Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Rather Visits Historic CBS Saigon Bureau


TWENTY YEARS AGO, Dan Rather returned to the old CBS News Saigon Bureau. I took him there. Room 206 of the Caravelle Hotel was the operations center for the network war news coverage. As a young reporter, Rather said, "this is where I earned my stripes." Both former Marines, we were back in Vietnam for a special "CBS Reports" program. Dan was the lead reporter. I was a field producer. In 1993, the former CBS bureau had reverted back to a hotel room and the couple staying there let us step inside for a couple pictures. Then we visited the Caravelle's rooftop terrace, where correspondents could watch the war at night while sipping gin and tonics