And three marines who fought in hue. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the newseums theater. I am peter prichard, chair of the newseum and we are here to mark the opening of our latest theater. Exhibit, the marines in tet, the battle that changed the vietnam war. This is almost the 50th anniversary of the tet to mark the marines in tet, the battle that changed the vietnam war. This is almost the 50th anniversary of the tet offensive, which, if youre a millennial, ill explain it to you, was a coordinated offensive by vietcong and north vietnamese troops on more than 100 towns, cities and american and south vietnamese military facilities. It began on the night of january 30th, 1968. And i remember it well, because i was an intelligence clerk with mac fee at the time. Our exhibit showcases the work of john olson who, like me, was a young army draftee. He was a photographer for Stars Stripes, the militarys daily newspaper. And he spent three days in february with the marines as they took back the city of hue, in what turned out to be the bloodiest battle of the vietnam war. This innovative exhibit features 20 large format photographs and ten tactile versions of these photos with touch activated sensors that trigger interviews. This enables blind and lowvision visitors to experience the images through touch and sound and the newseum is the first museum in the United States to host a major tactile exhibit designed for these visitors. You can really thank john olson for that, because it was his idea. Each and every day at the newseum, we highlight the risks journalists around the world take to report the truth. John certainly put his life and work at risk, taking these pictures. So, this exhibit is another apt example of what journalists are willing to do to bring the world the news. Our mission at the newseum is to help the public and the media better understand one another, which is certainly needed in todays society. And to educate visitors about the value of free and fair press and the five freedoms of the First Amendment. Since we opened our doors here on pennsylvania avenue nearly ten years ago, weve welcomed more than 7 million visitors and our Digital Education programs reached 10 Million Students around the world every year. I would like to take a moment to thank all of our visitors, our newseum members and friends of the First Amendment society to help make these programs possible. This exhibit is a partnership with Stars Stripes, distinguished newspaper which i tried every day to read when i was in vietnam. 3d photo works, which converts 2d images into 3d tactile and support from nikkon and the National Federation of the blind. Along with john, our Panel Features three veterans who all fought in the battle of hue and are featured in the exhibit. A. B. Grantham, myron harrington, and brian thompson. Our moderator is the bestselling author, mark bowden, whose latest book is hue 1968 a turning point of the american war in vietnam. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge everyone who served in the vietnam war. It was a divisive war and no one emerged completely unscarred. First i understand there are other veterans of the battle of hue in the audience. Would you please stand up . [ applause ] and now would all the veterans of the vietnam war please stand up . Ill just raise my hand. Thank you. That was a quite different reception than what we got back in 1969. Before we get to our other speakers, we would like to present some of the audio clips in the exhibit, which highlight the stories of three of our vietnam veteran panelists. Would you please roll the audio clips . The goal of every marine officer is to lead marines in combat and i felt compelled that i had to do that. We moved in probably late on the afternoon of the 14th. It was just absolutely utter devastation, burnt out trucks and bodies on the road, the stench of death was there all the time. And that night at our briefing, major thompson turned to me and he said tomorrow Delta Company will take the tower. He didnt say try to, well give it an effort or whatever. He said tomorrow Delta Company will take the tower and i said ayeaye, sir. Well do it. Before we moved out in the attack i went off and basically gave up my life saying i dont know how im going to make it through this and i just asked that i not let my marines down and that i do the best that i could do. As we were mounting the assault, sergeant toms joined us and wrote 10 or 12 marines. That gave us the impetus that we were able to get up on to the wall and take the tower. With approximately 120 marines, when we attacked the tower we suffered 40 casualties. The end of the battle there were 39 of us that were still standing, made it through unscathed. I was the Battalion Commander of the first battalion, saw about six marines being hit. Went down. And my shotgun, a young marine, responsible for being my messenger, my bodyguard and any way he could help me. The one i had before was killed the day before, who was like a son. Well this new kid, goodlooking young man, he grabbed me and threw me on the deck and covered my body with his. And i asked him, i said, son, why did you do that . Why did you throw me down and cover me with your body . He said, sir, Sergeant Major told me that if something happened to you, he would have my ass. Thats the way marines were. I said okay, lets get out of here. He was first man out of the room and he was hit and killed immediately. So that wonderful young man, i really didnt get to know him, but ill never forget him. I remember them lifting me off the floor and putting me on a door that they used for a stretcher. I remember them putting me on the tank. I could hear it running and i could smell the diesel. And it was the roughest ride ive ever had in my life. When we got back to triage, somebody said this ones not dead yet. And i remember think iing, that poor son of a bitch must be hit bad. I didnt know they were talking about me. After that, i remember being medivacd and i remember them putting me up on a table, stripping all my clothes off and the doctor started cutting me open on the side with a knife and that hurt really bad. And thats the last thing i remembe remember. And now its my privilege to introduce the publisher of Stars Stripes who will say a few words, max letterer. Max . [ applause ] thank you, pete. Wow, this is very powerful. I think as you went through the exhibit, you feel how powerful it is to have an exhibit featuring the u. S. Marines at the battle of hue during the tet offensive vietnam war in 1968 is unprecedented. Its a recognition of whats gone on in our past and how we honor it today. The images, as pete said, were taken by Stars StripesArmy Photographer john olson, a young lad and proved he was capable and has proved that throughout his life. Stars stripes has been dedicated to telling the story of the u. S. Military since the american civil war. Our unique mission is an honor to perform, serving the men and women of our military by telling their story is a fulfilling mission and the most important story are the men and women at the tip of the spear. This is where Stars Stripes staff excel as john did and where other media strive to achieve. 1968 was a watershed year for the United States, not just because of the battle of hue. Reverend Martin Luther king, senator and president ial candidate Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Civil rights act of 1968 was passed, hoping the promise of fair housing. Tet offensive was launched by the north vietnamese, resulting in the bloodiest year of the war and the bloodiest battle. The most significant battle was the battle of hue. John, Stars Stripes photographer was operating with u. S. Marines when they were attacked and chronicled the event. He still chronicles it today. Were here to help tell that story, as our Mission Always has been. His photos were published by Stars Stripes and published by other organizations at the time, including life magazine. Johns mosque, iconic photos resulted in john being honored with the award as the best photographic reporting from abroad, requiring exceptional courage and enterprise. As you go through this, youll hear that john was there in the thick of the battle. That took a lot of courage to take the photos, chronicle the event, tell it and not lose his cool. The partnership between the newseum, john ol sochlt. N, Stars Stripes, National Federation of the blind has culminated in this exhibit presented today, one of its only kind as peter mentioned. It includes a unique aspect of providing audio from the marines who lived through that horrific battle. The audio presentation combined with johns starting photography brings this unimaginable, brutal battle to life. Thank you to john for his tireless efforts to continue to tell the story of the battle for 50 years. Thank you to the newseum, National Federation of blind and n nikon for recognizing the importance for continuing to tell this story. Special thanks to kathy tross and the newseum staff allowing us to bring it to this great space. Thank you to the United States marine for your bravery then, heroism and for continuing to tell your story today in a very private way and in very difficult moments. The exhibit is a tribute to them. All men and women who serve in uniform at the tip of the spear. I hope you have been enriched into the policeman and the exhibit i have the honor of introducing the president of the National Federation of the blind and thank him for his sponsor of this exhibit. Mark . [ applause ] thank you, max. Its a real privilege to be here, as the son of a vietnam veteran. Its a true honor to be here, representing the National Federation of the blind for this historic moment, celebrating this historic battle and most certainly the brave soldiers who put themselves on the line for all of us. The members of the National Federation of the blind especially are blinded veterans have supported this exhibit because we know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day, we raise expectations for blind people because we recognize that low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams, that you can live the life you want and that blindness is not what holds you back. United States Military personnel put themselves on the line so that all of us and i do emphasize all of us can live the lives we want. And part of that is to enjoy fully life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And it is fitting that at this time, although in the sense of museums and accessibility, its probably long overdue. But its fitting that we are here together in this historic exhibit, that it has come to be reality and that the first photographic display in a major museum in the United States regarding accessibility for all is being sponsored by these great organizations and the National Federation of the blind is pleased to be part of that. It is our hope that the other cultural and historic institutions will follow the great leadership of the newseum in creating exhibits for all and recognizing that designing for full participation enhances the experience for all. And if youve been through the exhibit or when you go through the exhibit, i think you will find that the nonvisual elements of this historic exhibit bring meaning beyond the thousand words that are attributed to the visual photographs. I like to say tonight were bringing the next 2,000 words to these stories. We sponsor this exhibit to acknowledge and celebrate the great photographic and innovative work of john olson. And, most of all, the National Federation of the blind has sponsored this exhibit out of gratitude and humility for those who took up the tet offensive and all the other efforts to protect our rights as americans, to enable us to live the lives we want. Its our honor to be here this evening. I like to thank all the other sponsors. Our military personnel, the newseum for the great leadership in this effort. And it is our privilege to be here. I now would like to introduce another one of our sponsors this evening. I have the opportunity to invite to the podium mark steuben, the senior manager of professional services for nikon. Mark . [ applause ] thank you. Good evening. Nikon is proud to bring a new vision to photography to everybody. Again on behalf of nikon and professionals, thank you. Enjoy the evening. Well see you soon. Now i would like to introduce mark bowden and our distinguished panel. Please give them a warm welcome. All right. Thank you all for coming tonight. As i heard in the introductions, i published a book recently about the battle of hue. And in reporting that book, i think both because im a journalist and also because im here at the newseum tonight, i should say i was every bit as interested in the coverage of the battle as i was in the battle itself. And as part of that work, i tracked down the journalists who were in the middle of this fi t fight. One of those who i collided with was john, john olson, in the middle of the battle and took what became some of the most famous images of the battle of hue. I thought we should start tonight since this is your exhibit, john. You said that you had embarked on this project in part because you were interested in filling some gaps in your own memory and understanding of what youve been through. I wonder if you could explain what you mean. Well, you know, mark, my time in hue was unusual. I was the only combat photographer assigned to Stars Stripes. I was a u. S. Army draftee. They gave me tremendous amount of freedom, let me go where i wanted to go and do what i wanted to do. And if youre a combat photographer, you cant fake it. You have to be in the middle of things. Actually, the more dangerous, the better. Shortly after tet occurred, i learned that the fighting in hue was vicious. It was house to house. And i went to hue. My story was a success story. I went into hue as a u. S. Army draftee 4, came out of hue. My photographs were published by Stars Stripes but were also an arrangement between the newspaper and other media, they were picked up by life magazine and published there. And through this extraordinary set of circumstances having gone into hue as an e4 i came out of hue, not that much later, became the youngest Staff Photographer ever hired by the magazine, 21 years old. But i spent 40plus years, like many veterans, not talking about vietnam. Now, if you had asked me three years ago, did vietnam affect you, i would have said no, absolutely not. But as i got closer to the 50th anniversary, as it was approaching, i began to wonder what had happened to these 18, 19, 20yearold marines that i had photographed in 1968. And through a combination of circumstances, i found one marine. Or they found me. And that led to me thinking how powerful an historic document it would be if we could locate all of the marines i photographed and find a museum that could showcase the event. And as i began this process of interviewing the men, often i would go into an interview session and i would take my digital recorder and i would put it in front of the individual. And i would turn it on and i would ask one question. I would say, tell me about hue. And it was very common that that would be either the only question or one of very few questions i would ask. And for an hour, hour and a half, they would tell me how hue had affected them, how still nearly 50 years later it haunted them and how it had changed their lives. Now, personally, as this process matured and as i began to listen to the hours of recordings, i would sit in front of my computer. Now this is the individual who vietnam hadnt affected. And i would listen to these interviews and tears would start to roll down my face. Now i havent processed how this has affected me other than to share that with you and the audience this evening. Well, its an amazing exhibit. I think that the way youve put it together is a real contribution to our understanding of it. I think ill go down to the end of the panel here. The highestranking member of the panel is colonel bob thompson at the end, who commanded the marines who fought in what was arguably the most difficult phase of taking back the city of hue. And colonel thompson, i wonder if you would tell us something about your experience in hue and what its meant for you and the rest of your life and how you look back on it today. Well, obviously the Seminole Point of my life. It was an unusual experience, to say the least. But i was blessed with about 500 or 600 wonderful, courageous marines. That made all the hardships worthwhile. I had officers like myron harrington, Delta Company and my horse, who i rode pretty hard for two weeks and for, what, six months after. And he always came through for me. And alvin, i never did know who that goodlooking guy was who was laying on that tank. I dont think hes any better looking today than he was back then, but hes a great man. And all of my troops were. B bob, tom, little s man, who has his wonderful family here today. And the battle of hue city or the citadel was unique in a number of reasons. One, the citadel was never secured. And thats a primary recogniqui for combat in a builtup area. You have to isolate the objective area. That was never done. We had a horrible problem with resupply and evacuation of the dead and wounded. It was the monsoon season, misty rain every day, very low cloud cover, which eliminated most of the air support. And according to my battalion surgeon, a wonderful man, a number of our great number of our marines died because we couldnt evacuate them. Three days, it was, we went without food. Would you have thought all the troops were going to starve to death. Well, its just not right that we go fight to our death on an empty stomach. Well, the problem was the first three days of the battle, i was so busy, i didnt eat my three days of rations. Then when i got around to being hungry enough to eat them, everybody else didnt have any rations. So i thought about well, maybe i could go out in the middle of the night and hide and eat my rations. But i couldnt do that. So i gave my rations to my radio operators. So i went six days. Its a great diet program. It was a horrific battle eyeball to eyeball. What we really missed was the close support artillery. We didnt have that. We had eight inch and 155 artillery in support and max range. Now i would never consider and we were on the gun target line. I would never consider using 155 because its a great scatter gun. 155 108 inch was much more accurate but a big bullet. If it was placed in the wrong direction and our troops it would wipe out a platoon in a heartbeat. So that wasnt very much wasnt very useful. So we didnt really have much in the way of artillery. And from the time i assumed command of the battalion, which was the day after tet started, i was headed up to hue, i was briefed by task force xray and my Commanding Officer inside hue city on the sensitivity of the hue citadel in that it was a national treasure. And it was not to be destroyed. And when i talked to general tron, the Army Commander in the citadel, a Division Commander at the time he told me that we were not to use air support or artillery, blah, blah, blah, because of the sacred nature of the citadel. After the first day let me back up a minute. I was briefed by him that there was an Army Battalion occupying positions. So my plan was to move out, make contact with that battalion, pass through, deploy and attack. A company was in command. When they got to that position they were ambushed. There was no Army Battalion anywhere to be seen. Within the first 20 or so minutes of the battle, a company had been pretty much decimated, chopped all to pieces. So it took the rest of that day to extract them, put them in reserve and redistribute our troops. Delta company was not with me. They were over on the other side of the river. With 25 and 11. I called colonel hughes and said ive got to have my Delta Company. And i talked to the general and said im not moving my marines one step further until this rules of engagement are changed where we could use artillery, air support, whatever is available, were going to use it. Otherwise im not going to move. He acquiesced and say saed okay, do that put them on the left flank to take the power. If i can ask myron. As you heard explained, the tower was one of the towers into andgaetz gates out of the citadel. The only way in and out was through a small number of gates over a remote that ran around it. Road was a major eastwest that cuts through the eastern side of the city dell city. Ell citadel the enemy held that position and could fire down on the front line of the marine deployment. It was virtually impossible to move forward without taking the tower. To myronfell harringtons company. Will you tell us about that . That was an interesting challenge to me and the marines of delta i would say that i was blessed to be the commander because it was a battle hardened company with veterans that have participated in operations during the summer and fall of 1967. When i came in, i was the newbie. I had only been with the company for five days. There was a little getting to know you type of situation where i had to get to know them and they had to get to know me. We had a couple of engagements prior to going in. They demonstrated their professionalism and confidence. I think i demonstrated i had some professionalism and competency and we got along well. When we went into the citadel it was a mess. Colonel thompson captured it nicely. As commanderhand was that the first thing you want to do is make a reconnaissance and get a feel for what your avenues of approach and enemy dispositions and where the machine guns are loaded. A multitude of things that you are thinking about to get ready for the battle. Unfortunately, because of the intensity of combat and the fire we were receiving, i was unable to make a reconnaissance. The next morning, when we moved out of the attack, i was depending on the professionalism and competency of my marines on a tank i had supporting me. Was beside me. It was beside me. It was one of those things where you winged it when you got up there. Once you got where you could see with the objective was, we formulated a plan on the spot. Unfortunately, thats fortunately the marines were resilient, courageous. They were a long legacy of marine corps history. They were not going to let it down. Thanks to some of the folks that colonel thompson mentioned and a multitude of others that are nameless, we were able to take the tower. It took us most of the day because we had to maneuver up and get into a position where we could attack. Mva soto eliminate the we could cross the street and also do a flanking move. Unfortunately fortunately we were able to get that coordinated using limited support from our artillery and mortars. We successfully took the tower. I believe it was a Something Like 24 or 25 mva in and around the tower. Earlier, we were receiving fire from multiple locations. It was not just their tower. It was a multitude of mutually supporting fortified positions that had zeroed in. Could imagine attacking uphill at the tower which had a commanding position. You had to take it twice in the same day. We did. We spent most of the day maneuvering up there. About 1600 and the afternoon we were in a position where we could mount the assault. Toms and theob remnants of second platoon showed up. We were able to get on top of the tower and secure it. The first and you do once you have secured your objective, prepare for the counterattack. We did and we thought it would come within the next hour or so. It did not come until zero 400 in the morning. With had a rude awakening the mva on top of the tower firing into our positions below. That was a mess. A descriptionard of this battle from a command position from colonel thompson and captain harrington. Fought bye actually men who are out getting shot at and shooting back. I found that many of those who are interviewed who fought in the battle were carried off of the battlefield. You would have someone outlining a story to you and i think this is someone who has great memories of this and has a fabulous story to tell about the battle. And it would end because they were wounded and carried off. Through no fault of his own, thanks to dons photography, it became the most famous marine carried off of the battlefield in the battle of way. I wonder if if you could tell us about how you got that dubious distinction. Lucky. Ess i was thank you, john. Thinks shot, it was through the chest with an ak47 round. Quiteorning started off fun. We were sleeping that night in a house along the street. As a pfc, that is all i knew. I did not know anything about the tactics or anything. I was one of the guys. Morningoken up that with a rocket round that came into the room. I was with a machine gun team. Everyone in the room got shrapnel from the rocket round except for me. Woundedsy taking the out of the back of the house and it was pretty noisy and busy with lots of hand grenades, rifle fire, machine gun fire. It was apparently were getting hit very hard. It was just breaking day. It got to a point where i got the wounded out. We were trying to regroup in the and a fewe house streets down, there was a lot of somebody was hollering for machine gun. They needed one on the one or. On the corner. I took the machine gun and started that way. It was back and forth, running house to house. When i reached almost the corner , the house next to the corner, i was about to run to the next house when i looked to the left in there was an mva soldier a crouched position on a porch of the house next door. I was looking right down the barrel of his weapon. As soon as i saw that i fell into the door of the house i was at. He shot the door to pieces. I did not get hit that time but i got in that house and made my way to the window and was firing a machine gun out the window at lots of mva what we call the target reach and environment. There were plenty of targets out the window. We had people down everywhere. One of the houses had marines. There were a lot of mva soldiers outside that house, around the outside of the house. The marines were inside. I was firing the machine gun around the house from the outside, trying to knock down the mva and protect the marines in the house. Ceasefire,ered there are marines in that house. I tried to reason with him and tell him there were a lot of mva around the outside. But they were plenty of other target, mva to shoot at. So we kept it up for as long as we could and i stepped into the window to shoot the machine gun and got caught with an ak47 round to the chest. It knocked me backwards about 10 feet, i guess. I landed flat on my back and the only thing i could utter was i am hit here i knew i was bad. I did not realize how bad, but i knew it was bad because of the circumstances with it. Lungnt through my right and i was having a hard time breathing. Some of the guys that came to my assistance, my aid, they realized i had a second chest sunken chest. They had to make it easier for me to breathe so they took cellophane off of cigarette packs and poked it into the holes in my chest and to the back with a bullet came out. Airflowed to stop the coming through those holes so i could breathe through my one good long. They bandaged me up and kept me on the right side so that my left lung would not fill with blood and drown me. That inot too long after got the famous ride. How long did it take you to recover from that . I was in the hospital for about seven months. Japan, at the hospital in japan, i caught typhoid fever. That was before i got to the states. I finally got out of the and decemberban and then went back another five months. It was about one year. A year or more for you, at least . Took about a diet. I weighed 165 when i got shot and two months later i weighed 119 pounds. Now we know who ate the goldfish. The art of photography is largely being in the right place at the right time. We heard a description of some of the most intense days of fighting. John, you were in the city for three days, is it . I remember my time i have i believe i was in the fight for three of my five days. Work . Wouldnt you jump on the first helicopter out . Howdy function as a professional how do you function as a professional in that environment . You are armed with a camera. I was a very young man, 12 years old. I knew what i wanted my career to be. There was no cable television. There was no 24 7 news cycle. There were three networks. There was life magazine and life magazine used to arrive at our home every wednesday and i would look at that magazine and say that is what i want to do. Worldclassbe a fertile journalist. I did not tell my father i wanted to be a war photographer. When vietnam came along i was highly motivated. I wanted to be there. The army got me before i could get there on my own. I received my draft notice one day. 31 days later i was sworn in. I was fortunate. I had one of the best the jobs i could ever have in vietnam. As i reflect on that, i was a natural. It came to me so easily, being in that environment. Had to be to me, you incredibly brave to do that. It is not true at all. Toms receivedb six purple hearts and is over star. I went on the building of this exhibition. I was there for 18 hours to interview him. Me, youlked, he said to must be incredibly brave and i had to explain to him that im not a brave guy. To be brave, you need to have fear. And you need to overcome that fear. I said i just never had any. Through my entire time there i do not recall having had fear intuitive. Was in that regard, at that moment of my life, as a war photographer, i was a natural. Some of the most compelling images you will see in this exhibit of his work were taken during the battle for the tower. Bottle during the battle played a tremendously important role. Because so much of what was being reported by photographers, cameramen, journalists writing stories, from the scenes, contradicted the official account of what was going on. If you read what general west moreland was saying during these days, he was telling the public and the president that not very much was going on. In fact it was the most significant single battle for in the war. That truth came through to the American People through those stories, the photograph that john and others took, which showed the battle on the order of something you might have seen in europe in world war ii. It was completely different than the war most americans thought was being fought in vietnam. Thompson, did you have much interaction with journalists during the time that you were in way . No. Just one. Two worked with cbs. I am trying to think of his name. Jack lawrence. Yes. I still carry any no email with jack lawrence. And he came book interviewed by brian whatever his name was about his book. I had dinner with him that night. I came up to d. C. And had dinner with him. That is the only one i really. Ad any direct association with several newsmen, i do not remember who they were. Maybe it was with your company, evacuate somelp of the wounded. 90 marinedca fanned theseparade where gentlemen, i think two of them, where awarded a bronze star. Remember john . U i do not remember him. He did not come over and introduce himself. I am a very formal type. I was waiting for the introduction. But i have strong memories of a number of journalists who were with me. The three that colonel thompson mentioned were david greenway, charles moore, i believe and out live. They demonstrated their bravery by helping evacuate people and getting hit while doing it. What impressed me about those three were they stayed with us. They did not come out on it he low and take a couple of pictures and run back. They stayed with us. Spentr journalist with me about four days with me. David mccone from u. K. He was a magnificent guide who had been in the congo, had been at the sixday war fin bank in jerusalem. He became one of us during that. Thingo, did remarkable above and beyond taking photographs. He also went out and i can remember we would go out and get the wounded so we could recover them. He went with a group to bring some wounded that. I had some good memories of the journalists who were with me. They were reporting very accurately because they were on the ground. They saw what was happening. They were descriptive about it but truthful about it. Unlike some who would pop in and , i did not have a lot of credibility with some of those guys. A. B. , i know you did not meet any journalist but you became inadvertently famous. Whens photograph which over two full pages in life magazine did not name any of the people who were on that tank. Can you tell us how you came to realize you had been named made famous ye . I was in the hospital for the second time in Pensacola Naval hospital. I had a former brotherinlaw who lived in florida and he was in a barbershop getting a haircut and with having to wait for a chair. He picked up a magazine to look at it and it was life magazine and the picture was a double page of that picture. He recognized me immediately and he brought the magazine to the hospital funding pensacola and showed it to me. That was the start of it. That is how i found out about it, one year after he had taken the picture. Had you had any of your photograph in life before the battle ye . That was my first opportunity. When did you know that was going to happen . I returned to saigon, i went back to the bureau. The black and white went to stars and stripes. The color went to life. Men thereafter, life advised they were running six pages. That has to be a big moment and the career of someone who had the ambition. It was huge. Weeks itter of was in the army. Within a matter of weeks, they offered me a contract. , as ahereafter 21yearold, they offered me a staff job. Year and itrd that changed my life. I will ask one more question and we will be ready to take any questions if we have them. Wanted to ask you, colonel thompson, do you feel the American Public really happenedd what had during the tet offensive . When you returned to the United States, do you think the significance of what you and your men had done and had gone through was appreciated and understood . What thely do not know attitude of the American People was. I really cared less. I maintained command of the battalion until august but had to retire in seven months. When i came home to , at the time, i had been at the university of virginia. I came down with malaria. I was in the hospital for two weeks. After that, i took my family to little town a coined for mississippi. As a hero fin bank treated as a hero in mississippi. And then, when my leave was up, i went to thailand for two weeks. Involved in the turmoil and the American Public attitude and all that stuff. All i knew was i was extremely fortunate to have commanded such men. Here likel it this person here and a bunch of others. Leon, s man, pratt and several others that we were with that we are with today. Memory and that is what i treasure. My rent, how about you . Did you feel like what you were what you went through was understood ye . I think some of the reporting coming out of vietnam was distorted. It did not convey the actual facts of something that was suddenly on the ground. The success we were having. I think there was that mass hysteria when the war got out that the embassy had been taken. I think that set the stage as the reporting for the rest of t was that the sky was falling. The second thing, it did not help when walter khan cried made his astute statement that it was an unwinnable war. The truth was that we were winning. To the American Public that it was a lost cause. I think that was detrimental to our cause. And apropos the experience, when i came home, i went to a marine base, went to school. I was isolated from the general public in the best and the civil unrest going on. Corps in itsine wisdom gave me a hardship tour and sent me to australia. Next three years we were out of the country with my family. Following that, i went back to vietnam as an advisor with the vietnamese marines. During that hectic time of a lot of civil unrest, i was out of the country. I was immune to what was happening to some of the others of my generation. Friend, you and your , tosted into the ethically join the marines and go to war. With the experience what you expected . No. That you haveoned to have feared to be brave. I must be very brave. Because i was scared to death. [applause] it was a very scary place. Together because he wanted to go together to war. My friend and i, we knew we did not have that opportunity with the army. There was the draft and they sent you where and when they wanted you. The marine corps had but up a buddy program. We could enlist together and go through all of the training together and be sent to vietnam together the other same unit. It did not work out that way. Right . E, full of the marine corps. My friends sister got into a and they did not know if she would make it. He had to go home for leave for a couple of weeks and it put him behind me. That was the plan, frost to be together in vietnam. But it did not quite work out. He wound up losing his life on may the 28th, 1968, while i was in the hospital fin bank in pensacola. I did not see him after that. Experience,er this you said life magazine hired you and you work to bear for many years. You do ever go back to a war zone and shoe combat photos . Did you ever go back to our war zone and shoot on that photos . There were really talented photographers in vietnam. Becausethem were there they were addicted to it. It was the adrenaline, living on the edge. I think i was different in one sense. I loved it. I would not trade that time for anything. It made me who i am. Been then, there has never the worst day of business, as a civilian, is a walk in the park. It puts everything into perspective. To answer your question, i did go back to vietnam on one or two occasions, working for life. I identified one story i felt was relevant. I had a hard time selling it to the editors. I did and went back. Presentedthat i had was we chosey did an individual, followed him for a. Of time. He was an infantryman. I followed him back through his transition into civilian life. That thishe belief was a. In our countrys history where that transition where you came back and it was not an easy transition. I went back for that. But my career as a war photographer was shortlived. Many othero do things and i came back at a time where there was a lot of unrest. Life assigned me to the d. C. Bureau. I worked the white house, traveling with the president. But i did all of the antiwar stories, as well. This was an incredible juxtaposition. Was there another moment, colonel thompson, in your military career that compares with your experience commanding troops . Heavens no. Nothing like that. I was very fortunate. Korea. Rifle to in as the first lieutenant, i had to rifle companies. I had another one as a captain. I commanded a recruit training battalion, a group training. Egiment of course you know, and infiltrate battalion indian infiltrate regimen. Compared to those 12 days. My rent, you said you went back and served in vietnam after that tour, did you encounter any experiences that compared . There at the i was end of our major engagement in 72 or 73. It was limited combat at that point here it was kind of a waiting game for the peace talks to be concluded. It was not anywhere near where it was. The only other experience that i could equate from an emotional and mental toughness, on my part, was when the beirut andosion happened in 1983 the 24th amphibious unit was over there. The commander was relieved because of the investigation and everything. And i was given command of that unit and took them back to beirut. That was not frightening. We were assured we were guarding the embassies. But it was the mental and emotional strain of taking over that unit and going back with. Hem as being the new guy the whole staff remained in place and i was the new guy. That was a leadership challenge, to ensure we could be successful. Notmember going to see the, and he said, colonel, the only thing i want is for you to bring your marines back. I was blessed that i brought them all back. I was pleased with that. Did you keep in touch with the men who served with you in vietnam in the years right after the war . Not right after the war. I think everybody was doing their thing, getting adjusted back to their community and their livelihood. I was finishing up my marine corps career. It wasnt until 1991, when they commissioned the uss way city that we began to get together. From that point on, there had been a number of battalion reunions. Citylly, the u. S. As way holds a memorial sit a Memorial Service to honor those who fought and died in way. That is a meaningful thing. 70 to 100etween veterans and their families show up for that. You,s that true for a. B . When i got back, i try to assimilate as well as possible and forget and move on. It was a challenge. I did not want to be viewed as most Vietnam Veterans were being viewed either citizens of the country at that time. The upper and prejudicial attitude they had towards some of the Vietnam Veterans. Many of us, as well as myself, did not admit we had been to vietnam. To knowot want anyone we did not want anyone to have a predisposed idea of who we were or what we did before they even met your new you. So it was an issue. We wanted to be normal again. So we tried. What role has the internet played in reestablishing connections between Vietnam Veterans . Huge. It happened with myself. A back i was sitting on porch making coffee and i saw a post the picture of the tank on a facebook site called together we served and reading some of the comments. I saw some guy from california posted i am the last guy sitting on the back of the tank. I messaged him and told him i was the guy line down without a shirt. Was kind of surreal. He thought i was dead. I did not know he was around. We started messaging and exchanged phone numbers and talked. We were in the area of one another because it had been 48 years. Together. Ally got who was that . Richard hill from california. [applause] friends and we still communicate a lot. Colonel thompson, after this battle, after you served in vietnam, did the marine corps debrief you about your experiences there . Ryu interviewed ryu interviewed were you interviewed about your decisions . Efforte was no official to remember what had happened . I thoughtiend quanticofriend at who was responsible for recording these sorts of things for the library. Saying, bob i have to get you in for this, bob i have to get you in. But bob was never called in. Thing that has bothered is the fact that our quanticorps museum at would not post johns pictures. Withk the life magazine up ns letter, authorizing me authorizing me and the medium to use the photographs me and the museum to use the photograph. Museumthe curator of the down to the way exhibit. Which is very weak. And it really does not tell the story of the battle of way. I thought of looking at these iconic pictures, looking at this crack they had on the wall. Say, oh my saw her god. We have the wrong stuff appear. But it never did happen. Areas, sugarcoating it again. I am very thankful to the battlefor honoring the and honoring johns iconic pictures. Am very grateful friend,y grateful to my john olson. I would like to interject. I set out to create this exhibit, i did not have a home for it here i committed to this exhibit and there were a couple of prerequisites. The primary one was that we that woulde for it get significant exposure to the public. Oftried to talk to a number highend museums in new york and washington. The moment Senior Leadership at the museum learned of this exhibit, they seized the opportunity and put together this exhibition in three months, not the usual year. The team and commitment behind that, i could ask for a better group. What is equally historic about this is, the moment i shared this the fact we had found a with the president of the National Federation of the blind, i wanted to let him know it was going to be a tactile component where the Blind Community could enjoy it. Miles down the road in the thought process and said we have to become the sponsors. So we have this most unusual historic event, 50th anniversary of the tent tet offensive, sponsored by a blind group and a camera company. It has been an incredible team. As well as the stars and stripes. [applause] please describe the technology in making your photograph successful thus accessible. Career, i noticed how important photographs have been in my life. I began to wonder what it was like for the Blind Community who did not have that access. Ago, i developed a means by which a wine people could see photography and acquire visual information. President marco bono of the National Federation of the blind , he found me in a focus group in albany new york were hours trying to get feedback from the Blind Community. He said you have to come to baltimore. He said, i think you have something here. We formed a relationship with this technology has been built not just by a sighted guide but by the input of a whole host of blind people whose goal it is to make a product that is not only serving the Blind Community but the Sighted Community as well. John wright with the National Federation of the blind. I want to thank you for your service and for the vietnam vets for their service. You have covered a little bit of what you were saying. What it means ask to you, john olson, that you dedicated her life to making Information Available through photos but that did not include blind people. Now you are doing that and doing it with some of the most important photos that you have ever taken. And thankthank you you on behalf of all blind americans for making it possible for us to enjoy or learn. If you have seen the photos of stairs, i do not know i would enjoy them. But it is important to the mission of the First Amendment to have access to information. Whether it is happy or sad information, it is critical we have access to it. Through your exhibit and the museum, you are making that possible, so we can learn the stories that we heard, so heartfelt and emotional and historically important. I think it is important the two things, together, with the museum and First Amendment pain is incredible. I think the audience appreciates it. Thank you on behalf of all blind people in this country. [applause] i think we have reached the end of our time. So helpful to me in researching and writing my book. He drove to philadelphia to take the author auto. It closes a neat circle. The book is about what you were taking ventures out. Thank you all for coming. [applause] tonight. [ applause ] towe are taking a look back 1958. Combat your feedback and comments on the tet offensive on facebook. Com cspan history. This year, cspan is touring cities across the country, exploring American History. Next, a look at our recent visit to newport, rhode island. You are watching American History tv on cspan3. My grandmother would remind me that slavery is how we got here but it does not tell you the story of the people. My interest is telling the story of the people. People of african ancestry arrived in the americas u