I have a few memories of being young here in the United States, but almost no recollections of being young in Vietnam.
People that spend time in a foxhole - they're never going to find that relationship anywhere else again. . . Everything else pales next to that. When you think about the Second World War vets - more than even the Vietnam vets - there's a brotherhood.
At least I'm at peace with myself. I have done my best to write a book about what really happened there and why it happened and it's done, it's published. I won't write another book on Vietnam.
When it came to the Vietnam War, Mr. McNamara was an early advocate of escalation but came to realize the flaws in the American approach earlier than many of his colleagues. Yet in public, he continued to defend the war.
It's Kennedy's war, Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson got all the flak, but it's Kennedy's war.
Vietnam, me love you long time. All day, all night, me love you long time.
Even though Lyndon Johnson's presidency was in many ways scarred forever by the war in Vietnam, and destroyed in a lot of ways, he - as a character - was even larger than his presidency. Being able to get to know him well, that firsthand relationship with this large character, I think is what drew me to writing books about presidents.
Had there been a reporter along with Lieutenant Calley when he massacred those people in Vietnam, I think that probably wouldn't have happened.
Within the soul of each Vietnam veteran there is probably something that says "Bad war, good soldier. " Only now are Americans beginning to separate the war from the warrior.
What really happened in Vietnam was- all these things are away games for the American military. We're not on our home turf, which means to succeed there has to be a partner. And the definition of partnership is someone willing to risk their lives in their home area to prevail because they think it's necessary to build a decent life and a better life for their people.
I wouldn't characterize anybody who fought in Vietnam as a war hero. In 23 bombing sorties, there must have been civilians that were killed and there's no heroism to that.
Wars always evolve over time, don't they? IraqAfghanistan is different than Vietnam, and Vietnam was different than Korea, and Korea was different than World War One, and so on. Some things remain the same, of course - one side fighting another over ideology or a patch of ground - but there are some aspects of combat life which differ radically than their predecessors.
The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust [our own] government statements.
The massive anti-war movement, which I was a part of and which was a major part of my life, never stopped the war in Vietnam.
Obama avoided the Vietnam draft with a letter from his family doctor diagnosing him as medically eight.
I never would've imagined in the first part of my life that I could've stood up and said anything. The war in Vietnam changed me. I was so angry. Some of my speeches probably weren't well considered.
In Japan people drive on the left. In China people drive on the right. In Vietnam it doesn't matter.
I wrote a novel about the combat experiences I didn't have in Vietnam.
On the plane, I like to read fiction set in the location I'm going to. Fiction is in many ways more useful than a guidebook, because it gives you those little details, a sense of the way a place smells, an emotional sense of the place. So, I'll bring Graham Greene's The Quiet American if I'm going to Vietnam. It's good to feel romantic about a destination before you arrive.
I'm not a pacifist. I was very much for the war against Hitler and I also supported the intervention in Korea, but in this war we went in there to steal Vietnam.