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April 26, 2000
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EDT

(CNN) – In 1965, the U.S. started sending combat troops to Vietnam and began bombing North Vietnam. Ten years later, the war in Vietnam came to an end on April 29, 1975, when the last American troops and officials were evacuated from Saigon. Washington's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, or The Wall, is inscribed with the names of the 58,000 Americans who died in the war.

Adrian Cronauer was a U.S. Air Force DJ during the Vietnam War. He originated the now familiar phrase, "Good morning, Vietnam!" After the war, he co-authored the hit movie, "Good Morning, Vietnam!", starring Robin Williams. Cronauer is Senior Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Institute. He joined the chat to discuss the 25^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

Chat Moderator: Good morning, Adrian Cronauer. Welcome to CNN Chat.

Adrian Cronauer: GOOOOD morning!

Chat Moderator: Please tell us about your background and the special role you played during the Vietnam War.

Adrian Cronauer: I'm not sure if it was a special role. Everybody had his own job to do. There are always far more support people than combat troops, usually between 12 and 15 support troops for every combat person. Each of us was simply trying to do his job as well as possible. We had cooks and medics and supply people and personnel people and truck drivers and military police and disc jockeys. Each of us made his own contribution.

Question from navyseabeedoc: How accurately did the movie portray your actual role in Vietnam?

Adrian Cronauer: That is the number one question far and away that I'm asked. And the answer is that anyone that has been in the military knows that if I had done half the things Robin did in that film, I would still be in Leavenworth instead of Washington. There's a lot of Hollywood exaggeration and outright imagination. None of the people portrayed in the film are based on actual persons -- they’re all stereotypes -- for legal reasons, like invasion of privacy. On the other hand, if you were to name any character in the film -- as is true of any good stereotype -- I could probably name a half dozen people I knew in my four years in the Air Force who fit that personality type.

Chat Moderator: Have you been back to Vietnam since the war?

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Adrian Cronauer: No. I don't have any real burning desire to go back. My attitude is "been there, done that, bought the T-shirt." There are a lot of other places that I'd much rather see. Those who have gone back tell me that Vietnam hasn't seem to have changed much in the last 35 years.

Question from Sunny1: How can we go about healing the emotional wounds which still remain from this war?

Adrian Cronauer: That goes right to something I said a few minutes ago on TV. I just finished reading a book by B. G. Burkett entitled "Stolen Valor." Burkett wrote his book to counter the mythical image of Vietnam veterans as disheveled, slovenly, long-haired, alcoholic, drug abusing, borderline psychotic, dysfunctional losers, hanging around street corners in dirty, camouflaged fatigues.

At the end of his book, Burkett made a suggestion that I like a lot. He believes that Vietnam veterans are owed an apology. Our country has apologized to all sorts of people: American Indians, Japanese who were interred during WWII. We've apologized to former enemies and former friends. And asked for forgiveness. I think -- and I agree with Burkett, who thinks -- that every man and woman who served in Vietnam, every family that lost a son or a daughter, is due an apology. Not for their service or their loss, but rather for the indifference and disrespect that was shown to then when they returned from Vietnam. There's no compensation for their loss but there should be for the lack of honor and respect that was owed them, but was never given.

And Congress should pass a joint resolution in the form of an apology. Further, it should be read on an appropriate date -- perhaps Veterans Day or Memorial Day -- at The Wall, by the President of the United States. And it doesn't matter at that time if the President is a draft dodger or a war hero. Others should be invited to sit behind the President: Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Ramsey Clark, absolutely Robert McNamara, and perhaps some representatives from the media such as Dan Rather and maybe Peter Jennings. The apology should be offered to and accepted by the living recipients of the Medal of Honor while the next of kin of the men and women named on The Wall should be there as honored guests.

Question from does: Adrian, do you think the apology that you mentioned earlier will ever come to pass?

Adrian Cronauer: If enough of us demand it, yes. But, as is true with anything the veterans have ever achieved for themselves in this country, it won't be forthcoming unless we all stand up and apply political pressure to make it happen.

Question from MikeinSyr: Adrian, I was with the 7th Marines over there and just want to thank you for your efforts on AFR. Few people can claim to have made a difference in life; you did. Thanks.

Adrian Cronauer: Thank you for the kind comments and for what you did and "Welcome home, brother." I never realized what Armed Forces Radio really meant until after the film came out. Since then I have attended many, many veterans meetings and reunions. On more than a dozen occasions, a man has come up to me, shaken my hand, and quietly said, "Thank you for helping me get through Nam." I can't think of a more moving reward.

Question from sethjg: Do you believe that the shock jocks of today are much compared to yourself?

Adrian Cronauer: What I did in 1965 and 1966 bore little relationship to what Robin did in the film. He was doing his own schtick, which is ad-lib humor, one liners, quick impressions. What I did was more situational humor, pre-recorded stock characters, drop-ins and other material that was common on morning shows in the mid-60s. Robin did 1988 style radio, almost approaching shock radio. If we had done it authentically, it probably would have sounded antiquated and old-fashioned and mild by comparison.

Question from Manuka: Adrian, what are you doing these days?

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Adrian Cronauer: Well, I stayed in broadcast management and advertising for many years. But, in the mid-80s I hit a mid-life crisis and decided it was time to get into an honest profession. So I went to law school. And now I practice communications law here in Washington. I represent radio stations, a radio satellite network, people bidding on new frequencies. And I do some copyright and trademark law and represent talent in negotiating with their stations and networks.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts for us on this occasion today?

Adrian Cronauer: Actually, I think this -- for the veterans -- is not the important occasion. This is the 25th anniversary of when the Communists took over South Vietnam. But the American military left in 1973, and so our 25th anniversary was two years ago. There's a phenomenon you will find with Vietnam veterans that you will find among veterans of no other war -- not WWII, not Korea, not Panama, not Grenada, not Desert Storm, not Bosnia. Only among Vietnam veterans will you find that when they gather together, they frequently greet each other with the phrase "welcome home." The reason they feel compelled to say that to each other, of course, is because no one else ever said it to them, which I believe is a dirty rotten, crying shame.

So, let me finish by saying to all my fellow veterans, "God bless you, thank you for what you did, and welcome home."

Chat Moderator: Thank you, Adrian Cronauer, for joining us today.

Adrian Cronauer: I enjoyed it myself, thank you.