Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, July 18, 1968—PAGE 7 Dr. George S. Benson The people who have been crying out in horror about the “brutality” of U. S. bombing raids on North Vietnam have been silent while the Vietcong deliberately bombed the center of Saigon with rockets, killing thousands of civilians, destroy ing residential areas and hos pitals, and making tens of thousands homeless. The lead ing “Doves” continue to press loudly for the negotiation of a “coaiition” government i n South Vietnam which would in clude the Communist Vietcong. This has disturbed one of America’s foremost news papermen and war correspon dents, Jim Lucas, of the Scripps - Howard newspapers. The U. S. Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security has just published testimony of Mr. Lucas, back home in America after four years covering the Vietnam war. I wish every American citizen could read the transcript. It can be ob tained from your Congressman or Senator. It is of particular importance because of the so- called “peace negotiations” underway between the U. S. and the North Vietnam Com munists in Paris, and because there are so many and such widely divergent opinions on the Vietnam war. A Distinguished Reporter Jim Lucas is perhaps the nation’s foremost war corre spondent. At 54 he has won more honors than any active journalist — the Pulitzer Prize, the Ernie Pyle Award (twice), the George Polk Me morial Award and at least a dozen others of highest calibre. He was one of The Marine Corps first combat correspon dents, and has won distin guished military awards. Since 1964 he has covered all fight ng fronts in Vietnam. Speaking out frankly about the divisions of opinion in America, Mr. Lucas said: “In the wars that most of us in our generation remember — World War II and Korea — there was not this clash of American against American. Even in our office there are reporters that I have been very friendly with in the past, > and I would say that our relationship is con siderably strained because we have taken opposite sides.” Americans Should Back Troops “Vietnam has divided this country. I do not understand the division. I guess I am too simplistic. To me the issues are so crystal clear that I find it puzzling that there could be these doubts. Yet, realistically, I know they exist.” Mr. Lucas then gave his opinion that the American public is not getting a true picture of the Vietnam war and the military incidents and actions, and that this has contributed to the uneasineoa and division among citizens. “I do not watch much tele vision any more,” he said. “I get too mad. I lose my temper.” He said the American press generally had been unfair to the South Vietnam Govern ment and its army. “As a member of the press,” he said “I confess that we have not been fair to either the South Vietnamese Government or its army. . . I wrote absolutely nothing about the South Viet namese Army. I did not have any circulation in South Viet nam. I wrote about Americans with hometown addresses. . . Vietnamese Fighting Well “About once every two months, prodded by Lew Walt (General Lewis Walt, Com mander of the Marine Corps) would check to see what they had done. And I would learn that the South Vietnamese Army had won five, six, seven or eight pretty substantial vic tories. But nobody had written anything about them. So the impression grows that the South Vietnamese Army is no good. “I am asked, ‘How can the North Vietnamese be so much better motivated than our people?’ In the first place, they aren’t; they are not 7 feet tall. They put their trousers on one leg at a time like any body else. . . They are sending four men South for every man they intend to use: one to de fect, one to be killed en route, one to succumb to malnutri tion, and, finally, one to en gage. They don’t have inex haustible reserves of man power.” And as for the politi cal, social and economic re forms underway in South Viet nam, he said: “We are trying to help these people do in one generation what we have ac complished in this country in four or five. It is going to take time. They are trying to do this while fighting for their very existence.” The one credit card to have if your husband says ou may have only one! Now, there’s a credit card designed with you in mind—SCN BankAmericard, the credit card for everything. It’s as good as cash at more than 4,000 stores throughout South Carolina. It’s also honored in25 states from coast to coast! So visit any South Carolina National Bank office today and take a BankAmericard application home to your husband. It’s the one credit card to have... if he says you may have only one! ©0© Since , 1834 mmmwm OUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL BA .’v.-Xv'-'v'■ ‘BinkAmejica Servke Corporation. 1938, 1967 ‘Servicemark* owned and licensed by Bank America Service Corporation vivsh’s* - «* •