This is the sixth volume in a planned nine-volume operational and chronological series covering the Marine Corps' participation in the Vietnam War. A separate functional series will complement the operational histories. This volume details the change in U.S. policy for the Vietnam War.

This is the second volume of nine chronological histories covering the Marine Corps' participation in the Vietnam War. This volume details the Marine activities during 1965, the year the war escalated and major American combat units were committed to the conflict. The narrative traces the landing of the nearly 5,000-man 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its transformation into the III Marine Amphibious Force, which by the end of the year contained over 38,000 Marines.

I published my original "Tales of Ramasun" in February 2012 and moved on to other things like "Mixed Foursome: The Zach Roper Mysteries" about a golf-loving detective and his sexy sidekick, the Thai Princess, but more "Tales" kept drifting into my mind and I just had to write them down. Eventually I found that I had enough to make another book which I have unimaginatively entitled "Tales of Ramasun II." Hey if it's good enough for Hollywood and all those "Rocky" movies it might work on Amazon, anything might work on Amazon...or not. For those of you who read and appreciated my first effort this will be a chance to take another trip back to dear old Ramasun. I got some really positive and encouraging emails from you so I know that there's interest out there. You are a small, select group at present, but at least you are enthusiastic. For non-Ramasun-ians take heart. You can dive right into "Tales II" or read the original "Tales of Ramasun" first. Either way you will return to the Thailand of the 1960s, enter the shadow puppet world of espionage, and visit the spooks and spies of long-gone Ramasun Station and its military unit, the 7th RRFS. The 7th Radio Research Field Station, that is. Our 'research" was electronic eavesdropping on everything that was going on in Southeast Asia in those days, and there was a lot going on. You may have heard of the Vietnam War, that was the main thing that was going on, and the 7th spied on everyone...friend, foe and neutral. Our spying was done from Ramasun Station, a top secret outpost in far Northeast Thailand (better known as Isaan...ee-sahn), and from our sister station, the 8th RRFS at Phu Bai in Vietnam. All the heavy lifting of signal intelligence gathering was done by the military in those days, at listening posts like Ramasun and Phu Bai. Now it is done by the civilian National Security Agency (NSA) and most of the people who do it don't ever have to leave the comfort of their offices at Ft. Meade, Maryland where they look at computer screens that bring them intercepted information from orbiting satellites and drones. It was harder then. No computers, no satellites, you had to be close to what you were listening in on, but it was basically the same job, then and now, and you needed the same mix of folks to do it...Translator/Interpreters, Intelligence Analysts, Traffic Analysts and a host of techies, though the techies of Ramasun were radio techies, not computer nerds. I don't know what they call them now at NSA, but we called them Lingies, Dittyboppers, radioheads and TAs among other things, How do I know this? I was one of them, a Lao Lingy for 27 months during 1969-71, at Ramasun and a few other places on TDY (temporary duty). I was Army, the US Army Security Agency (ASA) to be precise, but there were men from all branches at Ramasun, probably more Air Force (AFSA) than Army, though it was officially an Army Base...there were also civilians, and even a few women, but they did not arrive until after I left. The NSA, better known as The Puzzle Palace, was our 'customer' then. We did the front-line work and shipped the results back to them for analysis. Now they do all the work and ASA and AFSA have been put out of business. Ramasun Station went out of business too, long ago. It existed for ten years from 1966 to 1976 when the Thai government closed it. There's no trace left of it now, not even a brass plaque to mark the spot where it once stood. Only the old spooks and spies of the 7th remain, and they may not be around for much longer. It is time tell their story, my story. They were a wild, oversexed, undisciplined, oddball bunch. In many ways the 7th RRFS was like the M*A*S*H 4077th, brainy smartass troops who thumbed their noses at 'by the book' military authority, but always rose to the occasion when there was real work to be done. Sloppy-looking troublemakers with bad attitudes about everything except the mission, they worked as hard as

This book looks at the Air Force's support of the ground war in South Vietnam between 1965 and 1968. The book covers the period of time when the United States began moving from an advisory role to one of active involvement to just before the time when the United Stated gradually began disengaging from the war. The final scene is the successful air campaign conducted during the Communists siege of the Marine camp at Khe Sanh. While the actual siege lasted from late January to the middle of March 1968, enemy preparations for the encirclement were seen as early as October 1967.

In the early 1970s, as U.S. combat forces began to withdraw from Southeast Asia, South Vietnamese and Cambodian forces continued the fight against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), more commonly known as the Viet Cong. Despite the evacuation of its ground troops, the United States promised to materially support its allies' struggle against communist aggression. Over time, however, the American government drastically reduced its funding of the conflict, placing immense strain on the Cambodian and South Vietnamese armed forces, which were fighting well-supplied enemies. In Losing Vietnam, Major General Ira A. Hunt Jr. chronicles the efforts of U.S. military and State Department officials who argued that severe congressional budget reductions ultimately would lead to the defeat of both Cambodia and South Vietnam. Hunt details the catastrophic effects of reduced funding and of conducting "wars by budget." As deputy commander of the United States Support Activities Group Headquarters (USAAG) in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, Hunt received all Southeast Asia operational reports, reconnaissance information, and electronic intercepts, placing him at the forefront of military intelligence and analysis in the area. He also met frequently with senior military leaders of Cambodia and South Vietnam, contacts who shared their insights and gave him personal accounts of the ground wars raging in the region. This detailed and fascinating work highlights how analytical studies provided to commanders and staff agencies improved decision making in military operations. By assessing allied capabilities and the strength of enemy operations, Hunt effectively demonstrates that America's lack of financial support and resolve doomed Cambodia and South Vietnam to defeat.

A secret mission sends the author to Vietnam's Mekong Delta, the bread basket of old Indo - China. He uncovers a sophisticated enemy supply network unknown to our military hierarchy.

Using intelligence data covertly gathered in Cambodia and analyzed at the Center for Naval Analyses in Arlington, Virginia they discover and destroy Vietcong forces and interdict VC supply lines with a mixture of intrigue and romance.

A U. S. Naval story never told, complete with declassified maps from the Office of Naval Intelligence, and illuminating pictures of Saigon and archaic areas of the Delta taken by the author forty - six years ago, a depiction of "old Saigon" and real relationships between North and South Vietnam are related.

Headquartered in Saigon, the true interaction between our Navy and Army ( MACV ) brass couched in the background of wartime Saigon, often referred to as the "Paris of the Orient," and Washington, D. C. is insightfully told.

High quality reprint of this recently declassified 1972 study. This study documents the conception, birth, death and resurrection of gunship beacon offset firing techniques. Two entirely different systems--Pave Mace and Combat Rendezvous--are discussed. These systems enabled USAF fixed wing gunships to deliver safe, sustained, and effective aerial fire on enemy ground forces in close proximity to friendly forces when both are invisible from the air. The primary purpose of this report is to show from well-documented experience that these systems represent an in-being, revolutionary, all-weather, close air support capability never before achieved. The report also examines the sometimes unconventional, often torturous, and almost always frustrating process by which the USAF developed, tested, introduced, and finally used these systems in combat. In so doing it suggests some obvious lessons which may facilitate more systematic management of future weapons systems. The report also shows how interservice rivalry, roles and missions considerations, and force structure issues impeded and almost prevented the introduction of systems who rapid deployment would have been in the best interest of both services. Hopefully, this experience may suggest how such opposition can be overcome in the future by showing how it was overcome in this instance. The report seeks to provide sufficient technical information about each system to enable the reader to understand how each system operates and to compare their relative merits and shortcomings. In so doing it reveals a number of problems with both systems which have not yet been overcome and discussed possible solutions that have been advanced. Finally, this study shows how each system has saved the lives of friendly ground forces who would otherwise have died had it not been for these systems.

High quality reprint of a recently declassified 1967 study. "The War in Vietnam - 1966" is a sequel to "The War in Vietnam - 1965." It summarizes and places in perspective, the Air Force mission in Southeast Asia (SEA). The strategy of airpower in this area of conflict, its offensive and defensive air and ground operations, and effectiveness of command and control are also discussed.

High quality reprint of this recently declassified 1968 study.Operation NIAGARA was a concentrated air effort executed by the 7th Air Force Commander in early 1968 to disrupt a potential major offensive in northwestern I Corps and the contiguous area of Laos An extensive enemy build-up in the western DMZ area in late 1967 and early 1968 indicated that a major offensive was developing, with the estimated objective of overrunning Khe Sanh and other friendly positions located astride Route 9--the most readily accessible infiltration route for North Vietnamese forces bypassing the DMZ into South Vietnam It was further estimated that the enemy would launch his offensive on or about 30 January-when the South Vietnamese would be observing the Lunar New Year Thus, at the direction of COMUSMACV, the 7th Air Force Commander and his operations and intelligence staff planned and directed SLAM-type operations in the NIAGARA area several days prior to the Tet Holidays. These operations were accorded the highest priority, and were applied on a sustained basis SLAM-type operations began in the NIAGARA area on 22 January, with 595 tactical strike sorties (including 7AF, USMC, and USN) and 49 B-52 sorties flown against enemy targets When Operation NIAGARA officially terminated on 31 March 1968, over 24,400 tactical strike sorties and 2,500 B-52 sorties had been flown This was the greatest sustained concentration of airpower in the Vietnam conflict to date The purpose of this report is to bring the statistical weight of effort into proper perspective through the narrative study and documentation of significant developments It addresses in particular those operational areas of 7th Air Force evaluative concern-i.e. operational problems and lessons learned, coordination and control, the development of targets and tactics, and the responsiveness of airpower to the tactical situation.

High quality reprint of a recently declassified 1969 study. The War in Southeast Asia in 1967 and 1968 comprised an astounding complexity of conventional and unconventional wars, political and geographic boundaries, Rules of Engagement, areas of operation, command responsibilities, wet and dry seasons, sanctuaries for both sides, and a terrain of mountains, jungles, and flood plains From the Red Chinese Border to the Mekong Delta, the enemy supply lines ran this tangled natural and man-made gauntlet--attacked the whole way by the air interdiction campaign. In North Vietnam, the railroads and bridges on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) target lists were the prime interdiction targets. Interdiction operations in Laos meant attacking the trucks rolling down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, closing the roads with air strikes, and bombing the supplies stockpiled off the Trail. Within South Vietnam, all airstrikes were nominally considered close air support for ground forces Seventh Air Force operations against in-country enemy roads only slowly became an interdiction campaign. The Cambodian government's refusal to sanction U.S. air strikes within its borders put U.S. activities there within the scope of unconventional warfare and outside the conventional interdiction efforts. Despite many natural and man-made variables, "air interdiction" had certain common characteristics, particular tactics, and specific munitions For instance, the Air Force experience in Korea was repeated in SEA when the enemy's heavy antiaircraft artillery (AAA) degraded accurate bombing of roads and railroads. Also, few efficient area denial weapons existed to prevent rapid enemy repair of the bomb cuts made on the roadbeds. This proved true against roads running through Laos into South Vietnam, as well as against railroads around Hanoi.

The quiet of the night was again shattered by the thunderous roll of incoming artillery shells, spaced five seconds apart, ripping the jungle to pieces, as huge chunks of earth and vegetation blew skyward under the brilliant flashes of orange and white explosions . . . The possibility of encountering more NVA troops moving through our area was high, as we had pushed a very great stick into their nest. But our demonstrated ability to find the enemy and wait for the most opportune time to hit him, while remaining totally undetected, gave us reason to be pleased. It also gave the NVA reason for concern.

In "Force Recon Diary, 1970," Bruce "Doc" Norton offers a harrowing sequel to his best-selling "Force Recon Diary, 1969," continuing the true story of a navy corpsman who became a Force Recon Team Leader behind enemy lines in the jungles of Vietnam. In the midst of a war set deep in the jungle, the Force Recon Marines often found themselves lacking food, drinkable water, explosives, or even enough radio batteries. Armed with only their own courage, skills, and loyalty to their brothers in arms, the Marines used stealth and cunning to survive in the harsh conditions of Vietnam, where one mistake could prove fatal not just for an individual Marine, but for the entire unit.

The classical counterinsurgency theorists emphasize that it is necessary for the government to gain and maintain control of the population in order to defeat the insurgency. They describe population and resource control measures as a means of doing so. However, some contemporary writers have questioned the legitimacy of such tactics and doubt that they can be employed effectively in modern campaigns. Four case studies from three different campaigns: the Philippines, Vietnam, and Iraq, examine how population and resource control measures can be employed effectively and legitimately by the counterinsurgent force. The case studies reveal that protecting and isolating the population is the most critical component of any such measures, without this condition the measures will not achieve their desired effect. The case studies also reveal that once the protection and isolation are in place, the government can focus on controlling the behavior of the population. That is, it can prevent behavior that supports the insurgency while enabling behavior that supports the government or is neutral. This denies the insurgency its means of support and facilitates the destruction of its armed and subversive elements by the counterinsurgent forces.

More Memories of Naked Fanny tells the of a little "garden spot" carved out of the jungles of Southeast Asia in 1962 with stories from the guys who were there. From the beginnings when the SeaBees broke ground until the place was closed down in 1975, forty-two of the guys that were there tell their stories. Naration between the stories tells of Americas Air Commandos fighting the "Secret War."

United States Army in Vietnam. Center of Military History publication number 91-14-1. Covers how the engineers grew from a few advisory detachments to a force of more than 10 percent of the Army troops serving in South Vietnam. The 35th Engineer Group began arriving in large numbers in June 1965 to begin transforming Cam Ranh Bay into a major port, airfield, and depot complex. Within a few years, the Army engineers had expanded to a command, two brigades, six groups, twenty-eight construction and combat battalions, and many smaller units. Photos. Maps. Illustrations.

Hog's Exit explores the mysterious death in 1982 of Jerry "Hog" Daniels, a former CIA case officer to legendary Hmong leader General Vang Pao during the U.S.'s "secret war" in Laos. Drawing on first-person reminiscences of Daniels's colorful life, Morrison also captures the drama and beauty of the Hmong spirit rituals, as well as the lamentations and suspicions that pervade this unusual funeral ceremony. Americans and Hmong, ranchers and refugees, State Department officials and smokejumpers, share their memories about Daniels: growing up; hunting and fishing in Montana; cheating death in Laos; and carousing in the bars and brothels of Thailand. Hog's Exit provides a fascinating view of a man and the two very different cultures in which he lived.

The combat history of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines--or One Five (1/5)--is long and illustrious, but there are many periods of their combat operations during the Vietnam War about which there is little in print. This history is drawn from many years of research, from the author's personal memories, and from careful study of the battalion's Command Chronologies and Combat After-action Reports and other historical records. Most importantly it includes a collection of true stories told to the author by dozens of U.S. Marines who served in and fought with 1/5 during the Vietnam War, at all levels of the Chain of Command. This book hunkers down with the Mud Marines of Charlie One Five, a small but determined band of American fighting men, and their very human and often painful stories of combat cover a wide range of scenarios and situations. Follow the Marines of 1/5 as they are lulled by the exotic and beautiful countryside, trudge through swamps, jungles, mountains, and rice paddies for seemingly endless days, and struggle to stay alert during their cautious passage through the extreme terrain and weather conditions of this incredibly scenic but deceptive land, only to be shattered by sudden and deadly attacks from Viet Cong snipers, ambushes, and command-detonated bombs. Despite the overwhelming odds against them, the Marines of Charlie One Five always emerge victorious in every battle they fight.

Gripping and dramatic, Yellow Footprints reveals the extraordinary journey of becoming one of the proud...and one of the few. Set in 1969 during the height of the Vietnam War, Yellow Footprints details the grueling training of Platoon 3074 to prepare them for the mighty ranks of the U.S. Marine Corps. From the harrowing first few days to the camaraderie forged by the men who shared this ordeal, author Jack Shipman presents an unrestrained look at boot camp not often viewed by the public. Yellow footprints mark the entrance to the Receiving Barracks at the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, and San Diego, California. Along with the other new recruits, Jack Shipman took his first steps on those footprints to either become a proud U.S. Marine or wash out of the toughest military training in the world. Shipman's attention to detail and his frank assessment of his experiences offers a highly readable account for those seeking to learn the fundamentals of Marine Corps history.

This manuscript presents an objective review of the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and the role played by the U.S. Air Force in the VNAF's short 14-year life span. To provide the necessary perspective to this complex project, the author presents a comparative analysis of successes and failures of airpower during the three major enemy offensives of 1968, 1972 and 1975. The conclusions touch upon some of the most fundamental doctrinal principles of airpower and highlight areas that must be carefully considered in any future employment. These two monographs provide the student of airpower with an excellent case study in the tactical employment of air resources at two widely separated points in the spectrum of conflict. For the general reader, they provide a vivid and substantive discussion on the use of combat air power and should give some understanding of the magnitude and complexity of an airpower operation, large or small.

An Oral History Examination of Types of Support Troops in Vietnam.

Waiting on DEROS: A Soldier's Story is a collection of twenty-five short stories about camaraderie, sacrifice and survival. The thoughts and images offer light within the darkness, understanding within the pain and acknowledgement for the boys who endured, and for the boys who died.

This book is the recollections of a guy that had very little interest in the military. His infantry training eventually leads him to the elite Recon platoon in the 101st Airborne Division's 2/502 Infantry Regiment "Strike Force" Battalion. Soon he is involved in brutal combat that leaves many of his comrades dead or wounded. He faces bunkers and machine guns and ends up within touching distance of North Vietnamese soldiers. All eyes were on the Cambodian invasion and Kent State. The big battles were going on west of Hue in the area of operations of the Screaming Eagles. Thirty infantry grunts died taking hills 714 and 882 on the road to the A Shau valley. Nobody knew, and nobody cared about their heroism. They fought only for each other. He then finds out that going home was harder than going to Nam. Years later he finally had to confront the past. This is a story of a military veteran's reconciliation with life, and triumph over the painful memories from the hills west of Hue.

First published in 1992. From the foreword: "Search and rescue has always been important to the United States Air Force, whose aircrews deserve nothing less than the fullest possible commitment to save them and return them home. The motto of Air Force search and rescue, "So Others May Live," is one of the most compelling of all military mottoes. It embodies this spirit of altruism and, as events have proven, also indicates the service's intention to furnish life-saving SAR for civilian as well as military purposes. Search and rescue flourished during World War II as lifeguard ships and submarines joined patrolling aircraft in saving lives and sustaining morale, especially in the Pacific Ocean Areas. The rotary-wing, turbojet, and avionics revolutions made modern SAR a reality. Foreshadowed by the Korean War, the helicopter became the principal form of air rescue vehicle in Vietnam. In three major conflicts, SAR forces gained a reputation for bravery, dedication, and self-sacrifice, as they ventured repeatedly into hostile territory to pluck fallen aircrews to safety. The USAF rightly continues to place a top priority on search and rescue, seeking better ways to perform this function through the use of advanced equipment and aircraft (such as the multipurpose MH-53J Pave Low helicopter) and improved training of personnel. This reprint of a classic work offers the reader an exciting and exacting history of the evolution of combat search and rescue in America's longest and most grueling war: the conflict in Southeast Asia."