They Marched Into Sunlight
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from presidential aide Joseph Califano: “For the President, From Joe Califano. The White House, Washington, 12:40 P.M., Tuesday, October 17, 1967,” LBJ. The president signed off on his one-sentence response at 1:40; a handwritten notation on the memo says, “Relayed by phone to JC in Cater’s office.”
The second note came: “Memorandum for the President, Tuesday, October 17, 1967, 1:00 P.M., White House Situation Room,” LBJ. The 6:30 A.M. Vietnam memo from the White House Situation Room provided a brief report on the October 16 firefight involving Clark Welch and his company but not on the October 17 ambush, though it already had taken place.
Johnson sat down: “Notes of the President’s Meeting,” October 17, 1967, Tom Johnson Notes, box 1, LBJ.
That afternoon in El Paso: Ints. Jean Ponder Allen Soto, February 3, 2001; Bill and Bebe Coonly, February 2, 2001; Jonathan and Pat Rodgers, February 4, 2001; Albert Schwartz, February 3, 2001.
Chapter 19: The Spectacle
They settled for a prefabricated: Int. Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; various correspondence with Jim Rowen and Susan McGovern.
From the front bedroom: Ints. Paul Soglin, April 10, 2002, June 22, 2001.
William Sewell, the chancellor, had arrived: Ints. William Sewell, August 10, 2000, April 22, 2001; William H. Sewell oral history interviews conducted by Laura Smail, 1977, 1983, 1985, University of Wisconsin archives.
Hanson had been up since four: Unprocessed Hanson papers; int. Lucille Hanson, June 11, 2001; Robben Fleming letter, June 28, 1967. The final paragraphs of the letter read: “You may note that I have given you a new tie. Thus, you are forever identified with the University of Wisconsin, even though you are soon to leave us for Michigan. I don’t know whether or not you have a pastime, but I do know that you keep your cool on the barricades. This has been inspirational to many of us and I know your presence will be sorely missed here on the Madison campus.”
The demonstration began at nine thirty: Capital Times, October 17, 1967, Scotton Report.
This caught the attention of: Testimony of Ralph Hanson at SSC, November 2, 1967, Legislative Reference Bureau; Stark, “In Exile,” History and the New Left, ed. Paul Buhle, 166–77; Evan Stark interview transcript, The War at Home, SHSW; int. Evan Stark, July 16, 2002; Joseph F. Kauffman letter to Chancellor R. W. Fleming, March 10, 1967, Fleming papers, UW.
the demonstrators gathered for an hour: Video and tape recording of October 16 demonstration, original film by Blake Kellogg, WKOW-TV, SHSW; “Why We Sit In,” appendix D, Scotton report; “Memo to: Dean Joseph F. Kauffman, from Jack W. Cipperly, Subject: Description of the events of October 17 and 18, 1967,” unprocessed Cipperly papers.
a spectacle of another form: “Memorandum to Dean Kauffman, from Peter Bunn, Re: Meetings with Anti-Dow Coordinating Committee, October 9–17, 1967,” appendix F, Scotton report; “The Great Dow War,” Connections, November 1, 1967.
Into this unsettled place: Ints. Ronald G. Davis, May 8, 2002; Morris Edelson, May 10, 2002; Michael Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; Coyote, Sleeping Where I Fall; Davis, The San Francisco Mime Troupe.
Chapter 20: “That’s All There Is?”
The morning after the battle: Int. Vo Minh Triet, January 30–31, 2002.
Soldiers from Rear Service Group 83: Int. Nguyen Van Lam, February 5, 2002; also discussions by Triet and Lam during tour of battlefield with author, Clark Welch, and translator Kyle Horst, January 31, 2002.
When men from Bravo and Charlie companies: Int. Thomas F. Reese, March 8, 2001; Sloan interview; Kasik report; 28th Regiment Vietnam Unit History, Koch recollections.
when Lieutenant Grady held muster: Ints. Tom Grady, March 27, 2002; Tom Hinger, March 12, 2000.
The only job to be done: Ints. Gerald Thompson, May 26, 2001; Mike Troyer, August 21, 2002; Tom Colburn, October 19, 2002; Larry McDevitt, March 16, 2001; Tom Grady, March 27, 2002; Jim Shelton, March 13, 2000.
This is not Vietnam: Ints. Joe Costello, November 3, 2000; Jim George, May 27, 2001; letters from Jim George to wife Jackie, October 18–31, 1967.
The Ninety-third had more of the atmosphere: Daily Staff Journal or Duty Officer’s Log, 93rd Evac Hosp, 1 July 67 to 21 October 67, NARA; Report of Army Medical Service Activities, 93rd Evacuation Hospital, Calendar Year 1967.
Clark Welch was taken: Ibid.; Ints. Clark Welch, January 28–February 8, 2002; Clarence Barrow, October 16, 2000; Greg Landon, June 19, 2002; Dwayne Byrd, October 18, 2000; Santiago Griego, October 17, 2002; John Fowler, January 18, 2001; Faustin Sena, October 18, 2002.
It had been a typical morning: “Schedule of Events for General W. C. Westmoreland, Sunday October 15 to Monday, October 23,” Westmoreland papers, MHI; “General Westmoreland’s History Notes, 16 October–12 November 1967,” MHI.
Lieutenant Grady was just leaving: Ints. Tom Grady, March 27, 2002; Louis Menetrey, April 28, 2000; Gerard Grosso, December 13, 2002.
how to explain this: “General Westmoreland’s History Notes, 16 October–12 November 1967,” MHI; notes of John Hay interview with oral historian George MacGarrigle, CMH; ints. Bert Quint, August 16, 2001; Kurt Volkert, August 16, 2001; “Radio-TV Defense Dialog,” broadcasts of October 19, 1967, transcript of CBS Evening News broadcast, 6:30 P.M., “Big Red One Catastrophic Battle,” Lichty archives. At his old Victorian house in Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University professor Lawrence Lichty has developed an unmatched private archive of documents concerned with the media and war, especially television and Vietnam. His interest began in the 1960s when he taught at Wisconsin.
“I want every man right now”: Int. Tom Grady, March 27, 2002; letters from Michael Arias, Ray Albin, Mike Taylor, Mike Troyer, Jim George, Greg Landon, October 18, 1967, from Lai Khe and evacuation hospitals.
“Elements of the U.S. Army’s 1st Brigade”: News release, Office of Information, United States Assistance Command Vietnam, 18 October 1967, MACV Communiqué.
the young anchor Peter Jennings: Radio-TV Defense Dialog, broadcasts of October 18, 1967, 6:30 P.M. “Peter Jennings and the News, ABC-TV, Comments on the Ambush Near Saigon,” Lichty archive.
Chapter 21: Down with Dow
a battalion of students: Ints. Paul Soglin, April 10, 2002; Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; Jonathan Stielstra, August 20–21, 2001; Michael Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Stuart Brandes, August 6, 2001; William Kaplan, March 28, 2001; account of Stuart Brandes, written 3–5 P.M., October 18, 1967. Brandes, the history doctoral student, wanted to record his observations for history, which he did immediately after the demonstration. His account began: “I am now sitting in my carrel in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. I have just witnessed the first riot of my young life. As an historian I know how inaccurate accounts of riots are, and I would like to set down my observations while they are clear in my mind.”
That would be the San Francisco: Ints. Ronald G. Davis, May 8, 2002; Vicki Gabriner, December 27, 2001; Coyote, Sleeping Where I Fall.
ragged but diversely attired line: Ints. Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001; April 10, 2002; Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; Jonathan Stielstra, August 21, 2001.
From his office window: Sewell testimony before Senate Select Committee, October 25, 1967, Legislative Reference Bureau; int. with William Sewell, August 10, 2000.
Harrington, the university president, left Madison: Harrington testimony before SSC, October 24, 1967, LRB; Scotton Report.
Ralph Hanson assembled his troops: Testimony of Ralph Hanson before SSC, November 2, 1967, LRB; Scotton Report.
Schiro and his men observed quietly: George Schiro testimony before SSC, November 3, 1967, LRB; Scotton Report.
Center descended from his office: Charles C. Center, “Statement prepared as an eyewitness account of the episode of violence on the Madison campus,” October 18, 1967, UW; Hanson testimony at SSC, November 2, 1967, LRB.
Hanson targeted three student leaders: Ibid.; Scotton Report.
Emery took the call: Testimony of William Emery at SSC, LRB; int. James Boll, Augus
t 9, 2001.
Consuelo Allen and her younger sisters: Ints. Jean Ponder Allen Soto, February 3, 2001; Bill and Bebe Coonly, February 3, 2001; Consuelo Allen, February 2–4, 2001; Albert Schwartz, February 3, 2001.
curious bystanders like Jane Brotman: Ints. Jane Brotman, January 23, 2001, April 8, 2002.
a platoon of sociology professors: Int. Hal Winsborough, July 10, 2001.
Jack Cipperly was standing: Cipperly memo to Dean Kauffman, “Description of Events of October 17 and 18, 1967”; int. with Jack Cipperly, June 19, 2001.
The lot was full: Testimony of Sgt. Kenneth Buss at SSC, November 3, 1967, LRB; ints. Percy Julian, August 24, 2001; Al Roehling, August 17, 2001.
tensions evident within that foursome: Ints. William Sewell, August 20, 2000; Joseph F. Kauffman, June 19, 2001; Sewell testimony at SSC, October 25, 1967, LRB.
Hanson shared Sewell’s caution: Hanson testimony at SSC, November 2, 1967, LRB; Marshall Shapiro, August 16, 2001; Shapiro testimony at SSC, October 23, 1967, LRB.
Stark and three escorts: “The Great Dow War,” Connections, November 1–14, 1967; Scotton Report, UW; transcripts of Sewell, Hanson, Kauffman, and Emery testimony at SSC, October 23–November 9, 1967; ints. Evan Stark, July 16, 2002; Percy Julian, August 24, 2001; William Sewell oral history interviews by Laura Smail, 1977, 1983, 1985.
Chapter 22: Moments of Decision
Miss Sifting and Winnowing pranced: Int. Vicki Gabriner, December 27, 2001; communications with Richard Swearingen, January 15, 2003.
William Bablitch, a third-year law: Testimony of William Bablitch at SSC, October 23–November 7, 1967, LRB.
Betty Menacher, the freshman: Ints. Betty Menacher, April 27, 2001, April 8, 2002; Jerrilyn Goodman, August 8, 2001; Michael Krasny, May 2, 2001; John Pickart, April 8, 2001; Everett Goodwin, May 17, 2001; John Pickart letter to Pam Crane, October 19, 1967.
To make the detention process: Transcripts of testimony of William Emery, Ralph Hanson, and Marshall Shapiro at SSC, October 23–November 9, 1967, LRB; Scotton Report; private uncatalogued papers of Ralph Hanson.
Stuart Brandes, looming: Ints. Stuart Brandes, August 6, 2001; William Kaplan, March 28, 2001; Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; Robert Swacker, May 2, 2002; Jonathan Stielstra, August 21, 2001, Michael Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; account of Stuart Brandes, written 3–5 P.M. October 18.
Hanson found his way out: The narrative account of the confrontation inside Commerce is based on primary documents and interviews. Ints. Paul Soglin, Jim Rowen, Stuart Brandes, Blake Kellogg, Marshall Shapiro, Michael Oberdorfer, Dennis Connor, Bob Swacker, William Kaplan, Al Roehling, Bob Hartwig, Jack Cipperly, Joel Skornicka, James Ozark, Jonathan Stielstra, Vicki Gabriner, Tom Beckman, William Sewell, Joseph Kauffman, John Pickart, Evan Stark, Everett Goodwin, Eric Nathan, Betty Menacher, Michael Krasny; testimony of Hanson, Schiro, Buss, Bablitch, Lederer, Wade, Shapiro at SSC, October 23–November 7, 1967, LRB; Smail oral history interviews with Paul Soglin and William Sewell; Scotton Report; account of Stuart Brandes, written 3–5 P.M. October 18; John Pickart letter to Pam Crane, October 19, 1967; unprocessed papers of Ralph Hanson. Also “The Great Dow War,” Connections, November 1–14, 1967, and accounts in the Capital Times, October 18, 1967, and Daily Cardinal and WSJ, October 19, 1967.
Chapter 23: Stars and Stripes
Downtown at police headquarters: Ints. Tom McCarthy, August 8, 2000; Perry Pierre, April 2, 2001.
Where did this driver come from?: Ints. Paul Soglin, April 10, 2002, June 22, 2001; Robert Samp, August 14, 2001; Michael Oberdorfer, January 2, 2003; “Memo to Chancellor William H. Sewell from Robert C. Hickey, Department of Surgery,” October 25, 1967, UW.
They were just “livid, outraged”: Ints. Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; Al Roehling, August 17, 2001; Michael Oberdorfer, January 2, 2003.
Jonathan Stielstra was nearby: Ints. Jonathan Stielstra August 20–21, 2001.
Jim Boll, the district attorney: Int. James Boll, August 9, 2001.
Radio newsman Marshall Shapiro: Testimony of Marshall Shapiro at SSC, October 23–November 7, 1967, LRB; int. Marshall Shapiro, August 16, 2001.
Dave Wagner, a senior: Ints. Dave Wagner and Grace Wagner, June 2, 2002.
a Connections production: Ints. Mike Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Bob Gabriner, May 31, 2002; David Westley, January 3, 2002.
Detective McCarthy was standing: Ints. Tom McCarthy, August 10, 2000; Jack Cipperly, June 19, 2001; Bob Hartwig, August 16, 2001; testimony of Ralph Hanson, George Schiro, Bob Hartwig at SSC, October 23–November 7, 1967, LRB; Scotton Report.
Tear gas had never been released: Ints. Jack Cipperly, June 19, 2001; Jane Brotman, April 9, 2002; Betty Menacher, April 8, 2002; Eric Nathan, January 30, 2001; Tom Beckmann, August 17, 2001; testimony of William Emery, Ralph Hanson, Warren Wade at SSC, October 23–November 7, 1967, LRB; Stark, “In Exile,” History and the New Left.
Jonathan Stielstra had returned: Account of Stielstra’s flag cutting drawn from ints. Jonathan Stielstra, August 20–21, 2001; Norm Lenburg, August 20, 2001; Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; Bob Rennebohm, September 4, 2001.
“just sort of in a daze”: Int. Jim Rowen, April 8, 2002; communications from Eleanor McGovern, November 2002.
By the time Paul Soglin: Ints. Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001, April 10, 2002; Percy Julian, August 24, 2001.
News of the calamitous events: Accounts in WSJ and Capital Times, October 19, 1967.
There was a mass meeting: Ints. Jim Rowen, Jane Brotman, Paul Soglin, Betty Menacher, Morris Edelson, Ronald Davis, Bill Kaplan, Mike Oberdorfer, Jonathan Stielstra, Jack Cipperly; John Pickart letter to Pam Crane, October 19, 1967; TAA Review—The Sequence of Events, November 1967, SHSW.
Kauffman’s wife and teenaged son: Ints. Joseph Kauffman, June 19, 2001; William Sewell, August 10, 2000; unprocessed papers of Ralph Hanson.
Chapter 24: “Bombing Washington”
At a midday Cabinet meeting: White House Daily Diary, October 18, 1967, LBJ. Johnson attended the Cabinet meeting after a noontime visit to the Church of the Epiphany on G Street NW to mark the National Day of Prayer; “Minutes of Cabinet Meeting of October 18, 1967, The White House,” LBJ; State Journal editorial page, October 19, 1967.
President Johnson reconvened: “Notes of the President’s Wednesday Night Meeting in the Cabinet Room,” Tom Johnson Notes, box 1, LBJ.
The Politburo in Hanoi: Ho Khang, The Tet Mau Than 1968 Event in South Vietnam.
Chapter 25: Body Count
On the morning of October 19: Int. Jim Shelton, November 6, 2002.
At Alpha Company’s camp: Int. Tom Grady, March 27, 2002.
On the other side of Lai Khe: Ints. Gerry Grosso, December 13, 2002; Ray Albin, January 29, 2001, David Laub, March 5, 2001.
“unbelievable” mismanagement: Hearings before the Special Subcommittee on the M-16 Rifle Program of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, May 15–August 22, 1967, report released October 18, 1967.
Of most interest to Goodman: Int. Steve Goodman, November 20, 2000.
They had a dual meaning: S.L.A. Marshall, Men Against Fire, 54–57; Russell W. Glenn, Reading Athena’s Dance Card, 49.
John A. Cash, an army historian: Ints. Vince Demma, March 28, 2001; John Albright, March 29, 2001; George MacGarrigle, March 30, 2001; Alan Sandstrom, April 2, 2001; Martha White, April 9, 2002; Cash notes and documents, CMH.
To protect both their own careers: William M. Hammond, Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1962–1968; Release of Casualty Information; Adm. Sharp telex to Gen. Westmoreland, October 15, 1967, Westmoreland papers, MHI.
The battle was only a few days gone: Ints. Ernest Buentiempo, June 9, 2002; Gerard Grosso, December 13, 2002; Phil Duncan, March 5, 2001; Carl Woodard, May 27, 2001; Tom Grady, March 27, 2002; Mike Taylor letter to parents, October 19, 1967; reel-to-reel tapes sent home by Mike Troyer, October 19, 1967; letters from Greg Landon in 93rd Evacuation Hospital and from Jim George in 24th Evacuation Hospital, October 19, 1967.
Bill Sewell awoke: Int. William Sewell, September 15, 2000; Smail, Three Interviews.
Paul Soglin had run through: Ints. Paul Soglin, June 22, 20001, April 10, 2002.
The circus atmosphere: Int. Ronald Davis, May 8, 2002; Davis, The San Francisco Mime Troupe.
In place of the mime agitators: Ints. James Hadden, April 3, 2001; accounts in Capital Times, Daily Cardinal, WSJ, October 19–20, 1967; TAA Review.
The first picketers stationed: John Pickart letter to Pam Crane, October 19, 1967.
Jane Brotman, although: Ints. Jane Brotman, January 24, 2002, April 9, 2002; Jane Brotman letter to father, October 19, 1967. The letter struck a chord with Brotman’s father, who until then had been dismissive of her reaction to the Dow protest. He was so impressed by what she wrote that he gave a copy of the letter to the local newspaper, the News Record in South Orange, which later republished it, without using Brotman’s name, as part of an editorial titled “Credo of Today’s Youth.” The editorial writer, commenting at the end of the letter, wrote: “Can anyone challenge the thinking in this sincere and revealing letter? I’m proud of this young woman and the generation she represents. We’re going to be in good hands.”
an hour-long conversation: “Notes of the President’s Meeting with Robert Manning of The Atlantic,” October 19, 1967, LBJ.
Norman Lenburg’s second-to-last day: Int. Norm Lenburg, August 20, 2001; WSJ, October 19, 1967.
At least one reader: Ints. Jonathan Stielstra, August 21, 2001; Michael Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Bob Gabriner, May 31, 2002; Connections, October, November, 1967.