The primary question this thesis aims to answer is--did the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) covert and clandestine operations contribute significantly to the Vietnam War effort? The scope of research is an examination of SOG operations throughout the war. To determine SOG's contributions, research will answer the following secondary and tertiary questions: (1) What were the US strategic, operational, and tactical goals for Vietnam and how did they develop? (2) Did SOG contribute to the accomplishment of strategic, operational, and tactical goals in the Vietnam War? and (3) How did SOG missions affect enemy forces and their operations? By answering the primary, secondary, and tertiary questions, a conclusion may be drawn concerning the contributions of SOG in Vietnam as the primary headquarters for carrying out the unconventional war effort against the North Vietnamese. Lessons learned may apply to the use of similar unconventional warfare assets in the Global War on Terrorism.

More than three decades after the final withdrawal of American troops from Southeast Asia, the legacy of the Vietnam War continues to influence political, military, and cultural discourse. Journalists, politicians, scholars, pundits, and others have used the conflict to analyze each of America's subsequent military engagements. Many Americans have observed that Vietnam-era terms such as "cut and run," "quagmire," and "hearts and minds" are ubiquitous once again as comparisons between U.S. involvement in Iraq and in Vietnam seem increasingly appropriate. Because of its persistent significance, the Vietnam War era continues to inspire vibrant historical inquiry.

The eminent scholars featured in The War That Never Ends offer fresh and insightful perspectives on the continuing relevance of the Vietnam War, from the homefront to "humping in the boonies," and from the great halls of political authority to the gritty hotbeds of oppositional activism. The contributors assert that the Vietnam War is central to understanding the politics of the Cold War, the social movements of the late twentieth century, the lasting effects of colonialism, the current direction of American foreign policy, and the ongoing economic development in Southeast Asia.

The seventeen essays break new ground on questions relating to gender, religion, ideology, strategy, and public opinion, and the book gives equal emphasis to Vietnamese and American perspectives on the grueling conflict. The contributors examine such phenomena as the role of women in revolutionary organizations, the peace movements inspired by Buddhism, and Ho Chi Minh's successful adaptation of Marxism to local cultures. The War That Never Ends explores both the antiwar movement and the experiences of infantrymen on the front lines of battle, as well as the media's controversial coverage of America's involvement in the war. The War That Never Ends sheds new light on the evolving historical meanings of the Vietnam War, its enduring influence, and its potential to influence future political and military decision-making, in times of peace as well as war.

A Compelling Read or the Perfect Gift... What it's like to fly combat jets down between the trees. Whether you have ever flown a jet, or just wished to do so, and whether you served in Vietnam or just read about it, you will be riveted by this fast-paced and vivid account in prose and poetry that tells the story of a special breed of men. These were the hand-picked few who led death-defying lives as F-100 Super Sabre pilots. "Songs" tells the story of the "Hun Drivers" in war and peace, who flew low and fast between the trees with troops under fire day or night, or spent weeks away from home and family on nuclear alert, hoping that the red phone that signaled WW III would never ring. Their plane was called "The Widow Maker" for good reason, as you soon learn. Songs From A Distant Cockpit puts you in the cockpit and in among these single-seat, single-engine fighter pilots as they trained in the "most dangerous plane ever built." It brings you along as they learned how to fly it, and how to survive in it, and the sudden risks and terrors that they faced often as they flew it. If you've ever wondered "What it's like to fly a close-air-support fighter bombers" in combat in Vietnam, or on other missions that pushed the ragged edges of the flight envelope, with Death an all-too-frequent wingman, then you'll have a vivid understanding when you read "Songs." This highly acclaimed book uses on-the-scene, at-the-time prose and poetry in a blend said by historians to be unique in books about combat in its ability to capture the feelings and experiences shared by those who took pride in their ability to fly "the Hun." These men were few in number, because, with rare exception, only top pilots could become F-100 Super Sabre pilots. Many were the sights they saw, the things they felt, and the terrors that visited so suddenly, when Death came calling but left again as suddenly, without a "customer." What they, and the author, have most in common to this day is that they all enjoyed their "Songs" in distant cockpits, high above, or down so low, so fast, so far away, that only God could find them. Men and women from all walks of life are saying, "I couldn't put it down," and some add that parts of it "brought them to tears." So, satisfy your yearnings to fly because now it's time for YOU to get in that fighter cockpit and go flying through the bullets and down between the trees "

The untold tale of the first year of the Centaurs in Vietnam as told through the eyes of air cavalry helicopter pilots and grunts who built a troop from the ground up at Cu Chi based on teamwork, fighting ability, and guts. Climb aboard their Huey for an up close and personal account of the war.

Not your typical war story, this book captures an unvarnished account of how the Army formed an air cavalry troop in early 1966. "Rookies to war," the pilots were plucked out of the skies of places like Fort Rucker, Alabama, and joined by troopers from across America to fight a guerilla war in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam. There were no field manuals for this war, and air cavalry was just a glimmer in the eyes of reconnaissance, infantry, and artillery units.

This is the story of one year of the storied 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry that left the paradise of Hawaii's shores for the heat, rain, mud, and guerilla warfare of Vietnam. The combination of helicopters, infantry, and a Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon (LRRP) makes for compelling reading as you follow the lives and battles of 30 different contributors.

There are stories of bravery and fear, ingenuity and innovation, humor and sadness, boredom and electrifying insertions and extractions of LRRP teams. In the end, you will grasp the brotherhood of war and appreciate the sacrifices of those that serve in the name of freedom.

The Tuesday Club tells the story of thousands of Vietnam Veterans who continue to fight a war that never ends. That war, the war within, is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Tuesday Club gives an insider's view of the therapy rooms of VA's across the United States. It tell the horror, the fear, the grief, and the compassion, of a war that alienated an entire generation of men and women from families, each other, and the nation. The Tuesday Club tells the story of the real heroes of Vietnam, those who survived, and daily carry the burden of the trauma of war. "The Tuesday Club, they call themselves, a group of valiant men, Their membership is quite unique, God help those who must attend." Marinell Miller, Ph.D. PTSD Clinical Team Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hampton, Virginia

Excerpt: "We lined up in front of tables arranged by MOS (Military Occupation Speciality). I stood in line at the field radio operator table and waited for my turn. I took my turn, and a Lance Corporal seated behind the table picked up one of scores of stamps and stamped my orders. I read my orders and the imprint said: "SU#1, 1st ANGLICO, FMF, WESTPAC" OK, I knew FMF meant FLEET MARINE FORCE, and WESTPAC meant WESTERN PACIFIC (Vietnam), but I had never seen or heard of SU#1, 1st ANGLICO. I asked the Lance Corporal what ANGLICO was. He looked at my orders and said he had no idea. He tapped the Corporal working beside him, showed him my orders, and asked him where I was going. The Corporal shook his head and said he had never heard of it. The Lance Corporal gave me back my orders, looked into my eyes and said, "You're going to hell, Private." That made me a bit anxious. Luckily, one of the guys I went through boot camp with, John Staunton, also had the same orders. So if I was going to hell, I wasn't going alone." I served 19 months with the Republic of Korea's 2nd Marine Brigade (BLUE DRAGON BRIGADE). With one other enlisted U.S. Marine, much of that time was at company level. We wore their uniform, ate their food and learned their customs and habits. We learned how to communicate with those we were assigned to serve. It is a rare day that I do not think of that time in my life. I decided to tell the story.

Between 1966 and 1976, American artist Nancy Spero completed some of her most aggressively political work. Made at a time when Spero was a key member of the anti-war and feminist arts-activism that burgeoned in the New York art world during the period, her works demonstrate a violent and bodily rejection of injustice. Considering the ways in which anti-war and feminist art used emotion as a means to persuade and protest, Pain and Politics in Postwar Feminist Art examines the history of this crucial decade in American art politics through close attention to Spero's practice. Situating her work amongst the activism that defined the era, this book examines the ways in which sensation and emotion became political weapons for a generation of artists seeking to oppose patriarchy and war. Exemplary of the way in which artists were using metaphors of sensation and emotion in their work as part of the anti-Vietnam war and feminist art movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Spero's practice acts as a model for representing how politics feels. By exploring Spero's political engagement anew, this book offer a profound recontextualization of the important contribution that Spero made to Feminist thought, politics and art in the US.

Narrated through the colorful photographs of Washington, DC-based photographer Robert Dodge, this publication explores Vietnam four decades after the end of the war. Dodge's images from throughout Vietnam reveal a country at a crossroads with serious economic and political challenges.

After relatively successful military interventions in Iraq in 1992 and Yugoslavia in 1998, many American strategists believed that airpower and remote technology were the future of U.S. military action. But America's most recent wars in the Middle East have reinforced the importance of counterinsurgency, with its imperative to "win hearts and minds" on the ground in foreign lands. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has studied and experimented with the combined action platoon (CAP) concept used from 1965 to 1971 by the Marine Corps in Vietnam.

Consisting of twelve Marines, a medic, and dozens of inexperienced local militiamen, the American contingent of CAPs lived in South Vietnamese villages where they provided twenty-four-hour security and daily medical support for civilians, and fostered social interaction through civic action projects, such as building schools, offices, and wells. Defend and Befriend is the first comprehensive study of the evolution of these platoons, emphasizing how and why the U.S. Marine Corps attempted to overcome the inherent military, social, and cultural obstacles on the ground in Vietnam. Basing his analysis on Marine records and numerous interviews with CAP veterans, author John Southard illustrates how thousands of soldiers tasked with counterinsurgency duties came to perceive the Vietnamese people and their mission.

This unique study counters prevailing stereotypes and provides a new perspective on the American infantryman in the Vietnam War. Illuminating the fear felt by many Americans as they served among groups of understandably suspicious civilians, Defend and Befriend offers important insights into the future development of counterinsurgency doctrine.

"Damn you Rolly, you succeeded in taking me back to Vinh Long and Advisory Team 68, after a more than 40 year absence. I thank you for honoring all who served, but especially patriots like Bob Olson and Walt Gutowski, Army guys... that I knew well. They were great men whose spirit and professionalism you captured well. I highly recommend the book..." Mike Paluda, Michigan COLONEL, USA, RET. "Rolly Kidder has delivered a brilliant chronicle of the Vietnam conflict with which many may not be familiar. Forty years later, he revisits Vietnam and tracks down the families of three men who had been killed... Kidder's recounting of his visits with the families of the three servicemen is a poignant reminder of the continuing grief and pride extant amongst many and is a fitting memorial to the Army and Riverine heroes and an honor to those who mourn them." Captain, M.B. Connolly, USN (retired) COMMANDER, RIVER ASSAULT DIVISION 132 RIVER ASSAULT SQUADRON 13, 1969-70

This book examines Operation SEALORDS, the capstone campaign conducted by the Brown-Water Navy in Vietnam. Specifically, this paper addresses the primary question: Was the SEALORDS campaign successful, and if so, what lessons, can be learned from SEALORDS and how might we employ brown-water forces in the future? This book breaks down the SEALORDS campaign into three areas of study. First, the study examines the barrier interdiction portion of the campaign designed to stem the flow of enemy infiltration of men and material from Cambodia into the Mekong Delta. Second, this study analyzes the Denial of Sanctuary Operations and Pacification portion of the SEALORDS operations. Lastly, the Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese Program known as "ACTOV" is examined to determine its effectiveness. The Findings of this book suggest that by concentrating naval forces athwart the major infiltration routes along the Cambodian border, SEALORDS effectively cut enemy lines of communication into South Vietnam and severly restricted enemy attempts at infiltration. Additionally, the findings suggest that SEALORDS contributed significantly to pacification efforts in the southern part of III Corps and all of the TV Corps Tactical Zone. Finally, the ACTOV Program is evaluated as successful and put the navy out ahead of the other services with respect to Vietnamization of the war effort.

The mission:
Become the most skilled, highly-trained, and deadliest
fighter pilots in the world.
The place: TOP GUN
In the darkest days of the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy's kill ratio had fallen to 2:1 -- a deadly decline in pilot combat effectiveness. To improve the odds, a corps of hardened fighter pilots founded the Fighter Weapons School, a.k.a. TOP GUN. Utilizing actual enemy fighter planes in brutally realistic dogfights, the Top Gun instructors dueled their students and each other to achieve a lethal new level of fighting expertise. The training paid off. Combining the latest weaponry and technology, mental endurance, and razor-sharp instincts, the Top Gunners drove the Navy's kill ratio up to an astounding 12:1, dominating the skies over Vietnam.
This gripping account takes you inside the cockpit for an adventure more explosive than any fiction -- in a dramatic true story of the legendary military school that has created the most dangerous fighter pilots the world has ever seen.

America's involvement in the Vietnam War created much controversy in its time. Violent demonstrations and fiery debates filled the evening news in the 60s. Vietnam veterans returning from over seas quite often experienced dejection and were demonized by some segments of society. While this was going on, the ordinary soldier in Vietnam was experiencing his own world of hardships and survival. This book is about the facts of everyday life in war zone c. It involves my firsthand experiences along with the experiences of other soldiers. After presenting the true narratives, poems have been introduced to display the true feelings, moods, and attitudes that were unique in a life of hardship and horror within the rubber plantations and jungles of Southeast Asia. Gather the pieces of history now while you can still get them first hand.

The author first served with Vietnamese Marines in 1972 when they came on board the U.S. Navy ships that Battalion Landing Team 1/9 was embarked on. They were preparing for an amphibious landing to counter the North Vietnamese Army's Spring Offensive in Military Region 1 (I Corps) in South Vietnam. They brought with them their U.S. Marine advisors who were known by the senior members of the battalion. They had already witnessed or heard of the exploits of then-Captain John Ripley and Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Turley in blunting the initial attacks of the Easter Offensive. As the Vietnamese were formed into helicopter or boat teams and fed a meal before going ashore, they bantered with the American Marines and Sailors, telling them to come along to "kill communists." After a turbulent start to the offensive, the Vietnamese Marines exhibited the fighting spirit that elite units create for themselves. This was reflected in the various names of their battalions that were the focus of their unit identification. The infantry battalions had a series of nicknames and slogans that were reflected on their unit insignia: 1st Battalion's "Wild Bird," 2d Battalion's "Crazy Buffalo," 3d Battalion's "SeaWolf," 4th Battalion's "Killer Shark," 5th Battalion's "Black Dragon," 6th Battalion's "Sacred Bird," 7th Battalion's "Black Tiger," 8th Battalion's "Sea Eagle," and 9th Battalion's "Mighty Tiger." For the artillery units, this was the 1st Battalion's "Lightning Fire," 2d Battalion's "Sacred Arrow," and 3d Battalion's "Sacred Bow." Support and service battalions followed this example as well. The 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade and its embarked troops provided helicopters, amphibious tractors, and landing craft support for a series of attacks leading to the recapture of Quang Tri City through the fall of 1972. In addition, command and control facilities and liaison were provided to the Republic of Vietnam's I Corps and Military Advisory Command Vietnam's 1st Regional Advisory Command in the sustained counteroffensive. This reinforced the impression made by the Vietnamese Marines themselves. This began the interest in the story that follows. The period after World War II saw a number of associated Marine Corps formed in the republics of China, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. They had been founded, with the help of foreign military aid, to fight the various conflicts to contain communist expansion in the region. Also present at various times were other Marines from the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain. The beginnings of the Cold War witnessed this proliferation of amphibious forces in Asia, in part because of the reputation the U.S. Marines had earned in the cross Pacific drive against Japan and in other postwar confrontations. This is about one of them, the Vietnamese Marine Corps or Thuy Quan Luc Chien (TQLC). This occasional paper provides documents on the topics of the Vietnamese Marines and the U.S. Marine Advisory Unit from this period.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the American military chaplaincy underwent a profound transformation. Broad-based and ecumenical in the World War II era, the chaplaincy emerged from the Vietnam War as generally conservative and evangelical. Before and after the Vietnam War, the chaplaincy tended to mirror broader social, political, military, and religious trends. During the Vietnam War, however, chaplains' experiences and interpretations of war placed them on the margins of both military and religious cultures. Because chaplains lived and worked amid many communities--religious and secular, military and civilian, denominational and ecumenical--they often found themselves mediating heated struggles over the conflict, on the home front as well as on the front lines. In this benchmark study, Jacqueline Whitt foregrounds the voices of chaplains themselves to explore how those serving in Vietnam acted as vital links between diverse communities, working personally and publicly to reconcile apparent tensions between their various constituencies. Whitt also offers a unique perspective on the realities of religious practice in the war's foxholes and firebases, as chaplains ministered with a focus on soldiers' shared experiences rather than traditional theologies.

John Vanvorden--the Flying Dutchman--is a Vietnam pilot and one of the rugged few who know the danger and thrill of combat while piloting the U.S. Army's UH-1H "Huey" Iroquois helicopter. He experiences screaming descents into hot landing zones to place military assault troops and rescue wounded soldiers. He has the clarity of mind to survive seven days of horror in a Vietnamese jungle swamp while the psychology of a fellow soldier is severely tested. He's got the guts to buck military orders and battle his own brass to pursue an investigation when a botched operation spells disaster for the men under him. Based on the authors' personal experiences in the Vietnam War, Huey is an authentic, action-filled book of historical fiction. Originally published 30 years ago, this moving novel became a New York Times bestseller within days of publishing. Editorial Reviews "Those who have read the classic book of helicopter combat in Vietnam, "Chickenhawk" by Robert Mason, but who still have an appetite for more books of that sort can do no better than to read this novel." - "The VVA Veteran," Books in Review II Book Excerpt: From eight thousand feet, the Flying Dutchman flew his chopper into a nose-high attitude and peeled off into a single-ship approach. His passengers were looking straight down at the ground from the open doorway. Before anyone could blink, they were diving toward the ground at four thousand feet a minute, about as fast as a helicopter can come out of the sky with its main rotor still attached. The 12.7's opened up. Tracer rounds looked like basketballs zooming by. The supersonic bullets popped as they passed, breaking the sound barrier. When a bullet found its mark, it smacked the ship like a baseball bat. As soon as the troops on the ground had hefted the two critical cases into each side, John blasted out low level, taking fire from the ground. He knew the Huey didn't have long before it became battered magnesium. . . .

The civil rights and anti--Vietnam War movements were the two greatest protests of twentieth-century America. The dramatic escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1965 took precedence over civil rights legislation, which had dominated White House and congressional attention during the first half of the decade. The two issues became intertwined on January 6, 1966, when the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) became the first civil rights organization to formally oppose the war, protesting the injustice of drafting African Americans to fight for the freedom of the South Vietnamese people when they were still denied basic freedoms at home.

Selma to Saigon explores the impact of the Vietnam War on the national civil rights movement. Before the war gained widespread attention, the New Left, the SNCC, and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) worked together to create a biracial alliance with the potential to make significant political and social gains in Washington. Contention over the war, however, exacerbated preexisting generational and ideological tensions that undermined the coalition, and Lucks analyzes the causes and consequences of this disintegration.

This powerful narrative illuminates the effects of the Vietnam War on the lives of leaders such as Whitney Young Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Roy Wilkins, Bayard Rustin, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other activists who faced the threat of the military draft along with race-related discrimination and violence. Providing new insights into the evolution of the civil rights movement, this book fills a significant gap in the literature about one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.

This is the ninth volume in a nine-volume operational and chronological historical series covering the Marine Corps' participation in the Vietnam War. A separate functional series complements the operational histories. This volume details the final chapter in the Corps' involvement in Southeast Asia, including chapters on Cambodia, the refugees, and the recovery of the container ship SS Mayaguez. In January 1973, the United States signed the Paris Peace Accords setting the stage for democracy in Southeast Asia to test its resolve in Cambodia and South Vietnam. The result was not a rewarding experience for America nor its allies. By March 1975, democracy was on the retreat in Southeast Asia and the U.S. was preparing for the worst, the simultaneous evacuation of Americans and key officials from Cambodia and South Vietnam. With Operation Eagle Pull and Operation Frequent Wind, the United States accomplished that task in April 1975 using Navy ships, Marine Corps helicopters, and the Marines of the III Marine Amphibious Force. When the last helicopter touched down on the deck of the USS Okinawa at 0825 on the morning of 30 April, the U.S. Marine Corps' involvement in South Vietnam ended, but one more encounter with the Communists in Southeast Asia remained. After the seizure of the SS Mayaguez on 12 May 1975, the United States decided to recover that vessel using armed force. Senior commanders in the Western Pacific chose the Marine Corps to act as the security force for the recovery. Marines of 2d Battalion, 9th Marines and 1st Battalion, 4th Marines played a key role in the events of 15 May 1975 when America regained control of the ship and recovered its crew, concluding American combat in Indochina and this volume's history. Although largely written from the perspective of the III Marine Amphibious Force, this volume also describes the roles of the two joint commands operating in the region: the Defense Attache Office, Saigon, and the United States Support Activities Group, Thailand. Thus, while the volume emphasizes the Marine Corps' role in the events of the period, significant attention also is given to the overall contribution of these commands in executing U.S. policy in Southeast Asia from 1973 to 1975. Additionally, a chapter is devoted to the Marine Corps' role in assisting thousands of refugees who fled South Vietnam in the final weeks of that nation's existence.