|
Books > History > American history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
The origin of this publication lies in the continuing program at
all levels of command to keep Marines informed of the ways of
combat and civic action in Vietnam. Not limited in any way to set
methods and means, this informational effort spreads across a wide
variety of projects, all aimed at making the lessons learned in
Vietnam available to the Marine who is fig ting there and the
Marine who is soon due to take his turn in combat. Our officers and
men in Vietnam are deeply involved in efforts to improve the
situation of the Vietnamese people. This publication tells the
story of the first formative year of civilian-aid policies,
programs, and actions of the III Marine Amphibious Force.
Going beyond the dominant orthodox narrative to incorporate insight
from revisionist scholarship on the Vietnam War, Michael G. Kort
presents the case that the United States should have been able to
win the war, and at a much lower cost than it suffered in defeat.
Presenting a study that is both historiographic and a narrative
history, Kort analyzes important factors such as the strong
nationalist credentials and leadership qualities of South Vietnam's
Ngo Dinh Diem; the flawed military strategy of 'graduated response'
developed by Robert McNamara; and the real reasons South Vietnam
collapsed in the face of a massive North Vietnamese invasion in
1975. Kort shows how the US commitment to defend South Vietnam was
not a strategic error but a policy consistent with US security
interests during the Cold War, and that there were potentially
viable strategic approaches to the war that might have saved South
Vietnam.
When former president Lyndon B. Johnson opened the LBJ Presidential
Library in May 1971, he proclaimed, "It's all here, the story of
our time-with the bark off." Accordingly, he wanted his library to
reflect not only the triumphs of his administration, but the
failures, too-and he wanted us to learn from them to build a better
future for our country. In keeping with President Johnson's vision,
the LBJ Library took a substantive, unvarnished look at the Vietnam
War, with the goal to shed new light on the war and the lessons it
provides. The passage of years offers greater perspective on the
complexities of a war that altered not only our history but our
perception of ourselves as a nation. The result was the Vietnam War
Summit, an intensive three-day conference in April 2016 that
brought together policy makers, scholars, reporters, photographers,
musicians, and importantly, those who were on the front lines of
the war and the antiwar movement. In conjunction with the
conference, the library displayed a half-scale replica of the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Twice each day during the summit, ceremonies recognized Vietnam War
veterans. A War Remembered features photographs and documentation
from the Vietnam War Summit, but also includes a number of historic
photographs from both the LBJ Library and the Briscoe Center for
American History, offering a diverse perspective on the conflict
that defined a generation.
|
|