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 […]
The Vietnam War Revisited – Part XIII – LBJ Becomes POTUS
My series continues with LBJ’s ascendency to the Presidency following JFK’s assassination in November 1963. In my last blog I quoted Barbara Tuchman’s characterization of Lyndon B. Johnson, a man with foibles that led to reckless and injudicious decisions. I urge you to read her comments to understand where I’m going with this current blog. […]
The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XII – Why Revisit?
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 […]
The Vietnam War Revisited- Part XI – Two Earthshaking Events
1963 – A pivotal year hallmarked by two earthshaking events affecting the outcome of the Vietnam War. Diem never enjoyed a popular mandate to govern South Vietnam. That background set the stage for the first event. The CIA operative, Edward Lansdale propped up his rule thoughout most of the Fifties. Diem’s presidency favored Catholics, not […]
