The critically acclaimed author ofPatriotsoffers profound insight into Vietnam s place in America s self-image How did the Vietnam War change the way we think of ourselves as a people and a nation? In American Reckoning, Christian G. Appy author of Patriots, the widely praised oral history of the Vietnam War examines the war s realities and myths and its lasting impact on our national self-perception. Drawing on a vast variety of sources that range from movies, songs, and novels to official documents, media coverage, and contemporary commentary, Appy offers an original interpretation of the war and its far-reaching consequences for both our popular culture and our foreign policy. Authoritative, insightful, and controversial, urgently speaking to our role in the world today, American Reckoning invites us to grapple honestly with the conflicting lessons and legacies of the Vietnam War."

No experience etched itself more deeply into Air Force thinking than the air campaigns over North Vietnam. Two decades later in the deserts of Southwest Asia, American airmen were able to avoid the gradualism that cost so many lives and planes in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Readers should come away from this book with a sympathetic understanding of the men who bombed North Vietnam. Those airmen handled tough problems in ways that ultimately reshaped the Air Force into the effective instrument on display in the Gulf War. This book is a sequel to Jacob Van Staaveren's Gradual Failure: The Air War over North Vietnam, 1965-1966, which we have also declassified and are publishing. Wayne Thompson tells how the Air Force used that failure to build a more capable service-a service which got a better opportunity to demonstrate the potential of air power in 1972. Dr. Thompson began to learn about his subject when he was an Army draftee assigned to an Air Force intelligence station in Taiwan during the Vietnam War. He took time out from writing To Hanoi and Back to serve in the Checkmate group that helped plan the Operation Desert Storm air campaign against Iraq. Later he visited Air Force pilots and commanders in Italy immediately after the Operation Deliberate Force air strikes in Bosnia. During Operation Allied Force over Serbia and its Kosovo province, he returned to Checkmate. Consequently, he is keenly aware of how much the Air Force has changed in some respects-how little in others. Although he pays ample attention to context, his book is about the Air Force. He has written a well-informed account that is both lively and thoughtful.

High quality reprint of this recently declassified 1971 study.The primary mission of Ranch Hand was defoliation and crop destruction. Defoliation was directed against enemy strongholds, roadsides, power lines, railroads, and other lines of communication. The objectives were to increase visibility for Forward Air Controller (FAC) and tactical aircraft and to make it more difficult for the enemy to ambush ground forces. Two herbicides were used for. defoliation: Orange, a mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T chlorophenoxy acids; and White, a mixture of 2,4-D and picloram. Crop destruction was directed at food plots of enemy troops, the objective being to increase their logistics problem. The herbicide used for crop denial missions was Agent Blue, a sodium salt of cacodylic acid. Proposed targets were carefully screened at all echelons. Requests for defoliation and crop destruction were originated by army commanders at or below the province level. The request, when approved by the Province Chief, was sent to the Vietnamese Joint General Staff (JGS). With their approval, it went to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) which reviewed specific target areas and operational requirements. A coordination meeting was then held at the province where the final plan was agreed upon. Following this, an operations order was published by the JGS and an execution order issued by MACV. It required approximately six months from the time the request for defoliation was first submitted until the final plan was agreed upon by all levels of command. A second mission of the Ranch was that of conducting airlift operations as directed by higher authority. This was accomplished by removing the spray tanks and spray booms from the aircraft and installing the conveyors and other essential equipment for airlift operations. The conversion, when required, was accomplished in less than 24 hours.

High quality reprint of this recently declassified 1968 eport. "The War in Vietnam--July - December 1967" summarizes and provides an overall look at the Air Force role in North and South Vietnam for the semi- annual period. It is a continuation of the summary of Air Force operations first detailed in "The War in Vietnam - 1965." ROLLING THUNDER gradually increased the weight of effort against a broadening, but still limited, target complex. The high incidence of radar-directed guns and SA-2s in the extended battle area also required changes in tactics by strike and reconnaissance forces. Close air support was instrumental in breaking the enemy attacks on Dak To, Loc Ninh, and Bo Duc, often by putting ordnance within 20 feet of prepared Allied positions. Airlift units retained their basic organizational structure and successfully supported the Allied requirements at Loc Ninh and Dak To. Flying safety was the paramount problem confronting the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF), and by August, aircraft losses due to pilot error exceeded combat losses, until finally an intensive instrument training program was initiated. The denial of crops through herbicide destruction often placed a severe strain on the enemy supply system, forcing the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) out of their normal operating areas. Enemy attacks against air bases with a steadily improving rocket capability continued to present formidable problems. Successful efforts were made during the period to substantially increase the B-52 monthly sortie rate to keep pressure on the enemy's supply and infiltration system, while at the same time blocking his efforts to mass along the DMZ.

High quality reprint of this recently declassified 1968 study."The War in Vietnam" provides an overall look at the Southeast Asia situation, as it relates to the role of the United States Air Force. Intensifying its air operations, the USAF increased its close air support, interdiction, fixed-wing, and helicopter support. New tactics were also used to improve the Search and Rescue capability in highly defended areas and measures were devised to minimize limitations of aircraft in recovering downed airmen. In an effort to exhaust enemy resources and remove his sanctuaries in North Vietnam, one of the major objectives of the air campaign was greater targeting freedom. A probing for target alternatives showed destruction of hard-to-replace vehicles could be more effective than "cratering a road, interdicting a rail line, or destroying a bridge." Since enemy strategy emphasized prolonging the war by keeping the U.S. out of the: Hanoi/Haiphong region, CINCPAC enumerated methods of attacking his air defense system, including MIG air bases and aircraft on the ground.

This is the true story of the nurses who served a twelve month tour of duty with the 12th/483rd USAF Hospital, Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Republic of Vietnam from 1965-1972. It was a nasty war in a remote land on the far side of the world; its rationale a mystery to many who were called to sacrifice for a country not fully committed to the fray. This is an untold story of the second largest military hospital in South Vietnam and of its courageous medical team. It is a poignant tale of the countless wounded soldiers whose mangled bodies were pieced together and often sent back into the endless battle... I went to Washington, D.C. in 1993 to attend the dedication of the statue to honor the women veterans who served during the Viet Nam Era. When I went to the stage area, where the march down Constitution Avenue was to begin, I was told by one of the Army Nurses that only those who served one year in the country could march up front. Well, I informed her that I was stationed at the large Air Force Hospital at Cam Ranh Bay for one year. She told me that she wasn't aware of that Air Force hospital. So, when I returned to my home, I decided to contact nurses that were stationed in Cam Ranh Bay before, during and after me. They rapidly sent pictures and stories of their tour. It is with thanks to these ladies and all of their help that this story could be written.