John W. Morris
this job in Oklahoma or stay in the Army. I knew I was going to go to Vietnam if I stayed in the
Army. Gerry and I discussed the matter, and I told Mr. Kerr I couldn't accept his offer. I stayed
in the Pentagon another year after the list came out, till the spring of 1969. Meantime, Penney left
and my orders to Vietnam were issued. I told Secretary Resor goodbye. General [Harold K.]
Johnson had been replaced by General Westmoreland [as Chief of Staff of the Army]. I was
assigned to the 18th Engineer Brigade in Vietnam.
I left to go there in late April and arrived in Saigon on 29 April. Before that, my wife and I had
gone to Bermuda for a week holiday. I had told her I'd see her in Hawaii during Christmas 1969,
left from Baltimore, and flew on out there. You want to ask any questions about the Legislative
Liaison?
Q:
Yes, a couple of quick ones. Was this assignment important in terms of your getting more
knowledge about Congress, the congressional
A:
Yes. It was very important in that regard. I probably should have emphasized that.
In this assignment we dealt with Congress on specific issues, and normally they were adversarial.
Either you informed the Congress in advance or the staff became upset because they didn't get
the word early. I spent much time with all committees of Congress that had an interest in the
The Legislative Liaison job was very, very challenging. The responsibilities were rather heavy,
and I think Howard Penney gave me more freedom than most deputies. During the lull between
Penney's leaving and his replacement's coming in, General Westmoreland became Chief of Staff.
The following might be a good example of the staff aspects of the office of the chief, Legislative
Liaison, during the weekly staff meetings. The Legislative Liaison people sat along the wall and
the principal staff members sat at the table. During General Westmoreland's first or second
meeting as the Chief of Staff, he indicated he would like to invite all the newly elected
congressmen over for an orientation. He asked for the Legislative Liaison person. That was me,
so I announced myself. He asked me my thoughts on his plan. I explained that my initial reaction
was that it was not too good of an idea because the new congressmen are not as important as the
old congressmen. If we were going to brief anybody, we should brief the senior people before the
junior, newly elected members.
It turned out that General [Fred] Weyand, who had been director of Legislative Liaison before
Penney, was present. General Westmoreland turned to him and said, "Well, Fred, what do you
think about this? You used to run Legislative Liaison."
Weyand commented that if we were going to brief somebody, then brief the committee chairmen.
Don't start off with the least important people.
Well, that was my introduction to General Westmoreland. He appreciated the comment. The point
however is that Legislative Liaison is involved in most routine business of the Army staff. On a
daily basis the job took more of my time than any job I ever had. I had little control over my
destiny because the issues arose without warning, were so varied, and involved the Army's top
leaders. In hindsight, I capsulize the office of the chief of Legislative Liaison as requiring
thorough, accurate analysis of tough issues and the value of taking a clear, firm stand on your
views. Your seniors need them.
Q .. While you were there, the protest movement against the war began to grow, didn't it?
A:
Yes, very much so. In fact, they burned Washington while I was there, but I missed Under
Secretary [David]
going to the steps of the Pentagon and making his speech.
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