This is Alec Baldwin, and you're listening to Here's the Thing from IHeart Radio.

My guest today is a renowned journalist and former CBS correspondent for 60 Minutes.

Known for his acclaimed investigative reporting, Steve Croft,

has won five Peabody Awards and 11 Emmy Awards, including a Lifetime

Achievement Emmy in 2003.

His legendary reporting career spans international war coverage and major historical events such

as the Chernobyl disaster and the infamous 1992 interview with Hillary and President Bill Clinton.

Steve Croft got his starred in journalism when he was drafted into the Army in 1970.

There he worked for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, as a correspondent photographer

in Vietnam. He received an honorable discharge from the Army a year later in 1971.

Although the war would not officially end for another four years, I was curious if Croft had any sense

that the end of conflict was near when he arrived in Vietnam.

We had a sense that it was supposed to wind down. I'm not really sure I had much confidence in that because it was still dangerous.

And actually, actually, 1969 was the bloodiest year of the war.

More people killed?

I would have guessed 68, but it was 69, and that was all fighting sort of geared up to pulling the U.S. troops out.

I have to tell you right now, I mean, this was the beginning of my journalism career.

Did you feel a sense when you were there that you were managed in terms of what reporting they expected from you?

Definitely. I mean, the first 10 months I was there, I was with headquarters company with the 25th Infantry Division, and I was an information special.

Cucci.

Coochee.

And I did a half an hour radio show for Armed Forces Network every week, and one of my jobs was to escort network correspondents and print correspondence out in the field, yeah.

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