Original subtitles

1965 North Vietnam prepares for Total

War infiltration of Northern soldiers

into the South increases

[Music]

dramatically Saigon

1965 fun capital of a country at War it

is a bizarre contrast to the gunfire

just moments

away Americans question the

determination of their South Vietnamese

Ally the American Military led by

General William W Morland takes over the

war

[Music]

the US sends half a million troops their

strategy is attrition kill more soldiers

than North Vietnam can afford to lose

we're still uh looking beating through

the bush we estimate there were three to

five of them over hey Doc patch them

up what you say

this guy's a local Force type but he

claims there were 30 NVA with him be

careful though if there 30 of them out

there and you make contact you'll have a

fight on your hands over Freedom was in

Jeopardy and the struggling people had

been brought almost to their knees by

aggression when William West

Moran was called to Urgent

Duty his mission was to deny aggression

its

Conquest it was a mission simple enough

to

state but to execute that

mission he had to fight the most complex

war in All American

history between 1965 and 68 the period

of Maximum us combat involvement

the conduct of the ground war is the

responsibility of General William West

Morland Westy to his

troops our mission was to to protect

South Vietnam arm from being overwhelmed

by the aggressive forces from the

north and uh I was told by Mr mmar to on

numerable occasions that I should ask

for the troops I felt needed to bring

about that end result and I should not

worry about a public opinion I should

not worry about the economy I should not

even concern myself as to the

availability of the

troops March

1965 the first American combat troops

3500 land at

dang their initial mission is to defend

US Air bases but as the US bombs the

North and the Communists attack air

bases in the South General West Morin

then requests more Comm M trops the

strategy that had been uh enunciated by

Washington at that time was through the

use of air power the graduated

response it was essential that our

airfields be

secure we had sufficient instance to to

convince

me that since the strategy was dependent

on those airfields we could not totally

depend on the Vietnamese to defend them

the initial ground troops were were

asked for to defend key

airfields in 65 the main US Air bases

are at Danang in the north at Quan and

banoa near saon and at caman bay on the

coast now once those troops were at

those

bases

uh it it made no sense at all to have

them dig in and go strictly in on the

defensive uh in addition to that uh this

is uh very injurious to to the morale of

your troops uh because they realize that

they're sitting ducks to be attacked

based on the initiatives of the enemy

who selects the time in place of attack

and therefore they are sitting ducks to

become very vulnerable this is basic to

any anybody who's had any military

experience has any understanding of

military

tactics some policy makers argue for a

cautious military strategy saying the

defense of these bases or Enclave

positions is enough presidential adviser

Kenneth galb then The Enclave policy

which was perhaps the most popular

solution with which I was in identified

was that we just pull back and wait and

wait and event ually some sort of a

negotiated solution uh would emerge in

meantime there wouldn't be very many

lives lost either on our side and the

country or the country side and that

time would work its own solution to

surrender the initiative uh to to the

enemy and uh to dig in and on caves on

the

defensive uh was in my opinion a

self-defeating

procedure in 1965 the South Vietnamese

Army is losing the

war it numbers half a million men this

is five times the size of the Communist

Force but it is poorly motivated and

poorly

led the Vietnamese were losing a

battalion about a battalion a week

Battalion after Battalion were was being

destroyed by virtue of the North

Vietnamese troops or the the so-called

vetcon main Force troops

but in Saigon nightclubs everything's

coming up

roses as American Aid pours in a

luxurious lifestyle develops within

earshot of the

[Music]

war at base camp the Americans fight the

day battles each night over a 15 cent

beer the Officers Club of the helicopter

support company out outside the

temperature is 95 inside it is air

conditioned the music is always State

Side Wells quite an operation we have to

they

one after the nightly movie The Talk

usually centers on the war on the action

hours

earlier good job I saw you splatter one

right in the back with the rocket Ro got

lucky again that a lucky shot number

really blew the other one about 10 ft

I got the other two with the machine

guns and it's very satisfying to know

sometimes you do kill people with these

things in 1965 there is confidence that

the war can be won the first US combat

troops are pouring

[Music]

in and politically the US now feels it

has a reliable Ally a military Council

takes power in mid 65 there's a new

prime minister air marshall NN CI

premier key is a tough flamboyant figure

he heads the 10th government in 20

[Music]

months the US military commander General

West Morland key was had a lot of

Charisma uh he uh he had a flare and uh

he was well liked by the the troops and

very like very well like by the

Vietnamese he was a man of action he was

uh he was swash bookle

but uh at the same

time he was highly

intelligent Premier key fully supports

the increasing us combat commitment in

South

Vietnam I think it's normal that when

Vietnam as a part of free world country

was attack uh was attacked by

communist with the Chinese at that time

and Russian behind them so I think it's

a duty of American to come for

rescue West morland's Main tactic is

called Search and Destroy the intention

is to locate communist main Force units

in the jungle and fight

them we run

the Vietnamese tactic is Ambush quick

engagement and quick

Retreat according to the Vietnamese the

Americans have bogged down Hano

strategist haran

La the GI was a fighter who we believed

had a certain Technical and theoretical

education

he was very well equipped and trained

nevertheless even though he was a

fighter in an army as sophisticated as

the American Army he did not adapt

easily to the conditions of war in

Vietnam particularly in the jungle in

the swamps and the

countryside he was so heavily equipped

that he could not move around EAS

and made himself a vulnerable Target for

our

gorillas as the infiltration from the

north increases West Morland requires

more and more

reinforcements by mid 1966 his first

year in command he gets almost 300,000

combat troops

communist units are located massive

Firepower is brought in within minutes

fighter bombers can reach any

[Music]

area Naval Firepower destroyers can hit

targets 23 M inland

West [ __ ] develops a new tactic called

Firebase support these are Hilltop

artillery positions from these combat

patrols move within range of the

supporting

fire West Mand is under intense

political pressure to reduce his combat

casualties field units can call for

Swift

evacuation using medivac or ambulance

helicopters the wounded are lifted

direct from combat zones to base

hospitals

West Marin's multi-purpose helicopter

War greatly reduces troop losses for the

seriously wounded the survival rate is

twice that of the Korean

Moore give me emergency every type of

surgery is close to the combat

zone get at them [ __ ] now the

Communist too remain close to the battle

and with their sanctuaries in neutral LA

and Cambodia they can choose when to

fight their strategy is to outweight

America I've had three meetings with

Ambassador bunker and three with General

West Mullen I had coffee with him at

length this morning just before I came

here our American people like when we

get in a contest of any kind whether

it's in a war or an election or in a

football game or what it is they want it

decided and decided quickly and get in

or get out and they like for that curve

to rise like this and they like for the

opposition to go down like

this despite President Johnson's public

show of optimism his cabinet is

divided defense secretary mamar has

serious doubts he wants to stop raising

the troop level

[Music]

the bombing of North Vietnam is still

Johnson's main strategy he again

increases the air strikes the North in

turn intensifies the ground war and West

Morland again requests more

troops because of the intelligence that

we're receiving uh on the movement of

North Vietnamese troops from north to

south

and the general buildup of the enemy

forces um from the standpoint of myself

the military commander responsible on

the

scene if uh if we had not responded uh

to that buildup we could have found

ourselves fighting with odds against

us each side responds with more troops

[Music]

October 66 another 15,000 troops are

welcomed to

shore within days they will be fighting

in the remote

Highlands West Morland Now commands

350,000 troops and on his recommendation

Johnson agrees to a huge increase within

a few months there will be half a

[Music]

million by now America's Pacific allies

are in the war South Korea sends 45,000

troops Thailand sends a volunteer

Infantry Regiment the Philippines

dispatches a 2,000 man Civic action team

the Australians the first to arrive

increased their combat Force to 7,000

troops New Zealand dispatches a 500 man

artillery battery

and when forces were

committed I tried to put enough force or

put enough military power into the

effort that would assure success but

also minimize

casualties in 1965 West Morland is Time

magazine's Man Of The Year the US forces

are steadily taking over the war the

strategy calls for the Saigon government

to build a nation collect everything

there's a lot of gear in here we want it

all in February 1966 key is invited to

meet President Johnson after the

constant change of leadership key and

his wife ma provide an image of

stability as Kei leaves Saigon his

priority is to get more economic

aid President Johnson enthusiastically

agrees

he wants victory in what he calls the

other

war in Hawaii Johnson tells key we are

here to talk peace we are determined to

win not only military Victory but

victory over Hunger disease and

despair ke gets dramatic evidence of

American

Support he asks for a television network

to promote social

reforms within a month TV has come to

Vietnam to fight the economic War the US

in 1966 commits 3/4 of a billion dollar

in Road building materials and equipment

in Iron and Steel products chemicals

Pharmaceuticals and vehicles of every

kind

he and his wife provide the military

regime with a populist image he

demonstrates style and

[Music]

conscience he even warns his fellow

generals against corruption in their own

families America is pleased but

according to key the American Aid is

also a corruptive

influence Vietnam was poor Vietnamese

people are

poor so of course when half a million

American soers were present in the soil

of

Vietnam they brought with

us a living

condition that compared to the the

Vietnamese living conditions is so high

you know so

comfortable that uh in many

ways it

corrupted items go directly from the

base to the

streets conac wine scotch and always

beer and

cigarettes the black market employs

thousands of Street

vendors American affluence creates

resentment among Vietnamese troops and

officials South Vietnam's chief of

pacification colonel wi Bay a COR like

myself get only $70 a

month so at the meantime an interpreter

or a girl who are working for the

Americans get at least $200 to $300 a

month and to compare the salary of the

president or a

minister in the Zan side get at least

only1 $150 a month corruption spreads on

a huge scale

often there is little check on

government

Imports Premier key investigates he

finds enough cement on order to turn the

whole of Vietnam into a concrete

platform when Saigon Imports 40 garbage

trucks many are

stolen vehicle thefts become an industry

even tanks and helicopters are being

sold to the Communists

there are broel outside all large

American bases the girls are usually War

refugees tens of thousands become

prostitutes in 1966 the US Army reports

that one in every four GIS has venial

disease

for 2 and a half million Young American

men Vietnam is a part of growing up I

think the women are too fast for us boys

here too fast fast I don't have any

opinion I'm married I love them myself

the military bases are like little

America when you're alone and is you

lonely go

you

[Music]

all here saon

Cowboy saon VC for the gis the Sho shine

boys are an institution for the street

kids the Americans are a National

Resort

change I'm going change you got

parting the gis from their money is a

widespread game the objective is to

shine their shoes if necessary and get

the shirts off their backs if

[Music]

possible Americans are aware of their

cultural impact an officer who did

official studies Brian Jenkins where the

American Soldier goes so goes American

culture but in perhaps never before to

the

degree that was the case in Vietnam our

our the wealth of our country our

technology

permitted us to to carry this to absurd

lengths uh and the absurdities are are

are are numerous uh the Armed Forces

television station in Vietnam brought

casting daily the weather reports of the

United

States reports on weather conditions

Stateside Vietnam and RNR here's that

bubbling bundle of barometric

Brilliance now first in big day you Long

Tall Texans out there had a cool fair

day of 68 moving down through the Swan

River to the Miami Beach area was a cool

day of 77 that's the way the weather has

been in our part of the world this

evening this is Bobby saying good night

for American forces Vietnam Network and

this evening I'd like to send a special

salute to the fellas out there of the

92nd helicop Assault Helicopter Company

and thank you fellas for watching until

Monday have a pleasant evening

weatherwise and yall know of course

[Music]

otherwise weather a look at tomorrow's

conditions today today with Channel 11's

weather girl

Bob Miss America goes to

Vietnam all Uber Vietnam entertainers

follow the combat troops

[Applause]

[Music]

for Young Americans raised on the images

of World War II Vietnam seems unreal

Soldier Jim Web one of the hardest

things you know for me to really adjust

in my mind was to step off of an air

conditioned plane where I just watched a

first run movie uh and you know have

this German stewardess you know have a

nice

war in the field an aerial delivery

inside a can of cool

beer the war is unpredictable in its

Terror and its Comforts Soldier Tim

O'Brien we had our own personal mascots

for example or valet little kids seven

or eight would would hook up with a

soldier and would you know would wash

his socks for him clean his rifle for

him sometimes carry his rifle for him if

we were exceptionally tired that day dig

our fox holes for us at night it was it

was like a circus in some sense this is

a going through town going across this

beach where the soldiers would be lined

up and then behind us like a tail on a

kite would be 150 Vietnamese kind of

coming along for the ride I had my my

asse my my fellow I called him Champion

was his name as I recall a nice kid who

who I would who would uh give me a back

rub after a hard day on the March who

would uh would clean my rifle for me

this little kid 7 years old knew how to

take an M16 apart I didn't

friendly relations in one region can

change into night marriage incidents in

another civilians and guerillas cannot

be told

apart with the civilians um you know in

many areas of the anall base and they

actively operated against us and the the

worst incident that I had that uh my

platoon went through began when

approximately seven-year-old girl lured

one of my teams into an ambush into a

North Vietnamese Ambush uh so we had we

had that level we had continually to

deal with uh civilians who were either

hostile or

numb in 1966 serious anti-American

demonstrations break out in the port

city of

dang Premier key sends in troops to

suppress the Buddhist Le protest

similar demonstrations had led to the

overthrow and assassination of President

Dam 3 years

earlier he forces managed to put down

the Rebellion the military command

applauds Kei for what it calls a solid

political Victory but among Americans in

Vietnam there's a growing uneasiness a

feeling they alone are doing the real

fighting by now 350,000 American troops

are in action mostly along the coastal

lowlands and in the Foothills north of

[Applause]

Saigon in

1966 5,000 Americans die in

battle by 1967 West Morin claims a major

turn about he says Americans are now

ambushing the

Communists but critics begin to accuse

west morand of false optimism in

November 67 he visits

Washington I could quote a number of

meaningful statistics such as the roads

that are being

open increasing number of enemy have

been

killed a number of defectors that are

coming in from the Communist side the

Govern

government the number of weapons being

captured and other statistical

information which suggests that we are

making progress and we are winning West

Morland stresses that Victory depends on

American resolve he asks for 50,000 more

troops defense secretary McNamara is

strongly against

this President Johnson decides on a

firsthand assessment in December 67 he

visits Cameran Bay Johnson agrees to

more

[Music]

troops West morland's tactics remain

unchanged but then the tracks we found

in the Stream indicate that there was

somebody going down this way in the

Stream So maybe there's three of them

we'll find it

who's that you come hey Sam Dr down over

there machine gun is got to stay in

place stay down there around the CP and

guard the

CP take your time and try to toss it

right in

there don't expose yourself too

long get all the way down when grenade

hit the

ground all right that was a good one

that one was dead in there hey don't

throw any more grenades in there that's

enough to kill a damn

horse

hey Scott back out the way Johnson is

going in there with a

pistol

lir the US military issues a daily body

count

critics point to conflicting statistics

Victory is claimed but the war keeps

enlarging Soldier Matt Martin that

should do

it they loved high body

caner well sometimes he you exaggerated

a little and the more regular you were

regular service regular Marine regular

army the higher the body count was we

had uh a colonel call in and he was all

excited he said what's the body count

what's the body count cuz we had called

in a lot of heavy artillery you know we

were really putting a job on this one

Village so he wanted a real heavy body

count well this second Louis we had with

us he he had come up through the ranks

and he yelled over

300 so then the radio man said you can't

give them an even number they're not

going to go for an even number so he

said well okay 311 so they called in and

said we got got 311 Flatout Deads sure

kills well this officer loved it he

started yelling great great did a great

job well actually what had happened was

is one of our Jeeps had turned over and

killed this old

man and we had one sure kill cuz that

sucker was dead and it was an accident

you

know the southern communist guerillas

operate from Jungle bases and

sympathetic Villages they control half

the countryside North Vietnamese troops

are infiltrating in large numbers by

1967 nearly 200,000 have entered the

South some form conventional combat

units to guard the supply routes others

blend into the countryside in the

South inside South Vietnam they go

underground a network of tunnels is

constructed some extending for a dozen

miles they can hide companies of several

hundred

men from the tunnels as they operate in

small highly mobile

units this US army training firm shows

American counter measures specially

trained GIS called tunnel rats destroy

the

entrances the tunnels are intricate with

special ially constructed bamboo

Chambers hand grenades are often rolled

in to close up the

entrances but the tunnels have many

exits and explosives have little effect

a later technique uses a settlin gas the

gas is pumped from drums into the tunnel

complex then detonated by Dynamite

this destroys the entire length of the

tunnel but the tunnels account for many

communist

successes to sustain the war North

Vietnam is getting massive communist Aid

War material from China and the Soviet

Union is truck several hundred miles

along border infiltration routes to the

fighting

zones during the height of the war

1966-68

Soviet and Chinese Aid is estimated at

more than $2 billion including

sophisticated weapons for defense of the

north a senior Hanoi Diplomat haran

La the socialist countries the National

Liberation movement and the forces of

peace and Justice in the world including

the American people and above all the

socialist countries aided us materially

from a military point of view in order

to help us in the resistance against

American

aggression we considered this a very

important factor in our Victory a factor

that can't be

overlooked the aid funnel South is

stockpiled in hundreds of underground

shelters it enables the Communists to

sustain their hard-hitting mobile

tactics

with Russian Aid increasing and with

every sign of a long War Premier key

wants to invade the north he doubts

America's Staying Power American when

you

look at their you know

past they are impatient

people and that I told Mr Johnson I told

Mr nion many

time if you decide to go to the War go

it fast and quick and win it

over for a

frustrated and L sustained War 15 years

10 years 20

years you canot because you are very

impatient

people Americans in turn Express

impatience with the South Vietnamese

Army calling its operations search and

avoid us advisers privately describe the

South Vietnamese military as 80%

ineffective Americans increasingly

believe that South Vietnam is doing

little to defend

itself hundreds of thousands of young

South Vietnamese are dodging the

draft I remember one time going into

dang to watch a a Bob Hope Show

and we were going in on a convoy all

these guys on six buys and all that and

getting into the heart of dang and

watching all these kids on Honda

motorcycles that were 18 Vietnamese kids

18 or 19s and me seeing the day before

my buddies getting blown away of saying

hey what the hell is happening here

these guys V invited me this country

invited me over here to fight for their

democracy and yet these guys are running

around and H the motorcycles what the

hell's happening over

here but Americans continue to support

prime minister

key at heart key remains a military

man he is flamboyant blunt and

undiplomatic he is close to the US

Commander West Morland but key is

considered a poor politician

after two years in power he is moved

aside by his fellow

generals key contends that the South

Vietnamese forces were undercut by the

Americans most of the time during the

war they were trying to do things by

themselves you know it's a very funny

and and also very traged that it happen

the Vietnamese communist and the

Communist

World always treat

us as a puppet of America but then

American people

themselves Al all also consider us as a

puppet of America not a true leaders of

the Vietnamese people there was a

paradox here in

which on the one hand uh the

leadership of South Vietnam was

perceived as the as the puppets of the

Americans uh by almost everyone except

the Americans themselves who then got

none of the benefits of if if they

indeed had been puppets then we could

have indeed manipulated them it was the

worst of of Both Worlds in a sense that

they were perceived as puppets

and yet could not be

manipulated the US military wants as

many officers as possible to get combat

experience by late 1967 when Premier key

leaves office a million troops have

rotated through

Vietnam a

tour

for

American uh general or American

officers was only one year or two year

maximum how you can expect them for a

short period of just one year two years

that they could arrive to understand

fully the

Vietnamese not not me mental but even

they they were not able to speak a few

world of Vietnamese

world so I can say that the M the the

mutual

understanding was none

[Music]

Zero by early 1968 US troops are on a

broad offensive there is widespread

confidence that the war can be

won the full technology of American

Firepower is brought to

bear us officials speak of the war being

almost over of seeing light at the end

of the

tunnel the guilla supply routes along

the hoim trail are being threatened the

southern gorillas have been driven

underground but in their tunnels they

are planning a major thrust that will

prove to be the turning point of the

war T at Great cost 80 ,000 communist

troops attack a 100 towns and

cities Washington is dismayed by the

ferocity of the

offensive West Morland calls the Ted

offensive a military failure he then

asks for another 200,000 troops critic

Arthur slesinger General West morland's

only solution for such thing for every

time he got into more trouble he asked

for more men culminating the final

request in and after the Ted offensive

in 1968 and uh the kinds of of

recommendations he made were finally

recognized by the United States

government as as as

fud a military analyst Brian Jenkins

compiled several official studies on

what was

wrong we may not have won but we were

always uh always in a sense winning

whether one dealt with the body count or

or whatever aspect of it

uh was so that these successes were in

turn rewarded or at least there

were Damn Few visible failures the other

part of it of course that were

were is that the military success when

there was military success measured

either in geographic terms occupying

something or defeating something did not

translate into Political success people

fought over and were many died taking

Hills

that meant nothing 3 days later it

wasn't in a sense of that occupying

terrain had great meaning an unusual

type War a month after tet West Morland

is removed from command and promoted to

Chief of Staff President Johnson freezes

troop

levels former assistant Secretary of

Defense Paul

Nitti well I I know him to be an

absolutely outstanding

man man

of Great Character

and

honor so that isn't the questioned issue

the questioned issue

is whether he was as subtle a general

and as wise in his dispositions and in

his actions as one could have hoped for

his military predictions were wrong and

his military strategy was wrong he was

trying to fight a war of attrition of

large units a conventional War uh

against guerillas I think it can be said

that General West Morland was the most

disastrous American General since

custard and throughout the war we never

uh lost a battle we had some companies

that were badly uh hurt through ambushes

and associated with combat

actions but we did not lose a battle of

of consequence in my opinion by early

during the uh

6869 time frame we had as fine a

military force as America's ever

assembled a force that could have

brought the war to an end if it hadn't

been for political decisions that

prohibited

that after T the American public grows

weary of Vietnam there is widespread

belief that South Vietnam should fight

their own War but the South Vietnamese

Army continually fails in combat many

South Vietnamese leaders blame this

failure on US military policy former

ambassador to Washington bu DM I think

that there are millions of millions of

South

Vietnamese who were willing to Bear

their own responsibilities in waging the

war and if they had been asked and if

one can explain to them what they have

to do I would say that they would do the

job

willingly but by the time South Vietnam

begins to take over the war the South

Vietnam American Alliance is severely

strained the Vietnam war is seen by many

Americans as a tragic error as military

commander General West Morland is viewed

as a major office

of this

mistake of course I I've read Kipling

and he I I'm I'm very fond of him

because he's kind of the Soldier's poet

the end of the fight is a tombstone

white with the name of the late

deceased and the

EP Dreer a fool lies here who tries to

hustle the

East and uh having read Kipling I I I

was aware of that and u i I didn't take

quite to

heart I was center stage and uh the war

became uh considerably unpopular and

needless to say a lot of that rubbed off

on

me was not elated uh with uh some of the

Venom that was cast my

way but uh as a

soldier prays for peace he must be

prepared to cope with the hardships of

war and bear its

scars and I uh I I have I've born

furtively scars between 1965 and 68

30,000 American troops die in Vietnam

West Morland leaves Vietnam July

68 American strategy then centers on the

means of withdrawal the policy is called

Vietnamization handing back the war to

the South

Vietnamese but ending the war takes 4

years

I gave the effort to the best that I

had an effort born of uh experience in

two other Wars and many years in

uniform I did my utmost to carry out my

duties

loyally and conscientiously and

professionally and with the satisfaction

of knowing that I conducted myself that

way I I I have no

regrets and I have nothing to apologize

for

[Music]