quotations about the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a historical turning point for the U.S., a moment when political leaders plunged the military into an unwinnable colonial struggle that killed millions and bred distrust of Washington's word.
FRED DONNER
"The Unwinnable Vietnam War", Consortium News, March 26, 2017
The Communist leaders in Moscow, Peking and Hanoi must fully understand that the United States considers the freedom of South Viet Nam vital to our interests. And they must know that we are not bluffing in our determination to defend those interests.
GERALD FORD
address to the National Press Club, Washington, D.C., July 21, 1965
There is nothing in the resolution, as I read it, that contemplates [sending American armies to Vietnam]. I agree with the Senator that that is the last thing we would want to do. However, the language of the resolution would not prevent it. It would authorize whatever the Commander in Chief feels is necessary.
J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT
Senate debate over the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, August 6, 1964
We do this [escalating U.S. military involvement in Vietnam] in order to slow down aggression. We do this to increase the confidence of the brave people of South Vietnam who have bravely born this brutal battle for so many years with so many casualties. And we do this to convince the leaders of North Vietnam--and all who seek to share their conquest--of a simple fact: We will not be defeated. We will not grow tired. We will not withdraw either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
speech explaining his decision to send U.S. combat troops to Vietnam, April 7, 1965
I have asked for this radio and television time tonight for the purpose of announcing that we today have concluded an agreement to end the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia.
RICHARD NIXON
speech announcing agreement with North Vietnam on the Paris Peace Accords, January 23, 1973
The Vietnam War is either morally right or morally wrong. It's not on the one hand or on the other hand.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
"Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Searing Antiwar Speech, Fifty Years Later", The New Yorker, April 3, 2017
For nine years following 1945 we denied the people of Vietnam the right of independence. For nine years we vigorously supported the French in their abortive effort to recolonize Vietnam. Before the end of the war we were meeting eighty percent of the French war costs. Even before the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, they began to despair of their reckless action, but we did not. We encouraged them with our huge financial and military supplies to continue the war even after they had lost the will. Soon we would be paying almost the full costs of this tragic attempt at recolonization.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
speech at Riverside Church in New York City, "A Time to Break Silence", April 4, 1967
Jackie Coots was a good friend of mine. Me and Jackie used to ride bicycles together. That was a time when people were burning their draft cards. They were burning flags. They were demonstrating in the streets. Jackie Coots, a small-town boy from Cumberland, Kentucky, was very patriotic and he loved his country. When he received the call of duty, he never hesitated. He didn't burn his draft card. He didn't hide, and he gave his life for this country. I'm just proud to say I knew him, he was a good friend.
DAVID KENNEDY
"Fiscal Court honors veterans", Harlan Daily Enterprise, April 25, 2017
We are at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it has been said if we lose that war, and in doing so lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening.
RONALD REAGAN
nationally televised speech given on behalf of Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign, "A Time for Choosing", October. 27, 1964
You have a row of dominoes set up; you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is that it will go over very quickly.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
press conference, April 7, 1954
There may be a limit beyond which many Americans and much of the world will not permit the United States to go. The picture of the world's greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring 1,000 non-combatants a week, while trying to pound a tiny, backward nation into submission on an issue whose merits are hotly disputed, is not a pretty one.
ROBERT MCNAMARA
memo to U. S. President Lyndon Johnson, May 19, 1967
Looking back now on the Vietnam war, I feel nothing but sorrow for my own naivete in believing that the Communists were revolutionaries worthy of support. In fact, they betrayed the Vietnamese people and deceived progressives throughout the world. The responsibility for the tragedies that have engulfed my compatriots is mine. And now I can only bear witness to this truth so that all former supporters of the Vietcong may share their responsibility with me.
DOAN VAN TOAI
"A Lament for Vietnam", New York Times Magazine, March 29, 1981
It was to be a "limited war" which accorded well with Johnson's wish to persuade the American people that what was happening in Vietnam was not really a "war."
WILLIAM R. HAYCRAFT
Unraveling Vietnam: How American Arms and Diplomacy Failed in Southeast Asia
I didn't argue that the war in Vietnam was immoral; it was merely stupid and a horrendous waste of time, money, and lives based on a flawed premise.
JOE BIDEN
Promises to Keep
This war has already stretched the generation gap so wide that it threatens to pull the country apart.
FRANK CHURCH
speech on the Senate floor, May 13, 1970
With 450,000 U.S. troops now in Vietnam, it is time that Congress decided whether or not to declare a state of war exists with North Vietnam. Previous congressional resolutions of support provide only limited authority. Although Congress may decide that the previously approved resolution on Vietnam given President Johnson is sufficient, the issue of a declaration of war should at least be put before the Congress for decision.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
The Washington Post, July 22, 1967
The Vietnam War is more than 50 years old and veterans of that conflict are aging. We need to get them to share their stories and experiences during the war with young people who know very little about it.
RODNEY WHATLEY
"PSC Theater Director Bridging Gaps With Play About Vietnam War", Pensacola State College News, October 18, 2016
If, when the chips are down, the world's most powerful nation, the United States of America, acts like a pitiful, helpless giant, the forces of totalitarianism and anarchy will threaten free nations and free institutions throughout the world.
RICHARD NIXON
nationwide address, April 30, 1970
The way the Vietnam War is remembered is crucial because it shapes attitudes toward subsequent similar military incursions, especially for the generations which were not born during Vietnam.
YALE MAGRASS
"Vietnam Was No Mistake--It Was a War Crime", LA Progressive, August 26, 2016
Every step of the way to getting the Vietnam Memorial built was entangled in controversy from the war itself to the design of the memorial. But when we step back for a moment, we realize that the Wall's design was appropriate for that war and that time in our history. The Wall was built 35 years ago because of what I've just noted, but also because America was beginning to separate the war from the warrior.
CHUCK HAGEL
"Solemn Vietnam Veterans Memorial turns 35", The Grand Island Independent", The Independent, April 21, 2017