To say Nixon inherited a mess would be a masterful understatement. He soon found he could not persuade the enemy come to acceptable terms either, encountering LBJ’s dilemma. Kissinger’s and other envoys’ intense negotiations failed. Ho Chi Minh died in September, 1969, but his government maintained his recalcitrant policy and goal with tenacity and devotion. […]
The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XVIII – More of the Same?
They don’t play beanball in Washington, D.C. Politics is a blood sport. LBJ was a political animal who recognized reality- Vietnam was a dead end for him, the war dividing the Nation, losing popular support, and threatening the demise of the Democratic party. Losing a reelection in November 1968 would be the ultimate humiliation. So, […]
The Vietnam war Revisited- Part XVII – LBJ Out, Nixon In
To see all of the posts in this series, please scroll to the bottom of this post. In a nationally televised address attempting to quell growing public dissent by explaining his administration’s failed efforts at negotiating “peace” with North Vietnam, LBJ shocked the world by announcing he would not run for reelection in November, 1968. […]
The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XVI- Coming Apart at the Seams
I recall 1968 as one of the most chaotic years of my lifetime. A year or so prior, I had come back to San Francisco to complete my surgical residency following my USAF air evacuation experience in Vietnam as a flight surgeon. I was greeted with a wild, mindboggling “cultural revolution”, full-blown anti-war protests, and […]
The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XV – No Way Out
Previous blogs discussed LBJ’s failed efforts to get the North Vietnamese to capitulate following Operation Rolling Thunder’s graduated bombing of targets in North Vietnam. Why did they fail? Our 7th Air Force pilots flying Wild Weasel missions quickly noted many vital targets were off-limits. They complained to command they were bombing the wrong targets, nonessential […]
The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XIV – It Starts Hitting the Fan
The decisions made by the LBJ administration in 1964 discussed in my last blog cast the die. Much like Julius Caesar in 49 BC, LBJ crossed his Rubicon metaphorically. Once crossing the Mekong River and Delta, there was no going back. Operation Rolling Thunder was an irrevocable act that failed for the reasons chronicled in […]
