by THEA ROSENBAUM
Thea Rosenbaum fought on the front lines for women’s equality.
One night Hubert Humphrey came to town. He was running for president. He was another of the VIPs. He was there for the inauguration of President Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam and Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky.
[No Place for a Lady] The party was at the Presidential Palace, but from its title you shouldn’t get the idea that it was all splendor and opulence. The palace was just a large, plain hall. The entrance was fairly small and in a corner. Humphrey was standing outside in the foyer, talking to people at the door, when mortars hit. Mortar fire is very distinct; it sounds a certain way. Three mortar rounds hit. One was right in the garden of the palace. A lot of people hit the ground. The Secret Service was on top of Humphrey in a second, although I didn’t see him actually go down since my view was blocked. I didn’t hit the ground, either. I ran toward Humphrey, who dusted himself off. He was looking at me, so I asked him, “What do you think about this hello from Saigon?”
Humphrey replied, “We’re not getting scared off that easily. But hopefully that’s it for the welcome.”
Then the party continued. Later, a reporter for the Saigon Post wanted to know what I had said to Humphrey and what he answered. There were also other correspondents who immediately asked what he said. I gave them the quote. I was very happy to be interviewed. But when the morning’s paper came out, I was shocked to find that I was quoted as Mrs. Richard Rosenbaum when I told them my name was Thea Rosenbaum of the DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur – the German Press Agency). Even then, they still had my name wrong. It really pissed me off. I didn’t like it. And I thought, “I want to do something about this.”
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