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The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust our own government statements. I had no idea until then that you could not rely on them.

Having grown up as a young Army officer in the Vietnam era, I had an instinctual sort of notion that you have to look very carefully and weigh very carefully what anyone says.

In the early stages of our involvement in Vietnam, basically I felt that our course was right. My concern grew with the concern of the American people.

I wasn't for Vietnam. When I told that to the hippie newspaper, all my people got nervous.

I learned long ago on the battlefields of Vietnam that in a crisis, there is no substitute for clear-eyed leadership.

I simply told people what I thought about the state of the war in Vietnam, and it was that we better get out of this.

Working-class, blue-collar guys who volunteered for Vietnam were ascribed certain political beliefs. It's time that this was redressed. It had nothing to do with politics. Once these men got to Vietnam, it was a matter of survival.

I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it.

When it came to the Vietnam War, Mr. McNamara was an early advocate of escalation but came to realize the flaws in the American approach earlier than many of his colleagues. Yet in public, he continued to defend the war.

I was the guy who was constantly speaking out against the Vietnam War. I have no regrets about that.