First In His Class (93 page)

Read First In His Class Online

Authors: David Maraniss

173
Jackson asked his boss: Int. Cliff Jackson, June 7, 1993. Also
Arkansas Democrat
, Sept. 17, 1992, p. 13.

173
“We were used to guys:” Int. Ed Howard, July 19, 1993.

173
His papers indicate: J. William Fulbright Papers, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries.

174
He met with Colonel Holmes: Holmes statement, Sept. 17, 1992.

174
“On the 17th”: Letter to Denise Hyland, July 20, 1969.

175
Now that he was protected. AP account of letter to Tamara Kennerley, Aug. 15, 1969.

175
Clinton drove to Houston: Ints. Kit Ashby, Jan. 20, 1993, and Tom Campbell, Feb. 3, 1993.

175
Strobe Talbott traveled to Arkansas: Int. Strobe Talbott, June 2, 1993.

176
His “gimpy knee”:
Time
, April 6, 1992.

176
And so it was: Ints. Boisfeuillet Jones and Robert Reich, Sept. 16, 1994; John Isaacson, March 5, 1993; and Doug Eakeley, Dec. 19, 1993. Statistics from
Vietnam Draft Almanac
.

177
The extent to which: DOD-Gorham study on ROTC, Senate Judiciary Committee, Fall 1969.

177
Mike Shea spent his first year: Int. Mike Shea, April 6, 1993.

178
“in direct proportion”: Int. Tom Ward, June 18, 1993.

178
In mid-August: Int. Rick Stearns, Dec. 12, 1993.

178
He was on the outer edge: Int. David Mixner, Jan. 31, 1994.

179
“therapy for a sick man”: Letter to Rick Stearns, Aug. 20, 1969.

179
“Bill was a lot more revealing”: Int. Rick Stearns, Dec. 12, 1993.

179
“I am home now”: Letter to Rick Stearns, Aug. 20, 1969.

179
Stearns called Clinton: Int. Rick Stearns, Dec. 12, 1969.

179
“My mind is every day”: Letter to Rick Stearns, Sept. 9, 1969.

180
Clinton stayed up all night: Recounted in Clinton letter to Colonel Holmes, Dec. 3, 1969.

180
“a month or two”: Holmes statement, Sept. 17, 1992.

180
“I know I promised”: Clinton letter to Colonel Holmes, Dec. 3. 1969.

180
“A lot of people”: Int. Ed Howard, July 19, 1993.

181
Cliff Jackson was among: Int. Cliff Jackson, June 7, 1993. Also, Jackson letters, Aug. 27, and Sept. 14, 1969.

181
a scrappy little fellow: Ints. Jim French, April 14, 1993, and Bill High, April 24, 1994.

181
“Mike was in a fraternity”: Int. Herman Thomas, May 3, 1993.

181
His platoon loved Mike Thomas: Int. Greg Schlieve, May 3, 1993.

182
In Saigon that morning:
WP
and
NYT
, Sept. 15, 1969, both p. 1.

182
Lieutenant Thomas put on his pack: Ints. Herman Thomas, May 3, 1993, and Greg Schlieve, May 3, 1993, drawn from unit history records.

182
The Army posthumously: Letter to Herman Thomas from Maj. Gen. E. B. Roberts, Department of the Army, Nov. 24, 1969.

182
took other casualties as well: Ints. Herman Thomas, May 3, 1969, and Greg Schlieve, May 3, 1969.

183
Clinton and Stearns were there: Int. Rick Stearns, March 4, 1993.

183
“The Executive Committee”: Int. Taylor Branch, Feb. 28, 1993.

184
Mixner confided to Clinton: Int. David Mixner, Jan. 31, 1994.

Eleven: The Lucky Number

185
Rick Stearns rented a spacious: Ints. Rick Stearns, March 4 and Dec. 12, 1993.

185
When the
American Oxonian: American Oxonian
(Fall 1969).

185
“I was under the impression”: Int. Zbigniew Pelczynski, March 23, 1993.

186
a fullblown antiwar organizer: Ints. David Mixner, Jan. 31, 1994, and Randall Scott, June 30, 1993.

186
“My friend said”: nt. Steve Engstrom, May 14, 199.3.

187
A Gallup Poll:
WP
, Oct. 5, 1969, p. 21.

187
a broad range of support:
WP
, Oct. 4, p. 1; Oct. 8, p. 3; Oct. 10, p. 1.

187
“And I can express”: Randall Scott letter, Oct. 19, 1969.

187
“Mr. Newman Supports Students”:
The Guardian
, Oct. 16, 1969, p. 3.

187
“soulmates in opposition”: Int. Tom Williamson, May 26, 1993.

188
On the eve of the demonstration: Ints. Taylor Branch, Feb. 28, 1993, and Steve Cohen, May 11, 1993. Ayers confrontation reported in
WP
, Nov. 18, 1969, p. 1: “Weathermen Accused of Shakedown,” by Aaron Latham.

188
The day of the Mobe:
WP
, Nov. 16, p. 1.

188
In London that day: Ints. Rick Stearns, Dec. 12, 1993: Tom Williamson, May 26, 1993; and Father Richard McSorley, Nov. 17, 1993.

189
“After my prayer”: McSorley,
Peace Eyes
, p. 22.

189
After the service: Ints. Richard McSorley, Nov. 17, 1993, and Richard Stearns, Dec. 12, 1993.

189
among the Rhodes Scholars who came: Ints. Willie Fletcher, and J. Michael Kirchberg, Nov. 23, 1993. Also,
The Guardian
, Oct. 16, 1969. (Michael Boskin, interviewed Dec. 18, 1993, said that although the
Guardian
article identified him among a group of American students trying to close the American Embassy, he was not an antiwar protester. He explained: “My sole recollection of it was there were a lot of Americans
arguing different points of view. The London police asked us not to flow into the streets so much from where the discussion was. I and a number of other people started shepherding people back onto the sidewalk. A reporter came up and asked me what was going on. I tried to explain the debate.”)

190
His draft records: Draft records, Garland County Draft Board.

190
His answer was largely accepted: “Ex-officer Accuses Clinton; It's Baseless, Official Says,”
Arkansas Gazette
, Oct. 28, 1978.

191
the only letter Clinton wrote Holmes: Clinton letter to Colonel Holmes, Dec. 3, 1969.

191
“I expected to be called”: Bill Clinton interview with Dan BaIz, Dec. 16, 1991.

192
The best estimate of when: Int. Randall Scott, June 30, 1993.

193
“I didn't see, in the end”: Letter to Colonel Holmes, Dec. 3, 1969.

193
This became possible because:
NYT
, Oct. 2, 1969: “Nixon Eases Rule on Draft.”

193
In the weeks before: Sept. 14 front-page stories in
NYT
,
WP
, and
Arkansas Gazette
cited sources saying the draft would be cut. The
NYT
article began: “The Nixon Administration is considering a series of major reforms in the military draft intended to defuse domestic political opposition to the war in Vietnam.”

194
“I didn't know anything about any lottery”: Bill Clinton interview with Dan Balz, Dec. 16, 1991. (The lottery was headline news during that period. Lead headline in
WP
, Sept. 20, 1969: “Nixon Trims Draft, Presses for Lottery.”)

194
they both loved Dylan Thomas: Ints. Rick Stearns, March 4 and Dec. 12, 1993.

195
“that you and I are queer”: Letter to Rick Stearns, Nov. 19, 1969.

196
“He basically said that”: Ints. Rick Stearns, March 4 and Dec. 12, 1993.

196
He had been invited. Int. Strobe Talbott, June 2, 1993. 196 “particularly shambolic”: Int. Sara Maitland, May 11, 1993.

196
“graduate student bohemian”: Int. Strobe Talbott, June 2, 1993.

197
She and Talbott rode bicycles: Int. Brooke Shearer, July 1, 1993.

197
“Frank and Bill shared”:
Time
, April 6, 1992.

197
“I may never pick up a parchment”: Letter to Denise Hyland, Nov. 27, 1969.

198
The first draft lottery: The account of the lottery is drawn from
WP
, Dec. 1-2, 1969;
Boston Globe
, Dec. 2, 1969; and
Vietnam War Almanac
, 1988.

198
“It was just a fluke”: Bill Clinton interview with Dan Balz, Dec. 16, 1991.

199
“I am sorry to be so long”: Letter to Colonel Holmes, Dec. 3, 1969. The letter resurfaced twenty-three years later when ABC News obtained a copy while Clinton was campaigning in the 1992 New Hampshire presidential primary. ABC producer Mark Halperin, working with correspondent James Wooten, showed the letter to Clinton aides at the Nashua, New Hampshire, airport on Feb. 10 and requested an interview with the candidate. After reading the letter, consultant James Carville said, “This letter exonerates us. We want to publish this god damn thing in the [Manchester]
Union-Leader
tomorrow!”

204
“The letter was the talk”: Int. Ed Howard, July 19, 1993.

204
A dissident file was kept:
Ibid.

204
Holmes's reactions fluctuated:
Arkansas Gazette
, Oct. 28, 1978;
Arkansas Democrat
, Oct. 29, 1991;
Wall Street Journal
, Feb. 6, 1992; and Holmes statement, Sept. 16, 1992.

205
“full of rhetoric”: Int. David Tell, Dec. 13, 1993.

205
“At no time”: Holmes statement, Sept. 16, 1992.

205
not above enrolling law students: Int. Ed Howard, July 19, 1993.

Twelve: The Grand Tour

206
“a modern version of the old”: Int. Edgar Williams, March 23, 1993.

206
Not a nobleman's holiday: Ints. Richard McSorley, Nov. 17, 1993; Richard Shullaw, Feb. 2, 1993; Charlie Daniels, June 29, 1993; Rudiger Lowe, April 23, 1993; and Jirina Kopoldova, June 1993.

206
As he was ambling down: Int. Richard McSorley, Nov. 17, 1993.

207
It was from McSorley's account: In early October 1992, in the final month of the presidential campaign, a group of Republican congressmen led by Robert K. Dornan of California gave nightly “special order” speeches on the House floor, televised by C-Span, which questioned Clinton's Moscow trip. Dornan said that Clinton rode a “peace train” and, though he had no evidence, suggested Soviet agents were involved in arranging the trip. This sinister scenario caught the attention of George Bush, who asked his negative research team to investigate. David Tell, the head of Bush's research team, said he interviewed Dornan and listened to his “free associative lecture on the Peace Train,” but found that it was riddled with suppositions and “factual inconsistencies.”

208
James Durham was another: Int. James Durham, July 1, 1993.

208
Over the years:
Ibid.

209
Again he had no schedule: Int. Richard Shullaw, Feb. 2, 1993.

209
“I have found the world's winter”: Postcard to Denise Hyland, Dec. 24, 1993.

209
“Pelle did not care for Bill”: Int. Richard Shullaw, Feb. 2, 1993.

209
One was H. Ross Perot:
NYT
, Jan. 1, 1970, “Soviet Denies Perot a Visa to Send Gifts.”

210
“Upon entering Russia”: Daily Journal of Charlie Daniels.

210
Their view of the Soviet Union: Int. Strobe Talbott, June 2, 1993.

211
He had one friend: Int. Tom Williamson, May 26, 1993.

211
Daniels was in Moscow: The account of Daniels's trip to Moscow with Henry Fors and Carl McAfee is drawn from interview with Charlie Daniels, June 29, 1993. Also Daniels's daily journal of the trip.

212
“You wonder why Bill”: Int. Charlie Daniels, June 29, 1993.

213
Senator Eugene McCarthy arrived:
NYT
, Jan. 7, 1970.

213
“That figures!”: Daniels's daily journal.

213
“We were all very moved”: Int. John Albery, March 25, 1993.

213
“My friend Bill Clinton”: Jan Kopold letter to his parents, December 1969.

214
Clinton stayed with the Kopolds: The account of Clinton's stay in Prague is based on interviews with Jirina Kopoldova and Bedrich Kopold, May 1993, and letters from Jan Kopold and Bill Clinton to the Kopold family. Also on the description of the apartment complex in
Strana
magazine, pp. 46-48.

215
“I still have a picture”: Int. Rudiger Lowe, April 23, 1993.

215
The first telephone call: Int. Charlie Daniels, June 29, 1993.

215
“I would like to take”: Letter from Virginia Dwire, Jan. 22, 1970.

216
with his baggy tweed jackets: Ints. Strobe Talbott, June 2, 1993; Brooke Shearer, July 1, 1993; and Sara Maitland, May 11, 1993.

216
Frank Aller counterbalanced: Ints. Strobe Talbott, June 2, 1993; J. Michael Kirchberg, Nov. 23, 1993; and Willie Fletcher, Nov. 23, 1993.

216
“looked like a lumberjack”: Int. Brooke Shearer, July 1, 1993.

217
“old and heavy-lidded”: Int. Mandy Merck, May 14, 1993.

217
“Frank was describing the effect”: Int. Sara Maitland, May 11, 1993.

217
“As you know”: Int. Tom Campbell, Feb. 3, 1993.

218
“Senator Clinton will see you”: Int. Mandy Merck, May 14, 1993.

218
“Politics gives guys so much power”:
Ibid.

218
“Five of us were in the game”.
Ibid.