During the Johnson administration, public support for the Vietnam War fell below 50 percent for the first time. In October 1967, nearly 100,000 people joined the March on the Pentagon to protest the war. The Johnson administration tried to tamp down dissent with news of progress, going so far as to call General William Westmoreland home from the battlefield to project optimism to the American people at the end of 1967. It was the first time a theater commander had been called home from the battlefield.
The general told a group of journalists, “we have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view.” This is one of the questions asked of him by a reporter: “None of the ‘phases’ you outline mentions surrender by North Vietnam. What is the significance of this omission?”
