They Marched Into Sunlight
Page 1
Also by David Maraniss
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton
The Clinton Enigma
The Prince of Tennessee: Al Gore Meets His Fate
(with Ellen Nakashima)
“Tell Newt to Shut Up!” (with Michael Weisskopf)
SIMON & SCHUSTER
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2003 by David Maraniss
All rights reserved,
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reprint “Elegy” from Archeology of the Circle, by Bruce Weigl. Copyright © 1999 by Bruce Weigl. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Book design by Ellen R. Sasahara
Maps designed by Gene Thorp
Picture Section Credits
Tom Grady photos: 1, 11, 19, 24. The Daily Cardinal: 2, 30, 32, 35, 42. Allen Family photo album: 3, 5. First Infantry: 4, 6. 28th Regiment photo: 7, 8, 9, 10, 16. Army Signal Corps photo: 12. Sikorski family photo album: 13, 14. Tom Hinger photo album: 15. Clark Welch collection: 17, 18. Verland Gilbertson: 20. Richard Calef: 21, 22. Ed Amorosi collection: 23. Fagan Publishing Co. postcard: 25. Jane Brotman photo album: 26. Betty Menacher photo album: 27. The Capital Times: 28, 29, 31, 33, 43, 44. Wisconsin State Journal: 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. Connections: 41. David Maraniss: 45. Consuelo Allen: 46. Linda Maraniss: 47.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maraniss, David.
They marched into sunlight : war and peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967 / David Maraniss.
p. cm.
1. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961–1975—United States. 2. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961–1975—Protest movements—United States. 3. United States—Politics and government—1963–1969.
I. Title.
DS558.M35 2003
959.704’31—dc21 2003052885
ISBN 13: 978-0-7432-6255-2
ISBN 0-7432-6255-7
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
TO ELLIOTT AND MARY MARANISS, MY PARENTS
Contents
Cast of Characters
A Brief Preface
Book One
1 Sailing to Vung Tau
2 Triet’s March South
3 Lai Khe, South Vietnam
4 El Paso, Texas
Book Two
5 Song of Napalm
6 Madison, Wisconsin
7 Soglin’s Thrill
8 Sewell’s Predicament
Book Three
9 “What a Funny War!”
10 Guerrilla Theater
11 Johnson’s Dilemma
12 No Mission Too Difficult
13 Michigan Men
14 For Want of Rice
15 “The Trees Are Moving”
16 Ambush
17 Holleder’s Run
18 “The News Is All Bad”
19 The Spectacle
20 “That’s All There Is?”
21 Down with Dow
22 Moments of Decision
23 Stars and Stripes
24 “Bombing Washington”
25 Body Count
26 “Tragedy Beyond Our Words”
27 A Life’s Worth
28 Until the Angels Came
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Cast of Characters
Vietnam Story
Albin, Ray: Delta weapons platoon mortars plotter
Allen, Consuelo: Oldest daughter of Terry Allen Jr.
Allen, Jean Ponder: Wife of Terry Allen Jr.
Allen, Terry, Jr.: 2/28 Black Lions battalion commander
Allen, Terry, Sr.: World War II First Infantry Division commander
Arias, Michael: Alpha radiotelephone operator
Barrow, Clarence: Delta first sergeant
Blackwell, James: Black Lions intelligence officer
Bolen, Jackie: Delta squad leader
Breeden, Clifford: Alpha rifleman, first man killed in October 17 battle
Buentiempo, Ernest: Alpha radiotelephone operator
Bunker, Ellsworth: U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam
Burrows, George: Reconnaissance platoon rifleman
Byrd, Dwayne: Delta acting platoon leader
Cash, John A.: Military historian of October 17 battle
Colburn, Tom: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Coleman, William: First Infantry assistant division commander
Coonly, Bill and Bebe: El Paso friends of Terry Allen Jr.
Costello, Joe: Alpha grenadier
Cron, Doug: Delta rifleman from C Packet
DePuy, William: Hay’s predecessor as First Infantry Division commander
Dowling, Francis: Black Lions sergeant major
Durham, Harold (Pinky): Delta artillery forward observer
Eastman, Phil: Doctor at Ninety-third Evacuation Hospital
Edwards, Peter: Alpha platoon leader
Erwin, Bill: Reconnaissance platoon leader
Farrell, Michael: Alpha radiotelephone operator from C Packet
Gallagher, Michael: Alpha rifleman
Garcia, Melesso: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Gavin, James G.: Retired general and war critic
George, Jim: Alpha Company commander from C Packet
Giannico, Paul: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Giap, Vo Nguyen: Commander in chief of the North Vietnamese Army
Gilliam, Jim: Delta radiotelephone operator
Grady, Tom: Alpha executive officer from C Packet
Grider, Edward: Alpha rifleman
Griego, Santiago: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Grosso, Gerard: Black Lions air operations officer
Hay, John H.: First Infantry Division commander
Hinger, Tom: Alpha medic
Ho Chi Minh: Leader of North Vietnam
Holleder, Don: First Brigade operations officer, former Army football star
Johnson, Willie C.: Alpha platoon leader
Jones, Bernard Francis: Special Forces captain
Jones, James: Alpha forward observer aide
Kasik, Jim: Bravo Company commander
Kirkpatrick, Fred: Delta point man
Lam, Nguyen Van: Commander of C-1 Company, Eighty-third Rear Service Group
Landon, Gregory: Delta radiotelephone operator from C Packet
Laub, David: Delta radiotelephone operator
Locke, Eugene M.: Deputy ambassador to South Vietnam
Lovato, Joe, Jr.: Delta Company medic
Luberda, Andrew: Delta platoon leader
McGath, Bill: Delta rifleman from C Packet
McMeel, Frank: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Miller, Peter: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Mullen, Thomas V.: Alpha platoon leader
Newman, George: First Brigade commander
Phillips, Raymond: Delta radiotelephone operator
Reece, Ronnie: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Reese, Thomas: Charlie Company commander
Schroder, Jack: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Scott, Jimmy: Delta radiotelephone operator
Scott, Paul D.: Delta radiotelephone operator
Sena, Faustin: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Shelton, Jim: Black Lions operations officer
Sikorski, Daniel: Delta
machine gunner and squad leader
Sikorski, Diane: Danny’s little sister in Milwaukee
Sloan, John: Black Lions operations officer
Smith, Mark: Reconnaissance platoon sergeant
Stroup, David: Delta platoon leader
Tallent, Doug: Delta weapons platoon from C Packet
Taylor, Mike: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Thompson, Gerald: Delta squad leader
Tizzio, Pasquale: Black Lions radiotelephone operator
Triet, Vo Minh: VC First Regiment deputy commander
Troyer, Mike: Delta rifleman from C Packet
Valdez, José: Alpha first sergeant
Warner, Terry: Delta weapons sergeant from C Packet
Welch, A. Clark: Delta Company commander
Westmoreland, William C.: Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, commander
Weyand, Frederick C.: III Corps commander
Woodard, Carl: Alpha squad leader
Wisconsin Story
Archer, Sandra: San Francisco Mime Troupe actor
Bablitch, William: UW law student and demonstration observer
Beutel, A. P. (Dutch): Washington lobbyist for Dow Chemical Company
Boll, James: Dane County district attorney
Brandes, Stuart: History doctoral student and observer
Brandt, E. N.: Dow Chemical Company director of public relations
Brotman, Jane: UW freshman from New Jersey
Bunn, Peter: UW assistant dean of students
Center, Charles: UW business school professor
Cheney, Lynne: UW doctoral student in English literature
Cheney, Richard B.: UW graduate student in political science and future vice president
Cipperly, Jack: UW assistant dean of students
Cohen, Robert: UW graduate student and leftist orator
Coyote, Peter: San Francisco Mime Troupe actor
Davis, Ronald G.: San Francisco Mime Troupe director
Dietrich, Cathy: UW student politician and Soglin girlfriend
Doan, Herbert Dow: Dow Chemical Company president and grandson of founder
Dow, H. H.: Dow Chemical Company founder
Edelson, Morris: UW English graduate student and Quixote editor
Emery, William: Madison chief of police
Fleming, Robben: UW chancellor before Sewell
Gabriner, Bob: UW history graduate student and Connections editor
Gabriner, Vicki: UW graduate student and mime artist
Genack, Judy: UW senior and March on the Pentagon participant
Gerstacker, Carl: Dow Chemical Company chairman
Goldberg, Harvey: UW professor of European history
Goodman, Jerilyn: UW freshman and observer
Goodwin, Everett: UW music school student at Dow demonstration
Hanson, Ralph: UW chief of protection and security
Harrington, Fred Harvey: UW president
Harrington, Jack: Police inspector
Haslach, Henry: UW Students for a Democratic Society leader
Hendershot, William (Curly): Dow Chemical Company college recruiter
Julian, Percy: Madison lawyer representing student activists
Kaplan, William: UW junior and antiwar activist at Dow demonstration
Kauffman, Joseph: UW dean of student affairs
Keene, David A.: UW graduate student and Young Americans for Freedom chairman
Krasny, Michael: UW English teaching assistant and Dow demonstration observer
Lenburg, Norm: Wisconsin State Journal photographer of Stielstra picture
Leonard, Jerris: Wisconsin senate majority leader and Nixon supporter
Leslie, Jack: Dane County deputy sheriff
Lipp, Jonathan: High school senior and March on the Pentagon participant
McCarthy, Tom: Madison police detective injured at Dow demonstration
McGovern, Susan: UW sociology senior at Dow demonstration
McMillin, Miles: Editor of the Capital Times, Madison’s liberal newspaper
Menacher, Betty: UW freshman inside Commerce Building during demonstration
Mosse, George: UW European history professor and expert on nationalism
Nathan, Eric: UW junior at Dow demonstration
Oberdorfer, Michael: UW graduate student and Connections photographer
Pickart, John: UW music school student and observer of Dow demonstration
Reiter, Michael: UW doctoral student and lawyer for antiwar protesters
Roehling, Al: Madison police officer at demonstration
Rolf, Ray: Dow Chemical Company director of recruiting
Roseleip, Gordon: Conservative orator in Wisconsin senate
Rowen, Jim: UW English graduate student at Dow demonstration
Schiro, George: Madison police captain inside Commerce Building
Seward, William B.: Dow Chemical Company publicist
Sewell, William: UW chancellor in 1967 and professor of sociology
Shapiro, Marshall: WKOW radio news reporter
Simons, Billy: UW student leader at Dow demonstration
Smail, R. W.: UW history professor and expert on Vietnam
Smith, Kent: UW student and March on the Pentagon participant
Soglin, Paul: UW graduate student at Dow demonstration and future Madison mayor
Stark, Evan: UW sociology graduate student and leader of Dow demonstration
Steiner, Alison: High school senior and March on the Pentagon participant
Stielstra, Jonathan: UW junior who cut American flag cable atop Bascom Hall
Wagner, Dave: UW student and Connections writer
Wheadon, Dave: Worker at Oscar Mayer and March on the Pentagon participant
Williams, William Appleman: UW history professor and theorist on American imperialism
Zeitlin, Maurice: UW sociology professor and antiwar activist
Washington Story
Califano, Joseph: White House assistant to the president
Cater, Douglass: White House assistant to the president
Christian, George: White House press secretary
Christopher, Warren: Assistant attorney general
Clark, Ramsey: Attorney general
Fortas, Abe: Supreme Court justice and LBJ confidant
Helms, Richard: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Johnson, Lady Bird: First lady of the United States
Johnson, Lynda Bird: Daughter of the president
Johnson, Lyndon Baines: President of the United States
Johnson, Tom: Assistant press secretary, note taker
Katzenbach, Nicholas: Deputy secretary of state
Kissinger, Henry: Harvard professor and Johnson administration consultant
Leonhart, William: Assistant to the president
McNamara, Robert S.: Secretary of defense
Robb, Charles S.: Marine Corps major, Wisconsin graduate, future LBJ son-in-law
Rostow, Walt V.: National security adviser
Rusk, Dean: Secretary of state
Wheeler, Earle G.: Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman
A Brief Preface
THIS BOOK is shaped around two events that occurred contemporaneously during two days in the sixties—October 17 and 18, 1967. The first was an ambush in Vietnam that occurred when the Black Lions, a renowned battalion of the First Infantry Division, marched into the jungle on a search-and-destroy mission forty-four miles northwest of Saigon. The second was a demonstration at the University of Wisconsin where antiwar protestors staged a sit-in aimed at preventing the Dow Chemical Company, manufacturers of napalm, from recruiting on the Madison campus. The title is taken from the first line of “Elegy” by Bruce Weigl, a poem about U.S. infantrymen in Vietnam marching into sunlight on their way to a deadly ambush. But the image applies to all the people of this book who were caught up in the battles of war and peace during that turbulent era. Soldiers in Southeast Asia, student protesters in the United States, President Johnson and his advisers
at the White House—they lived in markedly different worlds that were nonetheless dominated by the same overriding issue, and they all, in their own ways, seemed to be marching toward ambushes in those bright autumn days of 1967.
Book One
Some say that we shall never know and that to the Gods we are like flies that the boys kill on a summer day, and some say, on the contrary, that the very sparrows do not lose a feather that has not been brushed away by the finger of God.
—Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Chapter 1
Sailing to Vung Tau
THE SOLDIERS REPORTED one by one and in loose bunches, straggling into Fort Lewis from late April to the end of May 1967, all carrying orders to join a unit called C Packet. Not brigade, battalion, or company, but packet. No one at the military base in Washington State had heard of C Packet until then. It was a phantom designation conceived by military planners to meet the anxious demands of war.
The early arrivals were billeted on the far northern rim of the army base in a rotting wooden barracks with flimsy walls known derisively as “the pit.” Many of them checked in at night after long flights and bus rides from forts in Louisiana and Texas or home leaves in the Midwest, and for them morning sunlight revealed an ethereal vision. Out the window, in the distance, rose majestic Mount Rainier. But after gaping at the snowcapped peak, they had little to do. Some were attached temporarily to an engineering battalion, the 339th, but they had no duties. A captain named Jim George, trim and handsome, a marathon runner fresh from the Eighth Infantry Division in Germany, led them through morning calisthenics and long-distance running, which was a drag except for the sight of flaccid lieutenants wheezing and dropping to one knee. One lazy Saturday they organized a picnic at the beach club and grilled hamburgers but ran out of beer, so a young officer rounded up a squad of privates and marched them to the PX and back on a mission for more. It was perhaps the best executed training maneuver of their stay.