VIETNAM -a hISTORY...
MAC
<<
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/VietnamOrigins_2.htm
>>
By Kennedy Hickman,
Post World War II Vietnam
The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots back to the end of
World War II. A French colony, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia)
had been occupied by the Japanese during the war. In 1941, a
Vietnamese nationalist movement, the Viet Minh, was formed by Ho Chi
Minh to resist the occupiers. A communist, Ho Chi Minh waged a
guerilla war against the Japanese with the support of the United
States. Near the end of the war, the Japanese began to promote
Vietnamese nationalism and ultimately granted the country nominal
independence.
Following the Japanese defeat, the French returned to take possession
of their colony. Their entrance into Vietnam was only permitted by the
Viet Minh after assurances had been given that the country would gain
independence as part of the French Union. Discussions broke down
between the two parties and in December 1946, the French shelled the
city of Haiphong and forcibly reentered the capital, Hanoi.
These actions began a conflict between the French and the Viet Minh
known as the First Indochina War. Fought mainly in North Vietnam, this
conflict ended when the French were decisively defeated at Dien Bien
Phu in 1954. The war was ultimately settled by the Geneva Accords of
1954, which temporarily partitioned the country at the 17th parallel,
with the Viet Minh in control of the north and a non-communist state
to be formed in the south under Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem. This
division was to last until 1956, when national elections would be held
to decide the future of the nation.
The Politics of American Involvement
Initially, the United States had little interest in Vietnam and
Southeast Asia, however as it became clear that the post-World War II
world would be dominated by the US and its allies and the Soviet Union
and theirs, isolating communist movements took an increased
importance. These concerns were ultimately formed into the doctrine of
containment and domino theory. First spelled out 1947, containment
identified that the goal of Communism was to spread to capitalist
states and that the only way to stop it was to �contain� it within its
present borders. Springing from containment was the concept of domino
theory which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to
Communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well.
These concepts were to dominate and guide US foreign policy for much
of the Cold War.
In 1950, to combat the spread of Communism, the United States began
supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its
efforts against the �red� Viet Minh. These efforts continued in 1956,
when advisors were provided to train the army of the new Republic of
Vietnam (South Vietnam). Despite their best efforts, the quality of
the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was to remain consistently
poor throughout its existence.
The Diem Regime
A year after the Geneva Accords, Prime Minister Diem commenced a
�Denounce the Communists� campaign in the south. Throughout the summer
of 1955, communists and other oppositionists were jailed and executed.
In addition to attacking the communists, Diem assaulted Buddhist sects
and organized crime, which further alienated the largely Buddhist
Vietnamese people and eroded his support. Later that year, Diem rigged
a referendum on the future of the country and declared the formation
of the Republic of Vietnam, with its capital at Saigon.
Despite this, the US actively supported the Diem regime as a buttress
against Ho Chi Minh�s communist forces in the north. In 1957, a
low-level guerrilla movement began to emerge in the south, conducted
by Viet Minh units that had not returned north after the accords. Two
years later, these groups successfully pressured Ho�s government into
issuing a secret resolution calling for an armed struggle in the
south. Military supplies began to flow into the south along the Ho Chi
Minh Trail and the following year the National Front for the
Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) was formed to carry out the
fight.
Failure and Deposing Diem
The situation in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate with
corruption rife throughout the Diem government and the ARVN unable to
effectively combat the Viet Cong. In 1961, the newly elected Kennedy
Administration promised more aid and additional money, weapons, and
supplies were sent with little effect. Discussions then began in
Washington regarding the need to force a regime change in Saigon. This
was accomplished on November 2, 1963, when the CIA aided a group of
ARVN officers to overthrow Diem. To help deal with the post-coup
chaos, Kennedy increased the number of US advisors in South Vietnam to
16,000.
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
On August 2, 1964, USS Maddox, an American destroyer, was attacked in
the Gulf of Tonkin by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats while
conducting an intelligence mission. A second attack seemed have
occurred two days later, though the reports were sketchy (It now
appears that there was no second attack). This second �attack� led to
US air strikes against North Vietnam and the passage of the Southeast
Asia (Gulf of Tonkin) Resolution by Congress. This resolution
permitted the president to conduct military operations in the region
without a formal declaration of war and became the legal justification
for escalating the conflict.
Bombing Begins
In retribution for the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin, President
Lyndon Johnson issued orders for the systematic bombing of North
Vietnam, targeting its air defenses, industrial sites, and
transportation infrastructure. Beginning on March 2, 1965, and known
as Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing campaign would last over
three years and would drop an average of 800 tons of bombs a day on
the north. To protect US airbases in South Vietnam, 3,500 Marines were
deployed that same month, becoming the first ground forces committed
to the conflict.
Early Combat
By April 1965, Johnson had sent the first 60,000 American troops to
Vietnam. The number would escalate to 536,100 by the end of 1968. In
the summer of 1965, under the command of General William Westmoreland,
US forces executed their first major offensive operations against the
Viet Cong and scored victories around Chu Lai (Operation Starlite) and
in the Ia Drang Valley. This latter campaign was largely fought by the
1st Air Cavalry Division which pioneered the use of helicopters for
high speed mobility on the battlefield.
Learning from these defeats, the Viet Cong seldom again engaged
American forces in conventional, pitched battles preferring instead to
resort to hit and run attacks and ambushes. Over the next three years,
American forces focused on searching and destroying Viet Cong and
North Vietnamese units operating in the south. Frequently mounting
large scale sweeps such as Operations Attleboro, Cedar Falls, and
Junction City, American and ARVN forces captured large amounts of
weapons and supplies but rarely engagd large formations of the enemy.
Political Situation in South Vietnam
In Saigon, the political situation began to calm in 1967, with the
rise of Nguyen Van Theiu to the head of the South Vietnamese
government. Theiu�s ascent to the presidency stabilized the government
and ended a long series of military juntas that had administered the
country since Diem�s removal. Despite this, the Americanization of the
war clearly showed that the South Vietnamese were incapable of
defending the country on their own.
The Tet Offensive
On January 21, 1968, an intense barrage of artillery hit the US Marine
base at Khe Sanh in northwest South Vietnam. This presaged a siege and
battle that would last for seventy-seven days and would see 6,000
Marines hold off 20,000 North Vietnamese. Anticipating that American
forces would be drawn north to the fighting at Khe Sanh, Viet Cong
units broke the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) cease-fire on January
30, 1968, by launching major attacks against most cities in South
Vietnam.
For the next two months, US and ARVN forces successfully beat back the
Viet Cong assault, with particularly heavy combat in the cities of Hue
and Saigon. Once the fighting had ended, the Viet Cong had been
permanently crippled and ceased to be an effective fighting force. On
April 1, US forces began Operation Pegasus to relieve the Marines at
Khe Sanh. After opening the road to Khe Sanh (Route 9) with a mix of
air mobile and ground forces, US troops linked up with the besieged
Marines on April 8
.
Aftereffects of Tet
While the Tet Offensive proved to be a military victory for the US and
ARVN, it was a political and media disaster. Public support began to
erode as Americans started to question the handling of the conflict.
Others doubted Westmoreland�s ability to command, leading to his
replacement in June 1968, by General Creighton Abrams. President
Johnson�s popularity plummeted and he withdrew as a candidate for
reelection. Ultimately, it was the media�s reaction and stressing of a
widening �credibility gap� that did the most damage to the Johnson
Administration�s efforts. Noted reporters, such as Walter Cronkite,
began to openly criticize Johnson and the military leadership, as well
as called for negotiated end to the war. Though he had low
expectations, Johnson conceded and opened peace talks with North
Vietnam in May 1968.
Handing Off the War
Campaigning under the slogan �Peace with Honor,� Richard M. Nixon won
the 1968 presidential election. His plan called for the
�Vietnamization� of the war which was defined as the systematic build
up of ARVN forces to the point that they could prosecute the war
without American support. As part of this plan, American troops would
slowly be removed. Nixon complemented this approach with efforts to
ease global tensions by reaching out diplomatically to the Soviet
Union and People's Republic of China. In Vietnam, the war shifted to
smaller operations geared towards attacking North Vietnamese
logistics.
Trouble on the Home Front
While the antiwar movement in the US was pleased with Nixon�s efforts
at d�tente with communist nations, it was inflamed in 1969, when news
broke about a massacre of 347 South Vietnamese civilians by US
soldiers at My Lai (March 18, 1968). Tension grew further when,
following a change in stance by Cambodia, the US began bombing North
Vietnamese bases over the border. This was followed in 1970, with
ground forces attacking into Cambodia, a move viewed as expanding the
war rather than winding it down. Public opinion sunk lower in 1971
with the release of the Pentagon Papers. A top secret report, the
Pentagon Papers detailed American mistakes in Vietnam since 1945, as
well as exposed lies about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, detailed US
involvement in deposing Diem, and revealed secret American bombing of
Laos. The papers also painted a bleak outlook for American prospects
of victory.
First Cracks
Despite the incursion into Cambodia, Nixon had begun the systematic
withdrawal of US forces, lowering troop strength to 156,800 in 1971.
That same year, the ARVN commenced Operation Lam Son 719 with the goal
of severing the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. In what was seen as a
dramatic failure for �Vietnamization,� ARVN forces were routed and
driven back across the border. Further cracks were revealed in 1972,
when the North Vietnamese launched a conventional invasion of the
South, attacking into the northern provinces and from Cambodia. This
offensive was only defeated with the support of US airpower (Operation
Linebacker).
Working for Peace
In October 1972, Nixon�s National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger,
concluded a secret peace agreement with North Vietnam�s Le Duc Tho.
After reviewing the agreement, President Thieu demanded major
alterations to the document. In response, the North Vietnamese
published the details of the agreement and stalled the negotiations.
Feeling that Hanoi had attempted to embarrass him and to force them
back the table, Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in
late December 1972 (Operation Linebacker II). On January 15, 1973,
after pressuring South Vietnam to accept the peace deal, Nixon
announced the end of offensive operations against North Vietnam.
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords ending the conflict were signed January 27,
1973, and were followed by the withdrawal of the remaining American
troops. The terms of the accords called for a complete ceasefire in
South Vietnam, allowed North Vietnamese forces to retain the territory
they had captured, released US prisoners of war, and called for both
sides to find a political solution to the conflict. As an enticement
to Thieu, Nixon offered US airpower to enforce the peace terms.
Standing Alone, South Vietnam Falls
With US forces gone from the country, South Vietnam stood alone.
The situation worsened in December 1974, when Congress passed the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1974, cutting off all military aid.
This act removed the threat of air strikes should North Vietnam break
the terms of the accords.
Shortly after the act�s passage, North Vietnam began a limited
offensive in Phuoc Long Province to test Saigon�s resolve. The
province fell quickly and Hanoi pressed the attack. Surprised by the
ease of their advance, against largely incompetent ARVN forces, the
North Vietnamese stormed through the south, finally capturing Saigon.
South Vietnam surrendered on April 30, 1975, following the fall of its
capital. After thirty years of conflict, Ho Chi Minh�s vision of a
united, communist Vietnam had been realized.
Casualties of the Vietnam War
During Vietnam War, the United States suffered 58,119 killed, 153,303
wounded, and 1,948 missing in action. Casualty figures for the
Republic of Vietnam are estimated at 230,000 killed and 1,169,763
wounded. Combined the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong suffered
approximately 1,100,000 killed in action and an unknown number of
wounded. It is estimated that between 2 to 4 million Vietnamese
civilians were killed during the conflict.
====================
Mac, the Medic
( Not the person calling itself "MARK"... )
Jack G.
wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:08:03 -0700, MAC
Reported as spam posted by a theif and troll.
Jack G.
wrote:
> >Reported as spam posted by a theif and troll.
>
>
> After that try and post some on topic messages and stop disrupting our
> group. There is no sense for you to continue engaging in childish
> behavior and driving our membership from our group. Show consideration
> and respect for those of us who served.
>
> - Mac, the medic
Reported as spam. My spill chicker works fine. Show consideration for
this group by going away.
Old Sarge
I have a few boxed sets of the Vietnam war from all sorts of sources and
rarely are scenes duplicated. This leaves me to believe there's one hell of
a photo library out there someplace. The Library of Congress has plenty and
so does NARA, but not near the amount I see in these DVD sets. I'm going to
pass these sets down to my Grandkids hoping they will pass them along to
their kids. There's just not enough time in school to teach this story. If
we we all did the same, we could ensure our story will be told. I know all
Vietnam veterans are trustworthy, therefore, I'll send a set to anyone that
request them on condition I get them back in the same condition you received
them. I will ensure you receive them. Keep them for two weeks and ship
back to me or give me a call.
Rich
On 6/16/10 8:25 AM, in article
f66cf187-9dce-479d...@k17g2000pro.googlegroups.com, "Jack G."
<j.gr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> states and that the only way to stop it was to łcontain˛ it within its
>>> present borders. Springing from containment was the concept of domino
>>> theory which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to
>>> Communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well.
>>> These concepts were to dominate and guide US foreign policy for much
>>> of the Cold War.
>>
>>> In 1950, to combat the spread of Communism, the United States began
>>> supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its
>>> efforts against the łred˛ Viet Minh. These efforts continued in 1956,
>>> when advisors were provided to train the army of the new Republic of
>>> Vietnam (South Vietnam). Despite their best efforts, the quality of
>>> the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was to remain consistently
>>> poor throughout its existence.
>>
>>> The Diem Regime
>>
>>> A year after the Geneva Accords, Prime Minister Diem commenced a
>>> łDenounce the Communists˛ campaign in the south. Throughout the summer
>>> of 1955, communists and other oppositionists were jailed and executed.
>>> In addition to attacking the communists, Diem assaulted Buddhist sects
>>> and organized crime, which further alienated the largely Buddhist
>>> Vietnamese people and eroded his support. Later that year, Diem rigged
>>> a referendum on the future of the country and declared the formation
>>> of the Republic of Vietnam, with its capital at Saigon.
>>
>>> Despite this, the US actively supported the Diem regime as a buttress
>>> against Ho Chi Minhąs communist forces in the north. In 1957, a
>>> low-level guerrilla movement began to emerge in the south, conducted
>>> by Viet Minh units that had not returned north after the accords. Two
>>> years later, these groups successfully pressured Hoąs government into
>>> issuing a secret resolution calling for an armed struggle in the
>>> south. Military supplies began to flow into the south along the Ho Chi
>>> Minh Trail and the following year the National Front for the
>>> Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) was formed to carry out the
>>> fight.
>>> Failure and Deposing Diem
>>
>>> The situation in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate with
>>> corruption rife throughout the Diem government and the ARVN unable to
>>> effectively combat the Viet Cong. In 1961, the newly elected Kennedy
>>> Administration promised more aid and additional money, weapons, and
>>> supplies were sent with little effect. Discussions then began in
>>> Washington regarding the need to force a regime change in Saigon. This
>>> was accomplished on November 2, 1963, when the CIA aided a group of
>>> ARVN officers to overthrow Diem. To help deal with the post-coup
>>> chaos, Kennedy increased the number of US advisors in South Vietnam to
>>> 16,000.
>>> Gulf of Tonkin Incident
>>
>>> On August 2, 1964, USS Maddox, an American destroyer, was attacked in
>>> the Gulf of Tonkin by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats while
>>> conducting an intelligence mission. A second attack seemed have
>>> occurred two days later, though the reports were sketchy (It now
>>> appears that there was no second attack). This second łattack˛ led to
>>> government. Theiuąs ascent to the presidency stabilized the government
>>> and ended a long series of military juntas that had administered the
>>> country since Diemąs removal. Despite this, the Americanization of the
>>> war clearly showed that the South Vietnamese were incapable of
>>> defending the country on their own.
>>
>>> The Tet Offensive
>>
>>> On January 21, 1968, an intense barrage of artillery hit the US Marine
>>> base at Khe Sanh in northwest South Vietnam. This presaged a siege and
>>> battle that would last for seventy-seven days and would see 6,000
>>> Marines hold off 20,000 North Vietnamese. Anticipating that American
>>> forces would be drawn north to the fighting at Khe Sanh, Viet Cong
>>> units broke the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) cease-fire on January
>>> 30, 1968, by launching major attacks against most cities in South
>>> Vietnam.
>>
>>> For the next two months, US and ARVN forces successfully beat back the
>>> Viet Cong assault, with particularly heavy combat in the cities of Hue
>>> and Saigon. Once the fighting had ended, the Viet Cong had been
>>> permanently crippled and ceased to be an effective fighting force. On
>>> April 1, US forces began Operation Pegasus to relieve the Marines at
>>> Khe Sanh. After opening the road to Khe Sanh (Route 9) with a mix of
>>> air mobile and ground forces, US troops linked up with the besieged
>>> Marines on April 8
>>> .
>>> Aftereffects of Tet
>>> While the Tet Offensive proved to be a military victory for the US and
>>> ARVN, it was a political and media disaster. Public support began to
>>> erode as Americans started to question the handling of the conflict.
>>> Others doubted Westmorelandąs ability to command, leading to his
>>> replacement in June 1968, by General Creighton Abrams. President
>>> Johnsonąs popularity plummeted and he withdrew as a candidate for
>>> reelection. Ultimately, it was the mediaąs reaction and stressing of a
>>> widening łcredibility gap˛ that did the most damage to the Johnson
>>> Administrationąs efforts. Noted reporters, such as Walter Cronkite,
>>> began to openly criticize Johnson and the military leadership, as well
>>> as called for negotiated end to the war. Though he had low
>>> expectations, Johnson conceded and opened peace talks with North
>>> Vietnam in May 1968.
>>
>>> Handing Off the War
>>
>>> Campaigning under the slogan łPeace with Honor,˛ Richard M. Nixon won
>>> the 1968 presidential election. His plan called for the
>>> łVietnamization˛ of the war which was defined as the systematic build
>>> up of ARVN forces to the point that they could prosecute the war
>>> without American support. As part of this plan, American troops would
>>> slowly be removed. Nixon complemented this approach with efforts to
>>> ease global tensions by reaching out diplomatically to the Soviet
>>> Union and People's Republic of China. In Vietnam, the war shifted to
>>> smaller operations geared towards attacking North Vietnamese
>>> logistics.
>>> Trouble on the Home Front
>>
>>> While the antiwar movement in the US was pleased with Nixonąs efforts
>>> at détente with communist nations, it was inflamed in 1969, when news
>>> broke about a massacre of 347 South Vietnamese civilians by US
>>> soldiers at My Lai (March 18, 1968). Tension grew further when,
>>> following a change in stance by Cambodia, the US began bombing North
>>> Vietnamese bases over the border. This was followed in 1970, with
>>> ground forces attacking into Cambodia, a move viewed as expanding the
>>> war rather than winding it down. Public opinion sunk lower in 1971
>>> with the release of the Pentagon Papers. A top secret report, the
>>> Pentagon Papers detailed American mistakes in Vietnam since 1945, as
>>> well as exposed lies about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, detailed US
>>> involvement in deposing Diem, and revealed secret American bombing of
>>> Laos. The papers also painted a bleak outlook for American prospects
>>> of victory.
>>> First Cracks
>>
>>> Despite the incursion into Cambodia, Nixon had begun the systematic
>>> withdrawal of US forces, lowering troop strength to 156,800 in 1971.
>>> That same year, the ARVN commenced Operation Lam Son 719 with the goal
>>> of severing the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. In what was seen as a
>>> dramatic failure for łVietnamization,˛ ARVN forces were routed and
>>> driven back across the border. Further cracks were revealed in 1972,
>>> when the North Vietnamese launched a conventional invasion of the
>>> South, attacking into the northern provinces and from Cambodia. This
>>> offensive was only defeated with the support of US airpower (Operation
>>> Linebacker).
>>> Working for Peace
>>
>>> In October 1972, Nixonąs National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger,
>>> concluded a secret peace agreement with North Vietnamąs Le Duc Tho.
>>> After reviewing the agreement, President Thieu demanded major
>>> alterations to the document. In response, the North Vietnamese
>>> published the details of the agreement and stalled the negotiations.
>>> Feeling that Hanoi had attempted to embarrass him and to force them
>>> back the table, Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in
>>> late December 1972 (Operation Linebacker II). On January 15, 1973,
>>> after pressuring South Vietnam to accept the peace deal, Nixon
>>> announced the end of offensive operations against North Vietnam.
>>> Paris Peace Accords
>>
>>> The Paris Peace Accords ending the conflict were signed January 27,
>>> 1973, and were followed by the withdrawal of the remaining American
>>> troops. The terms of the accords called for a complete ceasefire in
>>> South Vietnam, allowed North Vietnamese forces to retain the territory
>>> they had captured, released US prisoners of war, and called for both
>>> sides to find a political solution to the conflict. As an enticement
>>> to Thieu, Nixon offered US airpower to enforce the peace terms.
>>> Standing Alone, South Vietnam Falls
>>
>>> With US forces gone from the country, South Vietnam stood alone.
>>
>>> The situation worsened in December 1974, when Congress passed the
>>> Foreign Assistance Act of 1974, cutting off all military aid.
>>> This act removed the threat of air strikes should North Vietnam break
>>> the terms of the accords.
>>
>>> Shortly after the actąs passage, North Vietnam began a limited
>>> offensive in Phuoc Long Province to test Saigonąs resolve. The
>>> province fell quickly and Hanoi pressed the attack. Surprised by the
>>> ease of their advance, against largely incompetent ARVN forces, the
>>> North Vietnamese stormed through the south, finally capturing Saigon.
>>> South Vietnam surrendered on April 30, 1975, following the fall of its
>>> capital. After thirty years of conflict, Ho Chi Minhąs vision of a
Jack G.
wrote:
> Old Sarge,
>
> You might want to pass on your DVD player to them as well. In a few
> years they will be obsolete just like the VHS's, record players, and
> old zip drives. Sure they can still be found but I don't think many
> places are making them anymore because of low demand for antiquested
> systems.
>
> - Mac, the medic
>
>
>
> >To make a long story short EXCUSE THE TOP POST;
>
> >I have a few boxed sets of the Vietnam war from all sorts of sources and
> >rarely are scenes duplicated. This leaves me to believe there's one hell of
> >a photo library out there someplace. The Library of Congress has plenty and
> >so does NARA, but not near the amount I see in these DVD sets. I'm going to
> >pass these sets down to my Grandkids hoping they will pass them along to
> >their kids. There's just not enough time in school to teach this story. If
> >we we all did the same, we could ensure our story will be told. I know all
> >Vietnam veterans are trustworthy, therefore, I'll send a set to anyone that
> >request them on condition I get them back in the same condition you received
> >them. I will ensure you receive them. Keep them for two weeks and ship
> >back to me or give me a call.
>
> >Rich
>
> >On 6/16/10 8:25 AM, in article
> >>>> present borders. Springing from containment was the concept of domino
> >>>> theory which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to
> >>>> Communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well.
> >>>> These concepts were to dominate and guide US foreign policy for much
> >>>> of the Cold War.
>
> >>>> In 1950, to combat the spread of Communism, the United States began
> >>>> supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its
> >>>> when advisors were provided to train the army of the new Republic of
> >>>> Vietnam (South Vietnam). Despite their best efforts, the quality of
> >>>> the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was to remain consistently
> >>>> poor throughout its existence.
>
> >>>> The Diem Regime
>
> >>>> A year after the Geneva Accords, Prime Minister Diem commenced a
> >>>> of 1955, communists and other oppositionists were jailed and executed.
> >>>> In addition to attacking the communists, Diem assaulted Buddhist sects
> >>>> and organized crime, which further alienated the largely Buddhist
> >>>> Vietnamese people and eroded his support. Later that year, Diem rigged
> >>>> a referendum on the future of the country and declared the formation
> >>>> of the Republic of Vietnam, with its capital at Saigon.
>
> >>>> Despite this, the US actively supported the Diem regime as a buttress
> >>>> low-level guerrilla movement began to emerge in the south, conducted
> >>>> by Viet Minh units that had not returned north after the accords. Two
> >>>> issuing a secret resolution calling for an armed struggle in the
> >>>> south. Military supplies began to flow into the south along the Ho Chi
> >>>> Minh Trail and the following year the National Front for the
> >>>> Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) was formed to carry out the
> >>>> fight.
> >>>> Failure and Deposing Diem
>
> >>>> The situation in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate with
> >>>> corruption rife throughout the Diem government and the ARVN unable to
> >>>> effectively combat the Viet Cong. In 1961, the newly elected Kennedy
> >>>> Administration promised more aid and additional money, weapons, and
> >>>> supplies were sent with little effect. Discussions then began in
> >>>> Washington regarding the need to force a regime change in Saigon. This
> >>>> was accomplished on November 2, 1963, when the CIA aided a group of
> >>>> ARVN officers to overthrow Diem. To help deal with the post-coup
> >>>> chaos, Kennedy increased the number of US advisors in South Vietnam to
> >>>> 16,000.
> >>>> Gulf of Tonkin Incident
>
> >>>> On August 2, 1964, USS Maddox, an American destroyer, was attacked in
> >>>> the Gulf of Tonkin by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats while
> >>>> conducting an intelligence mission. A second attack seemed have
> >>>> occurred two days later, though the reports were sketchy (It now
> >>>> and ended a long series of military juntas that had administered the
> >>>> war clearly showed that the South Vietnamese were incapable of
> >>>> defending the country on their own.
>
> >>>> The Tet Offensive
>
> >>>> On January 21, 1968, an intense barrage of artillery hit the US Marine
> >>>> base at Khe Sanh in northwest South Vietnam. This presaged a siege and
>
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Mama Troll has spoken.
Mac the Other
South Vietnamese assisted by US helicopters and B52 Arc Light missions
defeated the NVA forces in Quang Tri province as well as Kontum (which was
pretty much a done deal the first week of June) province and down south near
An Loc. The ARVN proved they could hold their own as long as they had our
support. Once we left Vietnam the NVA rebuilt itself with a steady supply
of Chinese and Russion equipment.....while the South Vietnamese were
abandoned by our govt who stopped all assistance and by the end of April '75
it was all over.
all that aside, it is my belief that our govt wanted the war over with no
matter who 'won' we had quite a few crash sites we wanted to examine for
remains of Americans who died as a result of said crash. (KIA BNR) I was
part of a signal outfit near Utapao airbase in Thailand and we were sheduled
to go back into Vietnam with other American forces (some from the SF Det
stationed in Thailand) and look for some of the missing....the NVA said they
wouldn't guarantee our safety in case there was a battle between NVA and
ARVN....more political bullshit and we never deployed. look at this
wikipedia article for more info on the old Joint Task Force Full Accounting
which moved to it's present location in Hawaii in '76 and at some point
began to be allowed in Vietnam once the North 'won' the war.
in my reading of info on my old signal unit in Pleiku I found that the old
71st Evac (67th Evac in '72) was going to be a staging area for peace
keepers and MIA searches for the Tri Border Area. There were two other
in-country (South Vietnam) to be used for this very reason as well. these
three locations would also take part in any in-country repatriation of
POW's.....somehow after all this was planned etal, the North say's "we only
got these guys up north" (the Operation Homecoming POWs) which seems kinda
odd since there were supposedly POW's in-country and then they all magically
were whsked from the jungles in the south and 'voila, here they are in
Hanoi' utter bullshit.
now before some crackpot or crackhead shouts "Bullshit, thereant no POW/MIA
still alive" I agree with that.....not what I'm saying. my belief
(MY belief) is that there WERE POW/MIA follks in the South or across the
border in the area of the HCM Trail. goddamn it these fuckers were
abandoned and not unlike POW's we had in our possession that became a
liability and not an asset. here have a bullet for breakfast....the worms
and other bugs'll love you for it.
so any of you want to look at what I looked at check out the info on 1st
Signal Bde assets as well as 146th Signal Co (Pleiku) also STRATCOM (1st Sig
morphed back into STRATCOM in late 72) there were a bunch of info stored
in the files at the Vietnam Research Texas Tech....
an asiide to Tom Rau, if you know anyone from the SF Detachment in Thailand
in late 72 and 1973. my 1SG last name was Self and he also worked the
Signal Section at Group HQ down in Nha Trang he was given two places to
go in SEA in late 72 and he chose the bunch of misfits I was part of at Camp
Samae San down off the end of the runway at Utapao.
Jack G.
wrote:
> Hope Jack takes up your offer. That way he can learn a little bit
> about the Vietnam War.
>
> - Mac, the medic
>
>
>
> >To make a long story short EXCUSE THE TOP POST;
>
> >I have a few boxed sets of the Vietnam war from all sorts of sources and
> >rarely are scenes duplicated. This leaves me to believe there's one hell of
> >a photo library out there someplace. The Library of Congress has plenty and
> >so does NARA, but not near the amount I see in these DVD sets. I'm going to
> >pass these sets down to my Grandkids hoping they will pass them along to
> >their kids. There's just not enough time in school to teach this story. If
> >we we all did the same, we could ensure our story will be told. I know all
> >Vietnam veterans are trustworthy, therefore, I'll send a set to anyone that
> >request them on condition I get them back in the same condition you received
> >them. I will ensure you receive them. Keep them for two weeks and ship
> >back to me or give me a call.
>
> >Rich
>
> >On 6/16/10 8:25 AM, in article
> >>>> present borders. Springing from containment was the concept of domino
> >>>> theory which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to
> >>>> Communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well.
> >>>> These concepts were to dominate and guide US foreign policy for much
> >>>> of the Cold War.
>
> >>>> In 1950, to combat the spread of Communism, the United States began
> >>>> supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its
> >>>> when advisors were provided to train the army of the new Republic of
> >>>> Vietnam (South Vietnam). Despite their best efforts, the quality of
> >>>> the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was to remain consistently
> >>>> poor throughout its existence.
>
> >>>> The Diem Regime
>
> >>>> A year after the Geneva Accords, Prime Minister Diem commenced a
> >>>> of 1955, communists and other oppositionists were jailed and executed.
> >>>> In addition to attacking the communists, Diem assaulted Buddhist sects
> >>>> and organized crime, which further alienated the largely Buddhist
> >>>> Vietnamese people and eroded his support. Later that year, Diem rigged
> >>>> a referendum on the future of the country and declared the formation
> >>>> of the Republic of Vietnam, with its capital at Saigon.
>
> >>>> Despite this, the US actively supported the Diem regime as a buttress
> >>>> low-level guerrilla movement began to emerge in the south, conducted
> >>>> by Viet Minh units that had not returned north after the accords. Two
> >>>> issuing a secret resolution calling for an armed struggle in the
> >>>> south. Military supplies began to flow into the south along the Ho Chi
> >>>> Minh Trail and the following year the National Front for the
> >>>> Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) was formed to carry out the
> >>>> fight.
> >>>> Failure and Deposing Diem
>
> >>>> The situation in South Vietnam continued to deteriorate with
> >>>> corruption rife throughout the Diem government and the ARVN unable to
> >>>> effectively combat the Viet Cong. In 1961, the newly elected Kennedy
> >>>> Administration promised more aid and additional money, weapons, and
> >>>> supplies were sent with little effect. Discussions then began in
> >>>> Washington regarding the need to force a regime change in Saigon. This
> >>>> was accomplished on November 2, 1963, when the CIA aided a group of
> >>>> ARVN officers to overthrow Diem. To help deal with the post-coup
> >>>> chaos, Kennedy increased the number of US advisors in South Vietnam to
> >>>> 16,000.
> >>>> Gulf of Tonkin Incident
>
> >>>> On August 2, 1964, USS Maddox, an American destroyer, was attacked in
> >>>> the Gulf of Tonkin by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats while
> >>>> conducting an intelligence mission. A second attack seemed have
> >>>> occurred two days later, though the reports were sketchy (It now
> >>>> and ended a long series of military juntas that had administered the
> >>>> war clearly showed that the South Vietnamese were incapable of
> >>>> defending the country on their own.
>
> >>>> The Tet Offensive
>
> >>>> On January 21, 1968, an intense barrage of artillery hit the US Marine
> >>>> base at Khe Sanh in northwest South Vietnam. This presaged a siege and
> >>>> battle that would last for seventy-seven days and would see 6,000
> >>>> Marines hold off 20,000 North Vietnamese. Anticipating that American
> >>>> forces would be drawn north to the fighting at
>
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Reported as stupid. Grow up homo.
Dai Uy
> (MY belief) is that there WERE POW/MIA follks in the South or across the
> border in the area of the HCM Trail.
Local Hawaiian boy Emmet Kay was captured in '73 by Lao and
Chinese troops. He was later ransomed and released by the Pathet Lao
on September 18, 1974 -- about nineteen months after Operation
Homecoming. He had spent about sixteen months as a POW and never saw
another American. His captors gave him contradictory stories about
holding or executing others. He was the last man out.
> an asiide to Tom Rau, if you know anyone from the SF Detachment in Thailand
> in late 72 and 1973.
I spent about a twenty month assignment with the 46th Company '67
- '69. The only guy I knew who was there in '72 has since passed on
-- he had been working with the FANK training medics. By '72, I was
getting into being a college sophmore.
> my 1SG last name was Self and he also worked the
> Signal Section at Group HQ down in Nha Trang
Didn't know him. May have heard him on the single side band, but
never met him. The name rings a bell, but I think you've remarked
about him before. I spent less than six hours at Nha Trang in '69.
I've been there after the war ('92), but not recently.
***
Mac the Other
"Dai Uy" <Dai...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote in message
news:e33a4bf3-2f4c-4882...@k17g2000pro.googlegroups.com...