'68

Wednesday, January 31 The usual after-work crowd was gathered at Skip's Place for a cold drink and a little conversation, but today was different. Rather than the normal chatter about the Warriors' prospects or what the Giants might do with the coming season, the discussion turned dead serious. All eyes were focused on the television screen above the bar as the voice of Walter Cronkite described the events in South Vietnam. The Viet Cong had launched a coordinated series of attacks at more than one hundred locations, including the U.S. embassy in Saigon. The attacks were timed to coincide with the beginning of Tet, the lunar New Year. Now the screen was filled with scenes of battle, with U.S. Marines fighting to push back the attack and secure the embassy grounds. The gang at Skip's watched and listened in shocked disbelief. "How the hell can that happen? Didn't Westmoreland just say the war was coming to an end?" "Yeah, something about light at the end of the tunnel?" "How the hell did they get into Saigon like that? And into the embassy, for God's sake?" "Hell, you listen to all this talk about body counts, it sounds like we killed every damn Viet Cong already." "Where are these guys coming from?" "I don't think Johnson and Westmoreland know what the hell they're doing." "Ill tell you the problem: we got our military with one hand tied behind its back. We need to turn 'em loose, let 'em kick ass." "Bullshit! We got no business being there. The whole damn country isn't worth the life of one American soldier." "Oh yeah? We pull out of there and the whole region will go to the communists. Is that what you want?" "Oh sure, and look at that fine bunch of individuals we're propping up in Saigon. What a bunch of crooks." The debate raged on as battle scenes flickered across the screen. Walter Cronkite summed it up: "And that's the way it is, January 31, 1968."