My Father’s War

When someone leaves you, there are always questions you wished you would have asked. Sometimes there are things you find out after their death that raises even more questions. My father died suddenly 15 years ago next month. He had been retired for many years after a career in television news. The last 23 years spent as an executive at ABC News. One of the  biggest stories of his career was the Vietnam War. Because of his career and my interest in the business, I probably followed news of the war more closely than many high school and college students. As the war dragged on, I was against it, and worried about being drafted. Fortunately, I drew a high enough lottery number and wasn’t called to serve. My father was responsible for the daily news coverage of the war. He sent correspondents and camera crews to war where they were in danger of being wounded or killed doing their jobs.

It was a huge challenge to compete with the more established news organizations at CBS and NBC. In December, 1968 he went to visit the ABC News bureau in Saigon. The military would like to impress visiting news executives by taking them along on bombing raids. That picture above is my father being strapped into a A-37 jet which provided close air support for a bombing mission. They knocked out some small buildings and boats. He didn’t tell my mother about it until after it was over. I never asked him if he thought he was being manipulated by the military. One of the great cameramen who worked for ABC News was Tony Hirashiki. Tony is considered a legend among correspondents and other crews who worked during the war. Tony has just published a book, “On The Frontlines Of  The Television War-A Legendary War Cameraman in Vietnam”. Tony and my father had the greatest respect for each other. In the book, Tony gives graphic first hand accounts of covering the war in the jungle with American GIs. He also told several stories about my father that I hadn’t heard.

ABC News correspondent Dan North and his crew shot a heart breaking story about Marines desperately trying to save a wounded Marine. They took turns doing CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation while under fire. The Marine died. The film was shipped to New York where it was reviewed by my father. Tony quotes a telex my father sent the crew, “I would like to simply state that I have covered the news as a reporter and I have screened a great amount of film in the past twenty-one years but never have I been moved as I was yesterday when I screened your story of a Marine dying in Con Thien. You all displayed great courage and great pride in your work. God be with you.” My father was not an emotional man, or religious. I never would imagine him saying, “God be with you.” The images and the responsibility clearly moved him. He never spoke about it to me. He probably thought I was too young at the time, and he could be very private about his emotions.

In 2000, members of the Siagon Bureau had a 25 year reunion in Washington. I remember my mother being excited about attending. Tony writes about how my father was asked about the best and worst moments of covering the war. My father paused and said, “The best moments I recall were when correspondents came to see us and offered to go voluntarily to cover Vietnam. Then I wouldn’t have to force someone to go. It was a tremendous relief. The worst part was when our people were in a dangerous situation and I couldn’t sleep at night, worrying about them and anxiously waiting for the morning phone call to Saigon to find out if anyone was injured. If anyone was hurt, or, sadly, killed, it was all my responsibility and it was a heavy thing to bear.”

My father was never in the physical danger his correspondents and crews faced. But he clearly felt the burden and pressure of making sure they were safe. When I read these stories, I felt there was part of my father that I didn’t know. Having had my own career in television news, I had some experience with sending people into dangerous situations. But it was nothing compared to sending people to war. I wish I had known more about how he felt, and what he went through when he was still alive. There are many questions I have about things I’ve learned since his death. These stories of my father’s war gave me a glimpse into his feelings, but I wish he was here to tell me more.