The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XII – Why Revisit?

Barbara Tuchman’s analysis of the Vietnam War in her book The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam is the inspiration behind this series of posts. All of the previous posts in the series can be found at the bottom of this post.

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A close friend, a Vietnam combat veteran, asked me why I was taking the time to “revisit” such a controversial war, one that divided our nation politically?  Why spend time writing blogs about it? Why not just move on? Get it behind us?

That reminded me of Richard M. Nixon’s famous quote. One thing he got right.

“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then and is misremembered now.”

Another vet sent me an email with “Sobering Statistics” that cuts through some of the myths and confusion surrounding that war, although some of the referenced stats are not set in stone. One statistic that surprised me, only about a third of the 2.8 million Vietnam vets who served in country still survive.

I’m one of the lucky ones. I feel an obligation to pass on what I’ve learned after over fifty years of reflection and five years of reviewing over three dozen documentaries including declassified CIA Intelligence Estimates of that era. I published a historical narrative, RECALL, last year disclosing much of what my research taught me.  I supplemented that knowledge with a series of blogs in the past year and a half addressing controversial topics that did not fit in the book. I posted them on my website for educational purposes and have received many interesting comments.

So, the short answer to my friend’s inquiry: The current series of blogs, “The Vietnam War Revisited” is an effort to sum up my retrospective analysis, my understanding of what transpired over fifty years ago. Of all my reference sources I chose Barbara Tuchman’s, “The March of Folly” because I think it is the most accurate breakdown of what actually happened and why from beginning to end.

Tuchman’s examination of personal presidential flaws and idiosyncrasies is spot on. If you accuse me of confirmation bias, you may be correct. I agree with most of her facts and contentions, but where we differ, I clarify my viewpoints with links to my personal researched blogs. The noted historian’s summations come the closest to accurately portraying the Vietnam War than most of the books I’ve read on the subject. I highly recommend you read her historical documentary.

The purpose of this series of blogs is to provide the public a ‘primer’ in terms as simplistic as possible, realizing nothing was ever “simple” about Vietnam. I hope the elementary history presented in the series gives you a better understanding of the Vietnam era.

Half our population was not born in the Sixties. The present generations have little or no knowledge of that war. The lessons of past were either ignored, went unlearned, or became subject to revisionist history. I doubt the subject is part of the education curriculum except at military schools. A shame since history is one of the best teachers.

For the older generations, the memories and facts may have faded, or they may no longer recall them. But I’ll tell you that most Vietnam Vets recall the events vividly. I feel an obligation to pass on to younger generations what I’ve learned so they hopefully will not repeat our mistakes. Remember Santayana’s admonition…

You may agree or disagree with my take on Vietnam. I hear from many of you, some are vets, responding to my blogs. It’s good to get issues off our chests. For many years no vets talked about it, the topic too divisive, too sensitive. But now it’s not taboo. So, let’s hear from you. If civil, I’ll welcome your thoughts and insight.

Picking up from my last blog, I noted two seminal events occurred in November of 1963 that influenced the outcome of the war- Two assassinations took place. First, South Vietnam’s generals led a coup and murdered President Diem along with his brother. The CIA’s complicity set it up, but they covered it up for years. In the same month, a few weeks later, our President, John F. Kennedy, took Oswald’s fatal bullet to his head. A shot “heard” around the world.

The ramifications of these events shocked the world. Diem’s Saigon coup and JFK’s Dallas assassination led to Lyndon B. Johnson becoming President of the USA.

That fateful moment in history in my opinion proved to be almost as tragic in consequences as JFK’s murder by Oswald’s gunshot. The outcome, LBJ not only would fail in his leadership, but commit disingenuous and deceitful acts which I document in this blog series.

The upshot of his mismanagement of the war is poorly understood. I hope to expose it for the younger generations or those who forgot or repressed it. I cannot say enough negative things about his wartime leadership and his deception of the American people and Congress regarding the conduct of the Vietnam War.

Please read historian Tuchman’s characterization of the man in my last blog before reading further. Her unflattering portrayal of LBJ may help explain some of his inept decisions, folly, and deceptive actions that I deem inexplicable in the scope of proper leadership, ethics, duty and honor for the Presidential office LBJ held.

LBJ’s ego was boundless. His blindspots countless. His reluctance to take professional military and CIA advice legendary. He bragged he knew more than his generals. They couldn’t bomb an outhouse in North Vietnam without his permission. His administration severely restricted the war effort with self-imposed rules of engagement- Limiting North Vietnam vital bombing targets, placing Laos and Cambodian pursuit of VC hit and run ambushes off-limits. Our troops were forbidden to go “over the fence.” Really? Not what they teach at West Point, Camp Lejeune or the War College.

These constraints led to a prolonged war of attrition resulting in more casualties. A war LBJ intended not to “lose”, but failed to make the commitment to “win.’’ What the hell was he thinking?

In the following blogs I’ll outline a long list of LBJ’s failures that had dire consequences not only for our troops, but our nation. I hope you will follow along.