DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Student demonstrations correspondence, 1965 | 1965-10-25 John T. Stacy to President Howard R. Bowen Page 2

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Student demonstrations correspondence, 1965

1965-10-25 John T. Stacy to President Howard R. Bowen Page 2 - Clipping

Marine Chastises 'Babbling Nitwits'

MOLINE, Ill. (UPI)  A young marine officer, writing to his wife and their home town newspaper, denounced the anti-Viet Nam demonstrators as a "group of babbling nitwits" who "have offered comfort and aid to our enemy."

First Lt. Ward S. Johnson, 23, in a letter scrawled on seven sheets of lined notepaper, wrote from his post in the Vietnamese jungle, "I have also developed a hatred for some of you at home."

"I am speaking of those of you who carry idiotic placards denouncing our stand in Viet Nam and march in circles that closely resemble your pattern of thinking," he wrote.

"And I am speaking to you 'intellectuals,' college students and professors, who undermine our efforts with your 'teach-ins.' And I am speaking to those of you who have called the Marines in Viet Nam animals, butchers and killers of women and children and have even offered comfort and aid to our enemy."

THE UNIVERSITY of Illinois graduate spoke of what the Viet Nam war is like -- "At night, a rat can always be found in one of our tents. We have learned to ignore them." And he praised his platoon -- a collection of "war babies" and high school dropouts" -- who he said have done a tremendous job.

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Marine Chastises 'Babbling Nitwits' MOLINE, Ill. (UPI) A young marine officer, writing to his wife and their home town newspaper, denounced the anti-Viet Nam demonstrators as a "group of babbling nitwits" who "have offered comfort and aid to our enemy." First Lt. Ward S. Johnson, 23, in a letter scrawled on seven sheets of lined notepaper, wrote from his post in the Vietnamese jungle, "I have also developed a hatred for some of you at home." "I am speaking of those of you who carry idiotic placards denouncing our stand in Viet Nam and march in circles that closely resemble your pattern of thinking," he wrote. "And I am speaking to you 'intellectuals,' college students and professors, who undermine our efforts with your 'teach-ins.' And I am speaking to those of you who have called the Marines in Viet Nam animals, butchers and killers of women and children and have even offered comfort and aid to our enemy." THE UNIVERSITY of Illinois graduate spoke of what the Viet Nam war is like -- "At night, a rat can always be found in one of our tents. We have learned to ignore them." And he praised his platoon -- a collection of "war babies" and high school dropouts" -- who he said have done a tremendous job.