i watched a vietnam veteran get off the bus, coming back from his first tour of duty in vietnam to be met by his family. and at a time in our history, when heroes were hard to find, i thought i'd found one. i'd never seen anybody so handsome, so physical, so determined, so proud. captain john wayne, captain john graham, was his name, and he is a big part of the reason i went to west point. so in 1971 when i was at west point, he returned from his second tour of duty having been killed in action as an adviser to the vietnamese army. i attended that ceremony on a very cold day in the winter of 1971. his son is now on the faculty at west point. warrant officer roy thomas was a gun ship pilot with the 25th infantry division. he died in battle when his son was 4 months old. his son is an air force colonel on my staff today. john and roy with just two examples representative of thousands more who share a marshal bond with their fore bearers. whether they served in vietnam, or iraq, or afghanistan, whether they returned home or are still awaiting their homecoming, there is no difference in t

it would be cashed in vietnam. >> when america bombs north vietnam, it's not understood that they will respond by increasing infiltration into south vietnam. >> viet cong were growing larger at the same time they are stealing the con tri-side in the slow seepage of guerilla warfare >> oliver: lbj was elected president of the united states and edward alvarez endured three months of starvation at the hanoi hilton. >> somehow i rael was really convinced that someone was going to come along and open my cell, come on you are going home. the fact i would be left there didn't enter my name. >> the first troops hit the beach in vietnam. that is next on war stories. [ w] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card hol

vietnam veterans of america. associates of vietnam veterans of america. sons and daughters in touch. national league of pow-mia families. veterans of foreign wars of the u.s.. disabled american veterans. amvets. the american legion. ladies auxiliary to the veterans of foreign wars of the united states. operation freedom bird. verizon veterans advisory board. rolling thunder, washington, d.c.. the 8:00 to 9:00 ptsd class. and washington veterans administration medical center. >> present wreath. ♪ . ♪ . ♪ . ♪ . ♪ . ♪ . ♪ . [applause] heather: as we continue to follow the ceremony for you live we'll go back there when there is some more action going on. right now we want to bring in colonel north again to get a little more reflection. colonel north, earlier you were talking about, the names of over 58,000 americans killed in the conflict etched there in that black granite. share with us, if you can, some of your personal stories of some of your fallen comrades who are on that wall. >> 58,282 names on the wall, either killed or unaccounted for,

it would be cashed in vietnam. >> when america bombs north vietnam, it's not understood that they will respond by increasing infiltration into south vietnam. >> viet cong were growing larger at the same time they are stealing the con tri-side in the slow seepage of guerilla warfare >> oliver: lbj was elected president of the united states and edward alvarez endured three months of starvation at the hanoi hilton. >> somehow i rael was really convinced that someone was going to come along and open my cell, come on you are going home. the fact i would be left there didn't enter my name. >> the first troops hit the beach in vietnam. that is next on war stories. [ w] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card hol

after the american war in vietnam began. and on that wall, more than 58,000 names of those who didn't come home alive. most of them men, some women. chaplain, two of them among the chaplain who died there, were medal of honor recipients. and one of the speakers, today, was in vietnam as well. chuck hagel, the former senator from nebraska, who is a highly decorated vietnam veteran. he was an infantry squad leader. welcome back to our coverage on msnbc. i'm chris jansing. we wish you all a very happy memorial day. we're honored to be joined by two retired generals, both vietnam veterans. general wesley clark with us today along with general barry mccaffrey. i didn't realize, general clark, when i was reading chuck hagel's biography, i knew he'd been a vietnam veteran, a highly decorated one. so was his brother, thomas. it brings to mind the sacrifices that so many families went through during that time to have in his case and many others more than one member of the family who served at the same time. >> that's exactly right. a

tonight, flash point vietnam. the road to war. that is next on on war stories. >> they were talking about this thing ending soon. >> i would say we have a commitment to the vietnamese for freedom. >> we were asked to do it. >> peace is a journey of a thousand miles. >> i'd only been out of the state of west virginia a couple times when i joined the marine corps. >> in 1960, earn any wallace was a 16-year-old. >> on graduation there were two things to do around our area that was work in the coal mines or construction. i was not very much for work. i wanted to see the world. >> i always wanted to be the marine. >> ed joined the marines on the eve of the war in vietnam. >> i went in the marine corps in december of 1959, went through boot camp in '60. >> three years after he arrived in boot camp, ed martin from ohio tried to join the army. >> the army recruiter wasn't there and then we went over to the marines and marine recruiter wasn't there. the navy chief said hey, step in. we joined the navy. >> had you heard of vietnam? >> i had

i watch a vietnam veteran get off the bus his first tour of duty in vietnam. at a time of our history when heroes were hard to find, i thought that i had found one. i never saw anybody so handsome, physical, it determined, proud. captain john gramm was his name. he was a big part of the reason i went to west point. in 1971, he was returned from his second tour of duty, having been killed in action as an adviser to the vietnamese army. i attended the ceremony on a very cold day in the winter are 1971. his son is now on the faculty at west point. officer roy thomas was a gunship pilot with the 24th infantry division. he died in battle when his son was 4 months old. his son is an air force colonel on my staff today. they are just two representatives of thousands more who share a bond with their forbearers. whether they served in vietnam, iraq, afghanistan, whether they return home are are still awaiting their homecoming, there is no difference in their courage or sense of duty. there is no difference when it comes to fear or suffering on the front lines and on th

ii and became a military advisor in vietnam. and. >> i took off the morning after the first hit of the holiday. >> the general told me that he dmot use that for nine month autos the job was to advise a south vietnamese general head quartered in a citadel on the north side of the river. >> there used to be hundreds of thousands of people on his trail during the night. >> and this is a network of roads and trails. used to bring tens of thousands of troops. some thought it was a road to victory. on january 31, 1968 brown's suspension was confirmed. one of the primary targets for the north vietnamese army was a command kpoud housing some 200 advisors including richard brown. >> in a war stories exclusive there is reporting brown made of that horrific assault on the compound. >> whoever happened to be there at that time manned the walls. and they held it to say... through the night. and they came close to reaching it but they didn't. >> late in the afternoon i heard the roar of tanks in the town. >> i can never forget approaching the

and he devoted himself almost entirely to vietnam. and left the running of the department to paul minsa, who was then deputy secretary of defense. clark was, i think, a very able advocate and he had all the talents of an actor, both in appearance and his ability at presentation. and he did help lyndon johnson start to get out of the war. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, dr. brown, secretary brown. we're contextualizing robert mcnamara in the defense department and the vietnam war. this sets down a nice base line for our next two speakers. i will introduce those speakers, george herring and ed drea. this is an easy task for me, because they are two of the ablist practitioners of the historical craft today. first george. george herring has a virginia ph.d. he taught almost four decades at the university of kentucky. there he mentored many ph.d. thesis, and his students teach throughout the land teaching history of the vietnam war. george also served as editor of the best -- probably the best journal doing diplomatic history, called

our vietnam veterans and their families. we also recognize those who are assisting our military families today in very special ways. like the first lady, michelle obama. and joe biden. the character of a nation is always about who it chooses to be its leards and how it respects its veterans. in my lifetime, america has not known two more committed leaders to its men and women in uniform and its veterans and their families than president obama and vice president biden. here to speak for all of us on this special day when we were all americans is the leader of our country, the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. >> ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the arrival of our guest of honor and remain standing until the colors are retired. ♪ the mount of the united states, barack obama. first lady michelle obama, vice president biden and dprchlt biden. ♪ >> colors, present! ♪ o say, can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad strip

my father was in vietnam in 1968, and wounded in july 1968 and my uncle went right to vietnam, 1970, '71, was part of the warlord which is part of the merical, so my father was part of merical, too. so for one, my father died of cancer at 52. i mean, did secretary mcnamara find out about agent orange, and if he did, when and did he do anything about it, and number two, to my uncle who's still alive, he swears every place he went every battle they fought they won. and now, the war was lost, who is to be blamed? secretary mcnamara. is it -- who is it? >> you're asking about the agent orange program and i'm sure mcnamara authorized it. i don't think the full kons quen -- consequences were known at the time. unfortunately. >> well they -- >> since they've become known, i know that the army set up a huge agent orange task force to try to address the program and try and it's -- if you are affected personally by it, try doesn't mean a great deal, but they have at least tried to -- remedy some of the worst abuses. but at the time, you know, they just came in 55-gallon drums and you threw it

after the american war in vietnam began. and on that wall, more than 58,000 names of those who didn't come home alive. most of them men, some women. chaplain, two of them among the chaplain who died there, were medal of honor recipients. and one of the speakers, today,

vietnam was mcnamara's war in many ways. like his boss lbj, it fixed his reputation, just as it dominated his last years in office. for most of those years, drea writes, mcnamara powerful filled the off-role of deputy commander in chief to the president. he played a key part in the decisions to go to war, on how the war would be fought, he oversaw the day-to-day conduct of the war. in drea's view, the fundamental flaw of mcnamara and johnson's management of the war was the absence of a coherent strategy to achieve the nation's aims. preeminently concerned about gaining a congressional support for his great society, lbj hoped to contain the deteriorating situation in south vietnam without mobilizing the nation for war, without provoking a larger conflict. this measure essentially political approach also reflected theories of limited war currently in vogue among academic defense analysis. they produced, according to drea, a balancing act that failed completely to take into account the unyielding, unremitting determination to p

a vietnam veterans of america. associates of vietnam veterans. national league of missing in action families. veterans of foreign wars of the u.s.. disabled american veterans. amvets. the american legion. ladies auxiliary to the veterans of foreign wars of the united states. operation freedom bird. horizon veterans the advisory board. they called it atsd class. in washington, the veterans administration medical center. ♪ ♪ [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] ♪ [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> the military has a chain of command, and in case you do not know, that is the top of the chain. before we start, we have a very special guest. the one everyone who has ever served in the united states air force to stand and say hoo hah. we will now ask the next branch of the service, the u.s. navy, you will stand and say hoo hah. are there any coast guard out there? [applause] it sounds like propellers. and like that. how many people here have served in the united states army? [applause] unbelievable. [applause] at this time, mr. tom selleck will

ii and became a military advisor in vietnam. and. >> i took off the morning after the first hit of the holiday. >> the general told me that he dmot use that for nine month autos the job was to advise a south vietnamese general head quartered in a citadel on the north side of the river. >> there used to be hundreds of thousands of people on his trail during the night. >> and this is a network of roads and trails. used to bring tens of thousands of troops. some thought it was a road to victory. on january 31, 1968 brown's suspension was confirmed. one of the primary targets for the north vietnamese army was a command kpoud housing some 200 advisors including richard brown. >> in a war stories exclusive there is reporting brown made of that horrific assault on the compound. >> whoever happened to be there at that time manned the walls. and they held it to say... through the night. and they came close to reaching it but they didn't. >> late in the afternoon i heard the roar of tanks in the town. >> i can never forget approaching the

at the time vietnam was divided into northern south the us supported the government of south vietnam and military intervention intensified after nine hundred sixty five. but the us made strong resistance from guerrilla forces who used dense jungle as their base of operations. defoliant spraying was begun in an effort to deny cover to the guerrillas by eliminating the jungle falling which. as the war escalated the spring of deval eons increased dramatically and much of the land in south vietnam was contaminated and left barren. the defoliant known as agent orange was made from the same chemical substances as herbicides used in the us but it was twenty five times more potent. agent orange also contained dioxin the most toxic chemical ever produced. dioxin remains in the environment for many decades and causes a variety of health problems. several million vietnamese and american soldiers who fought in vietnam were affected by agent orange. their children and grandchildren continue to suffer the affects. dioxin remains in the soil of vietnam today and the land has yet to recover. but my

obviously, that is tom sellick, a vietnam era veteran. we'll have the president's comments for you live. s with a private island? really? no. it comes with a hat. see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline, anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow! [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's ok. i've played a pilot before. what's in your wallet? an intense burning sensation i woke up with this horrible rash on my right side. like somebody had set it on fire. and the doctor said, cindie, you have shingles. he said, you had chickenpox when you were a little girl... i said, yes, i did. i don't think anybody ever thinks they're going to get shingles. but it happened to me. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com >>> president obama is sched

the president honored the 58,282 names on the wall who died in vietnam, thanked surviving vietnam veterans for reaching out to today's veterans. >> you cared for those that followed. you made it your mission to make sure today's troops get the respect and support that all too often you did not receive. >> reporter: 2012 marks important milestones for the vietnam war with the 30th anniversary of this memorial and the start of the war itself. >> we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war, a war that occupies a central place in the american story. >> we all feel a common resolve on memorial day to pause if only for a moment and to remember. >> reporter: the president's appearance this year meant changes in security and access, changes many vietnam veterans tell us made it very difficult, if not impossible, for them to get into their own memorial. >> i don't remember this kind of debacle. >> reporter: many vietnam veterans said they were unaware of the ticketing and entry rules this year and were disappointed they could not see the president at the vietnam memorial. >> i came down

and this year holds special meaning for those who served in vietnam. as we mentioned it has been 50 years since the united states launched one of the first major operations in vietnam. in january of 1962 army helicopters carried 12,000 south vietnamese troops into the jungle outside what was then saigon. for an offensive against the national liberation strong front called operation chopper marking a turning point in america's involvement if that conflict. and now, live from washington, dc. >> more than 50,000 united states service member killed in 13 years, a cold war era conflict to halt the march of comism. the vietnam war began when president kennedy deployed hundreds at the end of 1961. august 7, 1964, congress gave president johnson authority though pursue the war. >> the fighting man did not lose the war. politicians lost the war. >> on january 30, 1968, the viet cong launched a wave of attacks, the tet offensive and 37,000 viet cong were killed but politicians decided to end the war. 2,500 united states troops lose their likes and public support

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros i would that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip per trip well using a shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shop buy a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades h.s.t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the findings hi

in vietnam era, democrats with for antiwar party. we heard obama today doing penance for a country that spat on seasonal soldiers who rd from the vietnam war. he didn't say that in the large part it was the work of the american left. it wasn't the work of american right who supported the war. democrats, any war element in the country, antiwar party in 172. they inherited the saying of the association of the left that really denigrated seasonals, which is the word that obama used and said it shouldn't ever happen again. in some way trying to undo a legacy of 50 years. but that is why for 50 years democrats were seen as the antiwar party an week on national defense. democrats have for decades used the defense budget as a piggy bank for social spending. we see it today. sequester of half a trillion dollars which is going to happen. secretary of defense under obama said would hallow out military and be a catastrophe. republicans oppose it. what do democrats do? use it as a stick and blackmail and the republicans in return for trying to g

tom fitzgerald has the story. >> reporter: the president arrived at the vietnam veterans memorial to the strains of hail to the chief. thousands gathered here as they do every year for one singular purpose. >> today is memorial day. >> reporter: the president honored the 58,282 names on the wall who died in vietnam, thanked surviving vietnam veterans for reaching out to today's veterans. >> you cared for those who followed. you made it your mission to make sure today's troops get the respect and support that all too often did you not receive. >> reporter: 2012 marks important milestones for the vietnam war with the 30th anniversary of this memorial. >> we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the vietnam war, a war that occupies a central place in the american story. >> we feel a common resolve on memorial day to pause if only for a moment and to remember. >> reporter: the president's appearance meant changes in security and access, changes that many veterans tell us it made it very difficult if not impossible for them to get into their own memorial. many vietnam veterans said they wer

they never came up to hit him the way vietnam did. vietnam is almost, in my opinion, unique. and it's a watershed event. it's like world war i for great britain. and it's unique in the case of our country. and so i had to write that sentence that way because vietnam did weaken us, both our morale, our economy, our civic spirit, our trust of public institutions. and the need for that assessment is driven by the scope of that particular tragedy. i believe it's in the prologue -- that many who have done far less have been treated kindly by history. and that's very, very true. c-span: you also write, "finally, mcnamara says here for the first time publicly" -- meaning in this book -- "that he and kennedy planned to withdraw all us advisers by the end of 1965." that's if he got re-elected. >> guest: yes, that's correct. c-span: "even if the south vietnamese were going to be defeated," he says, "i know for a fact that john kennedy would have withdrawn from vietnam." >> guest: yes. c-span: as you know, everybody debates this issue. do you believe him? >> guest: i don't believe him u

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros i would that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip per shot in trip well using a shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shot by a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades have t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the fin

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros i would that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip per shot in trip well using a shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shop buy a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades h.s.t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the fin

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros over that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip and trip well using a shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shop buy a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades have t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the findings high

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros i would that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip per shot in trip well using your shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shop buy a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades h.s.t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china is still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros i would that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip per shot in trip well using a shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shop buy a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades h.s.t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the

let's talk vietnam. one of the things that struck me in reading the book is how much johnson had been influenced by as we all are, by the examples in his own lifetime of the weakness in munich. when he was is a young congressman. when he was perceived in the weakness of fdr in stall lynn and the aftermath of the cold war. and criticizes iraq for not stopping -- ike. leads him into vietnam down a row that he knows he believes must be done and he believes can be done quickly for the '68 election. talk about that roach to world affairs that maybe doesn't residence nate across the generation as clearly that conviction. >> sure. we think when we think of the domino theory we think of the cold war. it had played out in world war ii. he went to munich and struck an agreement apieced adolf hitler in 1939 and came back to the uk to proclaim peace. well, we didn't have peace at all. with a we got was world world war ii. what johnson said there's a chapter by the name, he says be no men with umbrellas. as he's refe

and this month will begin to mark the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war. a time when to our shame, our veterans did not always receive the respect and the thanks they deserved. a mistake that must never be repeated. that's where i want to begin today because the story of this medal of honor reminds us of our sacred obligations to all who serve. it was 1999, around memorial day, and a vietnam vote from 101st was at the national archives doing research for an article. and there among the stacks was brought a box and inside he found a file marked the name leslie h. sabo, a proposed citation for the medal of honor, and, so, this vietnam veteran set out to find answers. who was leslie sabo? what did he do? why did he never receive that medal? today, four decades after leslie's sacrifice, we can set the record straight. i spent some time with the brother and sabo appeal and last week was 42 years since he left us. this is a unique story. he was born in europe after world war ii to a family of hungarian refugees and as the iran curtain descended they boarded a bo

and here was a guy that went to vietnam in order to save us from communism and china well vietnam is still communist china still communist and it looks like they're able to go to europe and splurge eleven thousand euros over that's about fourteen fifteen thousand dollars per trip and trip well using a shopping spree analogy vietnam was a shopping spree for bell helicopter and other pentagon related defense contractors that was the point of that excursion let shop buy a lot of helicopters and rockets and make some bucks there was no ideology behind it there was no political initiative it was a pure you know nick sony and you know money grabbing shopping spree the fact that a lot of people died well that's too bad for them well it was also a good journey for dow and monsanto now the other thing i want to turn to that max is the next headline back to america machines dominate the market eighty four percent of all trades h.s.t. trading by real investors is taking up the smallest share of u.s. stock market volumes since morgan stanley started keeping track ten years ago the findings highl

vietnam gets a whole day. so there's an awful lot going on in terms of the cold war abroad, the mediterranean, western europe, western hemisphere, china, korea, vietnam, all of these things are a part of the cold war. shift gears now. while all of that's going on overseas, what effect does that have here at home? the cold war on the home front. well, one of the things we're suspicious of are communists. if you want to get anything done, you give it to congress to do, so we're going to flush them out with a congressional committee called uact, the house un-american activities committee. one of the interesting things is, we're going to investigate hollywood. hollywood turns out all kinds of movies about world war ii. the enemy will the japanese. the enemy are the germans. why is it that hollywood is not producing movies in which the enemy are the russians? is it possible that the communists have infiltrated our film industry, and that's the reason why we're not producing these kinds ov movies? we're going to inv

thanked surviving vietnam veterans for reaching out to today's veterans. >> you made it your mission to make sure today's troops get the respect and support, that all too often you did not receive. >> reporter: 2012 marks important milestones for the vietnam war, 30th anniversary of this memorial is the start of the war itself. >> we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war, a war that occupies a central place, in the american story. >> we all feel a common resolve on memorial day, to pause, if only for a moment, and to remember. >> reporter: the president's appearance this year meant changes in security and access. changes many vietnam veterans tell us made it difficult if not impossible for them to get into their own memorial >> i don't remember this debacle. >> reporter: many said they were unaware of the ticketing and entry rules this year and were disappointed they could not see the president at the vietnam memorial. >> but i came down here to see the president and we can't even see him and hell, that is why he is here >> we can't get any access this there. my other b

>> vietnam. >> that's vietnam. this is an area we talked about called french indo-china back in the world war ii lecture. we talked about how the japanese invaded french indo-china. and there's nothing france could do about it, because france had already been knocked out of the war. and the japanese moved in and took over. well, now that the war is over, the vietnamese would like to have their own right to determine their nation and their status. and this guy wants to do that. that is ho chi minh. he wants to lead an independence movement in vietnam in 1945. and in fact declares vietnam, drafts a vietnamese declaration of independence in 1945 that is modeled after our own united states declaration of independence. if you put the two documents side by side, they are eerily similar. you would think the united states would want to support a nation who wants to be free and independent, self-determination. we don't. why not? we're not really going to support france in this. it's more of ho chi minh's political tendencie

experience in vietnam. and it's interesting, we think of, in terms of iconography, the johnson presidency is book ended in tragedy. we think, of course of the famous photograph of his being sworn in on air force one in the wake of the assassination, and at the end of his term with his face down on the cabinet room table dealing with the anguish of the vietnam. >> and there's that sense that the country is slipping away from him so quickly, that johnson's genius, the human psychology is one on one but increasingly in that end of his term had trouble understand the math psychology of what was going on, in particular the protest movement to end the agony his press secretary describes it, johnson was in a state of unreality. there's the white house bubble and not be able to cover in what was going on with the protest. >> i do think he feared, one of the things i've related, lyndon johnson robbed -- he didn't fear the protest. he didn't fear as much as he feared the hawks. he really worried about the other side,

instead of being celebrated, our vietnam veterans were often shunned. they were called many things when there was only one thing they deserved to be called and that was american patriots. we will join vietnam veterans and families at the wall to mark the 50th anniversary of their service. it will be another chance for americans to say to our vietnam veterans what should have been said when you first came home, you did your job, you served with honor, you made us proud. and here today, as i think les would have wanted it, i would ask the members to stand and accept the gratitude of our nation. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> so yes, this medal of honor is bestowed on a single soldier for his singular courage, but it speaks to the service of an entire generation and to the sacrifice of so many military families. because, you see there's one final chapter to this story. you'll recall that has he shipped out to vietnam, les stopped at that flower shop. well, the day he gave his life was mother's day. and on that day, the flowers he ordered arrived for his mom.

badly wounded himself in vietnam. he's leading the veterans administration and i think he's really put tremendous resources. along with this administration and the last one into trying to take care of these troops. >> i think there is a significant waiting period to get into these va hospitals. two things it seems to be driving these numbers. two things are these traumatic brain injuries. we've seen so much in damage that the i.e.d.s have done, but also, post-traumatic stress. >> this is sort of the modern definition of an age old problem. shell shocked and battle fatigue and kind of know more. mortar artillery and keeping them in combat too long. mostly, they recover in a year. it's an adjustment problem. but it's combined frequently with alcohol abuse. with marital problems, with irritability, so it's a challenge, but much of it gets taken care of by the returning soldiers' family or friends, but some of it requires clinical intervention. >> there's another story in the news today. i think i saw it in the "washingto

. >> reporter: after arlington the president visited the vietnam war memorial. the marks the beginning of 13 year program to honor those who served dooring that controversial conflict. >> this is important for us whether you fought in it or against it, whether you were too young to be shaped by it, it is important that our children understand the sacrifices that were made by our troops in vietnam. >> reporter: the commemoration of the vietnam war will continue until veterans day 2025, which will mark 50 years since the last american troops left, what was then called saigon. at the white house, ed henry, fox news. >>> 2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the vietnam veterans memorial. president obama addressed a crowd during a special ceremony. some veterans say they were not able to attend because of all the extra security. tom fitzgerald joins us. >>> well, we should tell you at the front here this was not a story we went looking for today but didn't take long to hear a good number of vietnam vets were not happy because of all the added security perimeterticketti

i have an entire lecture of vietnam. you need to unction that vietnam is part of the cold war. two lectures from now we're going to talk about u.s. involvement in vietnam. so hang onto that, and i'll get to it later. [inaudible]. >> what we're doing now is destroying them? >> why? >> we don't really need the thousands that we have. >> how do you destroy a bomb? >> that's a great question. that's above my pay grade. all right. i hope you have a wonderful break. and i will see you again afterwards. we'll talk about civil rights hoouchlt in vietnam when we return. i think we will have a quiz next time we gather together. how about that?