Thread by @PrezWisdom

BEHIND THE SCENES

My series about the stories behind popular pictures, portraits, and moments of our Presidents

Today’s subject:
**This** famous photo of Lyndon Baines Johnson 🇺🇸

Enjoy the brief thread below ⬇️!

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@LBJLibrary @VVAmerica @VVMF

While it can be argued the Vietnam War touched many Presidents - it can be argued further that it impacted the presidency - and health - of Lyndon Baines Johnson 🇺🇸 the hardest

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“I guess we’ve got no choice, but it scares the death out of me. I think everybody’s going to think, ‘we’re landing the Marines, we’re off to battle.’”
- Lyndon Baines Johnson 🇺🇸
6 March 1965.

On 8 March 1965 the first combat troops touched the beaches of Danang

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At the beginning of Vietnam's escalation Lyndon Johnson 🇺🇸 would go to the Lincoln Bedroom at around 2am and stayed for hours, continuously calling the Situation Room to sadly learn "how many of my boys were out there...and how many of my boys didn't come back today"

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In the midst of this, Lyndon Johnson’s 🇺🇸 daughter Lynda Johnson began a romance w/White House military aide Charles Robb

They were engaged and married in December 1967

Capt. Robb was to serve in Vietnam so the wedding was arranged so they could have time together

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Capt. Robb was off to Vietnam, only adding to the stress of the First Family

Robb would send back taped reports from Vietnam

It’s here we see his father in law, President Lyndon Johnson 🇺🇸, listening to one of those tapes of the voice of his son-in-law
(31 July 1968)

#POTUS 🧵