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American Morning

Today Marks 20th Anniversary of Groundbreaking for Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Aired March 26, 2002 - 07:40   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Every year, nearly four-and-a-half million people pay their respects at the Wall in Washington. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the most visited monument in our nation's capital. The names of more than 58,000 men and women, who died in America's longest and most unpopular war, are inscribed there.

And today marks the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking, and among those being honored is Vietnam war correspondent Joe Galloway. His book was the basis for the just-released movie, "We Were Soldiers."

(BEGIN MOVIE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You and your boys did a hell of a job today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the last flight for the night, Colonel.

(END MOVIE CLIP)

ZAHN: And joining us this morning from the site of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington is Joe Galloway, along with Jan Scruggs, founder and president of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund -- welcome, gentlemen -- delighted to have both of you with us this morning.

JOE GALLOWAY, CO-AUTHOR, "WE WERE SOLDIERS": Nice to be here.

JAN SCRUGGS, VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FUND: Hi.

ZAHN: Thank you. So, Joe, tell us a little bit more about this award that's going to be given out later today.

GALLOWAY: Well, this was Jan's idea. I am very honored to have such an award named after me. It is intended to honor each year a war correspondent, who has risked everything to get the story and get the truth out.

ZAHN: And you're the one that's actually going to receive the inaugural award?

GALLOWAY: No, I'm not receiving it. I am just here for the ride. A gentleman from "Time" magazine, Alex Perry (ph)...

SCRUGGS: That's correct. GALLOWAY: ... is receiving the first annual award. Mr. Perry was...

ZAHN: And I -- oh, please go on and tell us a little bit more about his service to the country.

GALLOWAY: Mr. Perry is a "Time" magazine correspondent based in New Delhi and has been covering the Afghanistan war for the last six- seven months and reported from the battlefield on the recapture of the prison at Mazar-e-Sharif and has been covering the fighting since then. And in fact, he is still in Afghanistan.

ZAHN: And of course, he is in Afghanistan at a time when more than a half dozen journalists have lost their jobs -- lost their lives in the line of duty. What are your concerns as this operation continues?

GALLOWAY: Well, it's a very different kind of war than anything I have ever seen, and it's a very difficult war to cover for a journalist. Small special operations forces operating sometimes on horseback, I don't know how you cover that. Obviously by taking a lot of risks, and at one point until very recently more correspondents had been killed in Afghanistan than American soldiers.

ZAHN: And, Jan, we mentioned in the introduction to this segment that this is, of course, the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the Vietnam War Memorial. Since September 11, we have heard that the number of people visiting the Vietnam Memorial and other memorials is way down, and there is talk of actually putting cameras around all of these memorials to make sure tourists are protected when they do come to visit them. What do you think about that?

SCRUGGS: Well, tourism is down here in Washington. There is an idea to put some security cameras near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. And I am not sure how I feel about it. The important thing is that the memorial is protected, and actually we are just trying to get two- way radios for our volunteers so that they can report any suspicious activities. So if they are that concerned, I would hope that the Parks Service would allow us to get the two-way radios our volunteers need.

ZAHN: And as you reflect on the groundbreaking 20 years ago and think about what our nation has endured since then, what goes through your mind, Jan?

SCRUGGS: I'll tell you what goes through my mind, Paula, is that America's youth -- this memorial is older than the people who visit it, and we are trying to get a bill through Congress to create an education center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. And that we just need everyone to call Senator Tom Daschle and thank him for his patriotism and just to make sure that he gets this bill through. He is a great patriot, and we know he will deliver -- Senator Tom Daschle.

ZAHN: Joe, a final thought from you this morning on what films, such as the one you helped inspire, "We Were Soldiers," impact that national psyche.

GALLOWAY: Well, the film is very important. It's part of the healing process. The Vietnam veterans, the Vietnam soldiers fought an unpopular war, and they came home to no welcome or a dishonorable welcome. And we think that's wrong, and it's very important to get the story right and get the truth out there, so that America can understand the young men and women now who go in harm's way on behalf of our country.

ZAHN: Well, Joe Galloway and Jan Scruggs, we thank both of you for sharing a little time with us this morning and help us better understand about what's going to take place there a little bit later on today -- have a good day and good luck.

GALLOWAY: Thanks, Paula.

SCRUGGS: Thank you.

ZAHN: Take care.

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