They Marched Into Sunlight

by David Maraniss

  Appropriating a favorite word: “The Spectacle of Violence,” Capital Times, October 19, 1967.

  When the special meeting: Narrative account of faculty meeting drawn from Special Meeting of the University of Wisconsin Faculty, 3:30P.M. Thursday, October 19, 1967, Memorial Union Theater, UW; Ints. William Sewell, September 15, 2000; Joseph Kauffman, June 19, 2001; Samuel Mermin, August 7, 2001; Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001; Mike Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003, Robert Barnett, March 19, 2002; Jane Brotman, April 9, 2002; Kenneth W. Thompson memo to Chancellor Sewell, Mermin Report, 1968 UW; Mosse, Confronting History.

  In Japan by then: Ints. Fred Kirkpatrick, October 16, 2000, October 18, 2002; correspondence of Fred Kirkpatrick. Stars and Stripes, vol. 23, No. 292, Friday, October 20, 1967.

  Chapter 27: A Life’s Worth

  In Milwaukee the next morning: Ints. Diane Sikorski, July 28, 2001; Edmund Sikorski, April 8, 2001; Sikorski family scrapbook.

  Men in uniforms: Int. Marian Tizzio, November 6, 2002; Tizzio family scrapbook.

  a ranch house outside Helena: Ints. Eleanor Schroder Clark, January 3, 2001, December 10, 2002; papers of Moger family.

  fewer than two hundred riders: Ints. Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001, April 10, 2002; Mike Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Dave Wheadon, December 23, 2002; John Lipp, December 22, 2002; Alison Steiner, December 26, 2002; Judy Genack, December 26, 2002; Kent Smith, December 29, 2002; David Westley, January 3, 2002; accounts in Capital Times, WSJ, October 20–21, 1967; Gibbons, The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War, 853–60.

  South Lawn of the White House: Department of State, “Memorandum of Conversation, October 20, 1967, 12:30 P.M. Subject: War in Southeast Asia and Prospects for Peace. Participants: The President, Prince Souvanna Phouma, Prime Minister of Laos, A Toumayan, Interpreter,” LBJ.

  In Madison that noon hour: Accounts in Capital Times, October 19, 1967; ints. Michael Krasny, May 2, 2001; Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001; David Cherry papers, SHSW.

  letters were beginning to arrive: Sewell papers, UW. The letters to Sewell were more evenly divided than letters written to the newspapers or to legislators, which were more often harshly critical of the students. Elaine Sacarny Zack, from the Wisconsin class of 1946, wrote Sewell that in one week, her daughter, who had followed her to Madison, “was welcomed into the freshman honorary society in recognition of high achievement in pursuit of knowledge, and brought to tears, as stunned, she witnessed a melee outside the Commerce Building. I pray there will be no fear, tear gas, or violence on the campus of the University of Wisconsin again.”

  Since Republicans controlled: Int. Jerris Leonard, May 21, 2001; accounts in Capital Times, WSJ, October 20–22, 1967.

  District attorney Jim Boll was sitting: Int. James Boll, August 9, 2001.

  Bandages protected his nose: Int. Tom McCarthy, August 8, 2000; McCarthy scrapbook of letters and cards.

  As the buses from Madison: Int. Dave Wheadon, December 23, 2002.

  the first of the weekend’s protests: Gibbons, The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War, 862–63; accounts in NYT, October 21, 1967; Wells, The War Within, 195; Joseph A. Califano, The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson, 198–99; int. Judy Genack, December 26, 2002; White House Daily Diary, October 20, 1967, LBJ.

  It was twelve hours later: Ints. Tom Grady, March 27, 2002; Michael Arias, June 2, 2002; Tom Hinger, March 12, 2000; 2/28 News Release No. 4015, Slug: “Black Lions Memorial Service.” SP5 Dick Claprood wrote: “Setting aside their rifles for a few moments of prayer, the 1st Inf Div’s 2d Bn, 28th Inf, briefly suspended their relentless pursuit of the Viet Cong. But the war was still foremost in each man’s mind as the ‘Black Lions of Cantigny’ were conducting a memorial service for the 57 American soldiers who gave their lives….”

  Captain Cash was in Lai Khe: Oral history interviews conducted by Capt. John A. Cash, October 21, 1967, CMH.

  Brigadier General Coleman: “Office of the Assistant Division Commander, Subject: Summary of Lessons Learned. Reference: 2/28 Contact, 17 October 1967,” CMH.

  Jim George was still reliving: Ints. Jim George, May 27, 2001; Joe Costello, November 2, 2000; letter from Jim George to wife Jackie, October 21, 1967.

  The buses reached Washington: Ints. Dave Wheadon, December 23, 2002; Alison Steiner, December 26, 2002; John Lipp, December 22, 2002; Kent Smith, December 29, 2002; David Westley, Judy Genack, December 26, 2002; Michael Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Wells, The War Within, 194–96; Norman Mailer, The Armies of the Night; White House Daily Diary, October 21, 1967, LBJ.

  “funeral procession” up State Street: Ints. Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001; Jane Brotman, April 9, 2002; accounts in Capital Times, October 21, WSJ, October 22, 1967.

  Leading the way was a brigade: Wells, The War Within, 196; accounts in Washington Post, WSJ, October 22, 1967; White House Daily Diary, October 21, 1967, LBJ; Ints. Michael Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003; Judy Genack, December 26, 2002; Alison Steiner, December 26, 2002; Kent Smith, December 29, 2002.

  After lunch with his top aides: “Schedule of Events for General W.C. Westmoreland, October 22, 1967,” MHI; “General Westmoreland’s History Notes, 16 October–12 November 1967.” The brief journal account that day read: “On Sunday I had lunch with General Palmer and visited General Weyand’s headquarters where we discussed future plans and I gave him appropriate guidance. I then visited the 93rd and 24th Evacuation Hospitals, primarily to see the casualties from the 2/28th Infantry resulting from their recent sharp engagement along the Binh Long–Binh Duong border. Upon return to my headquarters I met with the visiting AFL-CIO executives who are in strong support of our war efforts.” Report of Army Medical Service Activities, 93rd Evacuation Hospital, Calendar Year 1967, NARA; ints. Elizabeth Finn, March 13, 2002; Donald Parlee, March 13, 2001; P. Evangeline Jamison, March 8, 2004; Edward Amorosi, March 7, 2001; Phil Eastman, March 7, 2001; Gerald Cygan, March 6, 2001; Bill Wells, March 5, 2001; Jackson Walker, April 2, 2001; Clark Welch, January 28–February 8, 2002; Clarence Barrow, October 16, 2000; Peter Miller, August 27, 2002; Clark Welch letter to wife Lacy, October 22, 1967.

  In Hanoi that very afternoon: People’s Central Organ of the Vietnam Labor Party, October 22, 1967, People’s Army, October 22–23, 1967, Hanoi, translated by Anthony Broadman and Kyle Horst.

  the Politburo was meeting: Khang, The Tet Mau Than 1968 Event, 31, 33.

  When Sunday, October 22, arrived: White House Daily Diary, October 22, 1967, LBJ.

  The peace buses pulled up: Ints. Alison Steiner, December 26, 2002; Paul Soglin, April 10, 2002.

  The events of that one week: Dow Chemical internal memos, October–November 1967, PSA; ints. David Keene, May 15, 2002; Richard Swearingen, January 15, 2003; Gibbons, The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War, 867–68.

  “This was a sad and brooding city”: NYT, October 23, 1967.

  “It doesn’t seem we can win”: “Notes of the President’s meeting with Secretary Rusk, Secretary McNamara, Walt Rostow, Richard Helms, George Christian, General Wheeler, in the Mansion,” October 23, 1967. Tom Johnson Notes, box 1, LBJ.

  In Madison that Monday: Int. Alison Steiner, December 26, 2002.

  The UW faculty reconvened: Minutes of Second Special Session of University of Wisconsin faculty, 4:30P.M., October 23, 1967, Memorial Union Theater, UW.

  At the research lab: Ints. Dave Wheadon, Dennis McQuade, December 23, 2002.

  Red Blaik, the retired: Col. Red Blaik Syndicated Football Series, Holleder file, USMA archives.

  In Milwaukee two soldiers: Ints. Edmund Sikorski, Diane Sikorski, July 28, 2001; Sikorski family scrapbook.

  Chapter 28: Until the Angels Came

  The chapel pews filled to overflowing: Narrative of Terry Allen’s funeral drawn from ints. Jean Ponder Allen Soto, February 3, 2001; Conseulo Allen, February 2–4, 2001; Albert Schwartz, February 3, 2001; Jonathan and Pat Rodgers, February 4, 2001; El Paso Times, October 20–24, 1967; Terry Allen file, LBJ; letter from Mary Fran Allen to Jim Shelton, November 4, 1967.

  G
eneral Hay, was dismissive: Hay oral history interview with George MacGarrigle, April 29, 1980, CMH; “Citation, By Direction of the President, The Silver Star (Second Oak Leaf Cluster) Presented to Major General John H. Hay Jr., United States Army, For Gallantry in Action, General Orders Number 174, 24 February 1968,” MHI.

  Dow and napalm were the focus: Dow Chemical Co. internal memos, October–November, 1967, PSA; accounts in Washington Post, WSJ, October 26, 1967.

  the action had moved: Ints. Percy Julian, August 24, 2001; Paul Soglin, April 10, 2002; Mike Oberdorfer, January 3, 2003.

  Curly Hendershot was back: Ints. E. N. Brandt, April 12, 2001; Herbert Dow Doan, April 12, 2001; Dave Coslett, April 26, 2001; Bill Seward, April 27, 2001; unprocessed papers of Bill Seward; Dow Chemical Co. internal documents, Agent Orange files, PSA.

  Clark Welch felt well enough: Welch letter to wife Lacy, October 26, 1967; ints. Clark Welch, January 28–February 8, 2002.

  Landon mailed his Purple Heart: Greg Landon letters to parents, October 26–27, 1967; int. Greg Landon, June 19, 2002.

  One of the fallen Skyhawks: Hanoi Radio broadcast, translated by CIA, October 26, 1967, NARA; “McCain’s Vietnam Rescuer Talks,” Associated Press, February 24, 2000.

  The odd couple of Madison: Ints. James Boll, August 9, 2001; Jonathan Stielstra, August 20–21, 2001; scrapbook of Jonathan Stielstra.

  family of Danny Sikorski: Ints. Edmund Sikorski, Diane Sikorski, July 28, 2001; Sikorski family scrapbook.

  a prime-time show: William Sewell testimony at SSC, October 25, 1967; ints. William Sewell, August 10, 2000; Richard Cates, June 26, 2001.

  The Homecoming parade: Accounts in Capital Times, October 27, 1967, WSJ, October 28, 1967; ints. Charles S. Robb, January 27, 2003; Paul Soglin, June 22, 2001.

  As for the war: David Halberstam, The Best and the Brightest, 737.

  so many political players: Accounts in El Paso Times, Milwaukee Journal, WSJ, October 28, 1967.

  The funeral was held: Ints. Eleanor Schroder Clark, January 3, 2001; Larry Schroder, October 18, 2002; Schroder family scrapbook; Weigl, “Elegy,” Archaeology of the Circle, 94.

  Selected Bibliography

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  Browne, Malcolm W. The New Face of War. Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1965.

  Buhle, Paul, ed. History and the New Left: Madison, Wisconsin, 1950–1970. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1990.

  Bunzel, John H. Political Passages: Journeys of Change through Two Decades, 1968–1988. Free Press, New York, 1988.

  Califano, Joseph A., Jr. The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1991.

  Carland, John M. Stemming the Tide, May 1965 to October 1966, Combat Operations, the United States Military in Vietnam. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Washington, D.C., 2000.

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  Coyote, Peter. Sleeping Where I Fall. Counterpoint, Washington, D.C., 1998.

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  Gibbons, William Conrad. The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War, Part IV: July 1965–January 1968. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1995.

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  Kaiser, David. American Tragedy. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000.

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  Khang, Ho. The Tet Mau Than 1968. Event in South Vietnam. GIOI Publishers, Hanoi, 2001.

  Khoi, Hoang. The Ho Chi Minh Trail. GIOI Publishers, Hanoi, 2001.

  Langguth, A. J. Our Vietnam. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000.

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  Marshall, S.L.A. Men Against Fire. McLeod Ltd., Toronto, 1951.

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  Pike, Douglas. Viet Cong. M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, 1966.

  Pribbenow, Merle L., trans. Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People’s Army of Vietnam, 1954–1975. The Military History Institute of Vietnam, Hanoi, 1998.

  Pyle, Ernie. Here Is Your War. Henry Holt, New York, 1943.

  Rowe, John Carlos, and Rick Berg, eds. The Vietnam War and American Culture. Columbia University Press, New York, 1991.

  Sheehan, Neil. A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. Random House, New York, 1988.

  Shelton, James. The Beast Was Out There. Cantigny Military History Series, Wheaton, Ill., 2002.

  Sieg, Kent, ed. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–68. Volume V: Vietnam 1967. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 2002.

  Silber, Glenn, and Barry Brown. The War at Home, a film. First Run Features, New York, 1979.

  Snepp, Frank. Decent Interval. Random House, New York, 1977.