Stephen darrah, major retired from the u. S. Army and steve, start off by spelling your full name. Stephen and darrah. Provide a framework for our here this afternoon. Take us from your early through west t up point into the army and through career. My we will come back and look at more detail. I was borned a raised Providence Rhode island 1943. Providence from country day and went to the military academy in july of 1961. While at the military academy, i Academic Department on a daytoday basis. Squash, played a little tennis and was delighted to graduate. Was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry. Schoolto Airborne Ranger as did most classmates. I was assigned to the first of 502nd battalion at fort campbell, kentucky. Spent in a year and a half there and decided i wanted to go to Flight School and i was on to go to the third bridget and decided i wanted to walk so i went to Flight School in 1967 and 1967. Hed in september of went to vietnam on my first tour first ber of 1967 to the cav. Came back a year later and did and back to ourse vietnam for about i think it was seven months or so. Standing down and i had to rotate through a number back. I could get i was reassigned back it fort light with the 197th infantry brigade. I resigned and left the army in, lets see, it was new years eve of 1974. Lets go back and spend a prior to west point. What motivated you to choose west point . Interesting because there amps program on television called west point. Thought these guys with these uniforms on looked pretty sharp. They had an in with the ladies and so forth the way the shows bee and i thought that would a good way to do that. So i applied through the process application congressman and did all of that. Actually turned out to be a fourth alternate meaning there was a principal and three ahead of me. So i thought well this isnt going to happen. Actually i got accepted at duke go to do a premed course there. I got a weeks before letter saying you got an appointment at west point. If you so accept. So on. I said sure, why not. I showed up. Basically how i wound up there. You said you played a logical tennis. Nd you a lot a lot. I played four years up there. With each. At ou played against navy squash and tennis. How did you do . Navy lost. I never never lost, lost. I dont remember if we played the three bes but years on the varsity level we eat them every year and last year we shut them out which is the first time between army and navy in squash. The highlight of my athletic career if you will. You graduate from west point you are commissioned in what branch . Infantry. You decide you want to flight instead of walk. Kind of interesting. When i was with the first of the 502nd there was a gentleman gaspard. Nior he passed away a number of years ago. An aviator and representative for the tennis team. In aed to play tennis once while. We got to discussing one day to i was on orders to go vietnam and with the third brigade and 101st and was with tpeufirst cav when they were one of t together and first offaviators. He said you ought to consider to Flight School. You can fly over that, you dont have to walk through it. Idea sot that is a good spent i to guy and think it was four and a half 4 1 2 at fort texas then at fort rucker. There is rotary . Yes. Did you choose helicopters . Not had this desire im sure why, fred. Ships. Anted to fly gun i had seen pictures and videos that want to fly something i could shoot back. At that point if time the gun with bell was t starting and they were hanging gun systems if you will on the b and cmonthold c model helps. In my last week at fort rucker asked if anybody with be interesting in a weeks transition course into gun ships. Yes. D so we flew the system and i liked it. Ship at thathe gun time . A gun ship was a helicopter four people in it, pilot, copilot and gun earn and clue chief. They were b and c models the first bell had developed and troop lly used for carrying and resupply and so forth and somebody got the idea put some guns on them mini four m m 16 which are rockpods and modify the interior to carry the a. M. In this case. Ammunition. They were the first helicopter gun ships that were developed. 1966, ad some i think in late 1965 when they first came out. So you were in one of the of this . Els they had evolved to the point octoberot to my unit in of 1967, so they had gone hrough a period of evolution with certain improvements. Rotor blades, tail rotors, forth. Ral things and so that is what you were going to fly and you went to the first cav. That is correct. You come to vietnam and tell us about that transition. I first came into vietnam i the i dont know what it fwas but they said what do. Ou want to i want to fly helicopter gun first cav. The he said ok, fine. Anke ands were to go to be signed. When i got this and he they said units i said i can you have two gun ships. 229. Is 227 and either one is good. They signed me 20 d company 229 helicopter battalion as platoon leaders of first platoon. I arrived in about october 10 or over that platoon. What is a platoon. About 28 to 30 minute. Door gunner, crew chief. Warrant officer pilots. Commissioned officer pilots. And five to six helicopters, gun ships. What would be a normal week of the some assignments . We provided armed escort for things. Y of different it could be a combat assault consisting of six troop carrying hueys direction. Or it could be escorting a medevac helicopter into a hot l. Z. And they needed Fire Suppression so helicopter can medevac people wounded. We supplied stuff. Hueys are resupplying somebody and they need an escort the se of conditions on ground we would take two gun ships out and escort them to do that. A number of escorts for range call long rank r we con patrol recon patrol nd that was done on a regular ongoing basis. That consisted basically of a and theyive to six men would be inserted into a particular area and stay there whatever the time they could reconnaissance work, mapping data, so on. E would escort the aircraft that put them in and when we escort the craft to get them out. You would escort the whole way. That is correct. Troops. R carried you said that these were m you would have m16s on them . There were a number of varieties of gun systems hueys. Old b and c model one was m16 with four machine side and two ch nine round rocket pods. One on each side. Arming. The plus door gunners they had door gun 00 rounds of ammunition between the two. You had guns that you could use as far as a pilot . Thats right the far side of left seed was aircraft commander and he would fire what we call the gun systems. And m60s and16 ight side with fire the rocket pods but you had the capability of changing that if something happened to one of those aircraft. Ls in the that was normally the way we divided the responsibilities. What was your First Experience in combat in vietnam . I was assigned the way it the when you went to 29th you flew with an experienced aviator for a period of time. Then that aviator would say he in turn thought could you could be an aircraft or not. R if he didnt think you could you ould be the peter pilot or reassigned someplace else. I had a warrant officer name moteski who was the best pilot i have ever seen and i about i guess for about three months. I became an aircraft canadaer command are fairly quickly but we clicked together a variety of different missions. To answer your question, the one out in my mindks we used aoufrd to do it fire flight at night. Here was a river that ran down through the area and our fire base was close to the coast. Fly three two ld four missions checking the river out. A would have we called it slick, two pairing helicopter with a searchlight system in one the doors and he would fly lowly down the river with a searchlight cooking it out. We would fly 50 to 100 feet if he got shot at we could protect him to get him out and so on. A chase that was another louie that fly much higher in somebody got shot down and they had to be rescued. Distinctly remember it was fairly quickly the second flew and at ion we the time there was a regiment of from thetnamese coming north across that river going south and the cabin intercepted and they were trying to get to the south and break contact ith whatever the cab unit was that they were in contact with. Caliber a number of 50 antiaircraft guns. What i distinctly remember is he first time i saw a tracer round from a 50 caliber at night. I was flying the helicopter next to ki was sitting me and i saw this green thing it was coming e up vertically slowly and a light suddenly appeared and suddenly and came toward us and accelerated right by us. About the time it turned he said break right, break right. Was so trans fixed on that softball, that green big softball that was coming up in to air that he finally had take the stick and bank it. That was the first time i had a large caliber tracer round at night. A lot of them before we went back home but i remember that distinctly. Did you have Laundry Service day . Ext not that time. There were others we did. A number of in those situations. You said you were involved tet. G one of the things that is very fortunate in there regard. We probablyof 1968, flew on average anywhere between hours a month. There was supposedly a limit of ow much flying time you could actually fly. Those limits really were not enforced that much. Depending on the activity that was going on we would fly as , if it was a busy time, as much as 200 hours in a months time. You could be flying every day. Thats correct, seven or and fly at a day night also. I was mber of 1967, selected, myself and one of my arrant officer pilots, were selected to go to the cobra transition course the ah 1 g was developed by bell. Bell helicopter which designed and developed not all but the majority of the helicopters that were in service in vietnam at decided that at some point in time im not sure when of 1967 to develop a purposely designed gun ship. And and the prototype for this was im going to say maybe september and they started manufacturing them and sent them first arrived the in vietnam i think late september, early october. They were part of what they called the new Equipment Training Team down in saigon they actually brought pilots in, crew chiefs and door older from flying the bell helicopters and trained them. Between big difference there cobra and b and c models i mentioned. One only two pilots in tandem. One in front and one in back. Aircraft was designed such a way it had a much higher cruising speed. B and c we could cruise loaded around 70 to 75 knots. The cobra was about 145 knots. The b and c models depending on angle of attack of ourse you could take it up to about 100 knots indicated before real started to get sinky. 210 knotts. As cobra were on the designed for it. They could carry much more rockets, many more heavier payload and had about the same station time, about two a full load of fuel that the b and c models had. The great thing about it was had a width of 36 inches. Width as you kept that pointed at what you were trying a small er you had ilhouette for somebody to shoot. It had better armor brechting take a lot of damage. You were the only gunners . The interesting thing about is a bit of a problem because the crew chief and door flight had been getting pay and going out on missions, could see what was going on and so forth. Own helicopter they were responsible for. Now what they were being asked to do is maintain a helicopter fly it. Psychologically that became it cover become a big problem. Kids. God for the young they said we cant fly we will make sure you are safe when you fly. Kept a c model gun ship in my platoon. Them e supposed to turn in. I kept it to put them up in the air and let them see what is on and where we are flying and so on and so forth. But it was a bit of a change for them. The rest were cobras . Thats correct. Five cobras. Platoon leader a for six months . Yes. Then you became what . I was assigned assist [inaudible]. What was your job . Planning operations. Taking information on available assets that we had to be able to assign to supporting combat assaults and independent facing with prying for them providing for them. It was a Tactical Operations on day to day and week to week basis. But stayed in the air . I continued to fly with my platoon. I was asked to come back and fly commander and guy that took over for my standpoint as platoon leader so i flew with guys on a regular basis. For another platoon leader . Thats correct. So you were under his command . It was , actually interesting because what they did is let me plan and lead the platoon was this doing which i was fine with. I enjoyed the flying and i was in that the guys platoon both enlist and warrant officers and commissioned officers. When i of my objectives was there, personal objective, i wanted to make sure i did to bring i could everybody home. And i was successful in doing that. In flying, it is interesting that it doesnt take were to mistake and somebody get hurt very badly or get killed. Those things we always stressed and that i stressed ith these guys is seven fundamentals about thinking before you do something. Part of s a big, big what we did and it was not that safety aspect when you are a mission but as a safety aspect when you came back, how you refuel, rearm, you do with the helicopter, how you clean them, so forth. So, one of the things i was to do because this was kind of a bible with me if you maintain come back and that dialogue and that environment with the guys that third platoon,he which i did and enjoyed doing it. The to back up a minute on cobra transition, it is interesting, when i was asked to down there, i was not asked, i was assigned for the hreeweek course and i had never been to saigon and there was the fire base and so on. So, this warrant officer and i went there and spent three weeks fly and shoot the al1 z. The first sick cobras that came in country playboys to the 334 down south and other three to my platoon. What is a playboy . Sign. Ir call they were a gun ship company in the southern part of vietnam. We had the three of the first that came in country came to my noon r phraofpb and it as just platoon and was just after tet started. We flew those continuously that i the time frame was there until i came home in october. What were your observations a soldier and going through and tet nam experience that you were in the midst of it . What is your impression of the way the war was being waged . Well, i didnt have a sense, red, because a large sense was w the overall tactical going. We got stars and stripes and we could read that. Focused on what was going on in our unit with us in our helicopters and our units supporting and normally we would support one slick ompany which was three different platoons of two carrying helicopters and they would support one battalion. So, all the things that were the belongs of involved inwere not we inch. Those were the marines that were involved in that. World was a pretty small world and i dont remember having any sense at all about was going on overall with the war, how the war was being waged. Of course we Read Everything about what happened in tet after it actually happened. Quang tree in late of y and early february 1968 because they took over that town. We actually had moved up there a Slick Company to support the first and 12th of the kafr bout three days before there started. The first and 12th were the perimeter defense if you will for the troop carrying helicopters and my gun forth. And so so, what i remember about that time is that the weather was awful. Ely it fwas the start of the monsoo ceilings of had about 200 feet before you got in the clouds and visibility of half mile. Ceiling was 100 feet and to fly in that weather was difficult. A you cant see any more than half or quarter mile than are toing and you are flying 120 140 knots you had to be pretty damn careful about what you were doing. Work we did during that time frame, a lot of it was predicated solely on how the weather was. Could we get out. Could the medevacs get out. Could the troop carrying can the rs get out and resupply stuff get out . It was particularly difficult at weather was the about the same at night and there were difficult times that deal. To what i remember, fred, there was an evening we were trying to get back to our fire base and it was the weather 0 and closed in. By closing in, we could not fly back. Either turn to around and go back it someplace the radar could use at the fire base it pick us up and guide us. I. F. R. Whiche to go is instrument flight us rules up usthe soup and let them talk down. I decided i was going to take he flight three gun slips and two slicks two troop carrying helicopters empty at the time contact with t the Ground Control approach get them at a time and to pick us up before we went to conditions. So, the tpeufirst four aircraftt well. D i was the last one. Contact with the t. C. A. Folks. They come up saying yep. Ok, going up we will pick you up as soon as you get there. And climb in i. F. R. To 4,000 feet and i lost every instrument in the helicopter. Electric, i the lost everything and had nothing compass and attitude indicator showing it way, this way, this way, this way. Nd the mack compass gave you a north, south, east, west as to where you were going. Contact . Ad radio nothing. We had no instrumentation at all nav and attitude indicator. We are 4,000 feet and in the middle of something i cant see. I am and whathere i decided to do well, ok, we are coast, i know if i fly east i will be over the if we run out of gas over the ocean that will be a problem. If i fly west and we run out of i will get a 20 minute and i and i will know can set it down wherever and then maybe we can get picked up so on. So, i turned west and we are 4,000 feet at 80 knots new guy next to me a b bananas. He was having a real time and the guys in the back, tour chief didnt say a word. We flew along for i guess about an o. V. 1 bird came propeller driven he wase mist at us just there. He was fast enough and quick his side turn it up on so he went by this way and missed us. When we had our 20 minute fuel come on, we had flown into it about 10 minutes and i looked instruments, i was flying and saw these lights out n the distance and i had no idea, i didnt know if we were vietnam. Bodia or south i had no idea where we were. So the pilot next it me said spoelstra oh like carrier. An aircraft i said no we are flying west so there are no aircraft carriers in the western direction. Turned out to be was anka. And that was the main heliport for the first cav. I remember sitting in the pproach called them up or didnt call them because we didnt have radios and at the ime i shot the approach at the end of runway we ran out of fuel. Was it. Own and that so, we were very fortunate that night. Turned out that we turned in the right direction and maintained the right course in a safe p back place again. How about one more story situation where a medevac or tect supporting troops. I will tell you about the last time i flew. We were flying cobras. I was flying a cobra at the time a cobra as a wing manned we were putting in a hroplong recon patrol wells of qu in some fairly good sized ridge lines and valleys out there. The way we did this, we would take three troop carrying helicopters helicopters, five or six, seven mean would be in one helicopter we would fly to three or four designate the landing zones the work team may be in the third helicopter and we would be in a trail one behind the other. The first helicopter was going to land the other two over. Out of first et because there was nobody in it. He would get up and go behind we will do that a number of times. The reason is somebody was watching us do it and they these guys where were getting out or where the actual team was being inserted. And it was around 6 30 or 7 00 to ight and just starting et dark and we went to two ridge lines they were to be put it. They set down and team got out picked up, other two flew over. And bob lentz p was flying that helicopter. Is we wouldally did all then go to a location that was maybe 10 or 15 flight where the team was put in. They would go silent and come radio and click twice on the radio if everything was fine. And if they leave needed to be picked up and they ould get hold of us and tell us. As soon as they hit the ground they started tkwrelg on the adio yelling on the radio ecause unbetphroepbs to unbeknownst to us an n. V. Was put their headquarters a and they were put regimental headquarters. Down, when ere set they got out of the helicopter, f course the north vietnamese opened up and some were killed and others were wounded. The north vietnamese will reinforced the ridge lines where teammate the ridge lines the valleyd west and ran east and west so where the eam was put in was in between the two ridge lines and on those ridge lines they had a number of guns, r. P. G. s, so forth. When bob tried to get back in to get those guys out he to do it and es got shot up something terrible. Still kept the helicopter flying. Couldnt get them out. Every time he went in i would the re one ridge line and other would do the other. You could see the north vietnamese and you could see the guns and so he forth. We finally ran out of ammunition and ockets and mini guns ammunition. Hing bob said he was going to try one more time to get these guys. I did is said ok, you are on short final i will hover with the searchlight on on the east side of where you are and that will take all the hopefully from that ide away from you and i didnt have anything to shoot back with. That is what i did. Went down that ridge line and hovered about 10 or 20 knots and we got the crap shot out of us. But lentz got in and got the guys, the dead ones and wounded got into his helicopter, them out and went about two miles away from that area and helicopter gave up the ghost, the engine failed and he went in. Back because we were banged up pretty well ourselves and we had no backition so we had to get to refuel and rearm. By that time we had all sorts of and we had gun ships from other units. They provided the support to pick bop up and team members bob up. What i remember is when i went ack and landed at the refuel and rearm point, the crew chief of that helicopter when i got came up and, they always come up and open the tkorp and out open the door and he said that was pretty tough one, wasnt it . I said yes. He started laughing at me. I said what the hell are you laughing at. Said look you peed all over yourself. Changing n underwear moment in that particular situation. That was the last time i flew in on the first door. Forward Operation Base out of fubar and it was taffed and run by special forces guys. And there were a number of there. Ary troops northkind, thais, korean, vietnamese, south venus, taiwanese. That the mercenaries special forces were paying to missions into laos. What they would do is they would as north vietnamese including the special forces big which they had these uniforms. Ns and the merchants the think they could pass. But we had two carrying helicopters, one for the team to one chase in case somebody is shot down and two cobras to escort them out and to pick them up and bring them back. These guys were being inserted into what i i dont say on the western side of the valley which at that been in that d valley for a year and a half to two years. Here were three special forces camps but they had been abandoned and so forth. When these guys were inserted they would go silent and so forth. What their job was to do reconnaissance work and raise they could to japon in laos. Reached to where they couldnt survive any more they would call saying we have to come out. The first distinctly time that we went out to pick these guys up. We had the troop carrying helicopter that actually picked used mcgwire rigs ropes with had loops and drop down where the they would strap themselves in with their feet or arms. The first time every was a hard extraction. He first time that these guys came out i remember the pilot on the troop carrying helicopter picked upg out and he and glanced down and there were guys hanging on this mcgwire rig. Seven of them by their feet. They put their feet in this throw o they could grenades back down and shoot back down as the helicopter was out. Ng and it is the most surreal thing i ever saw. Is unbelievable. I dont believe guys are doing there. To some safey them place and get off the rig and get back in the helicopter. He issue around the valley was that this was a main supply route for the north vietnamese ho chi minh trail and the air force went out there on a bombed basis and just the hell out of the place. There were craters all over the place. Ac130 gun ships were just in. Rting to come and the antiaircraft guys from the north vietnamese units out guys. Were good they had 57 millimeter, a lot of stuff. Iber we started flying out there to put these teams in. We had to figure out how do we basically the east coast across the valley into in and gett the team back again. We tried everything. Direction, 12,000 feet, which is about as high as will fly. Obra all that did is we would get millimeter flak. We tried going down to the south. We tried going to the north. Toward the direction of where caisson was and coming back south from there. Tried low level. Every time we went out we got shot at. We were shot at by big stuff. Not just small arms. And 37 millimeter stuff. Those missions were tough missions. I remember that the north vietnamese were pretty clever about there. They would do is the 51 caliber antiaircraft guns they triangulate them and shoot at you with one and then you had is the triangle. If you rolled in on one broke ng on the way you the second one would open, now i have two. Where is the third. And it became a bit of a guessing game and from their they didnt know how we were going to roll or direction to break or angle of or fly off and suddenly appear at low level. The reason im smiling is it was a game. More often than not we went up. The guys were good. We were just a little bit better. Thats all. So that was a tough time. We did that basically for about month and a half. Then the cav went into the 19, 1968 made major assault during that time frame. Big deal major effort. We lost 24 aircraft the first helicopters. The distinct memories that i a ch 47 hat is that chinook flying down the valley fire coming out of the back of his aircraft. His whole aircraft was on fire. Escorted a ch54 sky crane d10 dozer and we were in the first lift that went in he was actually hovering up the side of this mountain and nfortunately he hovered right past a 37 millimeter that they will dug back into the side of the 37 tain and millimeter opened up on put it n the canopy and blew the helicopter up. That day was a bad day. One of the reasons it was a bad ay is when the assault went in the weather was such that there was a small area over the valley to get over 600 aircraft in and out of. T was maybe a half mile wide and a mile long. And we had an awax plane in rolling everybody going and coming back out. I distinctly remember when we had to come out to rearm and to climb up d through this opening, get boston he clouds above the clouds and fly back to the rearming and refueling point. I can still hear those 37 illimeter and 51 caliber guns shooting. They made a distinct sound there thumping. Nct the back of our seeds were the ed and i slid down in seat as far as i could go and still fly the helicopter. Let me get out of this and stop hearing this noise behind me. As i was basically looking at my instruments and not looking in the d the copilot plane. Eat, he yelled i heard it distinctly and looked phantom re was an f4 coming down all sorts of stuff off him. Never seen some bombs and stuff and coming right directly at us. And i just froze. I didnt know what to do. Do. New what to he rolled his aircraft up on its and he was e by us so close i could see the skull nd crossbones and black helmet he had. All he did is go. Looked back dropped the bombs and off he went. Are memories of that distinctly remember and it was a difficult time there. Fort rucker. Ack in what is it like to come back fter a tour in vietnam to the United States in 1968 . For me it was a special time first son was born a month and a half after i left and i had not seen him. Months old when i came back. Distinctly remember meeting him for first time in the Providence Airport at 12 10 at his mother had him all dressed up and in this cute so forth. Per suit and clark name is stkefrpb darrah jr. She said clarknd here is your daddy and held him out to me. Looked at me and screamed bloody murder. He didnt know who this guy was midnight. All he wanted to do is go to sleep. Coming back was a special time, fred. And i that is when he started to get together and started to bond and so forth. Hat was a very, very special time for me and for him, i think. Two at the time. Fort rucker was kind of interesting. I was assigned to the department of education there working on advanced t officer course putting that together. Of d a chance to play a lot golf. I had some good people i worked worked with s that me. For the first part of it was noticeable for all the stuff going on in vietnam all to this peaceful, quiet, normal, if you will, type environment. And i didnt have a problem with it. That is different there versus here. I like here better. Son here, my wife, so forth. It was a good assignment and i it. Yed fort rucker at that time was doing a lot of good things particularly educationally with into the army. Particularly aviators and so forth. Two years later you are back in vietnam. Right. 101st ssigned to the airborne division. Executive officer. It was an interesting time in 1 19711972. The pair rest peace talks were paris peace talks screw around with each other. We were going to kind of let things go down there and paris. I went back to the exact same area i was in the first tour, dashcam camp edmonds was the south of the kwang tree area. Flew the same areas. Didnt go into the assaw valley, but everywhere around there. We flew over north vietnamese aircraft positions. Theyd wave at us and wed wave at them. It was difficult for these young warrant officers over there. They had been trained, and they were looking for a war. And they wanted a war. They wanted a shooting war. And there was no shooting war going on. And that was a bit of a morale problem because they they wanted to go out and shoot somebody, to be honest with you. That was not the time we wanted to be shooting. We were basically told. It was also a time that drugs started to come in. We never had a problem with anybody related to drugs my first tour over there. If there was a problem, i wasnt told about it. It was just taken care of and the individual left. I dont know how he left or where he left to and so forth. Second tour there were some issues. And they werent dealt with as well as i at the time they came up thought they should have been dealt with. But different times, different people, different places and so forth. And i was with a cav unit for about i guess five or six months, somewhere in that range, and the 101st stood down, rotated back to the states. I didnt have enough time in the country at that time to rotate back with them. I was reassigned to another unit down south, a vip flight attachment in saigon. Wonderful living conditions. Absolutely great, shower, regular beds, a club we could go to, a nice restaurant that had good footd. Good food. The flying was awful. Good food. Ing vips around. The flying was awful. Terrible, flying vips around. I spent a month or two months with that gang. And had enough time in country and had enough time in country when they stood down and then came back. Came back. And your next assignment back in the states . Went to fort benning. I was with the department of instruction for a short period of time. Then i was assigned to the 197th flight infantry brigade, hoping to get a company out there and so forth. I was an assistant s3 for a year and a half. Went tonight school, got an mba with georgia state. The assignment as a Company Commander didnt come about, and i decided i was going to leave the army. Thats when i left new years eve of 74. Looking back at your experience in the army, what two or three things do you take out of that experience that you reflect on today that affected you in any of your dealings today, or what you did after the service . What do you take away from that . I think a couple things have meant a lot to me is im still very close to the guys who were in my platoon. And its enough we have a reunion every year. It was 45 years before we got together. Theres a story around that. How that happened. Now we have about 13 to 15 of us that come to my beach house with their wives every year for a week. And what ive learned to appreciate with that is that you have relationships with people in certain situations, and certain environments that can become very, very special. And they do last. So thats one takeaway. Another takeaway is that if you take care of your men, you take care of your folks, take care of your organization, they, for the most part, will take care of you. Its a leadership issue, as you well know. I think the other takeaway that from my time in the service, its more of a disappointment than anything else, and its not sour grapes or anything. But as compared to my civilian commercial life, if you will, recognition of performance in the military is done on a different basis than my experience was in the commercial world. Not saying its right, not saying its wrong, thats the way it was. I didnt i obviously personally agree with that in the way it was done so i left. I decided to do something else. I dont think its particularly objective, i think it was subjective. If you asked me to do what could have been done for it to be better . I dont have a solution to it. But evaluating somebodys performance, and making clear to them whats expected, not only what to do, but also how to do it, and then having an honest evaluation, i had an issue with the army in that. And i dont think i really preeshtd appreciated that as appreciated that as much until i got in the socalled civilian world. We can evaluate your performance here as being first rate. I think that that. We can evaluate your performance here as being first rate. We appreciate you sharing these stories about vietnam. Its something that i know that people will want to hear about. As they look back in that history time. Thank you, steve. Thanks for the invitation. I enjoyed it. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2018] the interview is with catherine was moreland, wife of william s moreland, who commanded u. S. Forces in vietnam. Mrs. West moreland talks about her life as a military daughter and spouse, and her time serving as a red cross nurses aide during the vietnam war. She recalls hosting president and first ladys as well as her friendship with bob and dolores hope. Thats next sunday, february 4 at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3. Two days before President Trump delivers his first to the union speech, watch past state of the Union Addresses today at noon eastern on American History tv, featuring Ronald Reagan in 1982, president george w. Bush in 1990, president bill clinton in 1994, and president barack obama in 2010. President reagan raising taxes will balance the budget. Raising will balance the budget. Raising taxes will slow economic growth, reduce production, and destroy future jobs. Making it more difficult for those without jobs to find them and more likely that those who now have jobs could lose them. So i will not ask you to try and balance the budget on the backs of the american taxpayer. President bush last fall at the education summit, the governors and i agreed to look at ways to help ensure that our kids are ready to learn. The very first daily walk into i made good on that commitment by proposing a record increase in funds in an extra half billion dollars for something near and dear to all of us. Approach clinton our protects the quality of care and builds on what works today in the private sector, to expand employerbased coverage to guarantee private insurance for every american, and i might say employerbased private insurance for every american was proposed 20 years ago by president Richard Nixon in the United States congress. It was a good idea then, is a better idea today. Obama we cut taxes for 95 of working families. For smalles businesses, we cut taxes for firsttime homebuyers. Findingaxes for parents care for their children. We cut taxes for 8 million americans paying for college. Collects watch today beginning at noon eastern on American History tv on cspan3. President trump where are you from . Flex at the moment i described it at the time as a bizarre moment. It was a surprise when he called me over, but he is the president of the United States and you are in the oval office. He says who are you, come over here . Q a, irish journalist katrina very on covering President Trump and his supporters for the irish media during and after the 2016 election season in her book in america. Three words is incredible i immediately know what hes talking about and playing on the notion that d. C. Is built on a swamp and my draining it, its taking up these horrible people and replacing it with better people whether or not they believed he could fulfill that are not, they were prepared to take a chance on it. Tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspans q a. Up next on the presidency, revolutionary war historian jl bell describes George Washingtons first month as Continental Army commanderinchief. Washington arrived in cambridge, massachusetts and made the town his headquarters until april, 1776. It was there he learned to work with his generals and the Continental Congress while refining his strategy against the british, were encamped in nearby boston. This was part of a symposium held at George Washingtons mount vernon estate and is about 50 minutes. Ms. Schoelwer i am the curator and i have enjoyed meeting many of you over the past few days