Oral history transcript, William A. Knowlton, interview 1 (I), 3/21/1985, by Ted Gittinger

Title:

Oral history transcript, William A. Knowlton, interview 1 (I), 3/21/1985, by Ted Gittinger

Number of Pages:

70

Description:

Knowlton's military background; working in the office of Secretary of the General Staff, Harold K. Johnson, in the mid-1960s; Knowlton joining Joe Califano's staff when Califano was special assistant to the secretary and, later, deputy secretary of defense, and the work Knowlton and Califano did; the duties of the secretary of the general staff (SGS); Califano going to work in the White House; Knowlton volunteering to go to Vietnam in 1966; Knowlton's work getting Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) started in 1951; Knowlton's work as secretary of the joint staff under General William Westmoreland and later in the Revolutionary Development Support Directorate (RDSD); Wade Lathram's work as head of the Office of Civil Operations (OCO); attending the Guam Conference with General Westmoreland; how Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) was started with Knowlton and Lathram heading it; director of CORDS, Robert Komer, bringing Robert Montague with him to Vietnam; General Creighton Adams' advice on dealing with Komer; Tom Fitzpatrick's work; General Earl Cole; Knowlton joining the Ninth Division; the Hamlet Evaluation System; getting updates on regional forces and popular forces; Knowlton's efforts to visit all of Vietnam; problems with civilians and military personnel working together, especially in terminology; Senator Edward Kennedy's visit to Knowlton's operations; Knowlton's work to secretly employ over 800 new White House staff members during LBJ's administration; the White House photographic lab under LBJ; Knowlton's job carrying Robert McNamara's presentation charts; Knowlton's trip accompanying Westmoreland to the Manila Conference; LBJ's trip to Cam Ranh Bay; Knowlton's work with the Ninth Division; keeping medical personnel and wounded soldiers appraised of local battle information; how Knowlton became Secretary of the General Staff under Westmoreland; Knowlton's appointment as superintendent of West Point; Knowlton's involvement with the My Lai investigation; William Calley, Samuel Koster, Rob Haeberle, and Seymour Hersh's involvement in My Lai; the Peers Inquiry; Knowlton's work in the Delta with the Ninth Division; setting up an innocent civilian center; obtaining information regarding Viet Cong operations; the Tet Offensive; Knowlton's strategy when fighting the Viet Cong; allegations of excessive force in the Ninth Division after Knowlton left; Knowlton's efforts to dispel public misunderstandings in the U.S. regarding events in Vietnam; students Knowlton hired to travel and speak about Vietnam; Knowlton's work to improve morale at West Point; publicity surrounding West Point.

Contributor:

Knowlton, William A.

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with William A. Knowlton

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details