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A series of 40 illustrated brochures that describe the campaigns in
which U.S. Army troops participated during the war. Each brochure
describes the strategic setting, traces the operations of the major
American units involved, and analyzes the impact of the campaign on
future operations. CMH Pubs 72-1 through 72-40.
The story of the 24th Infantry Regiment in Korea is a difficult
one, both for the veterans of the unit and for the Army. In the
early weeks of the Korean War, most American military units
experienced problems as the U.S. Army attempted to transform
understrength, ill-equipped, and inadequately trained forces into
an effective combat team while at the same time holding back the
fierce attacks of an aggressive and well-prepared opponent. In
addition to the problems other regiments faced in Korea, the 24th
Infantry also had to overcome the effects of racial prejudice.
Ultimately the soldiers of the regiment, despite steadfast courage
on the part of many, paid the price on the battlefield for the
attitudes and misguided policies of the Army and their nation.
Several previously published histories have discussed what happened
to the 24th Infantry. This book tells why it happened. In doing so,
it offers important lessons for today's Army. The Army and the
nation must be aware of the corrosive effects of segregation and
the racial prejudices that accompanied it. The consequences of that
system crippled the trust and mutual confidence so necessary among
the soldiers and leaders of combat units and weakened the bonds
that held the 24th together, producing profound effects on the
battlefield. I urge the reader to study and reflect on the insights
provided in the chapters that follow. We must ensure that the
injustices and misfortunes that befell the 24th never occur again.
For many Americans during the Vietnam era, the war on the home
front seemed nearly as wrenching and hardfought as the one in
Southeast Asia. Its primary battlefield was the news media, its
primary casualty the truth. But as William Hammond reveals,
animosity between government and media wasn't always the rule; what
happened between the two during the Vietnam War was symptomatic of
the nation's experiences in general. As the "light at the end of
the tunnel" dimmed, relations between them grew ever darker.
"Reporting Vietnam" is an abridgment and updating of Hammond's
massive two-volume work issued by the Government Printing Office.
Based on classified and recently declassified government
documents--including Nixon's national security files--as well as on
extensive interviews and surveys of press war coverage, it tells
how government and media first shared a common vision of American
involvement in Vietnam. It then reveals how, as the war dragged on,
upbeat government press releases were consistently challenged by
journalists' reports from the field and finally how, as public
sentiment shifted against the war, Presidents Johnson and Nixon
each tried to manage the news media, sparking a heated exchange of
recriminations.
Hammond strongly challenges the assertions of many military
leaders that the media lost the war by swaying public opinion. He
takes readers through the twists and turns of official public
affairs policy as it tries to respond to a worsening domestic
political environment and recurring adverse "media episodes." Along
the way, he makes important observations about the penchant of
American officials for placing appearance ahead of substance and
about policy making in general.
Although Richard Nixon once said of the Vietnam war, "Our worst
enemy seems to be the press," Hammond clearly shows that his real
enemies were the contradictions and flawed assumptions that he and
LBJ had created. Reporting Vietnam brings a critical study to a
wider audience and is both a major contribution to an ongoing
debate and a cautionary guide for future conflicts.
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