you are from vietnam. you were born there vietnam. tell us your post war experience. >> i was born november 1974. i was five months old when my family fled saigon. in terms of memories i don't really have any direct memories of the war. my first memory of course where i grew up in springfield, pennsylvania. outside philadelphia. what happened in the end of april, 1975, to my family is a story that is very common for vietnamese refugees that fled during that turbulent period. it began with ben crosby's "white christmas." it was a signal the americans were going to leave. like all vietnamese families we had escape plans. our first one failed. we were supposed to meet my uncle on top of a roof of a high school. that didn't happen. he wasn't able to land the helicopter. they were shooting. we weren't able to leave in that fashion. a second escape route was revealed to us to go down to the saigon river. there another uncle had access to a boat. we almost lost a brother on the way. we found him at the last minute milling around at a buddhis

vietnam veterans were no different. to our vietnam vetteran, celebrate your day of recognition. you have earned it. you were the quiet heros of your generation. god bless you all. thank you. [ applause ] >>> allow me to direct your attention to many leading the stage. for many years these service organizations have joined our tradition of laying wreaths at the memorial in honor to have the fallen. while the wreath layers get into position i would like to share a few highlights of what has been a busy year for the vietnam veteran memorial fund. recently the effort to put a face to every name on the wall passed a major milestone. of the 58,318 photos we have been seeking less than 4,500 are left to meet our goal. [ applause ] if you have foe photphotos of a the wall make sure they are part of our wall of faces. we conducted 412 vietnam veterans honor roll which honors those that later died as a result of their service. as we do each year we inducted them the saturday of father's day weekend. we do it right over here overlooking the wall. in march we commemorated the ground breakin

association of vietnam veterans of america. vietnam memorial volunteers and friends. jewish war veterans of the usa. tan sanot association. caisson veterans. the american legion. veterans of foreign wars. rolling thunder chapter one of maryland. 39th engineer battalion alumni association. am vets. third battalion, eighth infantry. 82nd airborne association. and the first marine aircraft wing. we ask that audience members remain standing and at attenti we ask that audience members remain standing and at attention until taps has been played and the honor guard has been dismissed. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> honor guard, you are dismissed. this concludes our ceremony. thank you for coming, ladies and gentlemen. >>> i've been attacked by everybody. i've been attacked by the right wing. attacked by the russians, i've been attacked by the trump campaign and sanders campaign. now, i can add to that list, the clinton campaign. >> sunday on c-span's q&a, former democratic chair donna brazile talks about her life in politics, and her memoir "hacks." >> i was in washington, d.c. on 10th

our continuous goal to honor vietnam veterans by displaying vietnam era helicopters. >> sometimes the vietnam war is referred to as the first helicopter war. why is that? >> well, the helicopter after found out the utilization of it, it was multiple uses, the helicopter took the place of trucks, jeeps and other equipment that have been used in other wars. medevacing troops was a big key from the field. and they could put troops in a lot more efficiency with ease, quicker and safer. if you believe it's safer, it actually was. driving along roads that could be ambushed even though they took aerial fire, but they could pinpoint them into a place quicker. a lot of things were learned by the utilization of the helicopter, like our medics. so not only war but brought a whole new industry out there for the use. >> uh-huh. can you tell us about your own personal experience? when did you serve in vietnam, did you volunteer or were you drafted? >> all helicopter pilots were v volunteers. it wasn't something you were told you were going to do. i flew lift ships and gun ships for a total of nine

next, two former members of congress and to vietnam -- and two vietnam war veterans appear onstage for a panel discussion vietnamthe amount -- -- -- lessons learned and lessons ignored." >> now i ask all vietnam veterans or any united states veterans who served on active duty anytime between november 1, to may 15, 1975, the vietnam era, to stand and be recognized. [applause] >> veterans, as you exit the theater, national archives staff and volunteers will present each of you with a lapel pin. united states of america vietnam war corporation is an initiative and the lapel pin is the nation's lasting memento of thanks. tonight's program is one in a series of events we are presenting in conjunction with our new exhibit, "remembering vietnam," which just opened upstairs. the exhibit is a media rich exhibition of the vietnam war, featuring historic analysis and newly discovered iconic original documents, some footage, and artifacts illuminating 12 critical episodes in the war that divided the people's of the united states and vietnam. " remembering vietnam draws on -- "remembering vietnam"

to honor the vietnam veterans by display with the vietnam era helicopters. >> sometimes the vietnam war is referred to as the first helicopter war. why is that? >> well, the helicopter -- after they found out the utilization of it was multiple uses, the helicopter took the part of trucks, jeeps and other equipment that had been used in other wars. medevac and troops was a big key from the field. they could put troops into lzs quicker and safer. they could pin point them into a place quicker. it brought a whole new industry out there for the use. >> can you tell us about your own personal experience? when did you serve in vietnam? did you volunteer or were you drafted? >> all helicopter pilots were volunteers. so it wasn't something that you were told you were going to do. i flew lift ships and gun ships for a total of nine months. then i went to maintenance, which wasn't necessarily safer than being shot at every day, because in maintenance you were subject to failures. even though the maintenance guys did great jobs, there was things that happened even with new equipment you would

association of vietnam veterans of america. vietnam memorial volunteers and friends. jewish war veterans of the usa. tan sanot association. caisson veterans. the american legion. veterans of foreign wars. rolling thunder chapter one of maryland. 39th engineer battalion alumni association. am vets. third battalion, eighth infantry. 82nd airborne association. and the first marine aircraft wing. we ask that audience members remain standing and at attention until taps has been we ask that audience members remain standing and at attention until taps has been played and the honor guard has been dismissed. ♪ ♪ >> honor guard, you are dismissed. this concludes our ceremony. thank you for coming, ladies and gentlemen. >>> this week, washington journal features authors of key books published this past year. join us for or live conversation with authors about their popular books. coming up on saturday, jessica bruter with her book. and on sunday, author chris whipple with "the gatekeepers, how the white house chiefs of staff define every presidency." washington journal's aut

you are from vietnam. you were born there vietnam. tell us your post war experience. >> i was born november 1974. i was five months old when my family fled. in terms of memories i don't really have any direct memories of the war. my first memory of course where i grew up in springfield, pennsylvania. what happened in 1975 to my family is a story that is very common for vietnamese refugees that fled. it began with ben crosby's white christmas. it was a signal they were going to leave. we had escape routes planned. our first one failed. we were supposed to meet my upg l on top of a roof of a high school. he wasn't able to land the helicopter. they were shooting. a second escape route was revealed to us to go down to the saigon river. there another uncle had access to a boat. we almost lost a brother on the bay. we found him with many other children out in the streets because it was clear chaos what my brothers and sisters were telling me. we secured space on a boat and were able to get on the u.s. 7th and stayed in the south pacific and

my father was in vietnam. he was in community development , part of the hearts and minds offensive, i guess you could say. and he would describe circumstances where he would be talking to people in a village, and it sounds like you also got away from military front. where he knew he was talking to people who were viet cong sympathizers if not actually part of the viet cong. and i'm wondering, tony, did you find yourself in those circumstances where you knew were filming and interacting with people who were probably viet and ted, you might chime in on this too. and just how you handled it and what was the experience? ted koppel: no, no, no. [laughter] terry irving: i like the dinner you had there personally. yasutsune: i don't know. because, saigon is, we never worked so much. but we go countryside, daytime government side. evening, the other side. how do you call it? pink areas? i don't know. we always had warning. at night, you don't go. like cambodia, once sun came down, you cannot get out. they said, city w

goal to honor the vietnam veterans by our display with a vietnam era helicopter. >> sometimes the vietnam war is referred to as the "first helicopter war." why is that? >> the

the vietnam veterans by our display of the vietnam ear a ahead quarters. >> sometimes the vietnam war is referred to as the first helicopter war. why is that? >> the utalization of it was multiple uses. the helicopter took the place of trucks, jeeps and other equipment that had been used in other wars. med vaccing troops was a big deal from the field and they could put troops in a lot more efficiency quicker and safer if you believe it is safer, it actually was. driving along roads that could be ambushed and even though they took aerial fighter, they could pinpoint them into a place quicker and a lot of things was learned by utalization off the helicopter like our medics today. so not only the war but it brought a whole new industry out there for the use. >> can you tell us about your own personal experience. when did you serve in vietnam and did you volunteer? were you drafted? >> all helicopter pilots were volunteered. i flew lift ships and manned my own gun ships. then i went to maintenance ch wasn't necessarily safer than being shot at every day because in maintenance you were sub

>>> now i ask all vietnam veterans or those who served during the vietnam era. to 1975 to stand and be recognized. veterans, as you exit the theater after today pfsz program, national archives staff and volunteers will present each of you with the vietnam veteran lapel pen. on the back is engraved a grateful nation thanks and honors you. the vietnam war commemoration is a national initiative and the lapel pen is the nation's lasting momento of thanks. the national archives building is always an impressive site on constitution avenue but this week we're attracting a bit more attention thanks to the north carolina vietnam helicopter pilot's association who are it custodian of those aircraft. we can see and learn three vietnam war era helicopters. this deisplay is presented in part by it national archives foundation through the generous support of bell helikapter and now you'll hear from general richard a. cody. he graduated at west point in 1972. he's a master army aviator, rated in over 19 helicopters and has over 5,000 hours of flight time. during his 36 plus ye

i thought my duty was in vietnam so i volunteered to go to vietnam. that is a decision i revisited several times in the coming year after i went. i went to an advisor training course in fort bragg. and then to fort bliss, texas to learn vietnamese because only the u.s. army would send you to el paso, texas to learn vietnamese. my skills were rudimentary at best. but once i got to vietnam i went to camp alpha, and there was the ubiquitous sergeant with the clipboard to said captain, your late. you are not going to get a badge. the army being as it is, i was trained to be an advisor with the south vietnamese and the thai army. i spoke zero thai. but they were in the process of going home as a process of downsizing in 1971 in 1972. then i went and joined the 18th division. it was pretty much like tom and rich talked about in the same area, running around triple canopy jungle, trying to keep the north vietnamese and the -- viet cong out of the towns and cities. i found myself landlocked on the border up against the cambodian border, with about 4500 south

vietnam. onembering vietnam draws national archives records for all parts of our agency. presidential library, still photography, sound recordings, electronic records. the title of the exhibit, "remembering vietnam" was inspired by a quote, "all wars are fought twice, the first on a battlefield, the second time in memory." artifacts we display help us sort through the lessons of the war, but those lessons are also formed by memory. i look forward to stimulating discussion. it's my pleasure to welcome peter white line to the stage. as the, he served officer of the former members of congress. with theirt citizens representative government. he plans and directs all policies and initiatives for the association, represents them in the community, and serves as its spokesperson to the public, in media, and the public. two degrees from pennsylvania state university, attended law school in berlin, and completed his studies at the catholic university of america. [applause] peter: thank you for the intro

one of the under studied vietnam war is the republic of vietnam armed forces. if we get past dividing the leaders, they really lost the war, and it was not the fault of the rank and file, you know, the average soldier, and that many fought, many fought valiantly, but their voices aren't seen and heard and written about in the scholarship, because they were on the losing side. but i think this was a very, very tough war that had, you know, before the americans even arrived the vietnamese were at war. >> here's tom in cole valley, illinois. welcome. >> caller: yes. my name is tom. i'm calling because my concern is both of the professors are talking more on a liberal vein. and i served from '62 to '65, i was out of california. never served in vietnam. i served in the philippines. and i don't hear anything about the foot soldier, marines, who fought and did because they were told to go, drafted, or enlisted like i did. i'm going monday to listen to captain bill albrek who had three silver stars and he has the same concern, we have forgotten about the soldiers and t

vietnam. remembering vietnam draws on national archives records from all parts of our agency. federal and civilian military records, presidential library, still photography, motion pictures, sound recordings, electronic records. the title of the exhibit, "remembering vietnam" was inspired by a quote, "all wars are fought twice, the first on a battlefield, the second time in memory." documents and artifacts we display help us sort through the lessons of the war, but those lessons are also formed by memory. i look forward to a stimulating discussion. it's my pleasure to welcome peter white line to the stage. in 2003, he served as the officer of the former members of congress. to reconnect citizens with their representative government. he plans and directs all policies and initiatives for the association, represents them in the community, and serves as its spokesperson to the public, in media, and the public. he holds two degrees from pennsylvania state university, he attended law school at the f

. >> now i ask all vietnam veterans or any veterans who served during the vietnam era, which is november 1, 1955 to may 15, 1975 to stand and be recognized. veterans as you exit the theater after today's program, national archives staff and volunteers will present each of you with the vietnam veteran lapel pin. on the back is embossed a grateful nation thanks and honors you. united states vietnam war commemoration is a national initiative and the lapel pin is the nation's lasting thanks. the national archives billing is always an impressive site, but this week we are attracting a bit more attention thanks to the north carolina vietnam helicopter pilot's association who are the custodians of those aircraft. we can see and learn about three original vietnam war helicopters. t this display is presented in part by the national archives foundation through the generous support of bell helicopter. now you'll hear from general richard a. cody, required of united states army. he graduated from west point in 1972. he's a master army aviator, over 19 helicopter and has over 5,000 hours of flight ti

vietnam was a helicopter war. i think it is where the helicopter -- it was in its infancy and had to crawl and walk and jog and run in a span of 10 years. that is exactly what it did. across the board, all of the military, all of the branches combined, there was over 12,000 helicopters that served in that war during that period of time. we lost 5600 of those through accidents, but most, combat. and the iconic huey and the cobras that you see out front, general cody touched on that. the huey, it personifies that war. in fact, i don't know if you know it, but the u.s. postal service saw fit to put the huey on the stamp of the tribute to the 1960's. it is the face of that war. there was over 7000 hueys sent into vietnam. those 7000 hueys to 7.5 million flight hours. we lost 3600, i think. almost half. of the 12,000, we lost almost half, of the 7000, we lost almost half. as a general cody mentioned, the cobra was the johnny-come-lately. it did not get there until late 1967, 1968, and it flew over one million hours. we

association of vietnam veterans of america. vietnam memorial volunteers and friends. kason veterans. the american legion. veterans of foreign wars. rolling thunder chapter one of maryland. 39th engineer battalion alumni association. third battalion 8th infantry. 82nd airborne association. and the first marine aircraft wing. we ask audience members remain standing until the honor guard has been dismissed. ♪ ♪ >>> honor guard you are dismissed. this concludes our ceremony. thank you for coming ladies and gentlemen. [ applause ] >> because of that it makes it difficult in an adversary to deny the capabilities of the united states. our adversaries and you heard it talked about by others this morning, they have been watching us ever since the first gulf war. they watched the enormous conventional power we created that was enabled by spiace and you have to decide am i going to just ignore that advantage or try to do something about it. so the chinese and the russians for the last 20 plus years have been watching what we have been doing and developing capabilities and no

we tried to keep the vietnam war out of the vietnam veterans memorial which is not possible, but held off the lions at the gate for a while. in order to get this memorial built, i was very lucky. some graduates of the u.s. military academy at west point, who also went to the harvard business school, descended on this project early on and made the vietnam veterans memorial into a harvard business school problem. i owe a lot to the harvard business school, i owe a lot to west point for getting this done. this book is fantastic. it should be the official history of the vietnam veterans memorial. it is also a history of art and art history and washington, d.c. this is not the first time people have disagreed over a structure. i wonder if you could tell us about the fdr memorial. many of us have been to it, but we do not know about the one that was not built. james: you are putting me on the spot about details of the whole thing. for something like the vietnam war where the dead were a lot less than world war i and world war ii, the memorials for fdr and for george washington, and we know

same time to vietnamize the conflict. >> we had to turn the war over to south vietnam or it would be helpless. we couldn't fight their war forever. >> the south vietnamese were taught to think like americans, act like americans fight like americans. >> south vietnam's president thieu, he wanted nothing more than to gradually take over full responsibility for the war. >> president nixon started withdrawing troops almost right away. he had a lot to withdraw. over 500,000 men were there. >> but he did this very slowly. as they supposedly shifted the burden of the fighting to the south vietnamese. it was going so slowly a lot of people were getting killed in the process, and there was no end to it. >> october 15, 1969, vietnam moratorium day. >> surely this is a day unique in our history. never have so many of our people publicly and collectively manifested opposition to this country's involvement in a war. >> it wasn't hippies. it wasn't radicals and marxists. it was ordinary middle-class americans, 2 million of them, taking the day off from school, from work. it was a genuine democrati

i thought my duty was in vietnam so i volunteered to go to vietnam. that is a decision i revisited several times in the coming year after i went. training an advisor course in fort bragg. to fort bliss, texas to learn vietnamese because only the u.s. army would send you to el paso, texas to learn vietnamese. my skills were rudimentary at best. but once i got to vietnam i went to camp alpha, and there was the ubiquitous sergeant with the clipboard to said captain, your late. you are not going to get a badge. the army being as it is, i was trained to be an advisor with the south vietnamese and the thai army. i spoke zero thai. but they were in the process of going home as a process of downsizing in 1971 in 1972. then i went and joined the 18th division. andas pretty much like tom rich talked about in the same area, running around triple canopy jungle, trying to keep the --th vietnamese and ong out of thet c towns and cities. i found myself landlocked on the border up against the cambodian border, with about 4500 south vietnamese and 15 to 20 other advis

goal to honor the vietnam veterans by our display with a vietnam era helicopter. >> sometimes the vietnam war is referred to as the "first helicopter war." why is that? helicopter, the utilization of it, it was multiple uses. the helicopter took the place of trucks, jeeps, and other equipment used in other wars. that is lacking troops -- medevac him troops from the safer.as if you believe it is safer, it actually was. arriving along roads that could be ambushed, and even though they took aerial fire, they could pinpoint a man to a place quicker. a lot of things was learned by utilization of the helicopter, like our medics today used the helicopters. it brought a whole new industry out there for the use. >> can you tell us about your own personal experience? when did you serve in vietnam? did you volunteer or were you drafted? >> all helicopter pilots were volunteers. it was not something you were told you were going to do. i flew lift ships and gunships a total of nine months, and then i went to maintenance which was not necessarily safer than being shot at every day because in tontenance

>>> i ask all vietnam veterans or any united states veterans who served during the vietnam era, which is november 1st, 1955 to may 15th, 1975 to stand and be recognized. [ applause ] . >> we can see and learn about three original vietnam war era helicopters. normandy, a flight of eight apache helicopters into iraq and destroyed two critical sites prior to the start of the allied air campaign. jengeneral cody is a board trus of the intrepid fallen heros fund, on the advisory board for the warriors and the lead pilot for the organization flying heros. >> thank you, everybody, for our vietnam veterans and their families. sometimes saying thank you for your service isn't enough. i want to tell you what i really want to do is say thank you for inspiring a young 16-year-old in montpelier, vermont, back in 1966. because i got to watch your vietnam helicopter pilots, your daring on tv. that inspired me to want to become like you, a helicopter pilot. thank you for everything you've done for this great country. in 1991, when i came back from the iraq war, it was 3:00 in the morning. i had my sq

gis in vietnam. how are they treated 25 years after the u.s. to departure. >> you can be featured during our next live program, join the conversation on facebook.com/c-spanhistory or on @cspanhistory. week on american history tv, john tender, author of paying with our bodies. explores the history of u.s. wars. he argues the nation struggles and often fails to adequately meet the needs of wounded veterans. here is a preview. >> when it comes to bodily trauma many americans live in a world of euphemism, or, let's face it, willful ignorance. tv journalists rarely speak of got shots and severed limbs. instead we are more likely to hear about losses and sacrifices and tragedies. as if the whole point of war were not to out-injure the other side. visit the seven acre memorial on the national mall in washington d.c., and you would be hard-pressed to discover what actually happened to america's 400,000 plus war dead. though in the virtual tour, no less than tom hanks assures us they gave their lives in a fight for freedom. we have that. we don't know w

i think that vietnam didn't have any vietnam to learn that. >> right. >> from that lesson of vietnam i think many people learned to dislike a war but not the soldier who fought in the war, the government that is responsible for that. >> uh-huh. >> so stan parker is your main character. i know he is threw the whole book but, could you take the audience sort of through his evolution from gary, indiana, and then forward, how that conveys the themes of the book? >> yeah. and it's, it's almost a spiritual or emotional journey where he, as many of them began to feel when came home in '69 or a year of tour of duty, they immediately missed it. it was worst thing that happened. it was the most intense sense of brotherhood and intimacy that they ever felt. stan's journey to really go back to that feeling. he becomes an iron worker after the war and, had a very perpitetic childhood which prepared him for this life in the field and he ends up back in special forces and in the army again later in life which is when i meet him in afghanistan but he, when i met him he will want to really figure out

vietnam. it could be no place else. [ bicycle bell dings ] ♪ [ horn honks ] >> anthony: listen to me. listen to me. there is no other way to see this city, hanoi, than from a motorbike or a scooter. to do otherwise would be to miss it all. [ horns honking ] ♪ >> anthony: it is one of the great pleasures of my life to join the river of people rushing through the streets. ♪ [ horns honking ] ♪ >> anthony: vietnam. it grabs you and doesn't let you go. once you love it, you love it forever. i've been coming here since 2000, the first time i'd en in this part of the world, and it's held a special place in my heart and my imagination since. i keep coming back, i have to. [ bells ding ] vietnam has changed since last time i was here. it's changing every minute. [ horns honk ] but some things, for now, anyway, remain the same. important things, like this stuff. that's going to be good. bún oc. first meal in hanoi, and it's something they do here better than anywhere else. okay, i'm officially

then, i left vietnam ended the -- vietnam and did the other things i talked about. after i retired, i wrote a couple of books on the civil war. i went on special operations in afghanistan during the first seven months of the war and win -- and went on the armor company in korea. i will be willing to sit by for any questions you might have. >> my name is tom. i sat out most of the heavy fighting in the war at the university of kentucky, where he -- where i majored in bourbon and whiskey. i was commissioned the week after the kent state shootings. an interesting time. -- i went to fort benning and did all of the merit badge courses that have been mentioned here. i was commissioned as an armor officer. i had gotten a private pilot's license and was set to go to flight school and the army said, you have to do six months. i said, ok and they sent me to the sixth armored cavalry , which was and armored guard regiment north of fort meade in washington, d.c. i had myself and 47 men in the platoon i was in charge of. of those, one private and myself were not vietnam veterans

carl was a marine company captain in vietnam. and he told the story of his friend who was a pollutant leader. that can't be true because they don't have any trust. sir, i am where i am and where i am icy goddamn trucks. with time for just one question. see mech. >> this is a lot of pressure. the meaning of life. when i hear you describe what comes to my mind. the united states civil war which they trained troops for the battle endeavor and actually fought. i was wondering about the parallel and making this all up and putting us into a big hole that we actually never a doubt out of. i'm wondering what was his motivation based on your research that led him to live. we've all met people some of us and pay person and others on television with such a firm theory of the battlefield or the marketplace or whatever that reality doesn't even make a dent. i think wes marlin was someone like that. he invested a lot of his ego invested a lot of his authority in his theory of what was happening in vietnam any on and he on all of the data he ne

i had a whole staff in vietnam collecting data for me. i told the colonel on the other end of the hotline, that it all had to be in for the president by 7:00 the next morning. i needed details of the atrocities of the vietcong anywhere in vietnam. above all, i wanted goree details of any injuries to americans. i told the colonel, i need bl d blood. >> in the early '60s, dan ellsberg was a leading, if not the leading young war thinker. >> the atomic bomb had changed so much. and the military knew that they needed fresh thinking. and they established rand and deliberately located it on the west coast of the united states so that it would be beyond the reach of anybody in washington who wanted to meddle in it. and essentially people were encouraged to think knew thoughts, to think big. >> dan really impressed people, smart, imaginative, good at technical reasoning, good at loc. he could collect ideas from anywhere. he could read short stories and get ideas. >> my work at harvard was on decision making under uncertainty. at the rand corporati

impact on the vietnam war on our military up to this time? >> the impact on our military of the vietnam war was a devastating blow. not a fatal blow but devastating blow. after the war was over, the chief of staff of the united states army came to the armed services committee and said, senators, you have a hollow army, because the military was eroded because of drugs, because of anti-war, because of the inequities of the draft. we were in bad shape. fortunately, then, if i may be a bit parochial, ronald reagan came along with a recommitment to build our military and we did. it's good now. we're in a lot of problems right now. but the fact is it's not the moral issue. listen, we had marine company officers that were discharging half their company because they weren't performing. we gave them the authority, just throw them out if they are not any good. there was a famous marine general who said -- the media guy came up to them and said you have all these guys -- you're throwing all these guys out of the marine corps, who is going to be left. se

photographed from 1967 everything from a christmas tree lighting to presidential stops in vietnam, pakistan, and the vatican. this exhibit is part of the lbj presidential library moving picture collection. [applause] >> in an age of communications, the chief occupant of the white house has almost certainly become the most exhaustively analyzed figure of modern times. to most americans, the office of the presidency is a repository of the hopes of a nation, its dreams. ♪ two observers, broadcasters, columnists, and historians, the modern president is the commander-in-chief, the administrator of a vast bureaucracy, the government's top diplomat, educator, economist, and originator of legislative programs. combined with his endless galaxy of functions that graphically illustrate the obligations of his office, the electronic eye and the speed of 20th-century air travel have brought him closer to the public than any other man of his time. ♪ measured against his own deeply ofsonal terms, the events december 1967 would quickly become household happenings for most citizens of the world. ♪ 7, p

what was the impact on the vietnam war on our military up to this time? >> the impact on our military of the vietnam war was a devastating blow. not a fatal blow. but devastating blow. after the war was over, the chief of staff of the united states army came to the armed services committee and said senators you have a hollow army. because the military was eroded because of drugs because of antiwar, because of the inequity of the draft. we were in bad shape. fortunately if i maybe a bit provoke yal. reagan came along with a commitment to rebuild the military and we did. it's good now. there's a lot of problems but it's not the moral issue. we had marine company officers that were discharging half their company because they weren't performing. they we gave them the authority just throw them out. if they're not any good. and there was a famous marine general who who said that a guy came up and said you have all these guys, you're throwing out all these guys what's going to be left? he said that's my driver. if he and i are the only two left in the marine cor

that's how tomb o of us cover the vietnam war. the vietnam needs becoming almost incidental of the battles waged by our troops and demonstration on our college campuses. the diplomats in politicians. tony wases asian as river of the war and its victims capable of doing both with an octavety and compassion tay gave equal value and i wanted to read something i guess that affected me this is weaving sigon the last day i went back to my room as a continental to imablght a small bag to carry, and put everything else in suitcase left it with the captain, to hold until i came back which could have been about 30 years right. along with a good tip i paid my bill i was walking out when one of the room boys asked are you leaving too? i said i'll be back soon. but eflt guilty. i wases running away abandoning people i had come to know in a country that i really loved. i could escape and others couldn't. as they left the abc office at the hotel one of the drivers waited outside said to me what are you doingsome i realized that these were old fr

impact on the vietnam war on our military up to this time? >> the impact on our military of the vietnam war was a devastating blow, not a fatal blow but a devastating blow. after the war was over, the chief of staff of the united states army came to the armed services committee and said, senators, you have a hollow army, because the military was eroded because of drugs, because of anti-war, because of the inequities of the draft. we were in bad shape. fortunately, then, if i may be a bit parochial, ronald reagan came along with a recommitment to build our military and we did, and it's good now. we're in a lot of problems right now, but the fact is it's not the morale issue. listen, we had marine company officers that were discharging half their company because they weren't performing. we gave them the authority, just throw them out if they are not any good. there was a famous marine general who said -- the media guy came up to them and said you have all these guys -- you're throwing all these guys out of the marine corps, who is going to be l

in vietnam? that's mind boggling. soledad: why is the first time i was surprised to hear that. >> i never wanted to face up t see this is, this brings home like gave the ultimate sacr soledad: more than 58,000 names of american lives lost and families heartbroken are engraved on this wall. the medal of honor went to 246 of these soldiers. well more than half died in their act of valor. 44 years after melvin morris' courageous act, the white house would finally give him his due, atoning for a pattern of racial bias. by then, morris was 72. what was it like, the day that president obama said you were going to get the medal of hono >> proudest moment in my life. because i didn't have a clue that this was going to happen. president obama: when i called melvin morris, his first reaction was, oh my god, what have i done? [laughter] president obama: when i told hi it was all good, the medal of honor, i could hear it through the phone and he almost passed out. [laughter] >> he say, i want to apologize to

died of wounds he sustained in vietnam. for the last generation, in other member of the society touched by his sacrifice has honored him by anonymously sponsoring a growing collection of rare materials on the art and science of war. the mostow one of important collections of its kind in the world for the study of the revolutionary work. our current x -- current exhibition studies the art of war in the revolutionary era. the american revolutionary war, we need to understand the vast treasures the experience of battle imposes. most painfully, on the men who except the burdens of command. aese pressures have been reality for american soldiers for more than 200 years. them inwho experience modern times have much to teach us about the nature of battle. it was for this reason we are pleased to welcome charles newhall to address us tonight. he is a member of the maryland society of the cincinnati in which he represents joseph croft. mr. newhall has given us a vivid and harrowing account of experiences in the vietnam war in his boo

i've fooled them before. >> one last question about the vietnam legacy thing. what was the impact on the vietnam war on our military up to this time. >> the impact on our military was a devastating blow, not a fatal blow but a devastating blow. after the war was over, the chief of staff of the united states army said senators, you have a hollow army because the military was eroded because of drugs, the inequities of the draft. we were in bad shape and fofrp if thely ronald regan came along with a commitment to rebuild our military and we did and it's good now. there were a lot of problems right now but the fact is it's not the morale issue. listen, we have marine company officers that were discharging half their company because they weren't performing. we gave them the authority just throw them out if they're not any good. and there was a famous marine general who said -- the media guy came up to him and said look, you're throwing all these guys out of the marine corps. what's going to be left? he said that's my driver. if he and i are the only people left in t

veterans from vietnam. the issues they're battling with decades after ward. >>> did you see it lighting up the sky? not santa. the bay area culprit behind that display tonight. >>> mostly cloudy and 49 in san francisco. we could have a few showers move into the bay area, we'll tell you when in a few minutes. take a look at how the falcon 9 rocket lit up the sky around 5-30 >>> check it out. we have new video of the space x launch. check that out. it's the falcon 9 and how it lit up the sky. it happened near the air force base near santa barbara. it's the 9th year and the 5th time that a reused booster has been launched. they have launches set for the first half of 2018. >> the veterans administration is treating a growing number of ptsd cases and if influx is is coming from our vietnam vets. >> what's triggering these symptoms all these years later? we look into that very question. >> reporter: it had been the longest year of his life. billy aldrich was a door gunner in vietnam attached to the legendary scr

vietnam evacuates more than a million people ahead of tropical storm tembin arrival after it killed more than two hundred thirty people in the philippines. so i'm mariama mozzie in on the new watching al-jazeera also coming up russian opposition leader alexina valley calls for a boycott after he's barred from running in next year's presidential election. pope francis' warns against the wind of wars as he calls for a two state solution in the israel palestine conflict. we look at how a new age of automation and robotics will impact on the world's poorest what could . we begin in vietnam where authorities are evacuating a million people from low lying areas along the southern coast of tropical storm ten mins arrival vietnam's disaster prevention committee says that seventy four thousand people have already been moved to safety from vulnerable areas while authorities in fifteen provinces and cities are also making preparations to evacuate more than sixty thousand fishing boats have also been told not to venture to see tembin is moving southward and will pass the province of some hour on tue

annoyed denies kidnapping him but the case has caused a diplomatic rift between germany and vietnam. german diplomats had both expected and feared vietnam's top news headline it is now become a matter of life and death cringe one ton is public enemy number one in vietnam but germany sees him as the victim of an unprecedented abduction police say that while walking in the central tear garden park in august turn was seized by vietnamese agents he was overpowered in broad daylight dragged into a car and flown to viet nam as a supposedly medical case next week he could face the death penalty turns kidnapping has seriously damaged relations between lin and hanoi. the vietnamese know what they have to do to restore good relations between us and revive our strategic partnership germany's foreign ministry blames the vietnamese embassy for abducting tan the ambassador was subsequently summoned diplomats suspected of involvement were expelled and german economic aid was cut back the vietnamese government not only rejects the german accusations but claims that tan gave himself up voluntarily to

annoyed denies kidnapping him but the case has caused a diplomatic rift between germany and vietnam german diplomats had both expected and feared vietnam's top news headline it is now become a matter of life and death. is public enemy number one in vietnam but germany sees him as the victim of a number precedented abduction. police say that while walking in the central tear garden park in august town was seized by vietnamese agents he was overpowered in broad daylight dragged into a car and flown to viet nam as a supposedly medical case next week he could face the death penalty turns kidnapping has seriously damaged relations between but lynn and hanoi. vietnamese know what they have to do to restore good relations between us and revive our strategic partnership germany's foreign ministry blames the vietnamese embassy for abducting tan the ambassador was subsequently summoned diplomats suspected of involvement were expelled and german economic aid was cut back the vietnamese government not only rejects the german accusations but claims that tan gave himself up voluntarily to police

a million people in vietnam told to evacuate ahead of tropical storm ten mins arrival ofter it killed more than two hundred thirty people in the philippines. no i'm mariama mozzie and london you're watching al-jazeera also coming on the russian opposition leader alexina valmy calls for calls for a boycott of these barred from running in next year's presidential election. pope francis' warns against the winds of war as he calls for a two state solution to the israel palestine conflict. and we visit a farming community in the u.s. state of florida that still picking up the pieces nearly four months after hurricane swept through. but we begin in vietnam where authorities are evacuating million people from low lying areas along the southern coast out of tropical storm ten mins arrival vietnam's disaster prevention committee says seventy four thousand people have already been moved to safety from vulnerable areas while authorities in fifteen provinces and cities are making preparations to evacuate more than sixty thousand fishing boats have also been told not to venture to see tembin is mo

annoyed denies kidnapping him but the case has caused a diplomatic rift between germany and vietnam. german diplomats had both expected and feared vietnam's top news headline it is now become a matter of life and death. is public enemy number one in vietnam but germany sees him as the victim of an unprecedented abduction. police say that while walking in the central tear garden park an organist turned was seized by vietnamese agents he was overpowered in broad daylight dragged into a car and flown to viet nam as a supposedly medical case next week he could face the death penalty turns kidnapping has seriously damaged relations between lin and hanoi. the vietnamese know what they have to do to restore good relations between us and revive our strategic partnership germany's foreign ministry blames the vietnamese embassy for abducting tan the ambassador was subsequently summoned diplomats suspected of involvement were expelled and german economic aid was cut back the vietnamese government not only rejects the german accusations but claims that tan gave himself up voluntarily to police i

annoyed denies kidnapping him but the case has caused a diplomatic rift between germany and vietnam. german diplomats had both expected and feared vietnam's top news headline it is now become a matter of life and death cringe one ton is public enemy number one in vietnam but germany sees him as the victim of an unprecedented abduction police say that while walking in the central tear garden park in august time was seized by vietnamese agents he was overpowered in broad daylight dragged into a car and flown to viet nam as a supposedly medical case next week he could face the death penalty turns kidnapping has seriously damaged relations between but lynn and hanoi. the vietnamese know what they have to do to restore good relations between us and revive our strategic partnership with germany's foreign ministry blames the vietnamese embassy for abducting tan the ambassador was subsequently summoned diplomat suspected of involvement were expelled and german economic aid was cut back the vietnamese government not only rejects the german accusations but claims that tan gave himself up volun