Lyndon Johnson, John Steinbeck and the Vietnam War
John Steinbeck was an American writer and journalist who is probably best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Grapes of Wrath", about the great depression and the migration of workers from the "dust bowl" of Oklahoma and Kansas to California.
In December of 1966, Steinbeck traveled to Vietnam, where he stayed for five months, until April 1967. He was sent to report on the Vietnam War. Steinbeck was criticized for his sympathetic portrayal of the United States Army in his reports. He was criticized by the New York Post, whose writers denounced him for betraying his liberal roots. Steinbeck's biographer Jay Parini wrote that Steinbeck's friendship with President Lyndon B. Johnson influenced his views on Vietnam, and that Steinbeck was also have concerned about the safety of his son, John Steinbeck III, who was serving in Vietnam. The picture below, taken in May of 1966, shows President Johnson with the elder and younger John Steinbeck, as 19 year old John III is about to leave for Vietnam.
President Johnson and Steinbeck had been friends prior to his Presidency. First lady "Lady Bird" (Claudia) Johnson and Steinbeck's wife Elaine had both attended the University of Texas. LBJ and John Steinbeck were said to have become friends since their first meeting in 1963. The Steinbecks appear in at least two of Mrs. Johnson’s home movies of the Johnson family and their friends at Camp David, one from 1965 and one from 1967. John Steinbeck also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.
Steinbeck was a staunch supporter of LBJ’s Vietnam policies. Both of Steinbeck’s sons Thom and John III served in Vietnam. While in Vietnam, the elder Steinbeck worked as a war correspondent for Newsday. Some of his columns from 1966-1967 were recently republished by the University of Virginia Press.
In December of 1966, Steinbeck traveled to Vietnam, where he stayed for five months, until April 1967. He was sent to report on the Vietnam War. Steinbeck was criticized for his sympathetic portrayal of the United States Army in his reports. He was criticized by the New York Post, whose writers denounced him for betraying his liberal roots. Steinbeck's biographer Jay Parini wrote that Steinbeck's friendship with President Lyndon B. Johnson influenced his views on Vietnam, and that Steinbeck was also have concerned about the safety of his son, John Steinbeck III, who was serving in Vietnam. The picture below, taken in May of 1966, shows President Johnson with the elder and younger John Steinbeck, as 19 year old John III is about to leave for Vietnam.
President Johnson and Steinbeck had been friends prior to his Presidency. First lady "Lady Bird" (Claudia) Johnson and Steinbeck's wife Elaine had both attended the University of Texas. LBJ and John Steinbeck were said to have become friends since their first meeting in 1963. The Steinbecks appear in at least two of Mrs. Johnson’s home movies of the Johnson family and their friends at Camp David, one from 1965 and one from 1967. John Steinbeck also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.
Steinbeck was a staunch supporter of LBJ’s Vietnam policies. Both of Steinbeck’s sons Thom and John III served in Vietnam. While in Vietnam, the elder Steinbeck worked as a war correspondent for Newsday. Some of his columns from 1966-1967 were recently republished by the University of Virginia Press.