The U.S. Naval Institute on Vietnam: A Retrospective

by Thomas J Cutler (Editor)

Overview

The U.S. Naval Institute Chronicles series focuses on the relevance of history by exploring topics like significant battles, personalities, and service components. Tapping into the U.S. Naval Institute's robust archives, these carefully selected volumes help readers understand nuanced subjects by providing unique perspectives and some of the best contributions that have helped shape naval thinking over the many decades since the Institute’s founding in 1873. True to its role as provider of an open forum, the Naval Institute has devoted many pages to the Vietnam War. In this retrospective and introspective collection, authors provide a look back at that controversial war in search of understanding, lessons learned, recognition, and, in some cases, closure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682470510
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	07/15/2016
Series:	U.S. Naval Institute Chronicles
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	815 KB

About the Author

Thomas J. Cutler is a retired lieutenant commander and former gunner's mate second class who served in patrol craft, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. His varied assignments included an in-country Vietnam tour, small craft command, and nine years at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Seamanship&Navigation Department and Associate Chairman of the History Department. While at the Academy, he was awarded the William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education (military teacher of the year). He is the founder and former Director of the Walbrook Maritime Academy in Baltimore. Currently he is Fleet Professor of Strategy and Policy with the Naval War College and is the Director of Professional Publishing at the U.S. Naval Institute. Winner of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Naval Literature, the U.S. Naval Institute Press Author of the Year, and the U.S. Maritime Literature Award, his published works include NavCivGuide: A Handbook for Civilians in the U.S. Navy; A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy [one of the books in the Chief of Naval Operations Reading Program]; The Battle of Leyte Gulf; Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal&Riverine Warfare in Vietnam; and the 22nd, 23rd (Centennial), and 24th editions of The Bluejacket's Manual. His other works include revisions of Jack Sweetman's The Illustrated History of the U.S. Naval Academy and Dutton's Nautical Navigation. He and his wife, Deborah W. Cutler, are the co-editors of the Dictionary of Naval Terms and the Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations. His books have been published in various forms, including paperback and audio, and have appeared as main and alternate selections of the History Book Club, Military Book Club, and Book of the Month Club. He has served as a panelist, commentator, and keynote speaker on military and writing topics at many events and for various organizations, including the Naval History and Heritage Command, Smithsonian Institution, the Navy Memorial, U.S. Naval Academy, MacArthur Memorial Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, U.S. Naval Institute, Armed Forces Electronics Communications and Electronics Association, Naval War College, Civitan, and many veterans' organizations. His television appearances include the History Channel's Biography series, A&E's Our Century, Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor, and CBS's 48 Hours.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

1 "Vietnam: Winnable War?" Captain Wayne P. Hughes Jr., USN U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, July 1977 3

2 "Tonkin: Setting the Record Straight" Rear Admiral Lloyd R. "Joe" Vasey, USN (Ret.) U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, August 2010 12

3 "Why We Lost in Vietnam" Jeffrey Record Selection from The Wrong War: Why We Lost in Vietnam, 1998 24

4 "Vietnam Retrospective" Richard L. Armitage U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, November 1985 42

5 "Loss of South Vietnam" Admiral James L. Holloway III, USN (Ret.) Selection from Aircraft Carriers at War: A Personal Retrospective of Korea, Vietnam, and the Soviet Confrontation, 2007 52

6 "Interview: Westmoreland" Dennis Ghamberland U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, July 1986 56

7 "A Conflict of Strategies", Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, USMC (Ret.) Selection from First to Fight, 1984 64

8 "American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973" Stuart Rochester Frederick Kiley Selection from Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973, 1999 78

9 "P.W." Lieutenant Commander George T. Coker, USN U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, October 1974 85

10 "Deputies of Zeus: Morality and the Vietnam War" Colonel Anthony L. Werntuth, USA (Ret.) U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, August 1974 98

11 "Reflections on Vietnam" General Joseph P. Hoar, USMC (Ret.) and Ron Benigo U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, May 2005 118

12 "The Lesson of Vietnam" Captain John E. Greenbacker, USN (Ret.) U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, July 1973 127

13 "Tragic Aftermath-and Why" Rufus Phillips Selection from Wiry Vietnam Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned, 2008 141

14 "Rules of Engagement: No More Vietnams" Colonel W H. Parks, USMCR U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, March 1991 150

15 "Vietnam, Revisited" Brigadier General Thomas V. Draude, USMC (Ret.) U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, November 2008 156

16 "Epilogue" Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler USN Selection from Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam, 1988 164

Index 167