"A Civilian Major General in Vietnam" Topic

John Paul Vann, Lt. Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Vann was highly respected by a large segment of officers and civilians who were involved in the broader political aspects of the war because he favored small units performing aggressive patrolling instead of grandiose engagements by large units. Unlike many US soldiers, he was respectful toward the ARVN soldiers notwithstanding their low morale and was committed to training and strengthening their morale and commitment. He encouraged his personnel to engage themselves in Vietnamese society as much as possible and he constantly briefed that the Vietnam War must be envisaged as a long war at a lower level of engagement rather than a short war at a big-unit, high level of engagement.

After his assignment to IV Corps, Vann was assigned as the senior American advisor in II Corps Military Region in the early 1970s when American involvement in the war was winding down and troops were being withdrawn. For that reason, his new job put him in charge of all United States personnel in his region, where he advised the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) commander to the region and became the first American civilian to command U.S. regular troops in combat. His position was the equivalent in responsibilities of a major general in the US Army.

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Great book – movie not so much – but have always liked Bill Paxton.

Let us not forget the title of his book. The VN hierarchy corruption that embezzled US funding and denied it to the ARVN. The need for US boys to fight in an Asian war, because the locals high-ups were stealing almost every penny of finance for the war.

Did not know there was a film to be honest, but the book is an eye opener.