Vietnam | The LBJ Telephone Tapes

Vietnam

Photo credit: Yoichi Okamoto

LBJ with the president of South Vietnam, Ngô Đinh Diệm

February 1, 1964

“That Wasn’t Smart at All”

Lyndon B. Johnson | R. Sargent Shriver

Diem Coup

Robert McNamara sitting by himself in an empty room

February 25, 1964

“More War” or “More Appeasement”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Robert S. McNamara

Kennedy Withdrawal, Escalation

LBJ and McNamara with their heads in their hands looking tired

May 27, 1964

“It’s a Mess”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Richard B. "Dick" Russell Jr.

Escalation

Soldiers in Vietnam

May 27, 1964

“The Biggest Damn Mess I Ever Saw”

Lyndon B. Johnson | McGeorge "Mac" Bundy

Escalation

Richard Russell, Dean Rusk, Lyndon Johnson, Clark Clifford around a table

June 11, 1964

“Our National Honor’s at Stake”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Richard B. "Dick" Russell Jr.

Escalation

The Johnsons and the Humphreys

August 6, 1964

“You Can’t Talk About War Plans”

Lyndon B. Johnson | James H. "Jim" Rowe Jr.

Tonkin Gulf Incident

McGeorge Bundy with 3 clocks in background 9:00 Washington, 1:00 GMT, 9:00 Presidential.

November 3, 1964

"We Have Time to Get Organized”

Lyndon B. Johnson | McGeorge "Mac" Bundy

Escalation

US troops in Vietnam

June 8, 1965

“Where Do You Stop”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Michael J. "Mike" Mansfield

Americanization

LBJ and Martin Luther King Jr. sitting at a table during a meeting

July 7, 1965

“I Don’t Want to Be a Warmonger”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Martin Luther King Jr.

Americanization

Soldiers in Vietnam

January 26, 1966

“Then We’re Really in It All”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Abraham "Abe" Fortas

Rolling Thunder, China

President Johnson sitting next to Ngô Đinh Diệm

February 1, 1966

“The Architect of Surrender”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Eugene J. "Gene" McCarthy

Diem Coup

Douglass Cater and President Lyndon B. Johnson talking to each other, snow on the ground in bkg

February 4, 1966

“Don’t Make the Government Fall”

Lyndon B. Johnson | S. Douglass "Doug" Cater

Pacification

Dean Rusk standing behind a podium next to a map of Vietnam

February 20, 1966

“The President Has This Authority”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Dean Rusk

Tonkin Gulf Incident

Candid portrait of General William Westmoreland, speaking and gesturing

February 21, 1966

“He Is a Master Strategist”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Henry R. Luce

Military Strategy, William C. Westmoreland

Cartha D. "Deke" DeLoach, Mr. Eldon James, and President Lyndon B. Johnson sit in Oval Office

March 14, 1966

“That Scares Me”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Cartha D. "Deke" DeLoach

Anti-war Movement

President Lyndon Johnson talks with former President Dwight Eisenhower

October 3, 1966

“I Didn’t Say I’d Use Atomic Bombs”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Dwight D. Eisenhower

Nuclear Weapons

US soldiers during Tet Offensive

January 31, 1968

“It’s Largely a Propaganda Effort”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Robert S. McNamara

Tet Offensive

LBJ sitting around a table on Air Force One with former President Eisenhower

February 19, 1968

“No Nuclear Weapons in South Vietnam”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Dwight D. Eisenhower

Military Strategy

Richard Nixon and LBJ sitting next to each other

August 8, 1968

“My Congratulations and My Sympathy”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Richard M. Nixon

Peace Talks, 1968 Bombing Halt

The Johnson family watching the 1968 Democratic convention on television

August 26, 1968

“Let’s Don’t Mislead and Deceive People”

Lyndon B. Johnson | James R. "Jim" Jones | Charles S. "Charlie" Murphy

1968 Bombing Halt

Planes dropping bombs in Vietnam

September 30, 1968

“He’ll Stop the Bombing if Elected”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Richard M. Nixon

1968 Bombing Halt

LBJ and Dirksen sitting and talking

November 2, 1968

“This Is Treason”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Everett M. Dirksen

1968 Bombing Halt, Chennault Affair

Nixon and LBJ talking to each other across a table

November 3, 1968

“I Feel Very, Very Strongly About This”

Lyndon B. Johnson | Richard M. Nixon

1968 Bombing Halt, Chennault Affair

Honolulu Conference on the Vietnam War

November 8, 1968

“You Go to That Conference“

Lyndon B. Johnson | Richard M. Nixon

1968 Bombing Halt, Chennault Affair