Senator mccain, when you look ofk, what are the legacies vietnam. Senator mccain before we get into a conflict, we have to get a strategy to win. The gulf of as tonkin resolution and there was confrontation between american ships and the enemies troops the vietnamese troops. Lack ofs a complete focus and strategy to bring it to a close. One of the things that overrode Lyndon Johnsons thinking was china. We did not want to have a conflagration that would lead to a real conflict. They cautioned our actions so that it was a very gradual then, not onlyh did not harm the enemy, but it strengthened their resolve. That led to all sorts of implications. Demonstrations right here on the mall. There was one million people. It really split our society in a way that we sometimes forget. Demonstrations, chicago, all of us can look back and see on cspan. It was a small swiss time and t it was a told tulmultuous time. Incometed the lowest level of america and the highest doctor to say they had a bone spur. For years and years, it was the lowest income americans that were forced to fight. Africanamericans. Host when you were taking off from the carrier, how apprehensive were you when you are flying into place Like Northern vietnam . Senator mccain we had a horrific fire and i was hit by a missile. I was transferred and was flying any uss a risk host how old were you . Senator mccain 20, i think. I wanted to go to combat. Dot is what i was trained to and i wanted to do it. Wondering as if i was to fly a combat mission. I was ready to go. We took a lot of losses but one of the great things about being a Fighter Pilot is you are sure everyone else is going to get shot down but not you. Brian when that happened, how many vietnamese were in the water and around you . Senator mccain i was barely able to get back to the surface but then a bunch of them jumped in. Theres a picture which im sure you will show of them pulling me out of the lake. Broken and my arm is was they pulled me out, they were not very happy to see me. Brian why not . Senator mccain because i just finished bombing replaced. It got pretty rough. Myke my shoulder and hurt knee again. I do not blame them. We are in a war. I did not like it but at the when you are in a war and you are captured by the have, you cannot expect to tea. They pull me out of the lake, the me of a little bit or a lot and then went to the now famous prison which was just a short drive away. A five minute drive away. They found out who my father was and they decided to give me some americans took me and nursing back to health and after they saw me in better health, they put me into solitary confinement. Against hold a grudge the north vietnamese. I do not like them. There are some i would never want to see again but at the same time, it was part of a conflict. I thought they were some of the meanest people i have never met in my life and i never want to see them again but there were several that were good people, that were kind to me. That is why it was much easier support, along with president clinton and others, the normalization of relations between our two countries. Brian when you got back, how much did you and your dad talk about it . Senator mccain a lot. It was very hard on my dad, particularly since i knew what was happening to me and he didnt. Everybody that would come through hawaii in his command would want to talk about me. They did the right thing. They said, please just dont talk about admiral mccains son. Every christmas for 4 years, he would fly all the way to the dmz, the dividing line between north and south vietnam, and have christmas dinner with the marines, and then of course member, then of course, remember, these were draftees. They do not volunteer. These were 18 and 19yearold kids. You see those pictures, they are just beautiful. He would come back very happy and are stored from that experience. Very, aware of the fact valuese north vietnamese my presence. There are so many stories i could tell. They offered me a chance to be released. Our code of conduct says sick and injured, by order of capture. Want me to bey released. I was the son of the captain. Refused,rs after i had it was a cold christmas eve, i was in solitary confinement. Every cell at a loudspeaker and had a loudspeaker in it and they were playing christmas music. I still remember, that one of the songs was ill be home for christmas. Have that was a bit nostalgic. But anyway, the same leader of all the camps came into my cell. To make a long story short, he told me about an island that ho chi minh used to love to go to, that many years later i donated i demanded a visit to and went to. But most importantly, at the end of the evening, it was truly social. He was giving me cigarettes and telling me about the island at island and how his father had been part of the the admin, the viet minh and all of that. But he was saying theres an island that ho chi minh has an island he uses to relax and refresh and his father went out with ho chi minh. So, six months later we got on he said whatever you want, you can do. I said, i want to go to ho chi minhs island. So, six months later we got on the boat and went out looking at the sunset from the balcony of ho chi minhs bedroom. Brian how big an island was it . Senator mccain it was not really big but not small. I would say, you could probably walk from end to end of it in a half an hour. We spent the night there and so he, as i say, he came to washington in and he has since passed away. Was the interpreter for peace in the paris talks. Senator mccain on my wall in my office, there is a cable sent back to the state department and break laid the tea theo lae duck toe said vietnamese intended to release the admiral mccains son but he had refused. That was part of the documents we declassified because at one point everyone was leaving we we hade was believing left americans behind. Senator dole set up this committee headed by me and john ry, the Conspiracy Theory was there are secret documents that proved we left americans behind. One of the documents that came out was one i mentioned to you. It was from paris back to the that wasartment and really remarkable. Thousands of documents came out. That one was more than interesting. An let me ask you about we are going through a time when we see a lot of hate speech. This may be sensitive but i want to ask you, you came out of the vietnam war and said im not bitter. Relate back to what our present our president said about you. When he said you are no words hero. You are no war i just ignore it. I watch what the president does, not what he says. The important thing about that statement is it is not about me. Not long ago, after he said that, occasionally people come to us that served, whose relative served in the war and did not get the metals they earned. A 92yearold man from scottsdale, arizona, a prisoner , weighed 110many pounds when the fighting stopped. We gave him his medals. It was very moving. Hads talking to him and he said, senator mccain, why is it that donald trump does not like me . I said, sir she does. Does. Aid sir, he so do all americans. So was not what he said about me because i am in the arena. But that 92yearold man who came out of faced a log, came out of a stalag weighing 110 pounds, that is who i care about. That is what i take exception to. Brian how much of it came out , 50 time in our existence years ago today that you were shot down, when the government was not telling us the truth. Senator mccain government was not telling us the truth. The whole apparatus, they had this idea of graduated escalation. If we just stepped up the bombing a little more, it would drive them to the negotiating table and it would come to a peaceful and. What was happening, it was pumping up the morale of the north vietnamese because they thought they were beating us. They said, we were able to fight back against the aggressors. The whole concept was fatally flawed. And to prove that point was when the talks in paris had broken down and Richard Nixon said go in and wipe them out. We went in with b52s and other aircraft and took out all existence. Guess what . They agreed to negotiate. So, the problem i think had a lot to do with a belief that somehow you can convince the enemy to compromise when the enemy does not think they are being beaten. And of course, the tet offensive, there is so much we could talk about, such a morale boost for the chinese and russians, giving them everything that one in. Giving them everything they wanted. I mean, still the most heavily defended place in the history of the world was hanoi with the russian surfacetoair missiles. Most people wont believe this, but a russian ship would show up in the harbor, offloaded the missiles onto a vehicle, taken up, put in place, while we watched it. We watched it. Then those missiles were fired at american aircraft. That is worse than ridiculous. The first target i had when i was in combat had already been bombed 12 times. It was a pile of rubble. So i went in and bombed the rubble again. Not far away from it was a bridge that was not on the approved list. That is not the way to fight a war. Brian i was watching a tape of one of the former heads of the prison who said you were not tortured. Senator mccain i was treated like a king. It. Feather bed had lumps in we have told people we have not tortured. Life is so hard for government to tell the truth . Senator mccain classic communist, do you think they would say yes, we broke his arm again. Brian we do not tell the truth in that. Senator mccain no, that is one of the problems i have had for a long time. ,ur treatment of detainees especially in the use of waterboarding. That is one of the most embarrassing chapters in American History is the way we treated it. Of khalid story Sheikh Mohammed being said werding and they cannot get anything out of him and they said waterboard him some more. Waterboarding is deemed a work crimeand deemed a war and japanese were shot because they waterboarded people. The cia has gotten away with it. They destroyed the film at a lot of the information and it will be a black mark on the history of this country that we did that. I will never forget the cia for what they did. Forgive the cia for what they did. Brian what has been harder for you, living through the torture or living through the cancer . Senator mccain well, i think, you know, living through cancer is a challenge that i have. Living through torture is you never know what is going to happen the next morning. Whether theyre going to come around and open yourself door and say, come on out. So, at least with this fight that im in i know the enemy and i know what we have to do and i know that we take the consequences. I have had, we are talking about 50 years. Im the most fortunate person of all of the thousands you have interviewed that you will ever know. I have had the best in fullest best and full life that anybody could possibly have. So i look at this challenge as, with joy, with happiness, and with gratitude. Gratitude that i have had the opportunity to serve this country a little bit. Brian have you noticed any chan ge in the way people are approaching you . Senator mccain it has been more sympathetic. Im sure that some of them are glad i am going. [laughter] senator mccain i have been greeted people have told me that when i gave the speech of the other night and when hundred were in their seats, that was the first time that has ever happened. An incredible outpouring of friendship. Brian what is your treatment now . Senator mccain i receive radiation and chemotherapy. And now it done twice am waiting for an mri. No one expected me to have the energy level. I do not have any problems sleeping or eating. Im exercising all the time. I am in fine shape. Lets see what happens. I have told them before. About one last question the vietnam legacy. What was the impact of the vietnam war on our military up to this time . Senator mccain the impact was a devastating blow. The war was over, the chief of staff for the United States army came to the Armed Services committee and said senators, you have a hollow army. The military was eroded because of drugs and antiwar and the inequities of the draft. Andere in bad shape fortunately Ronald Reagan came along with a commitment to rebuild our military and it is good now. There has been a lot of progress. It is not the morale issue. We have Marine Company officers that were discharging half their company because they were not performing. We gave them the authority to throw them out if they are not any good. There was a famous marine thel who said the media came up and said, youre throwing all these guys out of the marine corps. He said, did a guy, this is my driver. If he and i are the only two left in the marine corps, that is what it takes. Im going to fix the marine corps. It was a very big problem, a challenge to rebuild our military after what happened after the vietnam conflict. Brian senator mccain, thank you for your time. Announcer this weekend on American History tv on cspan3. Eastern,t 8 00 p. M. Louise out for as on the 1943 suit riots. He 1943 zoot suiters were viewed as public enemy. As unamerican. Announcer sunday at 6 00 p. M. On american artifacts. Projectlave houses explores the green hill plantation. This site has the original slaveowner here was very active in the slave trade. One of the things he decided to put in his yard is a slave Auction Block and auctioneers stand. You can feel the power of this place. Ehat Auction Block is a hug part of why it is so powerful. This was the last place men, women and children would be with their families. Thatis ground zero for experience. Announcer and 8 00, an interview with a historian on the stonemasons who built the outer walls of the white house. Foot over the front door lilliesith acorns and and it is the finest example of carving in mamerica. Announcer American History tv, all weekend, every weekend on cspan3. We are in our 22nd year of the book festival. By thenounded in 1995 First Lady Laura Bush and a group of dedicated volunteers who decided we need a book festival in austin, texas to celebrate Texas Authors and literacy. Years, the book festival has exploded. It very quickly became a National Premier destination for the biggest looks of the year. Announcer joint book tv for the festival. On cspan two. Tonight at 11 eastern, the 70th Anniversary Party in washington dc. Sunday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, nbc news correspondent katie couric reflects on the Trump Campaign and the 2016 president ial election on her book unbelievable my front row at to the Craziest Campaign in American History. There are legendary stories about his press person getting into it with reporters. What was unusual was the very public nature. The way he would go after reporters from the stage of rally and encourage the crowd to turn on us and boo us. Announcer at 9 00 p. M. 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Is march 8, 2013. Im here are the American Center of National History with the diana walker to talk about her archive at the center. It started as a targeted interview. Tell me how you got started as one of the white house