American Valor Quarterly Issue 1 - Winter 2007 | Page 23

under unexpected new leadership. The first few years
following the presidents’ deaths were unsettled. The ground
that was lost during this time caused the American military
to become more involved in the effort. Describing that
first year, two-tour Vietnam veteran and former
Superintendent of West Point Lt. General Dave R. Palmer
called it a “year of turmoil and transformation.”
In 1964 North Vietnam made a strategic decision to enter
the war while Americans “were standing at the threshold
of becoming an American expeditionary force.” The
growing perplexity of the issue created an interesting
position for journalists as the war in Vietnam began to take
over both domestic and foreign politics. The U.S.
involvement increased and the tone of headlines started to
change from reports on events overseas to political
bickering. In late March of
1964 a headline in the New
York Times read: “POLICY IN
VIETNAM
DIVIDES
SENATORS;” and in April:
“GOLDWATER, NIXON
URGE VIET-NAM WAR BE
TAKEN INTO NORTH.”
With a presidential election on
the horizon and an escalating
misunderstood foreign war
occurring, objective, accurate
and complete reporting
became complicated.

journalism and the overwhelming defeat Goldwater suffered
in November 1964.
On November 3rd, the day of the presidential election, a
headline read in the Washington Post: “AMERICAN UNITS
MAY BE SENT IN TO HELP GUARD VIET AIR
BASES.” In early February 1965 American bombings begin,
followed by the arrival of the U.S. Marines on the shore
near Da Nang two months later, starting a period of the
war that brought about controversy among the American
public. As previously stated, only 24 per cent of American
people believed in 1965 that it was a mistake to send troops
to Vietnam. But this support would not hold on for long,
as people soon became weary of war and confused about
the purpose of our involvement in the conflict. The drop
in support is evident when further examining Secretary
Rusk’s speech to the Senate
Committee of Foreign
Relations justifying America’s
presence in Vietnam to remind
the public that on December
14, 1961 President Kennedy
reaffirmed his commitment
made at the end of the Geneva
conference in 1954 that the
United States was ‘prepared to
help the Republic of Viet-Nam
to protect its people and to
preserve its independence.”

While journalists at home were
The correlation between the President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster busy covering American
Dulles greet South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem at
political
opinion
in
presidential election, the
Washington National Airport in 1957.
relationship to the war, a
Vietnam War and the press is
vital to the analysis of public opinion during 1964. With limited number of correspondents abroad continued with
Barry Goldwater running a campaign on the idea that their reports from the battlefield. The U.S. ground troop
“extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice,” Lyndon commitment brought not only 500,000 troops by late 1967,
Johnson, the incumbent Democratic nominee, found but also a number of reporters and photographers to Saigon
himself in an easy campaign as he promoted the idea that posts. The U.S. press and television contingent grew from
Goldwater’s talk of extremism was dangerous. He reassured the approximately 20 correspondents in 1965 to 131 in
voters that he was not Goldwater, and under his leadership December of 1966 and to 207 by late 1967. Even amid
he would protect the country from his opponent’s extremism. the growth in the number of reporters placed in Vietnam,
The most memorable commercial from Johnson’s campaign some major newspapers each with circulations well over
that illustrates the situation of the country and the power one million such as the 31 Gannett papers, the 22 Newhouse
of the media was his “Daisy” commercial. In the papers, and the 6 Knight papers did not have permanent
commercial a young girl is seen picking daisies and counting staff abroad to cover the conflict. Even papers with posts
down from ten until a stern male voice takes over and there located in Vietnam were negligent to the importance of the
is an atomic bomb explosion. Fear of war was prominent conflict. The 1967 annual Associated Press Managing
and it was obvious through both the political and media Editors convention barely mentioned Vietnam regardless
worlds as demonstrated through print and broadcast of the large commitment of reporters AP had stationed in
Vietnam.
American Valor Quarterly - Winter, 2007/08 - 23