599
There just doesn't seem to be
any other way to say it.
500
00:30:24,766 --> 00:30:27,200
JOHN BAILEY:
Will the delegates
please be seated.
501
00:30:27,299 --> 00:30:29,232
NARRATOR:
Vice President Hubert Humphrey,
502
00:30:29,333 --> 00:30:32,766
President Johnson's chosen
successor, was the frontrunner.
503
00:30:32,865 --> 00:30:37,000
He had always been a hero
to his party's liberal wing,
504
00:30:37,099 --> 00:30:40,000
but because he had loyally
supported the president
505
00:30:40,099 --> 00:30:43,965
and the war, many delegates,
and most of the demonstrators
506
00:30:44,066 --> 00:30:48,200
outside the convention hall,
backed his antiwar rival,
507
00:30:48,299 --> 00:30:51,066
Senator Eugene McCarthy.
508
00:30:51,165 --> 00:30:54,266
(muffled shouting on megaphone)
509
00:30:54,365 --> 00:30:56,833
On the second night
of the convention,
510
00:30:56,932 --> 00:30:59,000
the police drove hundreds
of demonstrators
511
00:30:59,099 --> 00:31:02,965
out of Lincoln Park
with clubs and tear gas.
512
00:31:03,066 --> 00:31:04,732
(sirens wailing)
513
00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:11,032
JOHN CHANCELLOR:
The delegates wearing bands of
black crepe on their arms...
514
00:31:11,133 --> 00:31:14,299
NARRATOR:
The next afternoon,
the Democrats heatedly debated
515
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,900
a plank in the party platform
calling for an end to the war.
516
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,500
When Humphrey supporters
voted it down,
517
00:31:22,599 --> 00:31:26,266
the antiwar delegates erupted.
518
00:31:26,365 --> 00:31:28,766
CHANCELLOR:
...who have joined New York in
this extraordinary demonstration
519
00:31:28,865 --> 00:31:33,365
of antiwar sentiment
on the convention floor.
520
00:31:33,465 --> 00:31:35,365
("Street Fighting Man"
by the Rolling Stones playing)
521
00:31:35,465 --> 00:31:37,633
DOUGLAS KIKER (on TV):
The demonstrators resisted when
police attempted to arrest
522
00:31:37,732 --> 00:31:40,032
a young man who tried to rip
down an American flag.
523
00:31:40,133 --> 00:31:42,232
PROTESTOR:
Watch... watch these fuckers.
524
00:31:42,333 --> 00:31:44,165
Don't turn your back
on these fuckers!
525
00:31:47,032 --> 00:31:50,900
MICK JAGGER:
♪ Everywhere I hear the sound
of marching... ♪
526
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,266
PHILIP CAPUTO:
The cops were all...
527
00:31:52,365 --> 00:31:53,900
they were guys
from the neighborhoods--
528
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,599
Italians, Polish guys,
Irish guys.
529
00:31:57,700 --> 00:32:00,032
Probably some of them
had been in Vietnam.
530
00:32:00,133 --> 00:32:01,633
And if they hadn't been,
531
00:32:01,732 --> 00:32:05,766
they certainly had cousins
or brothers who were.
532
00:32:05,865 --> 00:32:10,165
NARRATOR:
Philip Caputo, who had fought
with the Marines in Vietnam,
533
00:32:10,266 --> 00:32:12,066
was now a reporter,
534
00:32:12,165 --> 00:32:16,066
assigned to cover the conflict
in American streets.
535
00:32:16,165 --> 00:32:18,965
Get a picture of them
throwing the rocks!
536
00:32:21,099 --> 00:32:23,066
CAPUTO:
So all of a sudden
the streets are filled
537
00:32:23,165 --> 00:32:25,333
with these kids who don't look
like college kids
538
00:32:25,432 --> 00:32:27,932
are supposed to look
in the cops' view.
539
00:32:28,032 --> 00:32:29,833
(protestors shouting,
sirens wailing)
540
00:32:29,932 --> 00:32:31,532
(explosion)
541
00:32:31,633 --> 00:32:33,299
And some of them were
committing vandalism
542
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:37,099
and yelling obscenities.
543
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,665
And I think a lot of policemen
saw that
544
00:32:40,766 --> 00:32:47,032
as abusing the privileges that
they had and scorning them.
545
00:32:47,133 --> 00:32:48,532
They are provoking us
546
00:32:48,633 --> 00:32:51,566
but we do not want to confront
them now-- move back, please.
547
00:32:51,665 --> 00:32:53,865
JAGGER:
♪ Well, then what can
a poor boy do ♪
548
00:32:53,965 --> 00:32:57,665
♪ Except to sing for
a rock 'n' roll band ♪
549
00:32:57,766 --> 00:33:00,532
♪ 'Cause in sleepy London town
550
00:33:00,633 --> 00:33:03,932
♪ There's just no place
for a street fighting man ♪
551
00:33:04,032 --> 00:33:08,599
(police chanting):
Move back! Move back!
552
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,865
(screaming)
553
00:33:20,333 --> 00:33:26,000
That's a report, on film, from
Grant Park, downtown Chicago.
554
00:33:28,266 --> 00:33:30,633
NARRATOR:
That evening,
thousands of demonstrators,
555
00:33:30,732 --> 00:33:33,833
barred from getting anywhere
near the convention,
556
00:33:33,932 --> 00:33:37,833
were marching toward
Democratic Party headquarters
557
00:33:37,932 --> 00:33:41,066
in the Hilton Hotel
on Michigan Avenue instead.
558
00:33:41,165 --> 00:33:44,566
ALINE SAARENEN:
The marchers seem to have come
from everywhere
559
00:33:44,665 --> 00:33:48,099
and now are coming up south
on Michigan Avenue
560
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:49,566
back toward the point where
561
00:33:49,665 --> 00:33:53,500
the police were blocking them
before.
562
00:33:55,599 --> 00:33:56,965
NATIONAL GUARDSMAN:
Get your hands up!
563
00:33:57,066 --> 00:33:58,599
Hands up!
564
00:33:58,700 --> 00:33:59,932
Come on!
565
00:34:00,032 --> 00:34:02,900
(shouting)
566
00:34:07,932 --> 00:34:09,766
Come on now!
Go! Go!
567
00:34:09,865 --> 00:34:13,565
I place before you
for the Democratic nomination
568
00:34:13,666 --> 00:34:16,365
as president
of the United States
569
00:34:16,465 --> 00:34:20,733
the name of Senator Eugene J.
McCarthy of Minnesota.
570
00:34:20,833 --> 00:34:24,900
(cheers and applause)
571
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,233
Downtown Chicago at Balbo
and Michigan Avenues,
572
00:34:29,333 --> 00:34:33,000
there has been in progress for
some time a peace demonstration.
573
00:34:33,099 --> 00:34:35,365
The police have come
to put it down.
574
00:34:35,465 --> 00:34:37,965
The National Guard
has been called to help.
575
00:34:38,065 --> 00:34:41,465
(crowd chanting "sieg heil"
at police)
576
00:34:48,965 --> 00:34:52,965
(chanting continues)
577
00:34:53,065 --> 00:34:57,300
(siren wails)
578
00:34:58,632 --> 00:35:03,865
(screaming)
579
00:35:03,965 --> 00:35:05,465
MAN:
Get him!
580
00:35:05,565 --> 00:35:08,099
Get him! Get him!
581
00:35:16,666 --> 00:35:18,599
GABE PRESSMAN:
...people screaming...
582
00:35:18,699 --> 00:35:20,032
JAMES WILLBANKS:
I turned on the television.
583
00:35:20,132 --> 00:35:21,900
I don't think I was
too particularly thoughtful
584
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,300
as a junior in college,
585
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:26,666
but I thought the country was
coming apart at the seams.
586
00:35:26,766 --> 00:35:28,900
It looked like we were
devolving into madness.
587
00:35:30,666 --> 00:35:34,532
And I couldn't tell, was it
protestors or the police
588
00:35:34,632 --> 00:35:35,599
or was everybody insane?
589
00:35:35,699 --> 00:35:39,532
(crowd chanting)
590
00:35:39,632 --> 00:35:41,333
(gavel pounding)
591
00:35:41,432 --> 00:35:44,065
NARRATOR:
At the convention
there was more confusion.
592
00:35:44,166 --> 00:35:47,166
Some antiwar delegates
once pledged
593
00:35:47,266 --> 00:35:50,465
to the murdered Robert Kennedy
now threw their support
594
00:35:50,565 --> 00:35:52,565
behind yet another candidate,
595
00:35:52,666 --> 00:35:56,266
South Dakota senator
George McGovern.
596
00:35:56,365 --> 00:35:59,599
ABRAHAM RIBICOFF:
And with George McGovern as
president of the United States,
597
00:35:59,699 --> 00:36:03,599
we wouldn't have to have
Gestapo tactics
598
00:36:03,699 --> 00:36:07,465
in the streets of Chicago.
599
00:36:07,565 --> 00:36:14,233
(crowd reacts boisterously)
600
00:36:14,333 --> 00:36:16,666
PRESSMAN:
The persistent chanting
by the crowd,
601
00:36:16,766 --> 00:36:18,965
"The whole world is watching."
602
00:36:19,065 --> 00:36:22,266
NARRATOR:
LBJ, watching the chaos
on television,
603
00:36:22,365 --> 00:36:24,233
considered flying to Chicago
604
00:36:24,333 --> 00:36:27,465
and getting back
in the race himself.
605
00:36:27,565 --> 00:36:30,500
Mayor Daley told the president
he'd have enough delegates
606
00:36:30,599 --> 00:36:32,400
to win the nomination,
607
00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:36,800
but the Secret Service warned it
could not guarantee his safety.
608
00:36:41,266 --> 00:36:45,766
RON FERRIZZI:
I got to Australia the last week
of August 1968-- RandR.
609
00:36:45,865 --> 00:36:48,365
I never really wanted
to go on RandR.
610
00:36:48,465 --> 00:36:50,965
I felt that, how can you relax?
611
00:36:51,065 --> 00:36:54,733
So I turn on the TV
and the first scene...
612
00:36:54,833 --> 00:36:57,000
The TV gets bright.
613
00:36:57,099 --> 00:36:59,599
The first scene on...
it was the camera...
614
00:36:59,699 --> 00:37:03,599
was a close-up, was over the
shoulder of this storm trooper
615
00:37:03,699 --> 00:37:05,900
who had a kid by the scruff
of his shirt.
616
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,532
And he smacks him with his bat.
617
00:37:08,632 --> 00:37:11,632
And there's blood and everything
and all this jumble.
618
00:37:11,733 --> 00:37:14,400
And then the camera pans out
and it's far away.
619
00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:16,065
And these riots and
there's fighting going on.
620
00:37:16,166 --> 00:37:17,733
And I go, "Oh, my God,
621
00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:19,532
the Russians invaded
Czechoslovakia."
622
00:37:19,632 --> 00:37:22,532
And then ditto, ditto, ditto,
"Chicago Democratic Convention,
623
00:37:22,632 --> 00:37:24,400
United States of America."
624
00:37:24,500 --> 00:37:27,000
And I said...
you know, at that moment my...
625
00:37:27,099 --> 00:37:29,000
I-I was politicized.
626
00:37:29,099 --> 00:37:31,965
("For What It's Worth" by
Buffalo Springfield playing)
627
00:37:38,965 --> 00:37:43,132
♪ There's somethin'
happenin' here ♪
628
00:37:43,233 --> 00:37:46,365
♪ What it is
ain't exactly clear ♪
629
00:37:46,465 --> 00:37:48,233
FERRIZZI:
At that moment in time,
630
00:37:48,333 --> 00:37:51,400
I realized that anybody who
really cared for America
631
00:37:51,500 --> 00:37:54,766
was sent halfway around the
world chasing some ghost
632
00:37:54,865 --> 00:37:57,766
in the jungle, killing
somebody else's grandmother
633
00:37:57,865 --> 00:37:59,766
for no reason at all.
634
00:37:59,865 --> 00:38:01,932
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD:
♪ What's that sound, everybody
look what's going down ♪
635
00:38:02,032 --> 00:38:05,666
FERRIZZI:
And, in the meantime, my
country's being torn apart.
636
00:38:05,766 --> 00:38:07,632
So I saw somebody who looked
like my dad
637
00:38:07,733 --> 00:38:09,166
hitting somebody
who looked like me.
638
00:38:09,266 --> 00:38:13,166
Oh, my God,
whose side would I be on?
639
00:38:13,266 --> 00:38:16,599
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD:
♪ There's battle lines
being drawn ♪
640
00:38:16,699 --> 00:38:22,965
♪ Nobody's right
if everybody's wrong ♪
641
00:38:23,065 --> 00:38:26,833
♪ Young people
speakin' their minds ♪
642
00:38:26,932 --> 00:38:30,900
♪ Getting so much resistance
from behind ♪
643
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,000
♪ It's time we stop
644
00:38:32,099 --> 00:38:33,666
NARRATOR:
In the end,
645
00:38:33,766 --> 00:38:36,733
Humphrey won the nomination
on the first ballot.
646
00:38:36,833 --> 00:38:39,300
He told the press
how pleased he was,
647
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,432
but he confessed to his wife
that the convention had left him
648
00:38:43,532 --> 00:38:47,365
feeling heartbroken, battered,
and beaten,
649
00:38:47,465 --> 00:38:49,599
as if he'd survived a shipwreck.
650
00:38:51,632 --> 00:38:54,233
A presidential commission would
declare what had happened
651
00:38:54,333 --> 00:38:58,565
in Chicago a "police riot,"
but in a Gallup poll,
652
00:38:58,666 --> 00:39:02,000
56% of Americans approved
653
00:39:02,099 --> 00:39:05,733
of the way the police had
handled the demonstrators.
654
00:39:05,833 --> 00:39:10,000
And when Richard Nixon chose
to open his campaign
655
00:39:10,099 --> 00:39:12,266
with a motorcade
through the Chicago Loop,
656
00:39:12,365 --> 00:39:16,900
nearly half a million Chicagoans
turned out to cheer him.
657
00:39:24,065 --> 00:39:26,000
MICHAEL HOLMES (on tape):
Hello, Mom, Pop.
658
00:39:26,099 --> 00:39:28,300
I really can't tell you too much
about this country
659
00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,065
except the rice paddies stink.
660
00:39:30,166 --> 00:39:34,432
And it's just miles and miles
of nothing but rice paddies.
661
00:39:34,532 --> 00:39:35,932
And they got dikes in them.
662
00:39:36,032 --> 00:39:36,965
Real cool looking.
663
00:39:37,065 --> 00:39:38,666
We go through them with our APCs
664
00:39:38,766 --> 00:39:41,132
and tear them down
and everything else.
665
00:39:41,233 --> 00:39:45,233
("Road to Marscota"
by Peter Walker playing)
666
00:39:45,333 --> 00:39:49,300
NARRATOR:
On August 29, the day after
police and demonstrators clashed
667
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:53,166
in Chicago, 20-year-old private
Michael Holmes
668
00:39:53,266 --> 00:39:56,599
arrived in Vietnam.
669
00:39:56,699 --> 00:40:00,632
He was born and brought up in
the tiny town of Williamsville,
670
00:40:00,733 --> 00:40:03,333
in the heart
of the Missouri Ozarks.
671
00:40:03,432 --> 00:40:05,833
His father and mother
ran the general store
672
00:40:05,932 --> 00:40:08,565
where Michael worked
every day after school.
673
00:40:08,666 --> 00:40:12,599
He floated the rivers,
hunted deer and squirrels,
674
00:40:12,699 --> 00:40:15,699
and was going steady
with a girl named Darlene.
675
00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:19,699
He had trouble keeping up
in high school,
676
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:23,333
did not complete community
college and, as a result,
677
00:40:23,432 --> 00:40:27,365
was immediately drafted
into the Army.
678
00:40:27,465 --> 00:40:32,500
In Vietnam, he was assigned to
F Troop, 17th Armored Cavalry,
679
00:40:32,599 --> 00:40:35,965
196th Light Infantry Brigade,
680
00:40:36,065 --> 00:40:38,632
stationed at an isolated
firebase
681
00:40:38,733 --> 00:40:43,865
22 miles south of Danang
called Baldy.
682
00:40:43,965 --> 00:40:46,400
HOLMES (on tape):
So you ask what the size
of Baldy was.
683
00:40:46,500 --> 00:40:49,300
Well, it's just about
as big as Williamsville
684
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,565
and maybe a little bit bigger.
685
00:40:52,666 --> 00:40:56,865
I sent you a picture of me
and a bunch of the other guys.
686
00:41:00,733 --> 00:41:02,465
It's not really that bad.
687
00:41:02,565 --> 00:41:04,199
It's... in a way I like it.
688
00:41:04,300 --> 00:41:06,333
It's just being away from home
689
00:41:06,432 --> 00:41:08,166
and everything
that I don't like.
690
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:15,266
NARRATOR:
In Williamsville, family and
friends gathered to listen
691
00:41:15,365 --> 00:41:17,733
to Michael's reports
from Vietnam
692
00:41:17,833 --> 00:41:22,099
and to fill him in on what was
happening back home.
693
00:41:22,199 --> 00:41:25,166
WOMAN (on tape):
We're all down here at your dad
and mother's tonight
694
00:41:25,266 --> 00:41:28,465
and we thought we'd all
say something for you.
695
00:41:28,565 --> 00:41:33,465
And you could hear our voice
and feel like you's back home.
696
00:41:33,565 --> 00:41:34,465
And we're looking forward...
697
00:41:34,565 --> 00:41:35,900
HAROLD (on tape):
Hello, Mike.
698
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:37,733
I've been doing a lot of
squirrel hunting lately,
699
00:41:37,833 --> 00:41:39,965
and killing quite a few.
700
00:41:40,065 --> 00:41:43,333
Well, the Ozarks really look
beautiful this time of year.
701
00:41:43,432 --> 00:41:44,733
Looking forward to seeing you.
702
00:41:44,833 --> 00:41:46,432
JERRY (on tape):
Uh, this is Jerry, Mike.
703
00:41:46,532 --> 00:41:49,733
I think Ricky and Carol
broke up, Mike.
704
00:41:49,833 --> 00:41:51,632
Ricky, he's really prowling now.
705
00:41:51,733 --> 00:41:54,532
GLENDA (on tape):
Mike, this is Glenda.
706
00:41:54,632 --> 00:41:57,833
Um, I got a boyfriend,
and his name's Danny.
707
00:41:57,932 --> 00:41:59,132
And...
708
00:41:59,233 --> 00:42:00,865
GLEN (on tape):
Mike, this is Glen.
709
00:42:00,965 --> 00:42:03,300
All these other boys been
talking about hunting,
710
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:05,132
I'm gonna talk about girls.
711
00:42:05,233 --> 00:42:08,065
(chuckling):
Girls and fast cars.
712
00:42:08,166 --> 00:42:11,132
Gene Bilbury got him
a new Bonneville.
713
00:42:11,233 --> 00:42:14,632
MICHAEL'S MOTHER (on tape):
Michael, this is Mother.
714
00:42:14,733 --> 00:42:18,099
The picture you sent us was real
good, it looked just like you.
715
00:42:18,199 --> 00:42:22,065
I even liked that moustache,
and I didn't think I would.
716
00:42:22,166 --> 00:42:23,666
And we miss you a lot.
717
00:42:23,766 --> 00:42:25,632
MICHAEL'S FATHER (on tape):
This is your dad talking.
718
00:42:25,733 --> 00:42:30,532
We think that you'll be okay,
just don't be nosing around
719
00:42:30,632 --> 00:42:33,166
where you don't have
any business
720
00:42:33,266 --> 00:42:36,666
and get hold of a booby trap
or something.
721
00:42:36,766 --> 00:42:40,833
This is about the end of this
tape, so goodbye for now.
722
00:42:49,932 --> 00:42:53,733
HOLMES (on tape):
We burned down a whole lot of
hooches today
723
00:42:53,833 --> 00:42:57,000
of these people who don't
cooperate with us, you know.
724
00:42:57,099 --> 00:42:58,766
Yeah, I don't I don't really
understand it
725
00:42:58,865 --> 00:43:04,099
because if, if they are,
you know, not VC,
726
00:43:04,199 --> 00:43:07,233
and we do that to them,
you know, treat them bad,
727
00:43:07,333 --> 00:43:09,300
then they're gonna turn VC.
728
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:10,932
The Army does everything
backward.
729
00:43:17,500 --> 00:43:21,632
NARRATOR:
One morning that fall,
several APCs from F Troop
730
00:43:21,733 --> 00:43:24,699
moved cautiously up
Highway One toward Danang.
731
00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:29,199
Michael Holmes rode
in the second vehicle.
732
00:43:29,300 --> 00:43:33,000
(explosion)
733
00:43:37,965 --> 00:43:42,699
His APC hit a 300-pound bomb
buried beneath the road.
734
00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:46,099
Three of his
friends died instantly.
735
00:43:46,199 --> 00:43:48,532
Holmes was thrown clear
736
00:43:48,632 --> 00:43:52,932
and woke up five hours later
in the hospital.
737
00:43:56,065 --> 00:43:58,132
HOLMES (on tape):
Hello, Mom, Pop.
738
00:43:58,233 --> 00:43:59,500
This is me.
739
00:43:59,599 --> 00:44:01,465
Up to this point I didn't know
740
00:44:01,565 --> 00:44:04,833
if there was really
a war going on over here.
741
00:44:04,932 --> 00:44:08,733
I just thought maybe they was
playing a game or something.
742
00:44:08,833 --> 00:44:12,365
But I could've reached out and
touched two of those people.
743
00:44:12,465 --> 00:44:14,500
I knew them real good.
744
00:44:14,599 --> 00:44:16,099
And please don't worry about me
getting hurt
745
00:44:16,199 --> 00:44:19,266
because I'm not hurt
all that bad.
746
00:44:19,365 --> 00:44:22,666
Two more Purple Hearts
and I'm out of the field,
747
00:44:22,766 --> 00:44:26,532
and I think maybe I get to get
out of the country altogether.
748
00:44:31,965 --> 00:44:37,333
NARRATOR:
Six months later, Michael Holmes
was on patrol, walking point,
749
00:44:37,432 --> 00:44:41,599
when he was killed by
a North Vietnamese soldier.
750
00:44:50,032 --> 00:44:52,099
LIZ TROTTA:
This is Long An province.
751
00:44:52,199 --> 00:44:55,532
Since 1962, it has been an
important testing ground
752
00:44:55,632 --> 00:44:57,733
for the pacification program.
753
00:44:57,833 --> 00:45:02,632
Amidst the flat rice fields and
coconut trees lies Loc Tien Mot.
754
00:45:02,733 --> 00:45:06,300
The hamlet chief says only more
troops will make his people safe
755
00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:08,099
from the Viet Cong.
756
00:45:08,199 --> 00:45:09,465
During the night, he adds,
757
00:45:09,565 --> 00:45:12,699
the guerrillas go from house
to house collecting taxes.
758
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,632
The government may have left
its traces of pacification.
759
00:45:16,733 --> 00:45:18,632
The Viet Cong have not left.
760
00:45:18,733 --> 00:45:21,865
Liz Trotta, NBC News,
South Vietnam.
761
00:45:23,500 --> 00:45:26,166
NARRATOR:
Since the Viet Cong had
been so badly weakened
762
00:45:26,266 --> 00:45:29,800
in the Tet Offensive and the two
offensives that followed it,
763
00:45:29,900 --> 00:45:31,666
General Abrams believed
764
00:45:31,766 --> 00:45:34,365
that hundreds of thousands
of ARVN troops
765
00:45:34,465 --> 00:45:37,166
could now be freed
to secure the countryside
766
00:45:37,266 --> 00:45:40,132
and win support for the
government in Saigon.
767
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,965
But permanent security
was not possible
768
00:45:45,065 --> 00:45:48,300
unless the Viet Cong
political infrastructure--
769
00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:51,199
the tax collectors
and village chiefs,
770
00:45:51,300 --> 00:45:54,132
runners and spies
and sympathizers--
771
00:45:54,233 --> 00:45:59,065
were killed, captured,
or persuaded to defect.
772
00:45:59,166 --> 00:46:05,333
To do that, the CIA
had created the Phoenix Program.
773
00:46:05,432 --> 00:46:08,400
RICHARD THRELKELD:
The villagers of Thuy Xuan
have been assembled
774
00:46:08,500 --> 00:46:10,199
in the village schoolyard,
775
00:46:10,300 --> 00:46:13,699
where teams of government
interrogators are trying
776
00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:16,333
to pick out from among them
the members of the Viet Cong
777
00:46:16,432 --> 00:46:18,233
who live here.
778
00:46:18,333 --> 00:46:21,599
This sort of Phoenix exercise
is a weekly event
779
00:46:21,699 --> 00:46:24,565
in districts
throughout South Vietnam.
780
00:46:27,099 --> 00:46:28,932
NARRATOR:
After recovering
from his wounds,
781
00:46:29,032 --> 00:46:32,965
Lieutenant Vincent Okamoto
became an intelligence officer
782
00:46:33,065 --> 00:46:36,266
attached to the program.
783
00:46:36,365 --> 00:46:37,666
The Phoenix Program
was premised on the fact
784
00:46:37,766 --> 00:46:39,900
that the North Vietnamese coming
down the Ho Chi Minh Trail,
785
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:41,532
when they went
into South Vietnam,
786
00:46:41,632 --> 00:46:43,099
they were strangers,
just like the Americans.
787
00:46:43,199 --> 00:46:46,733
They didn't know the terrain,
they didn't know the people.
788
00:46:46,833 --> 00:46:50,166
So in order for them
to function operationally,
789
00:46:50,266 --> 00:46:52,500
they needed the Viet Cong
infrastructure.
790
00:46:52,599 --> 00:46:56,932
And so the project was
to eliminate those guys.
791
00:46:57,032 --> 00:46:59,666
And I think it made
a great deal of sense.
792
00:47:01,666 --> 00:47:04,865
STUART HERRINGTON:
The communists thought Phoenix
was very effective.
793
00:47:04,965 --> 00:47:07,465
They saw it as
a significant threat
794
00:47:07,565 --> 00:47:09,865
to the viability
of the revolution
795
00:47:09,965 --> 00:47:14,432
because to the extent that you
could take a sharp pointed knife
796
00:47:14,532 --> 00:47:16,233
and carve out the Viet Cong,
797
00:47:16,333 --> 00:47:18,532
the shadow Viet Cong,
the shadow government,
798
00:47:18,632 --> 00:47:21,800
then their means of control
over the civilian population
799
00:47:21,900 --> 00:47:23,965
in the South was dealt
a death blow.
800
00:47:26,266 --> 00:47:29,233
NARRATOR:
The pressure the Phoenix Program
put on the Viet Cong
801
00:47:29,333 --> 00:47:33,532
caused dangerous signs of what
one communist official described
802
00:47:33,632 --> 00:47:37,766
as "wavering" among his
followers in the Mekong Delta--
803
00:47:37,865 --> 00:47:41,565
depression, discouragement,
and widespread drunkenness
804
00:47:41,666 --> 00:47:45,733
even among men
going into battle.
805
00:47:47,199 --> 00:47:51,132
But Phoenix's targeting was only
as good as the intelligence
806
00:47:51,233 --> 00:47:56,599
upon which it was based,
and that varied widely.
807
00:47:56,699 --> 00:48:00,099
DAVID CULHANE:
This film, made by a CBS
stringer cameraman
808
00:48:00,199 --> 00:48:03,300
some weeks ago shows
South Vietnamese forces
809
00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:04,699
interrogating an old man
810
00:48:04,800 --> 00:48:07,032
identified as a minor
VC official.
811
00:48:09,333 --> 00:48:10,500
NARRATOR:
In the Phoenix Program,
812
00:48:10,599 --> 00:48:14,666
Americans served
in an advisory capacity;
813
00:48:14,766 --> 00:48:18,000
most of the day-to-day
enforcement was left to
814
00:48:18,099 --> 00:48:21,500
the South Vietnamese Provincial
Reconnaissance Units--
815
00:48:21,599 --> 00:48:23,532
the PRUs--
816
00:48:23,632 --> 00:48:25,965
who sometimes were
more interested
817
00:48:26,065 --> 00:48:30,599
in settling old scores
than in rooting out communists.
818
00:48:32,465 --> 00:48:35,532
OKAMOTO:
It was scary because it was
subject to abuse,
819
00:48:35,632 --> 00:48:38,900
and was abused.
820
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:43,666
Again, the geniuses in Saigon
would use their computers
821
00:48:43,766 --> 00:48:47,300
to come up with the blacklists.
822
00:48:49,300 --> 00:48:51,900
You get the list, and you check
with other intelligence officers
823
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:53,932
in the district.
824
00:48:54,032 --> 00:48:56,800
And you try to pool
that information.
825
00:48:56,900 --> 00:48:58,932
Next night,
or a couple nights later,
826
00:48:59,032 --> 00:49:01,565
a bunch of cowboys from the PRUs
would go out there.
827
00:49:01,666 --> 00:49:05,266
And, you know,
knock on the door,
828
00:49:05,365 --> 00:49:06,666
"April Fool, motherfucker!"
829
00:49:06,766 --> 00:49:07,733
And boom.
830
00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:11,000
There wasn't any
real accountability.
831
00:49:14,266 --> 00:49:16,932
NARRATOR:
Later, the director
of the Phoenix Program
832
00:49:17,032 --> 00:49:20,500
admitted to Congress
that no one knew how many
833
00:49:20,599 --> 00:49:25,199
of the more than 20,000 who had
been killed were innocent.
834
00:49:27,333 --> 00:49:29,565
And although the program
did succeed
835
00:49:29,666 --> 00:49:32,500
in degrading the Viet Cong
infrastructure,
836
00:49:32,599 --> 00:49:35,266
the government of Nguyen
Van Thieu remained
837
00:49:35,365 --> 00:49:37,365
as unpopular as ever.
838
00:49:40,266 --> 00:49:43,632
A poll taken in the Delta
province of Long An
839
00:49:43,733 --> 00:49:48,065
would show 35% of the people
ready to vote for Thieu,
840
00:49:48,166 --> 00:49:52,166
20% favoring
the National Liberation Front,
841
00:49:52,266 --> 00:49:57,099
and 45% backing someone, anyone,
842
00:49:57,199 --> 00:49:59,599
opposed to both the Viet Cong
843
00:49:59,699 --> 00:50:03,565
and the American-backed regime
in Saigon.
844
00:50:08,199 --> 00:50:09,733
MAN:
In Vietnam there's a wound
845
00:50:09,833 --> 00:50:11,932
that does not cease
its bleeding.
846
00:50:12,032 --> 00:50:17,565
I'm talking about the scream
of death and the wound of war.
847
00:50:17,666 --> 00:50:19,632
We did not come to talk
with you, Mr. Humphrey.
848
00:50:19,733 --> 00:50:21,565
We have come to arrest you.
849
00:50:21,666 --> 00:50:23,233
Now you've had equal time.
850
00:50:23,333 --> 00:50:24,166
Shut up!
851
00:50:24,266 --> 00:50:26,166
(mixture of boos and cheers)
852
00:50:26,266 --> 00:50:29,900
NARRATOR:
Hubert Humphrey's presidential
campaign was in trouble.
853
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:33,400
Richard Nixon was comfortably
ahead in the polls
854
00:50:33,500 --> 00:50:35,365
and refused to debate.
855
00:50:35,465 --> 00:50:38,032
"I've come to the conclusion
856
00:50:38,132 --> 00:50:40,099
that there's no way
to win the war,"
857
00:50:40,199 --> 00:50:43,699
he told three of
his speechwriters in private.
858
00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:45,632
"But we have to say
the opposite,
859
00:50:45,733 --> 00:50:48,833
just to keep some
bargaining leverage."
860
00:50:48,932 --> 00:50:53,233
Compounding Humphrey's problem
was a third-party candidate,
861
00:50:53,333 --> 00:50:54,733
George Wallace,
862
00:50:54,833 --> 00:50:57,900
the segregationist former
governor of Alabama.
863
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:01,400
He was sure to peel away
some white voters
864
00:51:01,500 --> 00:51:04,833
who normally voted Democratic.
865
00:51:04,932 --> 00:51:09,000
Humphrey had confided his doubts
about the war to Johnson
866
00:51:09,099 --> 00:51:13,300
early on, but had always
remained stubbornly loyal to him
867
00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:14,666
in public.
868
00:51:14,766 --> 00:51:18,565
Now his advisors told him that
if he wanted to win
869
00:51:18,666 --> 00:51:20,865
he had to break
with the president
870
00:51:20,965 --> 00:51:24,632
and make a bold gesture
toward ending the war.
871
00:51:26,465 --> 00:51:29,565
On September 30,
he called for a total halt
872
00:51:29,666 --> 00:51:32,400
to the bombing
of North Vietnam.
873
00:51:32,500 --> 00:51:34,932
HUMPHREY:
I would stop the bombing
of the North
874
00:51:35,032 --> 00:51:38,333
as an acceptable risk for peace
875
00:51:38,432 --> 00:51:43,032
because I believe it could lead
to success in the negotiations
876
00:51:43,132 --> 00:51:44,965
and thereby shorten the war.
877
00:51:45,065 --> 00:51:49,000
This would be the best
protection for our troops.
878
00:51:49,099 --> 00:51:52,432
NARRATOR:
Johnson felt betrayed
and refused to speak
879
00:51:52,532 --> 00:51:54,733
to his own vice president
for a time.
880
00:51:56,065 --> 00:51:59,833
But on October 31, just five
days before the election,
881
00:51:59,932 --> 00:52:03,500
the president himself
made a surprise announcement.
882
00:52:05,632 --> 00:52:09,766
He was stopping all bombing
of North Vietnam.
883
00:52:09,865 --> 00:52:13,465
There had been real progress
in Paris, he said.
884
00:52:13,565 --> 00:52:17,766
Hanoi had agreed for the first
time to talk with Saigon,
885
00:52:17,865 --> 00:52:22,500
and the United States had agreed
to include the Viet Cong.
886
00:52:22,599 --> 00:52:28,166
It suddenly looked as if
peace were possible.
887
00:52:28,266 --> 00:52:30,032
Humphrey was jubilant.
888
00:52:30,132 --> 00:52:32,865
His poll numbers rose overnight.
889
00:52:32,965 --> 00:52:37,333
He was confident he would now
be able to overtake Nixon.
890
00:52:37,432 --> 00:52:40,800
But then, on November 2,
891
00:52:40,900 --> 00:52:44,666
with just three days to go until
Americans went to the polls,
892
00:52:44,766 --> 00:52:47,599
President Thieu
suddenly announced
893
00:52:47,699 --> 00:52:50,865
that the South Vietnamese
government would not attend
894
00:52:50,965 --> 00:52:53,233
the proposed talks after all.
895
00:52:55,065 --> 00:52:57,632
A representative
of the Nixon campaign
896
00:52:57,733 --> 00:53:01,733
at the candidate's personal
direction had secretly contacted
897
00:53:01,833 --> 00:53:03,300
the Saigon government
898
00:53:03,400 --> 00:53:06,233
urging Thieu to stay away
from the talks,
899
00:53:06,333 --> 00:53:09,032
promising that once
Nixon was elected,
900
00:53:09,132 --> 00:53:13,333
he would drive a harder bargain
with Hanoi than Humphrey would.
901
00:53:13,432 --> 00:53:18,800
Thanks to a CIA bug planted
in Thieu's Saigon office
902
00:53:18,900 --> 00:53:22,465
and an FBI wiretap on
the South Vietnamese embassy
903
00:53:22,565 --> 00:53:26,432
in Washington, Johnson got wind
of what had happened
904
00:53:26,532 --> 00:53:28,833
and called his friend
Everett Dirksen,
905
00:53:28,932 --> 00:53:31,333
the Republican Senate
minority leader,
906
00:53:31,432 --> 00:53:36,132
to warn him that the Nixon
people were committing treason.
907
00:53:36,233 --> 00:53:38,032
LYNDON JOHNSON:
I'm reading their hand, Everett.
908
00:53:38,132 --> 00:53:40,000
I don't want to
get this in the campaign.
909
00:53:40,099 --> 00:53:41,400
DIRKSEN:
That's right.
910
00:53:41,500 --> 00:53:42,666
And they oughtn't
to be doing this.
911
00:53:42,766 --> 00:53:43,833
This is treason.
I know.
912
00:53:43,932 --> 00:53:46,032
And I think it would
shock America
913
00:53:46,132 --> 00:53:50,065
if a principal candidate was
playing with a source like this
914
00:53:50,166 --> 00:53:51,565
on a matter
this important.
915
00:53:51,666 --> 00:53:52,800
Yeah.
916
00:53:52,900 --> 00:53:54,132
I know this--
917
00:53:54,233 --> 00:53:56,865
that they're contacting
a foreign power
918
00:53:56,965 --> 00:53:58,199
in the middle of a war.
919
00:53:58,300 --> 00:53:59,333
That's a mistake.
920
00:53:59,432 --> 00:54:00,733
And it's a damn
bad mistake.
921
00:54:03,333 --> 00:54:04,132
RICHARD NIXON:
Mr. President?
922
00:54:04,233 --> 00:54:05,132
JOHNSON:
Yes.
923
00:54:05,233 --> 00:54:06,932
This is Dick Nixon.
Yes, Dick.
924
00:54:07,032 --> 00:54:08,365
I just went on
Meet the Press
925
00:54:08,465 --> 00:54:13,800
and said that I had given you
my personal assurance
926
00:54:13,900 --> 00:54:16,965
that I would do everything
possible to cooperate
927
00:54:17,065 --> 00:54:20,000
both before the election and
if elected, after the election.
928
00:54:20,099 --> 00:54:21,500
I just wanted you to know
929
00:54:21,599 --> 00:54:24,800
that I feel very, very
strongly about this
930
00:54:24,900 --> 00:54:28,400
and any rumblings around
931
00:54:28,500 --> 00:54:32,199
about somebody
trying to sabotage
932
00:54:32,300 --> 00:54:33,800
the Saigon
government's attitude
933
00:54:33,900 --> 00:54:35,199
certainly has no...
934
00:54:35,300 --> 00:54:39,599
absolutely no credibility
as far as I am concerned.
935
00:54:39,699 --> 00:54:40,965
That's, that's...
936
00:54:41,065 --> 00:54:42,532
I'm very happy
to hear that, Dick,
937
00:54:42,632 --> 00:54:45,500
because that is taking place.
938
00:54:45,599 --> 00:54:49,333
My God, I would never do
anything to encourage Saigon
939
00:54:49,432 --> 00:54:50,932
not to come to the table
because basically,
940
00:54:51,032 --> 00:54:53,300
that was what you got.
941
00:54:53,400 --> 00:54:54,532
Well, that's good, Dick.
942
00:54:54,632 --> 00:54:56,599
We've got to get this
goddamned war off the plate,
943
00:54:56,699 --> 00:54:59,000
the quicker the better, and the
hell with the political credit.
944
00:54:59,099 --> 00:55:00,099
Believe me.
945
00:55:00,199 --> 00:55:01,166
Thank you, Dick.
946
00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:08,900
NARRATOR:
Nixon was lying
and Johnson knew it.
947
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:10,900
But to go public
with the information,
948
00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:13,666
the president would have
to reveal the methods
949
00:55:13,766 --> 00:55:14,900
by which he had learned
950
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:18,199
of the Republican
candidate's duplicity.
951
00:55:18,300 --> 00:55:20,766
He was unwilling to do so.
952
00:55:20,865 --> 00:55:24,400
Nixon's secret was safe.
953
00:55:24,500 --> 00:55:26,632
The American public
was never told
954
00:55:26,733 --> 00:55:31,000
that the regime for which 35,000
Americans had died
955
00:55:31,099 --> 00:55:33,365
had been willing to boycott
peace talks
956
00:55:33,465 --> 00:55:37,032
to help elect Richard Nixon
or that he had been willing
957
00:55:37,132 --> 00:55:42,733
to delay an end to the bloodshed
in order to get elected.
958
00:55:42,833 --> 00:55:47,266
REPORTER:
At 10:45 this morning,
Eastern Standard Time...
959
00:55:47,365 --> 00:55:52,565
NARRATOR:
On Election Day, Richard Milhous
Nixon won the presidency
960
00:55:52,666 --> 00:55:56,099
with 43.4 percent of the vote.
961
00:55:56,199 --> 00:56:00,300
Hubert Humphrey received
42.7 percent.
962
00:56:04,599 --> 00:56:07,733
The Nixon campaign's secret
maneuvering may have helped him
963
00:56:07,833 --> 00:56:11,266
win the election,
but the president-elect's fear
964
00:56:11,365 --> 00:56:14,532
that that maneuvering might
someday be exposed
965
00:56:14,632 --> 00:56:17,000
would be part of his undoing.
966
00:56:20,666 --> 00:56:23,266
Thieu waited several weeks
after the election
967
00:56:23,365 --> 00:56:28,532
before agreeing to send
a delegation to Paris.
968
00:56:28,632 --> 00:56:33,465
There, everything stalled
over the seating arrangements.
969
00:56:33,565 --> 00:56:38,400
The North Vietnamese had
insisted on a square table,
970
00:56:38,500 --> 00:56:41,932
with separate sides for all
four parties to the talks--
971
00:56:42,032 --> 00:56:46,632
Hanoi, the Viet Cong, Saigon,
and the United States.
972
00:56:46,733 --> 00:56:51,965
Saigon refused to take part
unless Hanoi and the Viet Cong
973
00:56:52,065 --> 00:56:54,432
sat on the same side
of the table.
974
00:56:54,532 --> 00:56:58,465
The standoff went on
for ten weeks.
975
00:57:01,432 --> 00:57:05,400
It was the Soviets who finally
came up with a solution:
976
00:57:05,500 --> 00:57:07,699
a round table.
977
00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:12,932
(gunfire)
978
00:57:13,032 --> 00:57:15,532
RADIO OPERATOR:
Type of injury is urgent,
shrapnel wounds.
979
00:57:15,632 --> 00:57:16,965
(gunfire)
980
00:57:17,065 --> 00:57:18,932
The area is insecure.
981
00:57:22,532 --> 00:57:23,833
MEDIC:
Keep your head down.
982
00:57:26,032 --> 00:57:27,900
RADIO OPERATOR:
Got some fire.
983
00:57:30,865 --> 00:57:34,266
KARL MARLANTES:
You have these 19-year-old
kids with these huge hearts.
984
00:57:34,365 --> 00:57:37,432
They will do what you ask them.
985
00:57:37,532 --> 00:57:41,833
The issue is are you asking them
to do something worthwhile?
986
00:57:41,932 --> 00:57:43,065
That's up to the adults.
987
00:57:43,166 --> 00:57:45,500
And that's where
the failure comes.
988
00:57:45,599 --> 00:57:48,166
The failure isn't the kids
saying, "I'm not gonna do this."
989
00:57:48,266 --> 00:57:50,699
Because that's not the way
they are built.
990
00:57:50,800 --> 00:57:53,032
19-year-olds don't know to take
a raincoat on
991
00:57:53,132 --> 00:57:54,699
when it's raining, all right?
992
00:57:54,800 --> 00:57:57,099
That's-that's why they're
so good at being warriors.
993
00:57:57,199 --> 00:57:58,699
They'll do it.
994
00:57:58,800 --> 00:58:00,199
They won't even ask you
a question.
995
00:58:01,599 --> 00:58:04,065
"All right, we'll do it."
996
00:58:04,166 --> 00:58:06,900
The responsibility is on
the grownups to make sure
997
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:08,532
they're not being wasted
998
00:58:08,632 --> 00:58:12,632
because they'll do what they're
told, and they'll do it well.
999
00:58:15,532 --> 00:58:19,333
NARRATOR:
Karl Marlantes was born
in Astoria, Oregon,
1000
00:58:19,432 --> 00:58:22,666
the son of a veteran
of the Battle of the Bulge.
1001
00:58:22,766 --> 00:58:25,699
He had joined the Marine
Reserves the summer before
1002
00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:27,733
his freshman year at Yale,
1003
00:58:27,833 --> 00:58:32,032
eager to prove himself
and defend his country.
1004
00:58:32,132 --> 00:58:34,000
When he became a Rhodes scholar,
1005
00:58:34,099 --> 00:58:37,632
the Marines allowed him
to defer going on active duty,
1006
00:58:37,733 --> 00:58:41,432
and instead of serving in
Vietnam, he went to Oxford
1007
00:58:41,532 --> 00:58:45,833
in the fall of 1967.
1008
00:58:45,932 --> 00:58:48,000
A few months after he got there,
1009
00:58:48,099 --> 00:58:51,733
he wrote to his parents
back home.
1010
00:58:51,833 --> 00:58:53,465
MARLANTES:
"It is with a little
apprehension
1011
00:58:53,565 --> 00:58:56,865
"that I write this letter.
1012
00:58:56,965 --> 00:58:59,000
"I have given up my scholarship,
1013
00:58:59,099 --> 00:59:03,465
"and I will be on active duty
as of May 3.
1014
00:59:03,565 --> 00:59:07,000
"As you know, I feel the U.S.
is absolutely wrong
1015
00:59:07,099 --> 00:59:08,965
"to be in the war.
1016
00:59:09,065 --> 00:59:11,632
"A lot of people are dying
for no good reason.
1017
00:59:11,733 --> 00:59:16,266
"I can only feel an
increasing rage and frustration.
1018
00:59:16,365 --> 00:59:18,766
And a complete feeling
of helplessness."
1019
00:59:20,432 --> 00:59:26,000
"I have, in effect, been hiding,
and I'll not do it anymore.
1020
00:59:26,099 --> 00:59:31,032
"I guess I'm about to do
a highly immoral thing.
1021
00:59:31,132 --> 00:59:32,199
"I will be taking part
1022
00:59:32,300 --> 00:59:34,599
"in one of the greatest crimes
of our century,
1023
00:59:34,699 --> 00:59:39,532
"and I will be doing so
out of frustration, bitterness,
1024
00:59:39,632 --> 00:59:43,199
"and a sense of the absurd that
I have only come to appreciate
1025
00:59:43,300 --> 00:59:46,000
"in its entirety
in the past year.
1026
00:59:46,099 --> 00:59:48,900
From now on
my logic will be changed."
1027
00:59:50,800 --> 00:59:52,733
"I can do something.
1028
00:59:52,833 --> 00:59:55,500
"That is, I can do my very best
to get 40 kids
1029
00:59:55,599 --> 00:59:57,932
"out of Vietnam alive,
1030
00:59:58,032 --> 01:00:01,432
"and if I have to turn
into an evil machine to do it,
1031
01:00:01,532 --> 01:00:03,400
then by God I will."
1032
01:00:06,465 --> 01:00:10,432
It was my friends,
guys that I trained with.
1033
01:00:10,532 --> 01:00:15,300
I felt like I was going
to let the side down.
1034
01:00:15,400 --> 01:00:18,365
That by not joining in
with them and sharing the burden
1035
01:00:18,465 --> 01:00:21,532
that I wouldn't be
a decent person.
1036
01:00:21,632 --> 01:00:24,532
It's a mixed bag because I went
over there and killed people
1037
01:00:24,632 --> 01:00:26,432
for, you know...
is that why I did that?
1038
01:00:28,465 --> 01:00:30,099
O'BRIEN:
Do you go off and kill people
1039
01:00:30,199 --> 01:00:32,166
if you're not
pretty sure it's right?
1040
01:00:32,266 --> 01:00:35,766
And if your nation
isn't pretty sure it's right?
1041
01:00:35,865 --> 01:00:40,000
If there isn't some consensus,
do you do that?
1042
01:00:42,833 --> 01:00:44,333
I was at Fort Lewis,
Washington,
1043
01:00:44,432 --> 01:00:48,365
and Canada was, what,
a 90-minute bus ride away.
1044
01:00:48,465 --> 01:00:50,733
I wrote my mom and dad
and asked for money.
1045
01:00:50,833 --> 01:00:53,900
I asked for my passport.
1046
01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:56,432
And they sent them to me with,
again, no questions.
1047
01:00:56,532 --> 01:00:58,132
Like, "What do you want
the passport for?"
1048
01:00:58,233 --> 01:00:59,833
They just sent it.
1049
01:00:59,932 --> 01:01:01,432
And I kept all this stuff
stashed,
1050
01:01:01,532 --> 01:01:04,300
including civilian clothes
stashed in my footlocker,
1051
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:06,099
thinking maybe I'll...
maybe I'll do it.
1052
01:01:06,199 --> 01:01:08,000
("Bookends Theme" by
Simon and Garfunkel playing)
1053
01:01:08,099 --> 01:01:10,733
It was this kind of "maybe"
thing going on
1054
01:01:10,833 --> 01:01:14,365
all throughout this training
as Vietnam got closer
1055
01:01:14,465 --> 01:01:16,932
and closer and closer.
1056
01:01:17,032 --> 01:01:20,266
What prevented me from doing it?
1057
01:01:20,365 --> 01:01:23,699
I think it was
pretty simple and stupid.
1058
01:01:23,800 --> 01:01:27,333
It was a fear of embarrassment,
1059
01:01:27,432 --> 01:01:31,865
a fear of ridicule
and humiliation.
1060
01:01:33,532 --> 01:01:35,900
What my girlfriend would have
thought of me
1061
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:39,500
and the people in the Gobbler
Cafe in downtown Worthington.
1062
01:01:41,099 --> 01:01:43,199
The Kiwanis boys
and the country club boys
1063
01:01:43,300 --> 01:01:45,632
and that small town
I grew up in,
1064
01:01:45,733 --> 01:01:48,099
the things they'd say about me.
1065
01:01:48,199 --> 01:01:54,166
"What a coward and what a sissy
for going to Canada."
1066
01:01:54,266 --> 01:01:57,099
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL:
♪ It was a time of innocence
1067
01:01:57,199 --> 01:01:58,965
O'BRIEN:
And I would imagine
my mom and dad
1068
01:01:59,065 --> 01:02:02,333
overhearing something like that.
1069
01:02:02,432 --> 01:02:05,800
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL:
♪ Long ago it must be
1070
01:02:05,900 --> 01:02:09,400
O'BRIEN:
I couldn't summon the courage
to say no
1071
01:02:09,500 --> 01:02:19,065
to those nameless, faceless
people who really, in essence,
1072
01:02:19,166 --> 01:02:23,132
this was the
United States of America.
1073
01:02:23,233 --> 01:02:26,833
And I couldn't say no to them.
1074
01:02:26,932 --> 01:02:32,733
And I had to live with it now
for, you know, 40 years.
1075
01:02:32,833 --> 01:02:38,532
That's a long time to live with
a failure of conscience
1076
01:02:38,632 --> 01:02:43,632
and a failure of nerve.
1077
01:02:43,733 --> 01:02:47,465
And the nightmare of Vietnam
for me is not the bombs
1078
01:02:47,565 --> 01:02:48,900
and the bullets.
1079
01:02:57,666 --> 01:03:01,500
(voice breaking):
It's that failure of nerve
1080
01:03:01,599 --> 01:03:03,199
that I so regret.
1081
01:03:14,333 --> 01:03:19,233
HAL KUSHNER:
In the fall of 1968 was probably
the toughest time we had.
1082
01:03:22,333 --> 01:03:29,333
Our daily life was a continuing
struggle for survival.
1083
01:03:29,432 --> 01:03:36,800
Our food ration was three cups
of rice per day.
1084
01:03:38,166 --> 01:03:42,300
We slept
on a large bamboo pallet.
1085
01:03:42,400 --> 01:03:46,365
Sometimes there were ten or 12
people on one pallet.
1086
01:03:46,465 --> 01:03:48,766
And we were sick.
1087
01:03:48,865 --> 01:03:50,932
We were very sick.
1088
01:03:51,032 --> 01:03:55,465
Four people died within...
1089
01:03:55,565 --> 01:03:57,099
a month.
1090
01:03:57,199 --> 01:03:59,965
And then two more died
very shortly after that.
1091
01:04:02,666 --> 01:04:05,065
NARRATOR:
Thirteen Americans would die
1092
01:04:05,166 --> 01:04:08,965
during Captain Hal Kushner's
time in jungle prison camps
1093
01:04:09,065 --> 01:04:10,632
in South Vietnam.
1094
01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:14,932
He was a doctor
but had no medications,
1095
01:04:15,032 --> 01:04:17,632
no antibiotics
or saline solution
1096
01:04:17,733 --> 01:04:20,032
with which to treat
his comrades.
1097
01:04:20,132 --> 01:04:24,565
All he could do was bury each
in a bamboo coffin
1098
01:04:24,666 --> 01:04:28,266
and make sure the spot was
marked with a heap of stones
1099
01:04:28,365 --> 01:04:31,032
daubed with Mercurochrome.
1100
01:04:33,166 --> 01:04:35,965
KUSHNER:
We had nothing to eat.
1101
01:04:36,065 --> 01:04:39,833
And I thought
that I was just going insane.
1102
01:04:39,932 --> 01:04:43,199
So we were sitting around
and with this little fire.
1103
01:04:43,300 --> 01:04:45,300
And we saw
the camp commander's cat,
1104
01:04:45,400 --> 01:04:46,965
who had free rein of the camp.
1105
01:04:47,065 --> 01:04:48,400
And he came down to our area.
1106
01:04:48,500 --> 01:04:50,532
And we were starving to death.
1107
01:04:50,632 --> 01:04:54,000
So someone suggested,
"Let's eat the cat."
1108
01:04:56,300 --> 01:04:57,400
So we killed the cat.
1109
01:04:59,000 --> 01:05:02,432
And we cut the head off
and we cut the paws off.
1110
01:05:02,532 --> 01:05:05,833
And we had this little carcass
of about two pounds.
1111
01:05:05,932 --> 01:05:10,000
And one of the guards came down,
and we told him it was a weasel,
1112
01:05:10,099 --> 01:05:12,599
and we threw a rock at it
and killed it.
1113
01:05:12,699 --> 01:05:14,333
And then he looked around
1114
01:05:14,432 --> 01:05:17,766
and someone had neglected
to bury one of the paws.
1115
01:05:17,865 --> 01:05:19,365
And he saw the paw.
1116
01:05:19,465 --> 01:05:23,065
And he knew instantly that
it was the camp commander's cat.
1117
01:05:23,166 --> 01:05:25,632
And things got very serious.
1118
01:05:27,733 --> 01:05:30,833
And they lined us up
and they said, "Who did this?"
1119
01:05:30,932 --> 01:05:32,199
Nobody said anything.
1120
01:05:32,300 --> 01:05:34,132
I thought they were
going to kill us all.
1121
01:05:34,233 --> 01:05:36,032
Just execute us.
1122
01:05:36,132 --> 01:05:41,266
And one of the people
who was a ringleader in this
1123
01:05:41,365 --> 01:05:43,565
said he did it.
1124
01:05:43,666 --> 01:05:47,233
And I said that I did it also.
1125
01:05:47,333 --> 01:05:49,465
And we all said we did it.
1126
01:05:49,565 --> 01:05:51,432
"I am Spartacus," you know?
1127
01:05:51,532 --> 01:05:53,199
It was that.
1128
01:05:53,300 --> 01:05:57,432
So they called that person
and me out.
1129
01:05:57,532 --> 01:06:01,099
And the guard kicked him
and beat him to the ground,
1130
01:06:01,199 --> 01:06:03,266
and just beat him unmercifully.
1131
01:06:04,733 --> 01:06:08,099
And they hit me in the face
with fists and didn't beat me
1132
01:06:08,199 --> 01:06:10,065
as badly as they beat him.
1133
01:06:10,166 --> 01:06:14,099
And then tied me with commo wire
very tightly to a hooch
1134
01:06:14,199 --> 01:06:17,733
and left me for a day.
1135
01:06:17,833 --> 01:06:21,632
And with the carcass of the cat
draped around my neck.
1136
01:06:21,733 --> 01:06:23,266
And I was so crazy I thought,
1137
01:06:23,365 --> 01:06:25,365
"Maybe they're going to let me
eat this cat."
1138
01:06:25,465 --> 01:06:28,000
But I had to bury it.
1139
01:06:28,099 --> 01:06:33,166
So, the fellow that they beat
very badly died two weeks later.
1140
01:06:34,632 --> 01:06:38,500
But to me the tragedy of it
was we didn't get the cat.
1141
01:06:44,365 --> 01:06:46,666
CHARLES COLLINGWOOD:
For the capital
of a nation at war,
1142
01:06:46,766 --> 01:06:50,365
Saigon abounds with a phenomenal
number of young men
1143
01:06:50,465 --> 01:06:53,465
of draft age in sharp,
civilian clothes.
1144
01:06:53,565 --> 01:06:56,900
Saigon cowboys they're called.
1145
01:06:57,000 --> 01:07:00,532
It's a war profiteer's economy,
fanned by the forced draft
1146
01:07:00,632 --> 01:07:02,000
of American money.
1147
01:07:02,099 --> 01:07:03,666
They count it a good year
in Saigon
1148
01:07:03,766 --> 01:07:06,099
when the prices only go up
by 25%.
1149
01:07:10,199 --> 01:07:11,865
NARRATOR:
Years of American presence,
1150
01:07:11,965 --> 01:07:16,233
and the tens of billions of U.S.
dollars that came with it,
1151
01:07:16,333 --> 01:07:18,865
had transformed much
of South Vietnam,
1152
01:07:18,965 --> 01:07:22,632
creating a false economy
that was utterly dependent
1153
01:07:22,733 --> 01:07:26,300
on that presence
becoming perpetual.
1154
01:07:26,400 --> 01:07:29,632
GEORGE LEWIS:
Since the U.S. began its big
buildup in the mid-'60s,
1155
01:07:29,733 --> 01:07:32,199
millions of dollars worth of
goods have entered the country
1156
01:07:32,300 --> 01:07:33,865
each month.
1157
01:07:33,965 --> 01:07:36,900
Some economists say ten percent
or more of the cargo
1158
01:07:37,000 --> 01:07:39,599
is diverted into
black market channels.
1159
01:07:43,365 --> 01:07:45,900
NARRATOR:
With so much money
flowing into the country,
1160
01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:49,266
corruption and crime
inevitably grew.
1161
01:07:51,865 --> 01:07:54,199
Government officials
were on the take.
1162
01:07:54,300 --> 01:07:57,166
So were many ARVN officers.
1163
01:07:57,266 --> 01:08:00,733
Policemen could not be trusted.
1164
01:08:03,900 --> 01:08:07,932
PHAN QUANG TUE:
Who benefit from the financial
aspect of the war?
1165
01:08:09,065 --> 01:08:10,599
Generals.
1166
01:08:10,699 --> 01:08:12,900
Don't deny that.
1167
01:08:13,000 --> 01:08:16,399
Then they get the money,
then they become richer.
1168
01:08:16,500 --> 01:08:21,765
We have a term, and I call it,
they were war profiteers,
1169
01:08:21,865 --> 01:08:26,065
from Thieu and Ky down
to every echelon.
1170
01:08:26,166 --> 01:08:28,632
HERRINGTON:
The Vietnamese had a saying:
1171
01:08:28,733 --> 01:08:31,832
a house leaks from the roof
on down.
1172
01:08:31,932 --> 01:08:34,865
(saying phrase in Vietnamese)
1173
01:08:36,800 --> 01:08:41,600
And that was, of course, their
way to elliptically refer
1174
01:08:41,699 --> 01:08:45,300
to the ever-present, nagging
problem of corruption.
1175
01:08:45,399 --> 01:08:50,800
JOE GALLOWAY:
They were stealing from us
and selling to anybody.
1176
01:08:50,899 --> 01:08:52,565
Two-man helicopter,
you want one of those?
1177
01:08:52,666 --> 01:08:55,600
They got it in a box
in the back.
1178
01:08:55,699 --> 01:08:59,966
Probably get it for 12,000 bucks
if you negotiated strongly.
1179
01:09:01,432 --> 01:09:05,132
The corruption was endemic.
1180
01:09:05,233 --> 01:09:08,365
And we tolerated it.
1181
01:09:08,466 --> 01:09:12,899
NARRATOR:
Tons of American goods piled up
on Saigon's docks.
1182
01:09:13,000 --> 01:09:16,565
Some GIs took advantage, too.
1183
01:09:16,666 --> 01:09:20,533
U.S. products flowed
out the back doors of PXs.
1184
01:09:20,632 --> 01:09:23,666
In just one year,
1185
01:09:23,765 --> 01:09:30,065
the black market cost
the U.S. military $2 billion.
1186
01:09:30,166 --> 01:09:32,966
COLLINGWOOD:
The impact of the war has
disrupted the ancient patterns
1187
01:09:33,065 --> 01:09:35,065
of Vietnamese life.
1188
01:09:35,166 --> 01:09:38,166
The cities are crowded to the
bursting point with people
1189
01:09:38,265 --> 01:09:41,100
uprooted from the land
and the ancestral values
1190
01:09:41,199 --> 01:09:43,533
of a rural-oriented society
1191
01:09:43,632 --> 01:09:46,265
but who have found nothing
to replace them.
1192
01:09:46,365 --> 01:09:49,632
NARRATOR:
Before U.S. troops arrived,
1193
01:09:49,733 --> 01:09:53,765
eight out of ten South
Vietnamese lived in villages.
1194
01:09:53,865 --> 01:09:57,199
By the end of the 1960s,
1195
01:09:57,300 --> 01:10:01,699
almost half would be crowded
into urban areas.
1196
01:10:01,800 --> 01:10:05,832
Saigon's population tripled
to three million.
1197
01:10:05,932 --> 01:10:10,233
Half the refugees had
no permanent shelter.
1198
01:10:12,632 --> 01:10:15,332
Cholera and typhoid
killed thousands.
1199
01:10:17,832 --> 01:10:21,600
Hungry children roamed the
streets, scavenging, begging,
1200
01:10:21,699 --> 01:10:26,000
searching for jobs to do
or pockets to pick.
1201
01:10:26,100 --> 01:10:30,666
Tens of thousands of young women
left their village homes
1202
01:10:30,765 --> 01:10:35,865
and came to Saigon to become
bar girls and prostitutes.
1203
01:10:41,632 --> 01:10:43,033
The communist government
in Hanoi
1204
01:10:43,132 --> 01:10:45,233
tried to make the most of it,
1205
01:10:45,332 --> 01:10:49,899
accusing the United States and
its puppet government in Saigon
1206
01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:53,132
of destroying
Vietnamese culture in the South.
1207
01:10:56,800 --> 01:11:00,399
But the citizens of Saigon
were far freer
1208
01:11:00,500 --> 01:11:02,065
than the North Vietnamese.
1209
01:11:02,166 --> 01:11:06,500
The South Vietnamese people
could express their views,
1210
01:11:06,600 --> 01:11:08,065
for and against
their government,
1211
01:11:08,166 --> 01:11:13,199
in the pages of hundreds
of newspapers and magazines.
1212
01:11:13,300 --> 01:11:16,666
And they held demonstrations
denouncing
1213
01:11:16,765 --> 01:11:20,765
the rampant corruption and
demanding religious freedom
1214
01:11:20,865 --> 01:11:23,300
and better treatment
for veterans.
1215
01:11:27,300 --> 01:11:30,699
For all of its problems,
one man remembered,
1216
01:11:30,800 --> 01:11:35,265
Saigon was "filthy and free."
1217
01:11:35,365 --> 01:11:36,899
(car horn honking)
1218
01:11:43,166 --> 01:11:46,199
NGUYEN NGOC:
1219
01:12:17,033 --> 01:12:18,765
(gunfire)
1220
01:13:07,565 --> 01:13:10,533
NARRATOR:
In the densely populated
Mekong Delta,
1221
01:13:10,632 --> 01:13:15,365
the war in the countryside
suddenly intensified.
1222
01:13:15,466 --> 01:13:17,733
General Abrams assigned
the commander
1223
01:13:17,832 --> 01:13:22,132
of the 9th Infantry Division,
General Julian J. Ewell,
1224
01:13:22,233 --> 01:13:25,033
the job of destroying
the remaining Viet Cong
1225
01:13:25,132 --> 01:13:27,432
south of Saigon.
1226
01:13:27,533 --> 01:13:32,000
His operation was called
Speedy Express.
1227
01:13:33,733 --> 01:13:38,365
"The hearts and minds approach
can be overdone," Ewell said.
1228
01:13:38,466 --> 01:13:42,865
"In the Delta the only way to
overcome VC control and terror
1229
01:13:42,966 --> 01:13:46,033
is by brute force."
1230
01:13:47,533 --> 01:13:50,666
Patrols would pursue the enemy
around the clock.
1231
01:13:50,765 --> 01:13:54,166
The night sky was filled
with helicopters,
1232
01:13:54,265 --> 01:13:56,832
some armed with instruments
that could detect
1233
01:13:56,932 --> 01:13:58,932
traces of carbon and ammonia
1234
01:13:59,033 --> 01:14:01,899
that meant human beings
were below,
1235
01:14:02,000 --> 01:14:05,199
though not which side
they were on.
1236
01:14:05,300 --> 01:14:09,533
In areas designated
"free-fire zones,"
1237
01:14:09,632 --> 01:14:12,332
anyone out after curfew
could be shot.
1238
01:14:14,332 --> 01:14:18,199
During the day, anyone seen
running was targeted.
1239
01:14:20,699 --> 01:14:24,699
Colonel Robert Gard was one
of Ewell's artillery commanders.
1240
01:14:24,800 --> 01:14:29,865
ROBERT GARD:
If someone was told that anyone
who runs away should be assumed
1241
01:14:29,966 --> 01:14:33,699
to be an enemy, I certainly
would disagree with that.
1242
01:14:33,800 --> 01:14:35,600
That's totally improper.
1243
01:14:35,699 --> 01:14:39,332
People run away
because they're afraid.
1244
01:14:39,432 --> 01:14:43,500
I've seen instances of farmers,
1245
01:14:43,600 --> 01:14:46,300
when you descend
in a helicopter suddenly,
1246
01:14:46,399 --> 01:14:49,399
and they freeze, and they're
frightened, and they run.
1247
01:14:49,500 --> 01:14:54,166
You can't just make
a blanket judgment.
1248
01:14:54,265 --> 01:14:58,765
NARRATOR:
General Ewell boasted of his
unit's statistical record--
1249
01:14:58,865 --> 01:15:04,466
10,899 Viet Cong killed
in six months
1250
01:15:04,565 --> 01:15:07,765
with a loss of only
242 Americans,
1251
01:15:07,865 --> 01:15:13,466
an astonishing
kill ratio of 45-to-1.
1252
01:15:16,000 --> 01:15:20,666
GARD:
To say that we killed
only enemy combatants,
1253
01:15:20,765 --> 01:15:24,365
and to talk about ratios
of 40-to-1
1254
01:15:24,466 --> 01:15:27,565
simply defies my imagination.
1255
01:15:29,100 --> 01:15:32,399
NARRATOR:
At Abrams' recommendation,
Ewell was promoted,
1256
01:15:32,500 --> 01:15:36,832
but the Army Inspector General
would eventually estimate
1257
01:15:36,932 --> 01:15:40,000
that more than half
of the roughly 11,000 kills
1258
01:15:40,100 --> 01:15:42,432
claimed by the 9th Infantry
1259
01:15:42,533 --> 01:15:45,533
had been unarmed,
innocent civilians.
1260
01:15:49,265 --> 01:15:52,166
No one was ever held
accountable.
1261
01:15:56,966 --> 01:16:01,800
("Don't Think Twice, It's All
Right" by Bob Dylan playing)
1262
01:16:05,899 --> 01:16:11,233
♪ It ain't no use to sit
and wonder why, babe ♪
1263
01:16:11,332 --> 01:16:15,065
♪ It don't matter, anyhow
1264
01:16:15,166 --> 01:16:20,233
♪ And it ain't no use to sit
and wonder why, babe ♪
1265
01:16:20,332 --> 01:16:24,132
♪ If you don't know by now
1266
01:16:24,233 --> 01:16:28,765
♪ When your rooster crows
at the break of dawn ♪
1267
01:16:28,865 --> 01:16:33,666
♪ Look out your window
and I'll be gone ♪
1268
01:16:33,765 --> 01:16:37,733
♪ You're the reason
I'm travelin' on ♪
1269
01:16:37,832 --> 01:16:41,500
♪ Don't think twice,
it's all right. ♪
1270
01:16:47,733 --> 01:16:52,733
CAROL CROCKER:
I think moving away from
one's family's ideologies
1271
01:16:52,832 --> 01:16:59,600
is a scary balance
on a very tricky precipice
1272
01:16:59,699 --> 01:17:03,466
because they have been
the focal point
1273
01:17:03,565 --> 01:17:04,966
of how we judge how we're doing.
1274
01:17:05,065 --> 01:17:09,733
And I was now trying to judge
my decisions and my actions
1275
01:17:09,832 --> 01:17:13,932
on the basis of my own ideas
and own thoughts.
1276
01:17:14,033 --> 01:17:17,199
NARRATOR:
The war was already
uncomfortably close
1277
01:17:17,300 --> 01:17:19,666
to Carol Crocker.
1278
01:17:19,765 --> 01:17:22,533
Her brother Mogie had
volunteered to fight
1279
01:17:22,632 --> 01:17:27,500
and had been killed in Vietnam
in 1966.
1280
01:17:27,600 --> 01:17:29,265
She was still grieving.
1281
01:17:31,533 --> 01:17:35,399
That fall, Carol had entered
Goucher College in Baltimore,
1282
01:17:35,500 --> 01:17:40,399
an all-women's school with
a long conservative tradition.
1283
01:17:40,500 --> 01:17:42,432
CAROL CROCKER:
We dressed for dinner.
1284
01:17:42,533 --> 01:17:45,600
We had an 11:00 curfew.
1285
01:17:45,699 --> 01:17:51,033
Obviously no boys or men
were allowed in the dorms.
1286
01:17:51,132 --> 01:17:53,100
That was the rule.
1287
01:17:53,199 --> 01:17:55,132
("Piece of My Heart" by Big
Brother and the Holding Company)
1288
01:17:55,233 --> 01:17:58,966
It could not have even been any
later than the beginning
1289
01:17:59,065 --> 01:18:04,832
of the second semester that most
of the rules that were in place
1290
01:18:04,932 --> 01:18:09,800
and had been in place for many,
many years, no longer existed.
1291
01:18:09,899 --> 01:18:15,466
JANIS JOPLIN:
♪ Oh, come on, come on,
come on, come on ♪
1292
01:18:15,565 --> 01:18:17,033
♪ And take it
1293
01:18:17,132 --> 01:18:18,300
♪ Take another little piece...
1294
01:18:18,399 --> 01:18:19,399
CAROL CROCKER:
The challenge
1295
01:18:19,500 --> 01:18:23,600
to campuses countrywide was
1296
01:18:23,699 --> 01:18:25,332
how do we maintain
our student body
1297
01:18:25,432 --> 01:18:31,065
to behave in a civil manner,
and teach them,
1298
01:18:31,166 --> 01:18:34,033
and not have them try
to burn us down?
1299
01:18:34,132 --> 01:18:36,600
If that means not dressing
for dinner, so be it.
1300
01:18:36,699 --> 01:18:38,800
JOPLIN:
♪ If it makes you feel good
1301
01:18:38,899 --> 01:18:41,065
♪ Oh yes it did.
1302
01:18:41,166 --> 01:18:44,100
CAROL CROCKER:
Our guy friends, we were
spending time and talking
1303
01:18:44,199 --> 01:18:45,233
and they were scared.
1304
01:18:45,332 --> 01:18:47,199
And they were worried.
1305
01:18:47,300 --> 01:18:50,399
And they weren't sure
what they were going to do.
1306
01:18:50,500 --> 01:18:54,199
And more discussion was
happening about
1307
01:18:54,300 --> 01:18:58,100
whether this was a valid war.
1308
01:18:58,199 --> 01:19:02,800
And this was really, for me,
the first time I opened my ears
1309
01:19:02,899 --> 01:19:05,300
to the war in a way other than
1310
01:19:05,399 --> 01:19:08,865
that it was about
my brother's death.
1311
01:19:08,966 --> 01:19:11,666
I honored him.
1312
01:19:11,765 --> 01:19:16,199
I respected him
for doing what he believed in.
1313
01:19:16,300 --> 01:19:18,233
But I did not agree with him.
1314
01:19:18,332 --> 01:19:22,966
JOPLIN:
♪ Come on, come on, come on
and take it. ♪
1315
01:19:23,065 --> 01:19:26,565
NARRATOR:
Eva Jefferson was a sophomore
at Northwestern.
1316
01:19:26,666 --> 01:19:29,865
A serviceman's daughter, she had
entered college convinced
1317
01:19:29,966 --> 01:19:33,666
the American government would
never mislead its citizens.
1318
01:19:33,765 --> 01:19:37,500
But for her, too,
things had begun to change.
1319
01:19:37,600 --> 01:19:39,399
Earlier that year,
1320
01:19:39,500 --> 01:19:42,765
when a handful of black
Northwestern students decided
1321
01:19:42,865 --> 01:19:45,033
to occupy the bursar's office
1322
01:19:45,132 --> 01:19:48,600
demanding African-American
studies, she joined them,
1323
01:19:48,699 --> 01:19:52,565
then called her parents
to tell them what she'd done.
1324
01:19:52,666 --> 01:19:55,466
EVA JEFFERSON PATERSON:
And I said, "Mom and Dad,
guess where I am?
1325
01:19:55,565 --> 01:19:57,233
We just took over
the bursar's office."
1326
01:19:57,332 --> 01:19:59,166
They were horrified.
1327
01:19:59,265 --> 01:20:02,332
And upon reflection,
of course they were horrified.
1328
01:20:02,432 --> 01:20:03,800
And they said,
"If you don't get out of there
1329
01:20:03,899 --> 01:20:05,166
we're going to cut off
your money."
1330
01:20:05,265 --> 01:20:07,666
So that was the moment
in my own consciousness
1331
01:20:07,765 --> 01:20:09,800
when I became independent.
1332
01:20:09,899 --> 01:20:12,166
I thought, "Well, they're going
to cut off my money.
1333
01:20:12,265 --> 01:20:13,899
C'est la vie."
1334
01:20:14,000 --> 01:20:18,100
NARRATOR:
"The University met all
our demands in three days,"
1335
01:20:18,199 --> 01:20:19,500
she remembered.
1336
01:20:19,600 --> 01:20:22,300
"If you asked for black studies
on Friday,
1337
01:20:22,399 --> 01:20:24,466
you got it on Monday."
1338
01:20:24,565 --> 01:20:28,865
PATERSON:
It felt like something was
happening that was profound,
1339
01:20:28,966 --> 01:20:30,733
that was irreversible.
1340
01:20:30,832 --> 01:20:32,733
But also you're
18, 19 years old.
1341
01:20:32,832 --> 01:20:33,666
It's exciting.
1342
01:20:35,765 --> 01:20:38,932
I felt as though
a revolution was coming.
1343
01:20:39,033 --> 01:20:42,832
And I thought the revolution
would be won by our side.
1344
01:20:50,500 --> 01:20:54,800
NARRATOR:
Relations between parents and
children, brothers and sisters,
1345
01:20:54,899 --> 01:20:58,065
were changing everywhere.
1346
01:20:58,166 --> 01:21:01,932
ANNE HARRISON BOWMAN:
When I stood in the living room
and I was hugging two brothers,
1347
01:21:02,033 --> 01:21:04,365
it didn't matter to me
about their choices
1348
01:21:04,466 --> 01:21:08,666
or that they were on two
different sides of the fence.
1349
01:21:08,765 --> 01:21:12,800
All I knew was that they were
both my brothers
1350
01:21:12,899 --> 01:21:15,565
and they were both back in the
same room and there we were.
1351
01:21:15,666 --> 01:21:19,765
NARRATOR:
Captain Matt Harrison, Jr.--
Chips--
1352
01:21:19,865 --> 01:21:25,832
had graduated West Point,
served a tour in Vietnam
1353
01:21:25,932 --> 01:21:30,033
and took part in two of the
war's bloodiest battles--
1354
01:21:30,132 --> 01:21:33,765
Hill 1338 and Hill 875.
1355
01:21:36,033 --> 01:21:39,699
He was back stateside
in the autumn of 1968,
1356
01:21:39,800 --> 01:21:43,832
when the family began to worry
about his younger brother, Bob,
1357
01:21:43,932 --> 01:21:47,932
whom his siblings sometimes
called Robin.
1358
01:21:48,033 --> 01:21:52,966
MATT HARRISON:
He and I were just great pals
since we were growing up
1359
01:21:53,065 --> 01:21:57,065
because we moved every year
or two years.
1360
01:21:57,166 --> 01:21:59,265
And, you know,
new set of friends
1361
01:21:59,365 --> 01:22:00,666
but always had my brother.
1362
01:22:02,300 --> 01:22:04,332
BOWMAN:
Bob was in ROTC
1363
01:22:04,432 --> 01:22:08,533
and polished and buffed his
shoes and had short hair
1364
01:22:08,632 --> 01:22:12,500
and said "Yes, sir"
and "Yes, ma'am."
1365
01:22:12,600 --> 01:22:16,832
And then we moved to California
his senior year in high school.
1366
01:22:16,932 --> 01:22:23,365
And he was the consummate blond
surfer boy and cutting school.
1367
01:22:23,466 --> 01:22:25,632
And he was immediately
very popular
1368
01:22:25,733 --> 01:22:28,100
and having a great time.
1369
01:22:31,166 --> 01:22:33,332
NARRATOR:
Robin did not go to West Point,
1370
01:22:33,432 --> 01:22:36,166
entered Marin Junior College
instead,
1371
01:22:36,265 --> 01:22:39,199
and then shocked his family
by signing on
1372
01:22:39,300 --> 01:22:43,100
with the Marine--
not the Army-- Reserves.
1373
01:22:44,832 --> 01:22:49,000
HARRISON:
At some point Robin became
convinced that...
1374
01:22:49,100 --> 01:22:53,265
that the war was wrong, and not
only wrong, it was immoral.
1375
01:22:53,365 --> 01:22:58,533
So he quit going
to the Reserve weekends,
1376
01:22:58,632 --> 01:23:01,666
and because of that
he was activated...
1377
01:23:01,765 --> 01:23:06,832
and was very likely now he was
going to be going to Vietnam
1378
01:23:06,932 --> 01:23:10,166
as a Marine Corps rifleman.
1379
01:23:10,265 --> 01:23:12,565
I didn't think being
a Marine Corps rifleman
1380
01:23:12,666 --> 01:23:15,565
was a very safe occupation.
1381
01:23:15,666 --> 01:23:18,666
And I didn't think Robin
would be a particularly good
1382
01:23:18,765 --> 01:23:20,565
Marine Corps rifleman.
1383
01:23:20,666 --> 01:23:25,033
And so I just thought that this
was a very bad outcome for him
1384
01:23:25,132 --> 01:23:26,600
and for the family.
1385
01:23:30,865 --> 01:23:34,365
NARRATOR:
Matt Harrison knew that under
military regulations,
1386
01:23:34,466 --> 01:23:37,832
if one brother was already
in a combat zone,
1387
01:23:37,932 --> 01:23:41,199
a second brother need not
accept assignment there.
1388
01:23:41,300 --> 01:23:44,832
So to keep Robin out of the war,
1389
01:23:44,932 --> 01:23:49,699
he volunteered for
a second tour in Vietnam.
1390
01:23:49,800 --> 01:23:54,500
HARRISON:
I was back in Vietnam
I think in less than 30 days.
1391
01:23:54,600 --> 01:23:56,065
I was a seasoned veteran.
1392
01:23:56,166 --> 01:23:58,399
I was going to go command
a company.
1393
01:23:58,500 --> 01:24:01,399
My chances of getting hurt were
a lot less than Robin's were.
1394
01:24:01,500 --> 01:24:03,432
And if I did choose to make it
a career,
1395
01:24:03,533 --> 01:24:05,565
the fact that I had had
a second tour
1396
01:24:05,666 --> 01:24:07,699
as a rifle company commander
was going to be good for me.
1397
01:24:07,800 --> 01:24:10,832
And so, you know, it wasn't
entirely selfless.
1398
01:24:10,932 --> 01:24:15,365
I honestly don't remember a
tremendous amount of dialogue
1399
01:24:15,466 --> 01:24:17,399
between my mom and dad.
1400
01:24:17,500 --> 01:24:20,600
I think they felt like
if Bob had gone,
1401
01:24:20,699 --> 01:24:22,533
he would have been killed.
1402
01:24:22,632 --> 01:24:28,100
Whereas I think they felt that
Chips was going to be okay.
1403
01:24:28,199 --> 01:24:33,065
I can't imagine, having
had a son now go to Iraq,
1404
01:24:33,166 --> 01:24:38,565
how my mother could have gotten
through every single day at all,
1405
01:24:38,666 --> 01:24:44,065
without believing very firmly
that he was going to be fine.
1406
01:24:46,899 --> 01:24:49,632
NARRATOR:
Matt Harrison's decision
to serve a second tour
1407
01:24:49,733 --> 01:24:53,000
did not fully
protect his brother Robin.
1408
01:24:53,100 --> 01:24:55,632
He went AWOL,
was court-martialed
1409
01:24:55,733 --> 01:24:58,533
and sentenced to three months
hard labor.
1410
01:24:58,632 --> 01:25:00,966
The sentence was suspended.
1411
01:25:01,065 --> 01:25:02,733
He returned to the Marines,
1412
01:25:02,832 --> 01:25:05,000
served as a chaplain's
assistant,
1413
01:25:05,100 --> 01:25:08,399
applied for conscientious
objector status,
1414
01:25:08,500 --> 01:25:12,865
and then went AWOL again.
1415
01:25:12,966 --> 01:25:15,600
VICTORIA HARRISON:
I remember the FBI coming
and knocking on the door
1416
01:25:15,699 --> 01:25:17,733
and looking for him.
1417
01:25:17,832 --> 01:25:21,565
They asked if Robert Harrison
was there
1418
01:25:21,666 --> 01:25:25,466
and I just knew this wasn't good
1419
01:25:25,565 --> 01:25:28,832
and said "No"
and slammed the door.
1420
01:25:28,932 --> 01:25:33,899
And Bob went out the back
1421
01:25:34,000 --> 01:25:36,332
and ran out to the main street.
1422
01:25:36,432 --> 01:25:41,399
And as I understand it,
got in a car and left
1423
01:25:41,500 --> 01:25:44,500
and that was the last
I saw of him.
1424
01:25:49,265 --> 01:25:52,932
BOWMAN:
I don't think a military mom
at the time would want
1425
01:25:53,033 --> 01:25:54,533
to announce,
"My son has gone AWOL.
1426
01:25:54,632 --> 01:25:56,533
"My son has run to Canada.
1427
01:25:56,632 --> 01:25:59,632
"My son is all the words
that were associated with it,
1428
01:25:59,733 --> 01:26:03,666
a deserter, a coward."
1429
01:26:03,765 --> 01:26:06,166
All of the things
that these guys were called.
1430
01:26:08,466 --> 01:26:11,500
I don't think that's what those
guys thought they were doing.
1431
01:26:11,600 --> 01:26:13,666
I do not think they thought
they were deserting.
1432
01:26:13,765 --> 01:26:15,666
I do not think they thought
they were cowards.
1433
01:26:15,765 --> 01:26:18,765
In fact, I think they thought
they were very brave.
1434
01:26:22,765 --> 01:26:25,565
NARRATOR:
When Matt Harrison assumed
command of Alpha Company,
1435
01:26:25,666 --> 01:26:31,000
2nd Battalion, 14th Regiment
of the 25th Infantry Division,
1436
01:26:31,100 --> 01:26:33,600
his Army had changed.
1437
01:26:36,466 --> 01:26:39,565
HARRISON:
I was commanding a company
of draftees,
1438
01:26:39,666 --> 01:26:42,000
almost none of whom
wanted to be there.
1439
01:26:42,100 --> 01:26:43,765
They didn't want to be
in the Army
1440
01:26:43,865 --> 01:26:45,699
and they certainly didn't
want to be
1441
01:26:45,800 --> 01:26:47,699
an infantryman in Vietnam.
1442
01:26:47,800 --> 01:26:51,166
There were times when it was
very difficult
1443
01:26:51,265 --> 01:26:53,565
to keep the men under control,
1444
01:26:53,666 --> 01:26:56,000
particularly if we had taken
casualties on the way
1445
01:26:56,100 --> 01:26:57,600
into a village.
1446
01:26:59,233 --> 01:27:03,966
One of the things I learned is
the veneer of civilization
1447
01:27:04,065 --> 01:27:06,733
is very thin-- very thin--
1448
01:27:06,832 --> 01:27:11,932
on me, probably on you,
and I think on everybody.
1449
01:27:13,733 --> 01:27:16,132
I just saw over and over again
1450
01:27:16,233 --> 01:27:20,199
some nice young guy
out of Huron, South Dakota,
1451
01:27:20,300 --> 01:27:23,432
who back in Huron helped
old ladies across the street
1452
01:27:23,533 --> 01:27:26,300
and went to church every Sunday.
1453
01:27:26,399 --> 01:27:33,533
It did not take long for that
veneer of civilization to erode.
1454
01:27:33,632 --> 01:27:37,699
And he was now capable
of doing things
1455
01:27:37,800 --> 01:27:40,800
that just simply are inhuman.
1456
01:27:43,166 --> 01:27:46,800
I was not willing to allow it
to happen on my watch
1457
01:27:46,899 --> 01:27:49,399
and I didn't think it was good
for the soldiers
1458
01:27:49,500 --> 01:27:50,932
to do those kinds of things.
1459
01:27:51,033 --> 01:27:55,100
Now, I'm not saying that we
didn't do some horrific things.
1460
01:27:55,199 --> 01:27:56,100
We did.
1461
01:27:58,132 --> 01:28:01,699
But there's a difference
between being spontaneous
1462
01:28:01,800 --> 01:28:04,300
and being premeditated.
1463
01:28:10,666 --> 01:28:14,899
NARRATOR:
Many years later,
Robin Harrison, still adrift,
1464
01:28:15,000 --> 01:28:17,065
got caught up
in the world of drugs
1465
01:28:17,166 --> 01:28:23,565
and died 10,000 miles from home
in a hotel room in Hong Kong,
1466
01:28:23,666 --> 01:28:26,865
another casualty,
his brother Matt believed,
1467
01:28:26,966 --> 01:28:29,699
of the war in Vietnam.
1468
01:28:32,765 --> 01:28:36,399
("Magic Carpet Ride"
by Steppenwolf playing)
1469
01:28:39,399 --> 01:28:41,699
♪ I like to dream
1470
01:28:41,800 --> 01:28:47,865
♪ Yes, yes, right between
my sound machine ♪
1471
01:28:47,966 --> 01:28:50,765
♪ On a cloud of sound
I drift in the night ♪
1472
01:28:50,865 --> 01:28:52,500
♪ Any place it goes is right
1473
01:28:52,600 --> 01:28:56,300
♪ Goes far, flies near,
to the stars away from here ♪
1474
01:28:56,399 --> 01:28:58,533
♪ Well, you don't know...
1475
01:28:58,632 --> 01:29:00,632
MERRILL McPEAK:
I dropped a bomb
one afternoon
1476
01:29:00,733 --> 01:29:03,600
that must have had a broken fin
or something on the bomb.
1477
01:29:03,699 --> 01:29:07,000
It just went crazy, went over
and hit, you know,
1478
01:29:07,100 --> 01:29:09,699
a mile away
from where I was aiming.
1479
01:29:09,800 --> 01:29:16,466
And it started a series
of secondary explosions,
1480
01:29:16,565 --> 01:29:19,699
meaning that I had hit
an ammunition dump,
1481
01:29:19,800 --> 01:29:21,199
or a cache of ammunition
or something.
1482
01:29:21,300 --> 01:29:23,132
So it cooked off for 15 minutes.
1483
01:29:23,233 --> 01:29:26,932
As we were leaving,
the thing was still blowing up.
1484
01:29:27,033 --> 01:29:29,632
The best result I achieved
in a year,
1485
01:29:29,733 --> 01:29:32,966
it was a result of a gross miss
from what I was aiming at.
1486
01:29:33,065 --> 01:29:37,600
Now that's the exact reverse of
how you want to use air power.
1487
01:29:39,365 --> 01:29:42,466
NARRATOR:
Major Merrill McPeak
was a crack fighter pilot
1488
01:29:42,565 --> 01:29:46,632
when he arrived in Vietnam
in late 1968.
1489
01:29:46,733 --> 01:29:50,600
At first, he had helped provide
air support for the Army,
1490
01:29:50,699 --> 01:29:55,065
with a guaranteed number of
sorties per day, he remembered,
1491
01:29:55,166 --> 01:29:58,132
"whether or not they had
anything in front of them
1492
01:29:58,233 --> 01:29:59,533
worth blowing up."
1493
01:30:01,966 --> 01:30:05,000
MERRILL McPEAK:
At the end of any sortie
where we dropped bombs
1494
01:30:05,100 --> 01:30:07,065
on what we called
"trees in contact"
1495
01:30:07,166 --> 01:30:09,733
because there was nothing
important down there,
1496
01:30:09,832 --> 01:30:12,699
we would always get back a list
of bomb damage assessment
1497
01:30:12,800 --> 01:30:14,265
from the forward air controller.
1498
01:30:14,365 --> 01:30:19,466
And it would be, like,
"12 supply sources destroyed,
1499
01:30:19,565 --> 01:30:21,932
two structures collapsed."
1500
01:30:22,033 --> 01:30:23,432
All these metrics.
1501
01:30:23,533 --> 01:30:25,399
It was phony.
1502
01:30:25,500 --> 01:30:26,666
Just a waste of time.
1503
01:30:28,666 --> 01:30:32,100
NARRATOR:
Then, McPeak was assigned
to a top-secret squadron
1504
01:30:32,199 --> 01:30:34,865
seeking to pinpoint men
and supplies
1505
01:30:34,966 --> 01:30:38,199
moving on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
in Laos.
1506
01:30:38,300 --> 01:30:42,300
He and his fellow pilots
called their unit Misty,
1507
01:30:42,399 --> 01:30:45,533
after its radio call sign.
1508
01:30:45,632 --> 01:30:47,265
McPEAK:
I spent four months in Misty.
1509
01:30:47,365 --> 01:30:50,932
And that was the best
four months of the war,
1510
01:30:51,033 --> 01:30:52,432
as far as I'm concerned,
1511
01:30:52,533 --> 01:30:55,932
because what we were doing was
simple, straightforward,
1512
01:30:56,033 --> 01:30:57,432
and made sense.
1513
01:30:57,533 --> 01:31:01,265
We want to stop traffic from
A to B down this dirt road.
1514
01:31:01,365 --> 01:31:04,300
That I can understand.
1515
01:31:04,399 --> 01:31:07,565
Somebody in Saigon
wasn't saying,
1516
01:31:07,666 --> 01:31:10,365
"Go bomb trees at such-and-such
a location."
1517
01:31:10,466 --> 01:31:13,265
We went out and actually found
the target.
1518
01:31:22,632 --> 01:31:24,332
NARRATOR:
It was dangerous work.
1519
01:31:24,432 --> 01:31:29,265
One out of five pilots
was shot down.
1520
01:31:31,632 --> 01:31:33,033
(radio chatter)
1521
01:31:37,699 --> 01:31:41,699
Misty put up seven sorties a day
from dawn to dusk,
1522
01:31:41,800 --> 01:31:44,966
on the lookout for
signs of human activity--
1523
01:31:45,065 --> 01:31:50,265
gardens, encampments, roadside
trees coated with dust,
1524
01:31:50,365 --> 01:31:54,432
or wet roads on either side
of fords
1525
01:31:54,533 --> 01:31:59,533
that signaled a truck convoy
had recently passed through.
1526
01:32:03,565 --> 01:32:06,666
McPEAK:
I have enormous respect
for those truck drivers.
1527
01:32:08,300 --> 01:32:10,233
They left their homes
in the North,
1528
01:32:10,332 --> 01:32:14,199
and they weren't drafted
for a year or two.
1529
01:32:14,300 --> 01:32:15,899
They just left and didn't know
1530
01:32:16,000 --> 01:32:17,966
if they were ever
going to come back.
1531
01:32:19,733 --> 01:32:23,432
NARRATOR:
Although McPeak and his fellow
pilots did not know it,
1532
01:32:23,533 --> 01:32:25,199
among the drivers threading
their way
1533
01:32:25,300 --> 01:32:29,065
down the Ho Chi Minh Trail
by night were hundreds of women.
1534
01:32:32,033 --> 01:32:36,132
NGUYEN NGUYET ANH:
1535
01:32:54,365 --> 01:32:57,966
NARRATOR:
For three years, Nguyen Nguyet
Anh drove her section
1536
01:32:58,065 --> 01:33:04,666
of the Trail, ferrying arms
and supplies south,
1537
01:33:04,765 --> 01:33:09,432
then heading back north
with cargoes of wounded men.
1538
01:33:11,932 --> 01:33:13,733
NGUYEN NGUYET ANH:
1539
01:33:22,632 --> 01:33:24,865
McPEAK:
They drove in stages.
1540
01:33:24,966 --> 01:33:27,899
So they knew 15, 20 clicks
of the road.
1541
01:33:28,000 --> 01:33:30,466
And they drove from A to B
and back to A.
1542
01:33:34,899 --> 01:33:36,699
And then they rested,
during the daytime,
1543
01:33:36,800 --> 01:33:39,800
and then the next night, they
drove from A to B and back to A.
1544
01:33:41,199 --> 01:33:45,666
They had kind of memorized the
road, which was very important,
1545
01:33:45,765 --> 01:33:48,365
because they were running
without lights at night.
1546
01:34:13,765 --> 01:34:14,966
(jet engine roars)
1547
01:34:24,365 --> 01:34:27,932
McPEAK:
One time I stumbled across
a bunch of trucks backed up,
1548
01:34:28,033 --> 01:34:30,365
and that was a great morning
for me.
1549
01:34:30,466 --> 01:34:32,699
Occasionally one of 'em would
break down,
1550
01:34:32,800 --> 01:34:34,600
in a spot where the trucks
behind it
1551
01:34:34,699 --> 01:34:36,565
would get trapped and
couldn't back out of there.
1552
01:34:36,666 --> 01:34:41,699
So you try to strafe the last
truck, so that it can't move.
1553
01:34:44,166 --> 01:34:46,899
And these are one-lane roads.
1554
01:34:47,000 --> 01:34:50,199
So once you get
the back truck disabled,
1555
01:34:50,300 --> 01:34:52,533
then you just call in fighters.
1556
01:34:53,966 --> 01:34:56,300
You're shooting fish
in a barrel.
1557
01:35:00,800 --> 01:35:04,699
NARRATOR:
As she drove the Ho Chi Minh
Trail, Anh thought constantly
1558
01:35:04,800 --> 01:35:07,500
of her fiancé Tran Cong Thang,
1559
01:35:07,600 --> 01:35:12,832
an army engineer she'd fallen
in love with four years earlier.
1560
01:35:12,932 --> 01:35:17,065
He was also stationed
somewhere on the Trail.
1561
01:35:17,166 --> 01:35:20,699
NGUYEN NGUYET ANH:
1562
01:35:34,765 --> 01:35:36,699
TRAN CONG THANG:
1563
01:36:11,865 --> 01:36:16,699
NARRATOR:
Over 20,000 engineers,
soldiers, and truck drivers died
1564
01:36:16,800 --> 01:36:19,966
along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
1565
01:36:20,065 --> 01:36:24,233
72 military cemeteries would
eventually be required
1566
01:36:24,332 --> 01:36:26,600
to hold their remains.
1567
01:36:29,100 --> 01:36:33,432
TRAN CONG THANG:
1568
01:36:47,132 --> 01:36:49,899
McPEAK:
We dropped more tonnage
of munitions
1569
01:36:50,000 --> 01:36:55,166
than the United States dropped
in World War II,
1570
01:36:55,265 --> 01:36:58,132
most of it aimed
at the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
1571
01:37:00,300 --> 01:37:02,699
We did not stop traffic
down the trail.
1572
01:37:02,800 --> 01:37:06,233
And that is
a big disappointment for me.
1573
01:37:06,332 --> 01:37:08,832
To this day, it irritates me.
1574
01:37:11,000 --> 01:37:14,332
The real failures were made
at the policy level.
1575
01:37:16,432 --> 01:37:19,800
We were fighting
on the wrong side.
1576
01:37:19,899 --> 01:37:23,533
The South, the government
in the South was corrupt.
1577
01:37:23,632 --> 01:37:25,865
And its people knew it.
1578
01:37:25,966 --> 01:37:26,865
And we knew it.
1579
01:37:28,399 --> 01:37:29,666
I'll tell you something,
1580
01:37:29,765 --> 01:37:32,065
those truck drivers
fought very well.
1581
01:37:32,166 --> 01:37:36,733
I would have been proud
to fight with them.
1582
01:37:36,832 --> 01:37:39,300
So one of the things you got
to do when you go to war
1583
01:37:39,399 --> 01:37:40,932
is pick the right side, okay.
1584
01:37:41,033 --> 01:37:42,300
Get the right allies.
1585
01:37:46,600 --> 01:37:51,000
NARRATOR:
Merrill McPeak would serve
37 years and retire
1586
01:37:51,100 --> 01:37:53,600
as Air Force chief of staff.
1587
01:37:56,233 --> 01:38:00,065
Nguyen Nguyen Anh and Tran Cong
Thang were reunited
1588
01:38:00,166 --> 01:38:02,832
after the war and married.
1589
01:38:07,000 --> 01:38:10,365
The peace we seek to win
1590
01:38:10,466 --> 01:38:15,033
is not victory over
any other people,
1591
01:38:15,132 --> 01:38:19,500
but the peace that comes
with healing in its wings;
1592
01:38:19,600 --> 01:38:22,466
with compassion for those
who have suffered;
1593
01:38:22,565 --> 01:38:25,466
with understanding for those
who have opposed us;
1594
01:38:25,565 --> 01:38:29,100
with the opportunity for all
the peoples of this earth
1595
01:38:29,199 --> 01:38:31,033
to choose their own destiny.
1596
01:38:31,132 --> 01:38:33,733
("Lonely Road"
by the Sandals playing)
1597
01:38:33,832 --> 01:38:35,265
NARRATOR:
Like Lyndon Johnson,
1598
01:38:35,365 --> 01:38:40,132
Richard Nixon had an ambitious
agenda for his presidency--
1599
01:38:40,233 --> 01:38:44,399
easing a quarter of a century of
tensions with the Soviet Union
1600
01:38:44,500 --> 01:38:46,666
and opening the door to China,
1601
01:38:46,765 --> 01:38:50,565
whose existence the United
States had refused to recognize
1602
01:38:50,666 --> 01:38:54,565
since the communists
took over in 1949.
1603
01:38:54,666 --> 01:38:57,765
But as it had with Johnson,
1604
01:38:57,865 --> 01:39:02,265
the ongoing war in Vietnam
threatened all those plans.
1605
01:39:04,233 --> 01:39:09,565
37,563 Americans had died there
1606
01:39:09,666 --> 01:39:12,365
by the time he took
the oath of office.
1607
01:39:12,466 --> 01:39:16,199
"I'm not going to end up
like LBJ,
1608
01:39:16,300 --> 01:39:18,233
"holed up in the White House,
1609
01:39:18,332 --> 01:39:20,466
afraid to show my face
on the street,"
1610
01:39:20,565 --> 01:39:22,600
Richard Nixon told an aide.
1611
01:39:22,699 --> 01:39:24,565
"I'm going to stop that war.
1612
01:39:24,666 --> 01:39:26,132
Fast."
1613
01:39:26,233 --> 01:39:30,765
Nixon's national security
advisor was Henry Kissinger.
1614
01:39:30,865 --> 01:39:35,199
A refugee from Nazi Germany, he
had taught government at Harvard
1615
01:39:35,300 --> 01:39:39,033
and was already a well-known
advocate of a foreign policy
1616
01:39:39,132 --> 01:39:42,666
based on pragmatism,
not ideology.
1617
01:39:42,765 --> 01:39:47,466
"Give us six months," Kissinger
told a group of Quakers
1618
01:39:47,565 --> 01:39:49,733
demonstrating on
Pennsylvania Avenue,
1619
01:39:49,832 --> 01:39:54,300
"and if we haven't ended the war
by then, you can come back
1620
01:39:54,399 --> 01:39:56,500
and tear down
the White House fence."
1621
01:39:59,432 --> 01:40:05,100
In February of 1969, the North
launched yet another offensive.
1622
01:40:07,699 --> 01:40:12,600
This time, they killed 1,100
Americans in just three weeks.
1623
01:40:16,432 --> 01:40:18,865
Nixon did not feel
he could retaliate
1624
01:40:18,966 --> 01:40:21,300
by resuming the bombing
of the North
1625
01:40:21,399 --> 01:40:25,199
for fear of provoking the
antiwar movement at home.
1626
01:40:25,300 --> 01:40:31,432
So in March, he secretly ordered
B-52s to begin attacking
1627
01:40:31,533 --> 01:40:33,699
the North Vietnamese bases
within Cambodia,
1628
01:40:33,800 --> 01:40:38,065
which had offered sanctuary
to the enemy for years.