Oral history transcript, William H. Darden, interview 2 (II), 3/27/1987, by Michael L. Gillette

Senate Preparedness Subcommittee hearings in the early 1950s relating to the draft; problems with drafting doctors for military duty; Darden's work under the Armed Services Committee; problem with drafting WWII veterans for service in Korea; how the Armed Services Committee changed during Darden's tenure; the Armed Services Committee's relationship with the Pentagon, secretaries of defense and secretaries of the military departments; General Douglas MacArthur and his relationship with President Truman; the work of the Preparedness Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee; LBJ's changing personnel and payroll; the value of the Preparedness Subcommittee; military money-wasting; how the Armed Service Committee members got along; critical stockpiling; economic aid to the Middle East; the decision to place the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; deliberations regarding sending military forces to Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam; support for Republic of China's President Chiang Kai-shek; conflict over whether the air force should develop more manned bombers; LBJ's political philosophy; LBJ's views on civil rights; LBJ's relationship with Senator Richard Russell.