DOCSLIB.ORG

No Sure Victory: Measuring U.S. Army Effectiveness and Progress in the Vietnam War

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
No Sure Victory: Measuring U.S. Army Effectiveness and Progress in the Vietnam War NO SURE VICTORY: MEASURING U.S. ARMY EFFECTIVENESS AND PROGRESS IN THE VIETNAM WAR Gregory A. Daddis Lieutenant Colonel United States Army A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Richard H. Kohn Alex Roland Michael H. Hunt Joseph T. Glatthaar Wayne E. Lee ©2009 Gregory A. Daddis ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT GREGORY A. DADDIS: No Sure Victory: Measuring U.S. Army Effectiveness and Progress in the Vietnam War (Under the direction of Richard H. Kohn) This study analyzes how the United States Army component of the Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MACV) attempted to measure its progress and effectiveness while conducting counterinsurgency operations during the Vietnam War. It illustrates the difficulties staff officers and commanders confronted in identifying useful metrics for gauging success in an unconventional environment. Political, economic, and cultural factors all impinged on the course and conduct of the army’s counterinsurgency operations. These factors also influenced how commanders attempted to assess their effectiveness and progress. From a historiographical standpoint, most secondary literature on the Vietnam War maintains that the U.S. Army simply used “body counts” to measure its military effectiveness in a counterinsurgency environment. These sources contend that since army officers could not depend on traditional measures such as geography to determine if they were winning or losing, they reverted to the organizationally comfortable procedure of counting enemy dead. The purpose of this study is to correct this inaccurate simplification and, more importantly, to discover how the U.S. Army, confronted by an unfamiliar enemy and form of warfare, attempted to measure its successes and failures. It will do so by examining the army’s doctrine for counterinsurgency, its formulation of measurements to assess progress in the Vietnam War, and the army’s use and modification of these measurements during a long and complex war. In the process, this study investigates the army’s efforts to measure its progress and effectiveness in a number of key areas iii throughout the conflict: counterinsurgency operations, search and destroy missions, pacification efforts, and the training of South Vietnamese forces iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………..……………...vi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………...………ix MAPS……………………………………………………………………..............x INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………..............1 Chapter 1 OF QUESTIONS NOT ASKED……………………………………….26 2 MEASUREMENTS WITHOUT OBJECTIVES ……………………...60 3 AN “UNPRECEDENTED VICTORY”………………………………..99 4 METRICS IN THE YEARS OF AMERICAN FIREPOWER………..139 5 ““WE ARE WINNING SLOWLY BUT STEADILY”……………….176 6 THE YEAR OF TET………………………………………………….218 7 “A TIME FOR TESTING”……………………………………............258 8 SOLDIERS’ INTERLUDE………………………………………..….295 9 STAGGERING TO THE FINISH…………………………………….325 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………..........360 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………...380 v ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT AFQT Armed Forces Qualification Test APC Accelerated Pacification Campaign ARCOV United States Army Combat Operations in Vietnam ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam CGSC Command and General Staff College CIA Central Intelligence Agency CINCPAC Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command CIP Counterinsurgency Plan CJCS Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff COMUSMACV Commander, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam CORDS Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support COSVN Central Office of South Vietnam CTZ Corps Tactical Zone DMZ Demilitarized Zone DoD Department of Defense DRV Democratic Republic of Vietnam FLN Algerian National Liberation Front FM Field Manual FWMAF Free World Military Assistance Forces GVN Government of South Vietnam HES Hamlet Evaluation System JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff JUSMAPG Joint United States Military Advisory and Planning Group KIA Killed in Action LZ landing zones vi MAAG Military Assistance Advisory Group MACV Military Assistance Command, Vietnam MCP Malayan Communist Party NCO Noncommissioned Officer NLF National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam NSC National Security Council NSSM National Security Study Memorandum NVA North Vietnamese Army PAAS Pacification Attitude Analysis System PAVN People’s Army of Vietnam; see also NVA PLAF People’s Liberation Armed Forces; see also VC PRG Provisional Revolutionary Government PROVN Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of South Vietnam RD Revolutionary Development RF/PF Regional Forces/Popular Forces ROAD Reorganization Objectives Army Division RVN Republic of Vietnam RVNAF Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces SAME Senior Advisor’s Monthly Evaluation SEER System for Evaluating the Effectiveness of RVNAF TCK-TKN Tong Cong Kich-Tong Khoi Nghia (General Offensive-General Uprising) TFES Territorial Forces Evaluation System VC Vietnamese Communist, Vietcong VCI Vietcong Infrastructure USAID United States Agency for International Development vii ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES CARL Combined Arms Research Library. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas CMH U.S. Army Center of Military History. Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States . U.S. Department of State. LBJL Lyndon B. Johnson Library Oral History Collection. Austin, Texas. JCSHO Joint Chiefs of Staff History Office. The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. MHI U.S. Army Military History Institute. Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. NARA National Archives & Records Administration. College Park, Maryland. OSDHO Office of the Secretary of Defense Historical Office. Washington, D.C. TTUVA The Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University. Lubbock, Texas. USAASL U.S. Army Armor School Library. Fort Knox, Kentucky. USAAWCL U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center, Aviation Technical Library. Fort Rucker, Alabama. USMA United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. VNIT Vietnam Interview Tape Collection, CMH. Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. WCWP William C. Westmoreland Papers WPSC Special Collections, United States Military Academy Library. West Point, New York. viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Indochina, 1961……………………………………………………..…x 2. Map of I Corps Tactical Zone, 1965-1967……………………………………xi 3. Map of II Corps Tactical Zone, 1965-1967………………………………......xii 4. Map of III Corps Tactical Zone, 1965-1967………………………………...xiii 5. Map of IV Corps Tactical Zone, 1965-1967……….………………………..xiv ix Figure 1 All maps taken from Richard W. Stewart, ed., American Military History, Vol. II, The United States in a Global Era, 1917-2003 (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 2005) x Figure 2 xi Figure 3 xii Figure 4 xiii Figure 5 xiv INTRODUCTION “Then, no matter what we do in the military field there is no sure victory?” - President Lyndon B. Johnson “That’s right. We have been too optimistic.” - Secretary Of Defense Robert S. McNamara White House Meeting, 18 December 1965 On 6 June 1944, American, British, and Canadian forces launched their amphibious invasion against Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Determined to secure a foothold on French soil, Allied soldiers labored through the English Channel’s surf only to be met by mines, obstacles, and the covering fire of German defenders. One American combat engineer in the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach articulated the fears of many Allied commanders fretting the lack of progress on the 1 st Infantry Division assault beaches. “We were really just pinned down and couldn’t really see anyone to shoot at. Around ten o’clock things looked hopeless on our part of the beach.” 1 By mid-day, Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, the U.S. First Army’s commander, was becoming increasingly alarmed over stagnating conditions on the beachheads. Fragmentary reports from Leonard T. Gerow’s V Corps created added confusion. Bradley recalled that as the Omaha landings fell “hours and hours behind schedule” the Allied command faced an “imminent crisis” about whether and how to deploy follow-up forces. Throughout the day, Bradley and his officers agonized over potential German counterattacks. 2 1 John Zmudzinksi as quoted in Ronald J. Drez, ed., Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994), 239. For an excellent operational overview of this campaign, see Carlo D'Este, Decision in Normandy (New York: Harper Perennial, 1991). 2 Omar Bradley, A Soldier’s Story (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1951), 271. On the beaches, small groups of infantrymen struggled to make their way inland under withering German fire. Carnage was everywhere. A lieutenant in the U.S. 29 th Infantry Division estimated that for every one hundred yards of beach, thirty-five to fifty corpses lay slumped on the sand. 3 Despite the damage they suffered, the Americans slowly but perceptibly began pushing back the German defenders. Just before 1:30 p.m. Bradley received his first bit of good news from V Corps headquarters. “Troops formerly pinned down on beaches Easy Red, Easy Green, Fox Red advancing up heights behind beaches.” 4 As midnight approached, the Americans held a tenuous grip on the French mainland. They were, however, still far short of their objectives outlined in the original Overlord plans. The 4,649 casualties sustained in Bradley’s First Army on 6 June clearly indicated that putting 55,000 men ashore had been no simple task—despite the beach codenames
Load more

Recommended publications
  • STRIKE HISTORY (Citation’S and Awards)
    STRIKE Vietnam War Weekly History December 10th – December 16th, 2017 Issue: 78 st nd nd st Brief History of the 501 , 502 and 2 Brigade (101 ABN DIV) The 502nd, or “five-oh-deuce”, was activated July 1, 1941 at Fort Benning, Georgia as the 502nd parachute infantry battalion, as an experimental unit formed to test the doctrine and tactics of parachute assaults. The 502nd entered combat in World War II on June 6, 1944, by jumping into Normandy, with allied forces landing on D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. Between 1945 and 1964. A major reorganization took place on 3 February 1964, when the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne was activated at Fort Campbell, replacing the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 501st Infantry Regiment. The reorganization from the battle groups to brigades and battalions placed two battalions of the 502nd in different brigades of the 101st. The 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry was in the 1st Brigade with 1-327th and 2-327th Infantry. Which deployed to Vietnam and arrived at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam on 29 July 1965, they were commanded by the most notable commander LTC Hank “The Gunfighter” Emerson. The new 2nd Brigade’s original organic battalions were the 1st and 2d Battalions, 501st Infantry, and the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry. December 1967 the 501st, 502nd and 2nd Brigade deployed by C-141 aircraft and arrived at Bien Hoa Airbase on 13 December 1967. Over the next five years, Soldiers of the “Ready to Go” Brigade participated in twelve campaigns, compiling of a distinguished combat record as well as an enviable reputation for success in the rehabilitation of a war-torn nation.
    [Show full text]
  • Command History 1970. Volume 4
    11101UGK"Aa I ti, MIILLfi CV) Ln z LEVEL INVENTC LnMW,$ H/r' 0y/9 1e/0~. 8 DOCUMENT IDENTIFICATION bw.. pikn x" MIS mtmo W DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT ACCESSION FOR "NTIS GRA&I DTIC TAB UNANNOUNCED DTIC E EcTE JUSTIFICATION s 5 98AN0 BY OA DISTRIBUTION AVAILABILITY CODES "fi DIST . AVAIL AND/OR SPECIAL, ' DATE ACCESSIONED DISTRIBUTION STAMP UNAN.O E Best Available Copy DATE RETURNED 89 25 044 DATE RECEIVED IN DTIC REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED N PHOTOGRAPH THIS SHEET AND RETURN TO DTIC-FDAC DTIC PORM 70A DOCUMENT PROCESSING SHEETSTOCK MAR 86 ISEXHAUSTED. D C M N R C S I G S E TPt..I U D T O A ; HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM APO SAN FRANCISCO 96222 COMMAND HISTORY 1970 ZAA VOLUME IV-ME EXCLUDID FROM AUTOMATIC KERADING jw IDODDIR S100.10 DO[S NOT APPLY~u~up NNW CJPY MO. Of200 COpiEi MOM" UNCLASSIFIED SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (When Data Entered) REOTDCMNTTO AEREAD INSTRUCTIONS REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE •BEFORE COMPLETING FORM . RERT NUMBER olume IV, 2. GOVT ACCESSION NO. 3. RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NUMBER HQ USMACV COMMAND HISTORY, 1970 4. TITLE (and Subtitle) S. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED Command History, 1970, Volume IV Final - 1970 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER None 7. AUTHOR(e) -. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(a) Militar: Hi:.-ory Branch. Office of the Secretary JointL Staff Headquarteis, USMACV, APO San -- Francisco 9622'2 kSaigon. Vietnam) 9. P.RFO'IMI|G ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASK AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS None I. CONTRc.LLING OFFICL N 01 4,ND ADDRESS 12.
    [Show full text]
  • The United States Atomic Army, 1956-1960 Dissertation
    INTIMIDATING THE WORLD: THE UNITED STATES ATOMIC ARMY, 1956-1960 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Paul C. Jussel, B.A., M.M.A.S., M.S.S. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee Approved by Professor Allan R. Millett, Advisor Professor John R. Guilmartin __________________ Professor William R. Childs Advisor Department of History ABSTRACT The atomic bomb created a new military dynamic for the world in 1945. The bomb, if used properly, could replace the artillery fires and air-delivered bombs used to defeat the concentrated force of an enemy. The weapon provided the U.S. with an unparalleled advantage over the rest of the world, until the Soviet Union developed its own bomb by 1949 and symmetry in warfare returned. Soon, theories of warfare changed to reflect the belief that the best way to avoid the effects of the bomb was through dispersion of forces. Eventually, the American Army reorganized its divisions from the traditional three-unit organization to a new five-unit organization, dubbed pentomic by its Chief of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor. While atomic weapons certainly had an effect on Taylor’s reasoning to adopt the pentomic organization, the idea was not new in 1956; the Army hierarchy had been wrestling with restructuring since the end of World War II. Though the Korean War derailed the Army’s plans for the early fifties, it returned to the forefront under the Eisenhower Administration. The driving force behind reorganization in 1952 was not ii only the reoriented and reduced defense budget, but also the Army’s inroads to the atomic club, formerly the domain of only the Air Force and the Navy.
    [Show full text]
  • EXTENSIONS of REMARKS, Vol
    32618 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 155, Pt. 24 December 17, 2009 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS HONORING ROSE KAUFMAN rollcall Vote No. 933; H. Res. 940, rollcall Vote is that of the largest land battle in our Army’s No. 934; H. Res. 845, rollcall Vote No. 935; history and the turning point of World War II. HON. NANCY PELOSI H.R. 2278, rollcall Vote No. 936; H. Res. 915, Its precedent is the model it provides, even OF CALIFORNIA rollcall Vote No. 937; and H. Res. 907, rollcall today, for our men and women in combat. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Vote No. 938. During my 31 years of service in the Navy, I f witnessed acts of extraordinary bravery and Wednesday, December 16, 2009 resolve among the men and women under my HONORING THE 65TH ANNIVER- Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I rise today command. As a Vice Admiral, I was honored SARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE to honor the life of an extraordinary wife, to serve with the finest sailors that our country BULGE mother, grandmother, and artist, Rose Kauf- has to offer and witness these men and man. women perform their duties with the same pur- The Pelosi family was blessed to be forever HON. JOE SESTAK pose and spirit that led the Allied Forces to joined to the Kaufman family when our daugh- OF PENNSYLVANIA victory 65 years ago. ter Christine married Rose and Phil’s son, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES This past August, I was honored with the Peter. Their wedding brought us all closer to- Wednesday, December 16, 2009 opportunity to welcome the 83rd Infantry Divi- gether and made us a single family and dear Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: an Administrative History. INSTITUTION National Park Service (Dept
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 266 012 SE 046 389 AUTHOR Paige, John C. TITLE The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: An Administrative History. INSTITUTION National Park Service (Dept. of Interior), Washington, D.C. REPORT NO NPS-D-189 PUB DATE 85 NOTE 293p.; Photographs may not reproduce well. PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141) -- Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC12 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Conservation (Environment); Employment Programs; *Environmental Education; *Federal Programs; Forestry; Natural Resources; Parks; *Physical Environment; *Resident Camp Programs; Soil Conservation IDENTIFIERS *Civilian Conservation Corps; Environmental Management; *National Park Service ABSTRACT The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) has been credited as one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's most successful effortsto conserve both the natural and human resources of the nation. This publication provides a review of the program and its impacton resource conservation, environmental management, and education. Chapters give accounts of: (1) the history of the CCC (tracing its origins, establishment, and termination); (2) the National Park Service role (explaining national and state parkprograms and co-operative planning elements); (3) National Park Servicecamps (describing programs and personnel training and education); (4) contributions of the CCC (identifying the major benefits ofthe program in the areas of resource conservation, park and recreational development, and natural and archaeological history finds); and (5) overall
    [Show full text]
  • Vietnam: Tet Offensive Resource Packet
    Virginians at War Vietnam: Tet Offensive Resource Packet Contains: Glossary, Timeline, Images, Discussion Questions, Additional Resources Program Description: Virginians at War: The Tet Offensive explores the experience of Virginians that fought during the critical Tet Offensive in 1968, a turning point of the Vietnam War. Launched by the North Vietnamese Army on 30 January, the coordinated attack against thirteen different provincial capitals throughout South Vietnam took Americans and South Vietnamese by surprise. The result was a costly, long campaign that ended in a hard –fought military victory for the United States and South Vietnamese. However, the outcome of the campaign had a significantly negative impact on support for the war in the United States, from which the nation would not fully recover. Copyright: Virginia War Memorial Foundation, 2006 Length: 18:59 Streaming link: https://vimeo.com/367038067 Featured Speakers: MSG Lonnie S. Ashton, Montross SPC Orthea Harcum, Richmond MSG Lauren P. Bands, Colonial Heights LT Hugh D. Keogh, Midlothian COL Robert C. Barrett, Jr., Colonial Heights SGT Prentis Lee, Clifton LT COL Frank S. Blair, Richmond SP/4 Powhatan “Red Cloud” Owen, Charles City MSG Charles M. Carter, Warsaw SGM Douglass I. Randolph, Charlotte Court House SGT Earl E. Cousins, Ashland MAJ John A. Rawls, M.D., Mechanicsville CPT James H. Dement, Jr., Richmond 1st LT Cathie Lynn Solomonson, R.N., Woodbridge 1st LT Daniel G. Doyle, Richmond 1st LT James F. Walker, Roanoke LT COL John D. Edgerton, Williamsburg For a transcript of this program and more information on the Vietnam War, please visit vawarmemorial.org/learn/resources/vietnam.
    [Show full text]
  • Air America in South Vietnam I – from the Days of CAT to 1969
    Air America in South Vietnam I From the days of CAT to 1969 by Dr. Joe F. Leeker First published on 11 August 2008, last updated on 24 August 2015 I) At the times of CAT Since early 1951, a CAT C-47, mostly flown by James B. McGovern, was permanently based at Saigon1 to transport supplies within Vietnam for the US Special Technical and Economic Mission, and during the early fifties, American military and economic assistance to Indochina even increased. “In the fall of 1951, CAT did obtain a contract to fly in support of the Economic Aid Mission in FIC [= French Indochina]. McGovern was assigned to this duty from September 1951 to April 1953. He flew a C-47 (B-813 in the beginning) throughout FIC: Saigon, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Nhatrang, Haiphong, etc., averaging about 75 hours a month. This was almost entirely overt flying.”2 CAT’s next operations in Vietnam were Squaw I and Squaw II, the missions flown out of Hanoi in support of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu in 1953/4, using USAF C-119s painted in the colors of the French Air Force; but they are described in the file “Working in Remote Countries: CAT in New Zealand, Thailand-Burma, French Indochina, Guatemala, and Indonesia”. Between mid-May and mid-August 54, the CAT C-119s continued dropping supplies to isolated French outposts and landed loads throughout Vietnam. When the Communists incited riots throughout the country, CAT flew ammunition and other supplies from Hanoi to Saigon, and brought in tear gas from Okinawa in August.3 Between 12 and 14 June 54, CAT captain
    [Show full text]
  • This Index Lists the Army Units for Which Records Are Available at the Eisenhower Library
    DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LIBRARY ABILENE, KANSAS U.S. ARMY: Unit Records, 1917-1950 Linear feet: 687 Approximate number of pages: 1,300,000 The U.S. Army Unit Records collection (formerly: U.S. Army, U.S. Forces, European Theater: Selected After Action Reports, 1941-45) primarily spans the period from 1917 to 1950, with the bulk of the material covering the World War II years (1942-45). The collection is comprised of organizational and operational records and miscellaneous historical material from the files of army units that served in World War II. The collection was originally in the custody of the World War II Records Division (now the Modern Military Records Branch), National Archives and Records Service. The material was withdrawn from their holdings in 1960 and sent to the Kansas City Federal Records Center for shipment to the Eisenhower Library. The records were received by the Library from the Kansas City Records Center on June 1, 1962. Most of the collection contained formerly classified material that was bulk-declassified on June 29, 1973, under declassification project number 735035. General restrictions on the use of records in the National Archives still apply. The collection consists primarily of material from infantry, airborne, cavalry, armor, artillery, engineer, and tank destroyer units; roughly half of the collection consists of material from infantry units, division through company levels. Although the collection contains material from over 2,000 units, with each unit forming a separate series, every army unit that served in World War II is not represented. Approximately seventy-five percent of the documents are from units in the European Theater of Operations, about twenty percent from the Pacific theater, and about five percent from units that served in the western hemisphere during World War II.
    [Show full text]
  • 70Th Annual 1St Cavalry Division Association Reunion
    1st Cavalry Division Association 302 N. Main St. Non-Profit Organization Copperas Cove, Texas 76522-1703 US. Postage PAID West, TX Change Service Requested 76691 Permit No. 39 PublishedSABER By and For the Veterans of the Famous 1st Cavalry Division VOLUME 66 NUMBER 1 Website: http://www.1cda.org JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 The President’s Corner Horse Detachment by CPT Jeremy A. Woodard Scott B. Smith This will be my last Horse Detachment to Represent First Team in Inauguration Parade By Sgt. 833 State Highway11 President’s Corner. It is with Carolyn Hart, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs, Fort Hood, Texas. Laramie, WY 82070-9721 deep humility and considerable A long standing tradition is being (307) 742-3504 upheld as the 1st Cavalry Division <[email protected]> sorrow that I must announce my resignation as the President Horse Cavalry Detachment gears up to participate in the Inauguration of the 1st Cavalry Division Association effective Saturday, 25 February 2017. Day parade Jan. 20 in Washington, I must say, first of all, that I have enjoyed my association with all of you over D.C. This will be the detachment’s the years…at Reunions, at Chapter meetings, at coffees, at casual b.s. sessions, fifth time participating in the event. and at various activities. My assignments to the 1st Cavalry Division itself and “It’s a tremendous honor to be able my friendships with you have been some of the highpoints of my life. to do this,” Capt. Jeremy Woodard, To my regret, my medical/physical condition precludes me from travelling.
    [Show full text]
  • 1A May 10 Final.Indd
    INSIDE Outlook.....................2A News briefs..............15A picking Community briefs.....2B Screaming Eaglets...3B Entertainment............2C Sports.........................4C VOLUMEME 48, NUMBERNUMBER 119 THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012 WWW.FORTCAMPBELLCOURIER.COM Call of duty: 101st veteran recalls Hamburger Hill by Michele Vowell in Vietnam,” he said. “That’s Courier assistant editor where everybody was going.” It was January 1969. Forty-three years ago Cochran, 20, was headed today, Soldiers from the 3rd halfway across the world to Battalion, 187th Infantry fi ght. Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st “All of the training we got in Airborne Division, started basic and AIT were aimed at fi ghting the Battle of Ham- Vietnam,” he said. “In reality, burger Hill. we had a sense of what was Private Dan Cochran was going on, but until you really one of them. got there and got involved, it The 12-day battle occurred was quite different.” May 10-21, 1969, in the When he arrived in coun- northern part of South Viet- try, Cochran was one of nam near the A Shau Valley. endary Screaming Eagles. His about 150 Soldiers in A Co., An “Iron Rakkasan” with grandfather, Frank Edwards, who served under Company Alpha Company, Cochran also served as a paratrooper Commander Capt. Bob Har- was only 20 when U.S. and with the 101st during World kins. South Vietnamese forces War II. “Dan, like many of the commenced Operation “My grandpa jumped in Soldiers, he was a young Apache Snow, to clear the Normandy with the 101st,” kid, bright-eyed and bushy North Vietnamese from he said. “The 101st was the tailed,” Harkins said.
    [Show full text]
  • Through the Hollywood Lens: the Vietnam War 3
    Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at W&M Summer 2020 Through the Hollywood Lens: The Vietnam War Scott A. Langhorst, Ph.D. First Lieutenant 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment 25th Division Tay Ninh, Vietnam (1969-70) Using Zoom tools - reminder • Use the menu bar (mouse over bottom/top of screen) to appear • Use icons to on menu bar open tools (click “on” click “off”) • Use “chat box” to ask questions or make comments • Use “participant” list for raising hand or other gestures • Make the session interactive by using the Zoom tools © Scott A. Langhorst, Ph.D. 1 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at W&M Summer 2020 Questions or comments from last week? 1Lt Langhorst at FSB Rhode Island Forrest Gump (1994) • Directed by Robert Zemeckis • Won 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor • Nominated for 7 other Oscars • Vietnam sequences filmed on Fripp Island, SC • Storyline: After many 1960’s adventures, Forrest joins the Army and goes to Vietnam. He makes a new friend, Bubba, who dies in his arms after an violent ambush. Forrest is able to save the rest of his squad and a reluctant Lt. Dan. Forrest comes home to an America that is divided, and saves a paraplegic Lt. Dan once again. He is a witness to the aftermath of Vietnam and the healing of America. © Scott A. Langhorst, Ph.D. 2 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at W&M Summer 2020 What the movie got right • (Why “Forrest Gump” in a course about the Vietnam War?) • One film segment is about Forrest as a soldier in Vietnam (2/47 Inf.
    [Show full text]
  • The Phoenix Program As a Case Study
    Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 11, ISSUE 4, SPRING 2009 Studies The Theoretical Aspect of Targeted Killings: The Phoenix Program as a Case Study Dr. Tal Tovy One of the measures employed in the war against guerrilla warfare and terrorism is targeted killing, with the primary aim of directly attacking the higher-ranking activists, both military leaders and political cadres, of guerrilla or terror organizations and refraining, as far as possible, from injuring innocent citizens. This article has two purposes. First, it will examine the military theory that supports the mechanism for this kind of activity. Second, it will explain the essential nature of targeted killings as an operational tool, on the strategic and tactical levels, in the war against guerrilla warfare and terrorism. Therefore, we need to see the targeted killing as a warfare model of counterterrorism or counterinsurgency and not as a criminal action. The reason for combining these two concepts together is because no precise definition has yet been found acceptable to most researchers that distinguishes between a terror organization and a guerrilla organization.1 Eventually, the definition that will differentiate between the two concepts will be individually and subjectively linked with 1 Schmidt gives a long list of definitions he had collected from leading studies in the field of terror research. See: Alex P. Schmid, Political Terrorism: A Research Guide to Concepts, Theories, Data Bases and Literature, (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1987), pp. 5-152. Robert Kennedy, "Is One Person's Terrorist another's Freedom Fighters: Western and Islamic Approaches to ‘Just War’ Compared", in: Terrorism and Political Violence 11 (1: 1999): pp.
    [Show full text]