and walter robinson asked seth why he never told anybody. and seth said, i joined the military because i felt that it was my duty as a citizen, especially someone who had had the privileges that i had had at harvard. i was against the war in iraq. but i figured my job there was to get my guys through. and i didn't succeed in that, so what is there to brag about? in my experience, that -- that's what a veteran is. you know? i won't use the word hero because they hate it when you do. but these are people who we need to learn from. and the struggles of the vietnam generation in particular are a terrible american tragedy that i hope as we move along on we can rectify in the way that jan started and the way that you do every day. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> announcer: former secretary of state henry kissinger defended his role in the vietnam war to a gathering of policy makers, vietnamese, veterans and war protesters. some 40 years after the fall of saigon and america's withdrawal from vietnam, he called the 1975 saigon evacuation one of

about a month before the election, he found out that walter robinson was investigating set. and there was going to be a story coming out and that story came out two weeks before the election. walter robinson discovered this unbelievable thing, that he had received two bronze stars and and maybe action metal. he had never told anybody including his parents. and robinson asked why he had never told anyone. seth said he joined the military that it was his duty as a citizen. i was against the war in iraq but i figured my job there was to get my guys through and i did not succeed in that. what is there to brag about? in my experience, that is what a veteran is. i won't use the word hero because they hate it when you do. these are people who we need to learn from. and i hope as we move along we can rectify in the way that you do every day. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> you are watching american history tv.

and walter robinson asked seth why he never told anybody. and seth said, i joined the military because i felt it was my duty as a citizen especially someone who had the privileges that i have had at harvard. i was against the war in iraq, but i figured my job there was to get my guys through. and i didn't succeed in that, so what is there to brag about? in my experience that's what a veteran is. you know, i won't use the word hero because they hate it when you do. but these are people who we need to learn from and the struggles of the vietnam generation in particular are a terrible american tragedy that i hope as we move along we can rectify in a way that jan started and the way that you do every day. thank you very much. [ applause ] >>> former secretary of state henry kissinger defended his role in vietnam war to gathering. some 40 years after the fall of saigon and america's withdrawal from vietnam he called the 1975 saigon evacuation one of the saddest moments of his life but insisted he had no regrets. kissinger sat down with lbj librar

about a month before the election, he found out that walter robinson was investigating set. and there was going to be a story coming out and that story came out two weeks before the election. thisr robinson discovered unbelievable thing, that he had received two bronze stars and and maybe action metal. he had never told anybody including his parents. and robinson asked why he had never told anyone. military he joined the that it was his duty as a citizen. against the war in iraq but i figured my job there was to get my guys through and i did not succeed in that. what is there to brag about? experience, that is what a veteran is. i won't use the word hero because they hate it when you do. these are people who we need to learn from. and i hope as we move along we in the way that you do every day. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> i love american history tv. i had no idea that they did history. with america

sasha phifer, walter robinson, matt carroll, and bradley junior. [applause] pres. obama: free press is why , as carolason rezaian noted. last time this year we spoke of jason's courage as he endured the isolation of an iranian prison. this year we see that courage in the flesh. reminder of the rising level of danger and political intimidation and physical threats faced by reporters overseas. make this commitment that as long as i hold this office my administration will continue to fight for the release of american journalists held against their will and we will not stop until we -- until they see the same freedom. at home and abroad, journalists, like all of you, engage in the pursuit of informing citizens and holding leaders accountable and making our government of the people possible. it is an enormous responsibility. i realize it is an enormous challenge at a time when the economics of the business sometimes incentivizes speed over depth and when controversy and conflict is what immediately attracts viewers. the good news is, there's so many of you pushing again

walter robinson. matt carroll. ben bradley jr. please give them a big round of applause. our free press is why, once again, we honor jason razion as carol noted. last year we spoke of jason's courage as he endured the isolation of an iranian prison. this year we see that courage in the flesh. it's a living testament to the very idea of a free press and a reminder of the rising level of danger and political intimidation and physical threats faced by reporters overseas. and i can make this commitment that as long as i hold this office, my administration will continue to fight for the release of american journalists held against their will, and we will not stop until they see the same freedom as jason had. at home and abroad, journalist , like all of you engage in the dogged pursuit of informing citizens and holding leaders accountable and making our government of the people possible. and it's an enormous responsibility. and i realize it's an enormous challenge at a time when the economics of the business sometimes incentivize speed over depth and when controversy and confli

walter robinson. matt carroll. ben bradley jr. please give them a big round of applause. our free press is why, once again, we honor jason rezaian, as carol noted. last time this year we spoke of jason's courage as he endured the isolation of an iranian prison. this year we see that courage in the flesh. it's a living testament to the very idea of a free press and a reminder of the rising level of danger and political intimidation and physical threats faced by reporters overseas. and i can make this commitment that as long as i hold this office, my administration will continue to fight for the release of american journalists held against their will, and we will not stop until they see the same freedom as jason had. at home and abroad, journalists like all of you engage in the dogged pursuit of informing citizens and holding leaders accountable and making our government of the people possible. and it's an enormous responsibility. and i realize it's an enormous challenge at a time when the economics of the business sometimes incentivize speed over depth and when controversy

sasha pfeiffer, mike rezaian, walter robinson, matt carol, ben bradley jr. please give them a round of applause. [ applause ] our free press is why once again we honor jason rezaian as carol noted. the last time this year we spoke of jason's courage as he endured the isolation of an iranian prison. this year we see that courage in the flesh. and it's a living testament to the very idea of a free press. and a reminder of the rising level of danger and political intimidation and physical threats faced by reporters overseas. and i can make this commitment that as long as i hold this office my administration will continue to fight for the release of american journalists held against their will and we will not stop until we -- they see the same freedom as jason had. [ applause ] at home and abroad, journalists like all of you engage in the dogged pursuit of informing citizens and holding leaders accountable and making our government of the people possible. and it's an enormous responsibility. and i realize it's an enormous challenge at a time when the economics o