Original pencil doodle by President Lyndon B. Johnson accomplished on a sheet of 4.5 x 7 "Aboard Air Force One" stationery, done on May 17, 1966, as a visual aid to explain the complicated situation in Vietnam. Includes a letter to noted bibliophile Philip D. Sang from Congressman Sidney R. Yates on House of Representatives letterhead, May 19, 1966, in part: "I am enclosing the 'visual aid doodle' which President Lyndon B. Johnson drew during his explanation of his concept of what was happening in the Vietnamese war. It occurred aboard the plane, Air Force One, on the afternoon of May 17 while the President and the congressional delegation were flying to the fund raising dinner to be held in Chicago that evening. The top circle, he explained, was Hanoi. The lower circle on the left was Haiphong. The corridor represented by the parallel lines was the flow of men and supplies from North Vietnam into Danang. The square in the margin represented what he called 'Pol'—not explained, but assumed to be a power and light installation. I don't remember what was represented by the numerals 85 and 55. The explanation for the diagram, of course, was that he was beset with the question of how to stop the flow of men and materiel from North Vietnam into South Vietnam. The various pencil marks that are scattered throughout the sheet were made as he emphasized points in his explanation. Congressman Pucinski took the first two sheets of this three sheet doodle, while I took the third one." In fine condition, with scattered light creasing. Accompanied by an original official Lyndon B. Johnson bill signing pen, imprinted with his facsimile signature on the side, as typically given to politicians, reporters, and guests at bill signings and other events.
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