Craig McNamara, the son of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, grew emotional during a discussion in Hanoi on Thursday about his father and the war in Vietnam and his personal journey to understand its impact.

The event, organized by Vietnam Television (VTV) and the Vietnam Military History Museum, focused on McNamara’s reflections, which are also central to The Battle of Wills, a documentary set to air on VTV1 around April 30, marking the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s Reunification Day.

His memoir, Because Our Fathers Lied: A Memoir of Truth and Family, From Vietnam to Today, is also set to be introduced to Vietnamese readers by Tre Publishing House.

McNamara, wearing badges of both the U.S. and Vietnamese flags on his suit, openly answered questions about his father.

Earlier that morning, he had traveled from Pleiku City in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, where he was filming for the documentary.

For Craig McNamara, the publication of the book ‘Because our fathers lied - A memoir of truth and family, from Vietnam to today’ to Vietnamese readers is as important as it is to American readers. Photo: Dau Dung / Tuoi Tre

He and the VTV team visited several historical sites across Vietnam, including Khe Sanh, Truong Son Cemetery, Ta Con Airport, and Hien Luong Bridge in north-central Quang Tri Province; Son My Commune in central Quang Ngai Province; and Xuan Thieu Beach in Da Nang City.

He also visited My Tho City in Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam, the site of the historic battle of Ap Bac.

During his journey, McNamara spoke with Vietnamese veterans and described the difficulty of sharing his perspective. He recalled seeing young Americans sent to Vietnam to fight and later struggling upon their return.

“Is that a tragedy? I think it is a tragedy,” he said.

“On the Vietnamese side, you lost millions of people because of a war caused by the U.S.. That is a loss that cannot be compensated.”

Craig McNamara brought several copies of his book to Vietnam to give to Vietnamese readers. Photo: Dau Dung / Tuoi Tre

He recounted meeting two Vietnamese veterans who fought in Kon Tum and lost hundreds of comrades. Even decades later, tears still welled in their eyes.

At the Truong Son Cemetery, McNamara lit incense at numerous graves and paused at one belonging to a martyr who died in 1950. His voice broke as he said, “The day he died was the day I was born.”

McNamara expressed his commitment to continuing efforts to address the war’s aftermath in Vietnam.

Through his book and the documentary, he recounts witnessing his father’s role in shaping war strategy. He explained that the book’s title refers not only to his own father but to all those in the U.S. government at the time who “lied to their children about the true meaning of the war.”

Craig McNamara once participated in an anti-war movement to overcome the pain within his own family. Photo: Dau Dung / Tuoi Tre

McNamara revealed that he repeatedly asked his father about the war but never received a clear answer. “There was a silent war in my family. It was like an invisible wall that my father and I could not overcome,” he said. “If he were still alive, one of his greatest regrets would probably be that he never told me the truth.”

He said that writing the book was an attempt at healing. “I imagined that the book might help me close a chapter, or perhaps even heal wounds for myself,” he shared.

“In an earlier draft of the foreword, I wrote about the desire for forgiveness—for myself and for my father.”

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