Eventual Victory In Vietnam Predicted

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30762, 28 May 1965, Page 11

Eventual Victory In Vietnam Predicted

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, May 27. The commander of the American Legion, Mr Donald Johnson, today predicted eventual victory in the Vietnam war.

But he said United States forces might be there “for the next five, six or seven years.”

’ Mr Johnson, who has just returned from a special 17day trip to the Far East, went to the White House to give his assessment of the Vietnamese situation to Presiident Johnson.

The legion commander said he had come back from Vietnam with a feeling of cautious optimism, for there were many signs of success. But. he told reporters at the White House, the war there would be long and drawn-out. “1 could easily envisage activity in South Vietnam for i the next five, six or seven years,” he said. During his trip, Mr Johnson also visited Korea, Japan, Signapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. He said he wanted to tell

President Johnson “some of the good things I found in Australia and New Zealand.” Noting that Australia had already decided to commit an infantry battalion to the Vietnam war, he reported: “These two countries certainly provide the strongest

of allies for the United States

“They are very much aware of the strategic position of South Vietnam in their part of the world.” '