Session: 1234567891011121314151617         Page 501502503504505506507508509510511512513514515516517518519520521522523524525526527528529530531532533534535536537538539540541542543544545546547548549 of 755

This is Mary Marshall Clark. This is June 15, 1993. I am in the office of Dr. Frank Stanton in New York City, conducting a twelfth session of his oral history interview. Dr. Stanton.

Good morning to you.

Last time we talked a little about President Johnson and your fact-finding tour to Vietnam early in the administration, I believe it was, maybe in 1964 or something like that. You said when you came back from that tour, you told him that you thought we should get out of Vietnam. I wondered if your perspectives, over time, changed about that.

You mean that we shouldn't have gotten out?

Yes. Or did you think--

No, it didn't change; but I didn't pursue it with the President, because I didn't feel that he was open to. [Telephone rings] I didn't pursue it with him. He was the kind of guy--or at least I felt he was--that once you've had a discussion with him about something and you got his viewpoint and he got yours, there's no point in just being a nag about it. And I had no solid inputs, other than the feeling that one had--and which is not too easy--to