Vietnam War Bibliography:

Defense Department Publications

The Secretary of Defense

History of the Office of the Secretary of Defense / Secretaries of Defense Historical Series

Transcripts of some news conferences given by U.S. secretaries of defense have been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University:

The Joint Chiefs of Staff

History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Christopher J. Lamb, The Mayaguez Crisis: Mission Command and Civil-Military Relations. Washington, DC: Joint History Office, Office of the Chaiman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2018. xxiii, 284 pp.

Speeches and Statements by Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, United States Navy, as Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2 July 1970 - 2 July 1974.
D 5.18:M 78

Willard J. Webb and Ronald H. Cole, The Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Washington: Historical Division, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1989.
D 5.2:C 34

Nathan S. Lowrey, The Chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949–2016. Washington, DC: Joint History Office, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2016. x, 391 pp. The bulk of the volume is individual profiles of each chairman (pp. 65-256) and each vice chairman (pp. 257-346).

The Chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949–2019. Washington, DC: Joint History Office, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, (2019?).

POW/MIA Issues

Vernon E. Davis, The Long Road Home: U.S. Prisoner of War Policy and Planning in Southeast Asia.  Washington: Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2000.  vii, 613 pp.
D 1.2:P 93/5

Paul D. Mather, M.I.A.: Accounting for the Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. Washington: National Defense University Press, 1994. xxiii, 207 pp. S/N 008-020-01260-2. Mather, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, served with the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) from 1973 to 1988.
D 5.402:AC 7X

POW-MIA Fact Book. A pamphlet published by DOD in 1990.
D 1.2:P 93/3/990 (microfiche)

Stuart I. Rochester and Frederick Kiley, Honor Bound: The History of American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973. Washington, DC: Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1998. xiii, 704 pp.
D 1.2:H 75/3

Other

Armed Forces Information Service, Vietnam Review. A series of short pamphlets, apparently adapeted from the State Department's Vietnam Information Notes series. Actual publication dates may be later than nominal dates.

Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), The Economics of Defense Spending: A Look at the Realities. Washington: GPO, 1972. 1+x+6+193 pp.
D 1.2:Sp 3

Blueprint for Aggression: The 'People's War'. DoD GEN-21. Armed Forces Information and Education, Department of Defense, 31 May 1966. A condensed version of "Long Live the Victory of People's War," by Lin Piao [Lin Biao], with an commentary by Deputy Secretary of Defense Cyrus R. Vance. The text of this pamphlet has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

Defense Mapping Agency maps are kept updated, so they show current reality rather than what existed during the war, but they are still most useful. Some, not necessarily the most appropriate, can be found with SuDoc numbers beginning
D 5.354

Department of Defense Annual Report.
D 1.1:

The Department of Defense, 1944-1978: Documents on Establishment and Organization. Office of the Secretary of Defense, Historical Office, 1978.
D 1.2:Es8/944-78

Fact Sheet: Asia: The Crucial Arena. DoD FS-32. Armed Forces Information and Education, Department of Defense, 1966. A speech by President Lyndon Johnson, July 12, 1966. The text of this pamphlet has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

Fact Sheet: Vietnam. DoD FS-26. Armed Forces Information and Education, Department of Defense, 1966. The text of this pamphlet has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

History of Acquisition in the Department of Defense.

Joint Logistics Review Board, Logistic Support in the Vietnam Era. 3 volumes, 18 monographs, and 5 classified appendices. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics), 1970.

Wilbur D. Jones, Arming the Eagle : A History of U.S. Weapons Acquisition since 1775. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Systems Management College, 1999. xii, 531 pp.
D 1.2:H 62/13

Michael B. Peterson, The Vietnam Cauldron: Defense Intelligence in the War for Southeast Asia. Washington, DC: Historical Research Division, Defense Intelligence Agency, 2012. Defense Intelligence Historical Perspectives, Number 2. iii, 48 pp.

A Pocket Guide to Vietnam. DoD PG-21B. 1971. 90 pp.
D 2.8:V 67/971

Walter S. Poole, History of Acquisition in DoD, vol. II, Adapting to Flexible Response, 1960-1968. Washinton, DC: Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2013. xvi, 467 pp.

Admiral U.S.G. Sharp & General W. Westmoreland, Report on the War in Vietnam (as of 30 June 1968). Washington: GPO, 1969. v, 347 pp. The text has been placed on-line as one huge file in the Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University, and some sections are also there separately as shorter files, including Appendix D, "Pacification," pp. 229-235, Appendix F, "The State of the Command," pp. 241-246 "Combat Fundamentals for Advisors," pp. 247-249 (text of pocket-sized cards issued to U.S. Personnel in Vietnam).
D 101.2:V 67

Thomas C. Thayer, ed., A Systems Analysis View of the Vietnam War, 1965-1972, 12 vols. Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service. Collected articles from the Southeast Asia Analysis Report, published 1967-1972 by the Southeast Asia Office under the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Analysis).

U.S. Casualties in Southeast Asia: Statistics as of April 30, 1985. Washington: GPO, 1985. 20 pp. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.
D 1.2:C 27/2

Vietnam 10 Years Later: What Have We Learned?. Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana: Defense Information School, 1984. 112 pp. A collection of talks delivered at a five-day seminar at the Defense Information School in 1983, centering on the question of how the US military handled its relations with the press during the war.
D 101.2:V 67/3 

 

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