Barry Zorthian

About

Spokesman for the U.S. government in the 1960s, who became a key player in the military-press relations during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Colonel in 1973.

Before Fame

He was sent to Saigon to help calm a press corps increasingly disillusioned with the government's rosy version of events in Vietnam.

Trivia

He too had to keep his answers vague to avoid sensitive information, resulting in his daily press briefings being dubbed The Five O'Clock Follies.

Family Life

He was born in Katahya, Turkey, his father an Armenian writer, who escaped from a Turkish prison.

Associated With

He was the media advisor to General William Westmoreland in Vietnam, and to three ambassadors.