You can probably tell that cspn is here. Its really nice when people can hear the questions that you have to ask so please make your way to a microphone if possible. The last thing id like to say, i mentioned this is the second of three events today. We do have about 500 events a year here in the store, probably another 100 or so at other locations including the busboys and poets. A lot to keep track of all those events as well as our classes and trips and other programming. If youre interested this knowing more about what were offering, you can find the information at politicsprose. Com, and we just got our august calendars. Theyre lovely. They are at the information desk. Please, feel free to pick one up so you know whats going on in august. But now to the reason that youre actually here which is the book and the author. Its really a pleasure to host Robert Doubek this afternoon at politics prose. Hell be talking about his new book, creating the vietnam memorial. If you didnt live in washington in the late 1970s or early 1980s, you might not have realized that there was an inside story behind the Vietnam Veterans memorial. Since its completion in 1984, more than 100 Million People have visited the black granite wall, and i suspect that most all of you are among those who have visited it, have marveled at its stark simplicity. I know i have maybe more than a few times and perhaps watched as loved ones passed their fingers over the names or simply stand before the wall to ponder a complicated part of our nations history. The memorial certainly has become a permanent and powerful part of the landscape of the national mall, but its evolution from the vision of a passionate set of advocates to its completion and permanent place, indeed, a complicated story. Rather than take for granted that it simply happened, we now have the full story. Robert was just the person to provide the details. He was part of the conceiving and planning of the monument, was the project director while it was constructed, he had served in vietnam in 1969 with the air force. Now he can add author to his resume. His book is a wonderful addition not only to the history of the city and our nation, but a wonderful chronicle of how ideas, policy, and people intersect in the creation of a National Monument in memory of people who sacrificed so much for our country. Its a pleasure to have you here, its a pleasure to have all of you here. Please join me in welcoming Robert Doubek. [applause] well, thank you very much. Thank you very much, lisa, and i really thank all of my friends, colleagues and come ate rots for compatriots for being here with me. Those of you who i dont know personally, im very happy to see you here as well. Just want to say in the three decades of its existence, the Vietnam Veterans memorial has become an american cultural icon. It symbolizes the difficult period in our history when we were at war this vietnam which was the defining experience of the baby boom generation. The wall, as lisa has explained, as its known has become one of the most haley visited monuments heavily visited monuments in the country. My book tells the story of how it was created and how it came close to not happening at all. As Washington Post reporter kyle murphy wrote in november 1982, the sunday before we dedicated the memorial, quote it is in keeping with the character of the vietnam war that the memorial it begalt has been the center of an emotional debate about artistic renditions of war, patriotism and heroics. Just as a brief recap, in 1979 a group of former Junior Officers and enlisted men came together and founded a Nonprofit Corporation to build a memorial to honor the veterans and the dead of the vietnam war. We perceived its purpose as recognizing the service and sacrifice of those who were there rather than continuing to use them as pawns in a debate for and against the war. A hoped for byproduct would be that the memorial could help reconcile the country after the war since supporters and opponents could agree that the veterans deserved recognition. And that led to the requirement that the memorial itself could not make any political statement about the war itself. And it turned out that we were naive as others perceived a different role for the memorial. To obtain a design, we saw a number of alternatives, one of which was to design it ourselves which is a recipe for disaster. [laughter] a second path was to find the best five architecture firms in the country and hold a Competition Among them. And this, of course, led to the question of how are you going to decide who are the best architecture firms. But we ultimately decided on an idea to hold an open Design Competition to open to any u. S. Citizen over 18 years of age whether their amateur or professional. Not longer after we announced the memorial after we began to hear from are a variety of sundry architects, designers, landscape architects, veterans, all offering to design the memorial for free. And all of us wanted to get to us before those s. O. B. S in the ab tractionist or occupy elitist camps or elitist camps messing up our brains. [laughter] so an open competition appeared to be fair. For all i knew, there could be someone starving in wyoming who was designed to or born to design this. And as we all know, thats almost the way it happened. And we set four basic criteria for the design. First, that it could make no political statement about the war, as we felt that the rancor over the war had more than anything divided deprived the veterans of their recognition. Secondly, the memorial would include an inscription of the 58,000 names of the men who died or remained missing. The intention was to honor all who served, but this would be a special tribute. The third had to do with its location. We had argued very strongly to get the congress to designate this site for us in Constitution Gardens over the objections of the park service. To basically negotiate with the park service, we had to design something that would be harmonious with the site and environment. We couldnt do another lincoln memorial, another Washington Monument, we couldnt sting a helicopter stick a helicopter on a pole, for that matter. The fourth and final criterion was the one that really went to our philosophical base which was that the memorial should be reflective and contemplative this character. We definitely werent thinking of something to make any kind of grand declaration. Now, the most difficult decision was the k06r7 decision of the jury. Composition of the jury. Again, there were advocates for ourselves being the jury and, again, that was a recipe for disaster. Because i knew very little about art and design, and the others knew even less. [laughter] the second idea was to put together a jury that would be representative of all the groups affected with by the war. There would be so many veterans, so many gold star parents, so many antiwar activists and so on. We ultimately decided to have a jury composed of the most experienced and prestigious artists and designers that we could find. And this was very important because with the reputation of the jurors was important to attract the best designers to the competition, and it was also important to minimize second guessing by the federal approval agencies, because theyd already are tied up the memorial to Franklin Roosevelt for 25 years, as we know. Again, as it turned own out, on may 1, 1981, the jury having viewed 1431 1421 industries, unanimously decided on this very stark, simple design submitted by a 21yearold woman p student. Now, wed expected any opposition for the memorial to come from the antiwar and liberal elements of society, and to our surprise and shock, it came mainly from conservatives including powerful and influential individuals like billionaire ross ross perot, jas webb whos now currently a president ial candidate, columnist pat buchanan, the novelist tom wolfe. There were some congressmen, some senators, some members of the staff of the heritage foundation, some members of the staff of the secretary of interior. They, in my opinion, had envisioned the memorial as a vehicle to justify the war and rebuke the Antiwar Movement and celebrate heroism and glory. Thusly, they saw the competitionwinning design as a betrayal. At first glance, their negative perception might have been understandable. After all, in contrast to the gleaming white tower of the Washington Monument, this thing was black and receded into the ground. Secondly, it constituted a space more contemplation rather than a object or a building or any other monument to glory. In my view, the controversy over the design that almost sank the ship constituted a perfect storm as it was intensified by teasing and touching a number of unresolved fault lines in American Society which were still present after the war. Now, these included the question of whether the war itself was right or wrong. There was the question of whether it was ill conceived from the outset or it was lost due to the activities of a domestic fifth column that stabbed that did a back stab. Also the issue was whether the veterans and dead could be horned regardless of honored regardless of whether the war was right or wrong. And finally, you know not finally, but among others, did the memorial have to be realistic andtydidactic, stating ab e wisconsin call an equivocal message and basically allowing a visitor to form his or her own interpretation. And another store point touched by the controversy involved race. Was it appropriate for a person of asian descent to design a memorial to men and women who fought against asians . As the debate dragged on, these fault lines revealed themselves in statements and rumors. We heard that the memorial had been, quote, designed by a go to to gook, that one of the jurors was a communist, that the majority of the jurors had been antiwar activists and also that the memorials abstention of any statement about the war itself amounted to an antiwar statement. The controversy reached such a point that secretary of interior watt was prepared to primarily shoot it down. He was dissuaded by the prospect of a compromise, and how we achieved that, of course, is laid out in my book. [laughter] among other things the book deals with are the challenge of conducting a, the largest Design Competition ever held in the United States and the meticulous task of verifying the accuracy and completeness of 58,000 names that were to be inscribed in stone. And, of course, many people in the book have remained in the National Spotlight over the ensuing three decades including buchanan, chuck hagel, Judith Martin whos miss manners perot, Elizabeth Taylor, john warner and webb. Id like to read a few passages. Okay. This starts off in april of 1979, and and i attended the meeting called for the purpose of generating publicity for Vietnam Veterans needs. Suddenly the lone wolf who hadnt otherwise said a word stood up and threw out his idea. What about a memorial . In view of the discussion, he came totally out of left field. What do you mean, someone said. I mean, having a National Memorial for Vietnam Veterans. Vietnam veterans dont need a memorial, they need better benefits, shot back feldman. A few others make similar remarks and others smirked while the man stood silently. I felt sorry for him. The idea didnt deserve contempt. After the man sat down, i kept looking at him and thinking about his idea. While some Vietnam Veterans truly needed more benefits, most didnt. What all did need, however, was some recognition and acknowledgment of their service in the war. I hadnt faced combat and hadnt been injured, but many had. I met some of the best people in my life in vietnam and in the military in general. Many believed in president kennedys exhortations to bear any burden in the defense of freedom. I resented hearing all of this idealism, hear rowism, sacrifice dismissed with lightlyveiled contempt by the yuppie professional class of washington. It especially galled me since my denizens had demonstrated no morality, courage or idealism. [laughter] theres some good lawyers too. [laughter] all right. The next quote or next passage deals with in december is the 79 1979 senator john warner, really not far away from here, held a breakfast at his house in georgetown to raise the initial money we needed to launch the fundraising campaign. As i rang the doorbell, i laughed to myself about what was on my mind. Soon we would learn the answer to the question in chief; would we get to meet Elizabeth Taylor . [laughter] pressure i was fairly certain that we wouldnt as assumed she stayed at wearns state in virginia. Hollywood stars stopped traffic and turned heads. Okay. Later on this kips a few minutes here skips a few minutes here. The room soon filled up with men in suits with Monica Healey the only woman. It was an equal standoff between two generations of veterannings. Thirteen of us had served in or during vietnam, the 13 corporate reps by and large were old enough to be our fathers. Many were retired military officers who had served in world war ii, korea and vietnam. I started the breakfast line in order to get mine out of the way. By 8 20 the conversation had quieted as men focused on eating while balancing plates and coffee cups on their knees. I sat on thety van under the garden windows. Suddenly, to my left the kitchen door flew open, and warner stepped through decisively. Gentlemen, the chef, he announced. And behind him through the door followed taylor. She wore a pink robe buttoned in front. The robe was tide around her neck by a white cord. On her feet she wore pink slippers which had fluffy white balls matching those on her collars. Officers, attention rang the order in my mind, the same one i had always heard when brass entered the room. Clearly, i wasnt the only one who herald it. The entire room now stood at attention. We formed fairly straight rank, and looking to my left i could see each man holding out his plate at belt level as if presenting arms with scrambled eggs. Taylor, meanwhile, was greeting each individual personally. I now became nervous, i pictured her as a general reviewing troops, and soon it would be my turn. Suddenly, i was gazing into her purpletinged blue eyes surrounded by a reith of raven hair. She had gained some weight, but her face could still launch a thousand ships. I introduced myself and felt her firm handshake. She smiled, and for an instant i appeared i had passed the test. Then sudden isenly she said, whats that . And pointed to my lapel. It was clamped on with a metal flap that folded over. These were cheap. The red cross had given out this type of button when i was a kid. I didnt like them, but for the time being they were all we had. Oh, yes, mrs. Warner, these are our vietnam lapel pins. May i have one . Oh, yes, of course. Finally, i held it between thumb and forefinger and faced a dilemma. The only place it could possibly attach to her clothing was the cord around her they can. The white fluffy ball flared out, resting dangerously close to her breasts. It went through my mind that these were two of the most renowned in the world. To clamp the disc around a cold would require a lot of dexterity. Did i dare to put my hands mere inches from magnificent orbs . She reached, took it, pinned it herself pinned it on the cord. As she moved on, i thought to myself, no guts, no glory. [laughter] all right. This last passage occurred in may. Actually, that was a total of about 18 months later. We had run through gone through the Design Competition and announced the winning design with a press conference at the aia on may 2nd or may 6th, 1981. So this talks about the reaction to the design. This is before, of course, social media and email. The mail in subsequent weeks brought letters from competitors ask veterans, mostly critical of the result. An an ark from california d architect exponded that the design fit it is the meadow setting like a knife wound scar. The American Public has been led by a coterie of nihilist [inaudible] a vietnam veteran called it, quote, a hole in the everett which suggests to me big in and hiding. The publics perception, the pit. A competitor and combat veteran from louisiana, quote, an absolute refusal to acknowledge and is honor the surviving veterans. The proposed memorial reflects the true situation of the vietnam veteran, bury the dead and ignore the needs of the living. His own design was a statue of a soldier sitting slumped over with his rifle across his knees. An architect from washington, d. C. Saw the selection as a disservice to the public, veterans and other competitors as well. With the vets war, this is their monument, and the selection should have been their choice. Give americans something to be proud of. Even his motherinlaw chimed in. Your choice was a joke, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself. An army major said it was, quote, neither inspirational like the Washington Monument nor thought provoking like the iwo jima memorial. He suggested using it as a backdrop and sending the sketch of a huge piece of broken bamboo sticking up with barbed wire twining around it. Another veteran, quote it is much easier to spit in a hole than it is to spit on a statue. One could almost imagine the Selection Committee looking for a design that best made a mockery of the memory of the 58,000 dead. There are other quotes, but youll have to read those for yourself. [laughter] i just, before i conclude, you know, in writing the book and thoughing the reaction, the public reaction to the memorial and the mythology around it, i sometimes think that our opponents may be correct in that the memorial as designed really primarily honors the dead rather than all of the veterans. And this is, i think, especially because design obviously is very strongly overpowered by the inscription of the names which are one of the most powerful elements. But at the same time, i would posit that its really what the country needed. I feel the country needed to mourn, and this, this memorial evoked that. And i would also think that the memorial would have had the same positive effect on the veterans that its had had we styled it at the beginning as simply a memorial to all who died in the war. I know some of my colleagues may my good friend john woods with may disagree. Before we go to questions, i just want to point out there are a number of people here who are mentioned in the book. In the front row is patrick who worked very, who was our primarily account rep for our Public Relations campaign. Leading up to the dedication. To my left is john woods. Hes a disabled combat veteran of the war. He served with me on the entire conceptualization of the Design Competition, and he sat on the panel that accepted the jurys, that accepted the jurys decision. And is there anyone else here thats come in late that ive missed . [inaudible] jim . Jim . Oh, great. This is jim. Hes the marine officer, combat veteran in vietnam, and hes the guy who got up before the Fine Arts Commission in support of maya lins design, and he said ill match anybody medal for medal. [laughter] she won that competition fair and square. [laughter] thanks, jim. [inaudible conversations] oh, did bill oh, bill, i didnt think you were going to make it. I didnt think i was either. Well, this is bill of the cooperlecki partnership who maya lin and i selected, and he shepherded this whole design from a concept into a set of plans and actually got it integral and the construction team. And bill was also the designer of the korean war memorial. Can i say that . Is that correct, bill . Yeah. [applause] the architect. [applause] so if you have a question and could make your way to a microphone, we would be grateful for that. Id like to make a comment rather than a question, but when we talk about the impact this had on veterans, when i went out to the memorial three or four days before it was set to open to set up tv stands and do all of those usual things and the memorial was supposedly blocked off and yet there were people who had gone through the, you know, the blocks. They just threw them aside. And they were out there just bringing momentos already to the memorial before it even opened. I thought at this point, i said, i think this is going to be just fine and to opponents of it are just going to have to give up. So it was a terrific day. [laughter] thanks, pat. Thank you for the book. I very much enjoyed reading the rest of the story. Oh, good. I have two short questions. In several instances you mentioned that you were ambivalent toward the design, that youre not an artist, youre a lawyer. Where do you stand on that today . And then id just like to quote here, this is maya lin. She reportedly was sick at heart wanting to see the memorial built as designed or not at all. He felt we needed to show sufficient respect for the Design Community and let lin testify against it at the commission on fine arts. So has she reconciled herself to the memorial as built . Well, the first one was, yes. I have to say, i mean, as i say in the book during the entire time it was under construction, i would go to work one day and be positive behind it, and then the second day id think we were making a mistake. I mean, it was, again, i was not a designer. I was, you know, my background was a lawyer. I relied upon experts. We had the best jury in the country. But many of the opponents were people i respected for their, you know, their courage, sacrifice and heroism. And i would say nowadays i really think we did the right thing. I mean, and its again, it may be because simply ive gotten her so many overwhelmingly positive comments from complete strangers about it. Your second question had to do with has maya lin reconciled herself [inaudible] you know, i really dont know. I dont think ive ever seen the question, seen any comment from her that pins that down. Hi, paul. Hey. Hi, bob. Thank you very much for the book and all the hard work you did on the memorial, and thank you for inviting me to some of those early meetings even though rm i wasnt one of the good attorneys there in that early group. I met you, of course, at georgetown law school, and jim webb was in our class. Im just curious in terms of some of the player ares now like jack wheeler and jan scruggs, what are they doing now, and do you all get together for anniversary meetings of the group or any upcoming thing . Where do whats the well, paul, you know, as you well know with your activities in support of the, you know, hungarians, all of my nonprofit act difficults have been this support of the activities have been in support of the Czech Republic in the past two decades. And basically, tragically, john wheeler was found murdered in, right after the new years in, i think it was 2001 or 2000 . Oh, thats right. Im sorry. And the crime has not been solved. And jan scruggs continued on as the president of the american friends of the Czech Republic, and he no, thats you. Im sorry. The Vietnam VeteransMemorial Fund and really just stepped down as the chief executive or chief operating officer earlier this year. There was something so the funds still. Existence. The funds in existence. You originally thought it would go out of existence. Thats right. They came back, did a lot of other activities, and i know theyve got underway the idea to build this Education Center on the mall. Excellent. Thank you again. Okay. Before i take another question, i just want to say, just recognize harry robinson. Harry . Harry is also in the book. He was is the dean he was the dean of architecture at howard university. I remember when he called me up and said, bob, im the only dean of a major act tech churl school in this Architectural School in this country to have been wounded and decorate inside vietnam. And he testified before the Fine Arts Commission and led a lot of lent a lot of credibility. Thank you. Yeah. As we talked earlier, i was a reporter at the Washington Times when this was first getting off the ground, and the challenges you had in getting this done as you cited ross perot and jim webb. I wrote some of the stories quoting them, so i know of the things that you did and the particular criticism that a lot of veterans had. And im a vietnam veteran myself was, in fact, just what you said, too much focus on the people who were killed and they certainly deserve a lot of attention. I was wondering now, you have questions like perot and webb and, of course, webb is still back in the limelight again. Sure. Do you hear mig from him about it hear anything from him about it or in general from veterans . As i would agree with what youre saying, it kind of created or established a foundation to allow the nation to heal so there was a broader dynamic and kudos to you for that. Well, when you say no, i have heard nothing, actually, im sort of hoping not to hear from mr. Perot. [laughter] i wont mention donald trump. [laughter] and, no, ive heard nothing from i think at one point several years ago i heard a statement by jim webb saying, you know, he didnt have any problem with it as it was now laid out. As far as my impression is that the memorial has been totally embraced by the veterans, Vietnam Veterans community. I mean, judging by the fact that we have 50,000 motorcycles come for Rolling Thunder every memorial day and there continues to be, you know, tremendous Public Acceptance of the memorial, i think its, i think its served its purpose very well. I would echo that. All right, thank you. Hi, bob. Hello do you feel that the memorial really achieved its objectives . Do we have further to go in terms of healing those wounds from the vietnam war in our Society Today . Well, you know, now youre getting into, youre getting into as we say subjects above my pay grade, but ill take a stab at it. Go ahead. I mean, i think weve done enough. The memorial has done as much as anything, any memorial could do to heal the wounds of the vietnam war. I think one of the, you know, Major Healing elements is that the public embrace, has embraced the veterans for their service. I mean, i dont think theres anybody who is trying to blame the veterans for the war anymore. And on the other hand, i would say that theres always going to be risks in our society, you know . Weve got red states, weve got blue states, and based upon my reading of American History, these riffs go back two centuries or more. Yes, sir. Hi, jim baccar. Two points. One, i wanted to mention at the vertex on the top not only is jan scruggs name inscribed, but also jack wheeler. Yes. And most people, of course, arent even aware that its there. What youre talking about, what the gentleman is referring to is that because, obviously, you build a 10foot dropoff, there was at the beginning everybody thought, well, how are you going to get people from falling over . So the design solution was 11 feet behind the wall to put a curb which is about two feet high. And on that curb where it meets several years after the dedication the Memorial Fund put a cornerstone. And unfortunately, people dont get up there to see it because that areas pretty much blocked off. My name happens to be on it too. [laughter] ill look for it next time i sneak up there. All right. The other point, the Education Center. Where do you come down on the Education Center, pro or against . Some people are afraid that its gobbling up great space on the mall. Ill, frankly, its not id prefer not to i dont have an opinion. Thats what i can say. Hi. My names rick, and i want to thank all of you who participated. I get choked up every time i go through there. I wasnt a vet, but i lost a good friend. And contemplating and reflective is above my pay grade. But as a former teacher, i have two simple true false questions. One, did maya lins professor somewhere the competition . True or false . False. Thank you. Contrary to what we often hear from the tour guides and other experts. Be and, two, did maya lins professor, undeed, give her a c indeed, give her a c on the project . False. Thank you. Okay thank you for clarifying. If you turn to the postscripts in my book, if i have time for this, there was a in 2002 the new yorker published a long article about maya lin. They had a fullpage picture of her, and they said that we had betrayed her by adding the statue. My letter to the editor published in response to the article pointed out the efforts head by v. V. Mist to defend her design. A few weeks after my letter appeared in the new yorker, i received a letter from lins professor. He also had had to deal with misconceptions over the years. Regarding the b grade he had given her for the design, it was actually an a. The bpresident and he considera gift. Hed assigned the memorial as the last project. Her first idea was a, quote, piece of heroic sculpture, and he suggested another direction. Burr had enlisted two architects to join him as jurors for the final class presentation in which lin presented a scheme of a line of falling dominoes. One of the architects suggest she drop the dominoes and, quote, leave the wall. Then one of the jurists or another student suggested that it continue underground continuing the idea of a great buried box. Thanks for the question. Next question. Ham, with the camera maam, with the camera, could you make actually, i have two questions. First question is with all the negativity surrounding the war, i mean, from the total cost to our nation in both lives and funding, how whats your opinion as to why the wall is so popular . Well, bob, i think its a combination of the fact that the, again, the war was the experience of our generation, and it touched so many people. And i think the wall is popular for two reasons, because it speaks to that memory that is in the consciousness of the nation, but i believe it also speaks because of its unique and beautiful design. Which, again, is sort of figuring out why is, again, above my pay grade. So second question is knowing all the obstacles that you went through, you know, to and some of them seemed very unsurmountable i imagine at one time or another. What was the turning point where you felt that this was actually going to happen . Well, it happened on monday [laughter] may, it happened on monday, march 15, 1982 the. Mr. And i called up john parsons at the National Capital region, and i said, john, do you think whats the status of the permit . He said, its ready. And i said, okay. And i got in a cab, i went down to the mall, and its this big stack of, you know, requirements. And john said, well, dont you think dont you have to the get your boards approval of, boards consent before you sign that . I said, john, i have all the authority i need. [laughter] and i walked away with it, i called up jan scruggs, and i said, jan, i got the permit. I got the damn permit. [laughter] and we called up gil bain, and that was a monday. We had the mall torn up by the end of the week. Theres a picture in the book. We did not want to go through another weekend with the threat of a injunction by ross perot out over our heads. Yes. Hi, david. Hey, bob. Could you make a comment on two individuals . I know you mentioned john parsons yes. And could you tell them how critical he was to you, one, and two, could you also talk a little bit about general michael s. Davis . Oh, yes. Please. We had, you know, in this project there are, i think, i go through my index which my publisher made me create myself, and i have almost a thousand headings. So when you think probably twothirds of them are names of people. So there were a lot of individuals involved and played various, various roles. That was Davis Buckley, this is Davis Buckley who we interviewed to be who we interviewed to be professional adviser on the Design Competition and id also like to point out where we have the designer of the korean war memorial, davis is the designer of the Law Enforcement officers memorial at judiciary square. John parsons was the head of Land Use Planning for the National Capital region. And as i write in the book, he was the guy who stuck his neck out to help us get this thing built. And he was sort of on the cusp between this political thrust coming from the secretary watts office. And as i write in the book, if there was anybody who would have been hung out to dry had this thing gone south, it would have been john parsons. But he stuck with it the whole time. So i know i correspond with john, hes retired in South Carolina at this point. General michael s. Davison was, as i write in my book, central casting could not have created a better image of a general than michael s. Davison in the flesh. He at the anal of 27 had age of 27 had commanded an infantry regiment in italy in world war ii. He was a fourstar general, commanded the army in europe. He also was the commander of the, he commanded the invasion of cambodia. By the time we met him, he was out of the service, he was working for an engineering firm. He was also the president of the uso. And he embraced our cause. And help, you know, for someone, as i say, an officer, a professional warrior to do so much to save a very quiet, contemplative piece of art. And, well, theres many stories i can tell ant about him, but two things. He took on the, he took on the, how could i say, the questionable role of being our interface with mr. Perot. And secondly, hes the one who actually stood up at this heated meeting in january of 1982 and said why dont we keep wall intact and add a statue to the site . [laughter] of and that was basically what started the process of achieving the compromise and scaling down the statue to a realistic size and locating it so it was compatible with the wall. Thanks, davis. I think we have time for one or two more questions. Looks like we have at least one. So ill be 1a. [laughter] im phil actually, and i had the privilege of learning, working with bob in a financial institution. His knowledge of jurisprudence actually solved problems. Maybe in some cases it doesnt, but i know bob knows how to attack problems. Secondly, i want to commend you on how well and how precisely you described Elizabeth Taylors confrontation [laughter] perfect, perfect. Ive never known you to do it so nicely, bob. [laughter] and third, the combat in vietnam just was so disheartening for everyone, but for you to bring to the public your combat to get this memorial approved, i salute you. Here, here. [applause] i must point out that i have at home framed hanging in a powder room a cartoon that appeared in the Chicago Tribune which was wag probe opposed memorial to the what was proposed memorial to the designers of the vietnam war memorial. [laughter] hi, bob. Im bruce, and i work with you and phil back at first american. You know, you coffer in addition to being a marvelous storyteller, and i couldnt put your book down even though ive known a lot about it and had a few words to say about it over the last couple of years that weve been talking about, but you mention and bring to light a lot of personal issues of your own and career path and, you know, lawyer and your dissatisfaction with things. And i think that the folks here would probably be interested to know one of the things that you really also took away besides the satisfaction of building this phenomenal memorial, and that is that you have become a builder of memorials. And perhaps the folks here would hike to know about your other triumphings in that respect which were maybe not as controversial, but very, very significant, and and people should look for them when they are in the places that they exist. Perhaps you could enlighten them. Well, thank you, bruce. I think what bruce is referring to, my grand parents were czech immigrants, and when the revolution, velvet revolution happened in 1989, i was sort of overjoyed and astounded, and i wanted to see what i could do to see how we, americans of czech extraction, could assist the new democracy and help the president. I founded an organization in 95 called the american friends of the Czech Republic primarily to be the advocate to get the czechs into nato. The foundation continued, and the next project or the next famous we built the memorial at, across from the cosmos club at 23rd and mass avenue to the president liberator of czechoslovakia this 1918. In 1918. That has become a mecca for every delegation coming from prague. Any official delegation goes there, places a wreath. 2006 there was a parliamentary delegation, they were so proud and so grateful, i said there has to be a second act. And i recalled from memory there had once been a monument to Woodrow Wilson in prague. And i researched it. It had been built in 1928 with funds contributed by americans of czech and slovac descent. It had been torn down by the nazis three days after pearl harbor. So i said, well, are we going to let these gnats says have the nazis have the last word . So i proposed to the board, we embraced the project, and we rededicated the Woodrow Wilson monument in prague in october, 2011. When you go to prague, make sure to go to wilson station and see the monument to wilson. Thank you. [applause] bob . Yes, john. Oh, yes. Well, i might also mention that we also established a very small monument to president havel in the, in alumni square in georgetown, university, which is a very quiet little garden weve created with a chair and a table with a linden tree growing out of it which is the Czech National tree. So well, thank you all so much. Thank you, all. Thank you, bob [applause] we have more up front. Well do a signing right here, and thank you all so much for coming. [inaudible conversations] interested this American History . Watch American History television on cspan3 every weekend. 48 hours of people and events that help document the american story. Visit cspan. Org history for more information. In an upstairs room in the capitol, senator ted kennedy slammed his hand down on the table with a force that shook the room. His hefty body, now raised from his seat, angled across the solid wooden surface as he glared at president george h. W. Bushs chief of staff, john sununu. Their heads inches apart, their heads inches apart, kennedy screamed at sununu, you want to fight . Fight with me. You want to yell . Yell at me. Kennedys face was red with anger. The tendons bulging from his neck. Sununu suddenly became pale and quiet and backed down. So is at that table were all of the sort of major sioux city ses involved in the act, and the meeting was called together because after ten weeks of stafflevel negotiations between the white house and the senate, some progress had been made, but a deadlock was now apparent. The heavyweights who are orrin hatch, tom harbin, attorney general Dick Thornburg and others tom harkin. One by one they came in, and harkin brought along his aide, bobby silverstein, who was one of the people who drafted the ada that they were discussion. He was a lawyer. Thatter and discussing. And after some brief chitchat, the principals began their own discussion. Sununu was known to be a hardliner and official bad cop. Hatch leaned over and whispered into the ear of his staffer, you watch. In 15 minutes, youll see how impassioned kennedy is about this bill. Kennedy himself had family members who were disabled and, of