Hearts and Minds

When the Second World War was over, we

were the one great power in the world.

The Soviets had a substantial

military machine,

but they could not

touch us in power.

We had this enormous force

that had been built up.

We had the greatest

fleet in the world.

We'd come through the

war economically sound.

And I think that, in addition to

feeling a sense of responsibility,

we also began to feel...

the-the sense of a world power,

that possibly we could control

the future of the world.

Our vision of progress is not

limited to our own country.

We extend it to all the

peoples of the world.

Military action in Indochina.

French regulars land along the coast

in search of roving communist bands.

For France, it represents

a tremendous sacrifice...

of manpower and

financial resources.

Without American help,

the burden would be too great.

I do not expect that there is going to

be a communist victory in Indochina.

I affirm that Secretary Dulles...

offered me two atomic bombs.

Two, uh...

Neither one, neither three. Two.

If Indochina goes, several

things happen right away.

The Accra Peninsula, the little bit

of end hanging on down there...

would be scarcely defensible.

The tin and the tungsten...

that we so greatly value from

that area would cease coming.

We don't see the end of the

tunnel, but, uh, I must say...

I don't think it's darker than it was a

year ago, in some ways lighter. Yes?

So we must be ready

to fight in Vietnam,

but the ultimate victory

will depend upon the hearts...

and the minds of the people

who actually live out there.

Throughout the war in Vietnam,

the United States has exercised

a degree of restraint...

unprecedented in the annals of war.

There was just one thing,

one small word that enabled

myself and my buddies...

to stay alive those many years.

That one thing was faith.

Faith in my family,

my God and my country.

I remembered high school.

I remembered playing sports there.

And I can remember

my coach saying...

"When the going gets tough,

the tough get going,

because winners never quit

and quitters never win."

Why did I go to Vietnam?

I will have to go back to 1965,

when I was 22 years old.

At that time, communism was once

again trying to muscle its way...

into a free country.

That would assert that there's a

majority of people in that country...

that want to be communist.

Why do they need us then?

Because they were subjected to,

uh, military attack from outside.

Uh, the, uh...

Are you really asking me

this goddamn silly question?

- You really want me to go into this?

- Yes.

I mean... I mean, you know,

we really got to go back to...

You just want me to go back

to the origins of this thing then.

All right, I'll do it, but this is

pretty pedestrian stuff, I must say,

at this late stage of the game.

Honestly it is.

I'll do it. All right.

- There's disagreement about the origins.

- No, there's not.

No, there's not. There's no doubt.

All right, I'll answer your question,

you can throw away that tape.

I didn't expect to have to go back

to this kind of sophomoric stuff,

but I'll do it.

The problem, uh, began, uh,

in its present phase,

after the Sputnik,

the launch of the Sputnik

in 1957, October.

This opened a phase

of not well-coordinated,

but universally optimistic and

hopeful communist enterprise...

in many parts of the world.

Renewed hostile actions...

against United States ships on the

high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin...

have today required me to order

military forces of the United States...

to take action in reply.

We always hesitate in public to use

the word "lie" but a lie is a lie.

I mean, it's a

misrepresentation of fact.

And it's supposed to be a criminal

act if its done under oath.

Mr. Johnson didn't say it

under oath, he just said it.

We don't usually have

the president under oath.

There are those who ask why this

responsibility should be ours.

The answer, I think, is simple.

There is no one else

who can do the job.

If necessary,

I am ready to go back.

We all must be ready.

You must have the political, economic

and philosophical courage to send me...

or do whatever you think

is necessary.

I must be ready to go.

If I did well,

it is only because Linden did

well in bringing me up...

and making me into a man.

If I served the military well,

it is only because the military

trained me to be a good officer.

If I am a good American,

it is only because America

brought me up to be a good American.

- Three, two, one...

It was a sight to touch

the heart of the most callous.

Lieutenant George Coker was back in

Linden, New Jersey, the hero of the day.

Three thousand people turned out

to greet him. Schools were closed...

and streets were blocked as the

young former prisoner of war...

walked on a red carpet

to the steps of city hall.

Mike is still open. Two, one...

I'm from Duncan, Oklahoma, which

is about 90 miles south of here.

And, uh, and I lived

around several places...

uh, Missouri, Chicago,

Detroit, uh, Germany,

Uh...

by the time I got out of high

school, I was very conservative.

We have, in Duncan high school...

we bought...

the high school had bought a, uh...

Excuse me...

a John Birch package on communism.

So we studied communism

via the John Birch Society,

the big red map with the flowing

out of the disease and so forth,

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