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As
to the immorality or not of the Vietnam War, at age 19 it
was cars, chicks, and a sense of duty to country that were
important to me. I had no political savvy then, nor even then
understood the concept. 'Twas duty, and perhaps mindlessly
so, that determined my actions. Raised on John Wayne movies,
there just seemed to be no question about what I should do.
After TET 1968, Military Assistance
Command Vietnam (MACV) produced a pamphlet, reproduced here
in its six pages, which attempted to explain the what for
of Vietnam.
I obtained the pamphlet while
at TSN, sometime in 1968. They were handed out to personnel.
It must have been the latter half of 1968 that I received
the pamplet. I say that because at the very bottom of the
last page (The Enemy) there is a notation that reads: MACV
P-5710/11 (4-68). I assume that means the document was printed
in April 1968 by the NPPSBO Guam. NPPS I recognize from my
time with the Navy (as civilian employee) is the Naval Printing
and Publication Service, and there is a large Naval installation
on Guam to this day... have been to it several years ago.
In addition, on the Our Military Effort page, troop strength
is indicated to be about 497,000 for the winter of 1967-1968.
That the pamphlet was published in the latter part of 1968,
and I received it then is a pretty good bet.
Hindsight produces many good
arguments for and against this stuff. Problem is, today they
are all out of time and place. And yup, I have read some of
the recent emails at EmailCall. It is not a coincidence that
I dug the pamphlet out and sent it to you. Take care... Dan
MACV Handout: Ready Reference Facts on South Vietnam
Pamphlet Cover
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Tan
Son Nhut Air Base,
