“THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE“ by Neil Young

I caught you knockin'at my cellar doorI love you, baby,

can I have some more….Ooh, ooh, the damage done.

I hit the city andI lost my band

I watched the needletake another man

Gone, gone, the damage done.

I sing the songbecause I love the man

I know that someof you don't understand

Milk-bloodto keep from running out.

I've seen the needleand the damage done

A little part of it in everyoneBut every junkie'slike a settin' sun.

V.End of the War

A. 1968 – Presidential Primary Election

1. Dem Party in chaos

a. LBJ’s approval rating was very low

b. Dem challenger – Eugene McCarthy – very anti-war

c. McCarthy beats LBJ in New Hampshire primary

d. LBJ decides to not seek second term

e. Most Dems think McCarthy can’t beat Nixon (Republican) in general election

f. Bobby Kennedy (RFK) and LBJ’s vice-pres Hubert Humphrey join the Dem race

g. June 5, 1968 RFK Assassinated

2. 1968 Democratic National Convention

a. Humphrey (connected to LBJ)

vs.

b. McCarthy (anti-war)c. Protests erupt

d. Humphrey wins nomination

Humphrey

Bobby Kennedy

B. 1968 - The Presidential General Election1. Nixon (R) vs. Humphrey (D) vs. George Wallace (I)

a) The “silent majority” desire order and an end to the war

b) Nixon Wins -- Plans to End the War + restore order

2. April 1970 - Nixon orders bombings of Cambodia (along Ho Chi Minh Trail)

“We take this action not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam.”

--President Nixon

C. 1970 - Kent State Massacre1. Kent St. University, Ohio2. Student riot after hearing Nixon’s speech3. National Guard is called in4. Four students are killed 5. Americans sided w/ the Guard6. Do we have the freedom to protest?

“Ohio” performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; written by Neil Young

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,We're finally on our own.

This summer I hear the drumming,Four dead in Ohio.Gotta get down to it

Soldiers are gunning us down“Should have been done long ago.”

What if you knew herAnd found her dead on the groundHow can you run when you know?

Gotta get down to itSoldiers are gunning us down

“Should have been done long ago.”What if you knew her

And found her dead on the groundHow can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,We're finally on our own.

This summer I hear the drumming,Four dead in Ohio.

D. The U.S. Withdraws from Vietnam1. Jan. 1973 – cease fire signed between South and North2. U.S. troops come home, endure verbal abuse

“I wondered if my country would ever welcome us back. Welcome all of us in body and spirit. Or would we always remain a flaw in America’s vision of itself.”

~Frederick Downs, Vietnam War Veteran

3. North V. communists move into South V.4. April 29, 1975 – Communist North V. takes over Saigon, rename it “Ho Chi Minh City”5. V becomes a united, communist nation6. 58,000 Americans dead, 300,000 wounded, $150 billion spent

“The punishment for communicating could be severe, and a few POWs, having been caught and beaten for their efforts, had their spirits broken as their bodies were battered. Terrified of a return trip to the punishment room, they would lie still in their cells when their comrades tried to tap them up on the wall. But, very few would remain uncommunicative for long. To suffer all this alone was less tolerable than torture … Almost all would recover their strength in a few days and answer the summons to rejoin the living and begin tapping.”

—from Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir,

by John McCain

The Vietnam War Memorial, Washington, DC

“I am the living death

the Memorial Day on wheels

I am your yankee doodle dandy

Your John Wayne come home

Your 4th of July firecracker

exploding in the grave.”--Poem by Ray Kovic, Vietnam Veteran