Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Did President Lyndon Johnson Really Deserve His Silver Star?
Aired July 05, 2001 - 09:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And now to a controversy of historic proportions: the question of whether former President Lyndon B. Johnson actually earned his Silver Star? That is the Army's third highest combat award.
Our military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre has done some extensive research to try to set the record straight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an effort to clarify the historical record, CNN has reexamined previously published documents about LBJ's wartime service and conducted fresh interviews with the few eyewitnesses who are still alive. While not conclusive, the available evidence raises questions, not only about whether the Silver Star, seen here on display at the LBJ Library, was undeserved, but also whether it was awarded based on a battle report that was inaccurate and incomplete.
December 7, 1941,...
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A date which will live in infamy.
MCINTYRE: ... Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor galvanized the nation. Lyndon Johnson, a lanky congressman from Texas, become the first member of Congress to enter active duty.
ROBERT DALLEK, HISTORIAN: The minute World War II began, he was a very ambitious politician, and he understood that if he was going to run for some higher office down the road, he needed to have some kind of military service. So he volunteered and become a naval officer. And so he's in Washington, and he goes to see Roosevelt and convinces him to send him on a inspection tour of the southwest Pacific.
MCINTYRE: These rare home movies from a camera Congressman Johnson carried on that tour show the young protege of President Franklin Roosevelt in Australia where he meet General Douglas MacArthur, who allowed him to go on a single bombing mission as an observer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: It was General Douglas MacArthur who awarded Lyndon Johnson the Silver Star for that single flight on a mission as an observer on a bombing run over enemy territory. No one else on the plane got a medal for that mission. And now we've located two witnesses who dispute the official account that Johnson's plane came under fire.
Our in-depth report airs at 5:00 Eastern time on "INSIDE POLITICS." And also look for full details on CNN.com where you can examine some of the documents for yourself that we uncovered during our several months of research -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And, Jamie, we will look for those. Fascinating story. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
