Reference Works

Naturally enough, the reference work that I like the best is the one I wrote myself:

Edwin E. Moïse, The A to Z of the Vietnam War. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005. li, 457 pp. ISBN 0810853337. This is a revised and updated version of the work immediately below. It is not an edited volume; I wrote all the articles in it.

Edwin E. Moïse, Historical Dictionary of the Vietnam War. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001. 493 pp. See description.

David L. Anderson, (ed.?), The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. 352 pp.

Col. Raymond K. Bluhm Jr., ed., The Vietnam War: A Chronology of War. Universe, 2010 (forthcoming). 288 pp. A chronology with extensive illustrations.

John S. Bowman, ed., The Vietnam War: An Almanac. Cleveland: World Almanac Publications, 1985. Paperback edition titled The World Almanac of the Vietnam War. New York: World Almanac (Pharos Books), 1986. 512 pp. The bulk of the volume, 344 pp., is a detailed chronology.

John S. Bowman, ed., The Vietnam War: Day by Day.  Hong Kong: Mallard, 1989.  Apparently an abridgment of the above item, but with photos added.

G.A. Carter and J.W. Ellis, Jr., et al., User's Guide to Southeast Asia Combat Data, R-1815-ARPA. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation, 1976. vii, 541 pp. Includes a 125-page chronology (pp. 361-485) of events in Southeast Asia, 1945-1975.

Gregory R. Clark, Words of the Vietnam War: The Slang, Jargon, Abbreviations, Acronyms, Nomenclature, Nicknames, Pseudonyms, Slogans, Specs, Euphemisms, Double-talk, Chants, and Names and Places of the Era of United States Involvement in Vietnam. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1990. The full text is available online to paid subscribers of Questia.

Micheal Clodfelter, Vietnam in Military Statistics: A History of the Indochina Wars, 1772-1991. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995. 336 pp.

Combined Military Interrogation Center (CMIC), CMIC Report Writing Guide, June 1971. 38 pp. The tables showing the US, Soviet, PRC, and VC/NVA designations of various weapons (p. 28), provinces and districts in North Vietnam as of January 1971 (pp. 29-31), RVN provinces and districts in South Vietnam (pp. 32-34), and Communist territorial units in South Vietnam as of September 1969 (pp. 35-37) may be useful. The text has been placed online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University.

Justin Corfield and Laura Summers, Historical Dictionary of Cambodia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003. xlvii, 510 pp.

John T. Correll, "The Vietnam War Almanac." Air Force Magazine, September 2004, pp. 42-62. The full text has been placed online. Quite a useful reference on various aspects of the air war.

Jacques Dalloz, Dictionnaire de la guerre d'Indochine, 1945-1954. Preface by Bernard Droz. Paris: Armand Colin, 2006. 283 pp.

Do Thieu Liet, Tu-dien quan-su Phap-Anh-Viet (French-English-Vietnamese military dictionary). Saigon: Zien-Hong, 1957. 529 pp. The author was a captain in the ARVN.

Doan Them, Hai muoi nam qua: Viec tung ngay (1945-1964). Los Alamitos, CA: Xuan Thu, n.d. 424 pp. A day-by-day chronology.

William J. Duiker, Historical Dictionary of Vietnam. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1989. xiv, 269 pp. 2d. ed.: Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1998. xv, 353 pp. For the most recent edition, see below under Lockhart.

Far Eastern Economic Review: CD-ROM Edition, 1946-1997. Asia 2000 Ltd. Distributed in the United States by University of Washington Press, 1999. ISBN 0-295-97804-X. During the Vietnam War, the Far Eastern Economic Review, published in Hong Kong, had the best coverage of Asian news of any weekly newsmagazine in the English language. This CD-ROM edition, computer-searchable, should be an extremely valuable research and reference tool.

Christopher E. Goscha, Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954): An International and Interdisciplinary Approach. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press / Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2011. xxxv, 564 pp.

Philip Gutzman, Vietnam: A Visual Encyclopedia. London: PRC Publishing/New York: Sterling Publishing, 2002. 448 pp. This is extensively illustrated, but at the same time the text makes it a serious encyclopedia; it is not just a picture book.

Kevin Hillstrom, Laurie Collier Hillstrom; Diane M. Sawinski, ed.; Vietnam War: Almanac. Detroit: U*X*L, 2001. 293, lii pp. Aimed at secondary school students.

Michael P. Kelly, Where We Were in Vietnam: A Comprehensive Guide to the Firebases, Military Installations and Naval Vessels of the Vietnam War, 1945-1975. Central Point, Oregon: Hellgate, 2002. Numerous sections paginated separately. The longest single section, the main aphabetical list, is 561 pages. The total for all of the sections must be over 800. An impressive and useful volume.

Stanley I. Kutler, ed., Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. New York: Macmillan, 1996. xxxiv, 711 pp.

Howard J. Langer, The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2005. xxiv, 413 pp.

Marc Leepson with Helen Hannaford, eds., Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War. New York: Macmillan, 1999. ix, 598 pp. Many entries in this are derived from the corresponding entries in Stanley Kutler's Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (see immediately above).

Nelson Lichtenstein and Eleanora W. Schoenebaum, eds., Political Profiles, 5 vols. New York : Facts on File, 1976-79. Each volume of this series contains biographical sketches of major figures during one American president's administration, starting with Truman and ending with a combined volume for Nixon and Ford.

Bruce Lockhart and William J. Duiker, Historical Dictionary of Vietnam, 3d ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2006. xxxix, 514 pp.

Nguyen Duc Phuong, Nhung tranh danh lich su trong chien tranh Viet nam 1963-1975.  Glendale, CA: Dai Nam, 1993.  423 pp.  24 battles and campaigns, from Ap Bac to the final offensive of 1975.

Nguyen Ky Phong, Tu dien chien tranh Viet Nam (Dictionary of the Vietnam War). Garden Grove, CA: Tu Luc, 2009. x, 500 pp.

Nguyen Q. Thang and Nguyen Ba The, Tu dien nhan vat lich su Viet nam (Biographical Dictionary of Vietnamese History). Ho Chi Minh City: Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc Xa Hoi, 1991. 1096 pp.  Revised and enlarged edition: Ho Chi Minh City: Nha Xuat Ban Van Hoa, 1993.  1214 pp.

James S. Olson, ed., Dictionary of the Vietnam War. New York: Greenwood, 1988. 593 pp.

Pham Dinh Nhan, Almanach, nhung su kien lich su Viet Nam (Almanac of Vietnamese historical events). Hanoi: Van Hoa Thong Tin, 1999. 1239 pp.

Linda Reinberg, In the Field: The Language of the Vietnam War. New York: Facts on File, 1991. vii, 273 pp.

Shelby L. Stanton, Vietnam Order of Battle. Foreword by Gen. William C. Westmoreland. Washington, D.C.: U.S. News Books, 1981. xvii, 396 pp. New York: Exeter Books, 1986. xvii, 396 pp. (Rev. ed.?) Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003. xvii, 396 pp. A vital reference work listing US units, with dates and locations of Vietnam service, etc.

Jeff Stein, The Vietnam Fact Book. New York: Dell, 1987. viii, 180 pp. The guy has too many of his "facts" wrong.

David J. Steinberg, Chester A. Bain, et. al., Area Handbook for Viet-Nam. Washington: Human Relations Area Files, 1957. 718 pp.

Col. Harry G. Summers, Jr., The Vietnam War Almanac. New York: Facts on File, 1985. 224 pp.

Col. Harry G. Summers, Jr., Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 224 pp. Since this really is the historical atlas of the Vietnam War--I cannot think of a major competitor--I think is is worth my going into a good bit of detail about just how unreliable it is.
         There is one systemic problem, a tendency to treat lines of latitude and longitude as artistic decoration, rather than as references for exact locations. If one compares different pages showing an important place that is close to a major line of latitude or longitude, one is likely to find it shifting back and forth from one side of that line to the other. Thus Kontum is slightly east of 108° on pages 25 (right-hand map) and 101, but significantly west of 108° on pages 183 and 191.   Pleiku is south of 14° on pages 25, 47, 131, and 191, but north of 14° on pages 99, 169, 171, and 197.   Ban Me Thuot is east of 108° on pages 25, 47, and 191, exactly on 108° on page 131, and west of 108° on pages 93 and 183.   There are also many other problems of various sorts; I shall use four particularly bad pages as examples:

• The text on the Tonkin Gulf incidents of August 1964, on page 94, states, "On August 1, the Maddox was on station at Point Charlie, about four miles off the coast of Hon Me, the site of a radar station and home port for North Vietnamese patrol torpedo (PT) boats, which had been bombarded in a DeSoto operation the day before. On August 2, three of these PT boats launched an attack on the Maddox, but all the torpedoes missed their target. The Maddox returned fire, and after receiving several hits the PT boats broke contact. . . . they returned to their base at Hon Me." Errors in this passage include:
  The Point Charlie to which this passage referred was actually more than twenty miles from the coast of Hon Me.
  There was no home port for PT boats at Hon Me, or anywhere near Hon Me.
  The bombardment of Hon Me had not been a DeSoto operation, it had been an OPLAN 34A operation.
  The Maddox did not exactly return fire in this incident; the Maddox fired first.
  The PT boats did not go to Hon Me after the incident.
   
• The corresponding map, on page 95, shows Haiphong northeast of Hanoi (it is actually southeast of Hanoi).
  The map also shows U.S. bombing, during the retaliatory airstrikes of August 5, 1964, of a target extremely close to the Chinese border. This is incorrect; no bombing of the location shown, or of any target close to the Chinese border, occurred in August 1964.
  Near the middle of the map, one sees the town of Vinh, two little explosion symbols to indicate American air attacks well to the north of the town, and three symbols indicating oil tanks far to the west of the town. What there should have been was the marking for the town, a single oil tank symbol, and a single bombing symbol, all touching if not overlaying one another. There was only one significant oil tank complex, it was right on the outskirts of Vinh, and it was what the American aircraft attacked.
  Three little explosion symbols to indicate American air attacks down to the south, in the area of Ron and Quang Khe, are all on land. This is misleading; American aircraft attacked only North Vietnamese naval vessels, not targets on shore, in that area.
   
• The next map, the one for Operation Rolling Thunder on page 97, makes me suspect that the person who drew it was playing a practical joke. Laos had two capitals: Luang Prabang (the royal capital), and Vientiane (the administrative capital). On this map neither of them is even in Laos; Luang Prabang is shown in North Vietnam and Vientiane in Thailand.
  The North Vietnamese town of Vinh is also shown noticeably to the west of its actual location, and the Mekong Delta town of My Tho noticeably to the east of its actual location.
  The labels for the map symbols have gotten reversed, so the symbol used on the map for the major air bases used by large numbers of jet aircraft such as Tan Son Nhut, Bien Hoa, Danang, and Cam Ranh, is labelled "U.S. air base (non jet serviceable)."
   
• The most comprehensively inaccurate map I have noticed so far is the one for the 1968 Tet Offensive, on page 131.
  It shows the Ho Chi Minh Trail going from North vietnam across the DMZ to South Vietnam, and then west into Laos, when it should have been shown going from North Vietnam directly to Laos well north of the DMZ, and then from Laos to South Vietnam.
  It has Phu Bai, actually southeast of Hue near the coast, moved west into the mountains, almost to the Laotian border, about where A Shau should be. To make room for Phu Bai there, A Shau has been moved about 100 kilometers to the south.
  The Hai Van Pass, Da Nang, Chu Lai, and Quang Ngai are all a bit south of their actual locations, but the boundary between I Corps and II Corps is shown well to the north of its actual location.
  Qui Nhon and Tuy Hoa are shown well inland from their actual coastal locations, while Dong Ha and Go Cong (misspelled "Go Kong"), in fact inland, are shown right on the coast.
  Long Binh is shown southwest of Bien Hoa when it should be east of Bien Hoa.
  The boundary between II Corps and III Corps is shown barely east of An Loc, partly because the boundary has been moved west of its actual location, and partly because An Loc has been moved east. The boundary between III Corps and IV Corps has been put south of its actual location, placing Go Cong ("Go Kong"), and part of Kien Tuong province, in III Corps when they were actually in IV Corps.
  Chau Phu has been moved westward, to a location not just touching the Cambodian border but touching it from the Cambodian side.

Tran Van Ngo, et al., Who's Who in Vietnam, 3d ed. Saigon: Vietnam Press, 1974. 10 + 968 pp. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in ten sections: front matter and pp. 1-83 (Nguyen Van Ai to Chung Tan Cang);   pp. 84-183 (Doan Ba Cang to Nguyen Cao Dam);   pp. 184-275 (Nguyen Cao Dam [con't] to Nguyen Huu Hanh);   pp. 276-375 (Nguyen Ngoc Hanh to Vu Van Khieu);   pp. 376-475 (Le Ba Khieu to Nguyen Van Loc);   pp. 476-575 (Tran Van Loc to Chau Kim Nhan);   pp. 576-675 (Pham Thong Nhan to Vo Thanh Son);   pp. 676-775 (Ton That Soan to Kieu Mong Thu);   pp. 776-875 (Le Van Thu to Phan Dinh Tuan);   pp. 876-968 (Phan Dinh Tuan [con't] to Nguyen Vy).

Tu dien bach khoa quan su Viet nam (Military encyclopedia of Vietnam). Hanoi: Nha xuat ban Quan doi nhan dan Viet nam, 1996. 1007 pp.   Rev. ed. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2004. 1295 pp. An extremely valuable reference work.

Spencer C. Tucker, ed., Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. 3 vols. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1998. lii, xlii, xix, 1196 pp. Most of vol. 3 (pp. 881-1092) is a collection of documents.

Spencer C. Tucker, ed., Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, & Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. xix, 578 pp.

James H. Willbanks, Vietnam War Almanac. New York: Facts on File, 2009. xviii, 590 pp.

James H. Willbanks, ed., Vietnam War: The Essential Reference Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2013. xliii, 341 pp.

James H. Willbanks, ed., Vietnam War: A Topical Exploration and Primary Source Collection. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2018. pp. i-xxiv, 1-372; i-xv, 373-823.

U.S. Government Reference Works Available Online

Most of these are also listed individually in "U.S. Government Publications," scattered according to their various issuing agencies, but I thought it would be worthwhile also to gather them in a single, conspicuous location.

George L. Harris, et. al., Area Handbook for Vietnam. DA PAM 550-40. ix, 513 pp. Dated September 1962. A revised version of a volume originally published in the private sector in 1957. (See above under Steinberg. When it was revised again in 1967, there were separate volumes for South and North Vietnam; see below.) The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in eleven sections: front matter and pp. 1-40,   pp. 41-,   pp. 93-,   pp. 145-,   pp. 198-,   pp. 250-,   pp. 302-,   pp. 355-,   pp. 405-,   pp. 458-,   pp. 492-513.   A reprint dated October 1964, identical to the 1962 edition so far as I can tell (it still described Ngo Dinh Diem as President of the Republic of Vietnam), has also been placed online: front matter and pp. 1-39 . . . pp. 197-248,   pp. 249-300 . . .
D 101.22:550-40

Harvey H. Smith et. al., Area Handbook for South Vietnam. DA PAM 550-55. Washington: GPO, 1967. xiv, 510 pp. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in eleven sections. Start with the front matter and pages 1-39, pp. 40-,   pp. 91-,   pp. 141-,   pp. 192-,   pp. 244-,   pp. 296-,   pp. 347-,   pp. 399-,   pp. 450-,   pp. 481-510.
D 101.22:550-55

South Vietnam: Official Standard Names Gazetteer. Washington, DC: United States Board on Geographic Names/Department of the Interior, 1971. viii, 337 pp. Prepared in the Geographic Names Division, U.S. Army Topographic Command. Lists place names in South Vietnam, with latitude and longitude. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in eight parts: front matter and pp. 1-38 (A - Ap Thuy Thuan),   pp. 39-88 (Ap Thuy Trung - Cai Nuoc),   pp. 89-138 (Cai Nuoc - Go Kau),   pp. 139-188 (Go Kho - Me, Da),   pp. 189-238 (Me, Dak - Priegne, Ea),   pp. 239-288 (Prieh - Trai Bi),   pp. 289-327 (Trai Bi - Zouei) and pp. 328-337 (South China Sea Gazetteer: Adasier - Zappe), and back cover.

Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam, VC/NVA-RVN Gazetteer, Volume I, VC/NVA. February 1970. For each VC/NVA place name, this gives the VC/NVA grid coordinates, the RVN name, the UTM coordinates (in the grid system the US used), etc. This has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University: front matter and pp. 1-44 (A Ba Bu Can - Ban Thach),   pp. 45-94 (Ban Thach - Chu Gia),   pp. 95-144 (Ban Thach - Dac Ri Lop),   pp. 145-194 (Dac Ri Peng - Gia Kiet),   pp. 195-238 (Gia Lac - Ia Tom) [pp. 200-213 missing],   pp. 239-286 (Ia Ton - My Dien),   pp. 287-334 (My Dien - Phuoc Qua),   pp. 335-382 (Phuoc Thi - Rach Duoc),   pp. 383-430 (Rach Gau - Tan Hung),   pp. 431-478 (Tan Hung - Vinh Ba),   pp. 479-502 (Vinh Bang - Zoong Ta Puc).

Harvey H. Smith et. al., Area Handbook for North Vietnam. DA PAM 550-57. Washington: GPO, 1967. xii, 494 pp. The full text has been placed online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in ten sections: front matter and pages 1-42 [Section I, Social, starts here]; pp. 43-94; pp. 95-144; pp. 145-195 [Section II, Political, starts on p. 165]; pp. 196-248; pp. 249-301 [Section III, Economic, starts on p. 257]; pp. 302-353; pp. 355-405 [Section IV, National Security, starts on p. 375]; pp. 406-430; [Bibliographies start on p. 414; pp. 431-456 of the Bibliographies are missing]; pp. 457-494 [the remainder of the Bibliographies, the Glossary, and the Index].
D 101.22:550-57

NIS Gazetteer: North Vietnam. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 1964. v, 311 pp. Lists place names in North Vietnam, with latitude and longitude. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in seven parts: front matter and pp. 1-40 (A - Ban Suoi Say),   pp. 41-90 (Ban Suoi Tham - Dong Tac),   pp. 91-140 (Dong Tae - Lang Bui),   pp. 141-190 (Lang Bui - Nam Co),   pp. 191-240 (Nam Coi - Sam Dao),   pp. 241-290 (Sam Dinh - Vo Liet), and pp. 291-311 (Von Coc - Zuong Maa).

There is a compilation of biographical data on important individuals in North Vietnam, issued probably in 1976, probably by the State Department. 111 pp. It has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in three parts: Hoang Anh to Nguyen Van Huyen,   Ung Van Khiem to Tran Cong Tuong),  and Tranh Dan Tuyen to Nghiem Xuan Yem.

Frederick P. Munson, et. al., Area Handbook for Cambodia. Washington, DC: GPO, 1963. xii, 415 pp. The text is available online at Hathi Trust.

Frederick P. Munson, et. al., Area Handbook for Cambodia. Washington: GPO, 1968. xviii, 364 pp. The text is available online at Hathi Trust.
D 101.22:550-50 [probably /2]

Laos: Official Standard Names Gazetteer [title on cover] or Laos: Official Standard Names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names [title on title page], second edition. Washington, D.C.: Defense Mapping Agency Topographic Center, 1973. iv, 348 pp. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University. Links first to fifteen .pdf files each representing a moderate-size chunk, and at the end to a single large file containing the whole thing.

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 of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University.
D 1.2:C 27/2

Security Classification Guide for Southeast Asia (SEA) Operations. Air Force Office of Information Security, 26 June 1992. 87 pp. plus Appendices A-C. Online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in six .pdf files. A guide for personnel reviewing Air Force documents from the Vietnam War for declassification. The three appendices that make up most of the document are useful reference works.
Appendix A. USAF Aircraft and Roles in Southeast Asia, 1965-1972. 2 pp.
Appendix B. Munitions Used in the Vietnam War. 12 pp. "Munitions" defined broadly, to include not only bombs and rockets, but rocket launching tubes, flares, airdropped mines, guns, and gun pods.
Appendix C. Glossary: Southeast Asia Terms, Nicknames, and Abbreviations. 174 pp. (runs from the third to the sixth of the six .pdf files).

Selected Manpower Statistics, Department of Defense, OASD (Comptroller), Directorate for Information Operations and Control, June 1976.

Military Personnel Historical Reports. Figures for the numbers of U.S. military personnel in each service who were on active duty, in each year from 1953 to 1999, and where they were located.

Statistical Abstract of the United States. This annual publication contains a variety of basic statistics. Typically, each year's issue will have the figure for the most recent year for which data are available, and for several previous years. For example, the 1974 Statistical Abstract had an estimated figure for U.S. national defense spending in Fiscal Year 1974, and final figures for every year from FY1960 to FY1973. Sometimes decisions about what figures to include change from year to year. If you don't find the number you want in the volume for one year, it may be worth checking to see whether it is in the volume for the next year, or the year after. The volumes for most years during the Vietnam War are available online at a U.S. Census Bureau web page. I have given links below, for a sampling of years. In the volume for each year, most of the tables relevant to the Vietnam War will be in the section titled "National Defense and Veterans Affairs." This can be anywhere from Section 9 to Section 11, depending on the year.

Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1966
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1970
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1974
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1976
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1989 (see in particular Tables Nos. 537, 543, 547, 548, 552 (pp. 332, 335, 336, 336, 338 respectively).

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. 2 vols. Washington, DC: United States Bureau of the Census, 1975.

Text by chapters
Chapter Y: Government, pp. 1067-1151, of which Outlays of the Federal Government (including figures for military spending) are pp. pp. 1114-16, and "Armed Forces and Veterans" are pp. 1135-51.
Corrections

Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook. Basic information on the countries of the world, kept reasonably up-to-date.

Reference Works Published by the U.S. Army

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Copyright © 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, Edwin E. Moise. This document may be reproduced only by permission. Revised May 17, 2019.