How do you suppose it would have ended if

Ray B

instead of the "try and get into a set-piece battle" with the VC/NVA, the army and Marines would have gone into a village, cleared it, then set-up a CAC unit to maintain order and prevent the VC from extorting the villagers. The hoped for conclusion would be that the villagers would be free to return to farming without fear of the VC taking over, then leaving the village to the soldiers that would find VC weapons and burn it, and because of this, then a village at a time would be freed from the VC threat. Then when the set-piece battle came with the NVA, it would have been without the support of the locals that just wanted everyone to leave. Just wondering- and how the same situations may apply to the present problems.

Frogbert

I know how you feel.

BigBarn

Sounds like a great idea too me. Was in the 604th trans company in Pleiku, at camp Holloway, 1967/68. If we would of had those ideas in place then, we maybe could have won the war!
Keep on thinking great thoughts, we might need them in Lebannon!

BigBarn[:o)]

woodshermit

I don't think this plan would have made a real difference in the ultimate outcome. The people wanted to be free from foreign interference and to have a united country. The US has a very short attention span and little patience for long term political settlements.

jocko007

I was in a CAG Unit from 1969 until 1971. We were in an area north and west of Phu Bai. I can tell you from first hand knowledge, the people I came into contact with, wanted nothing to do with the U. S. the North, or the South, for that matter. They were simple farmers and hill people who just wanted to be left alone. They didn't know poop from politics and cared less. I made many friends in the 2 yrs
I was there and it was very hard to leave them when the time came. I believe that war was waged to line pockets on both sides. Its just too bad so many young guys lost their lives so someone could make a profit. Here we are 40 years later doing the same poop all over again. If Carter would have bombed those people back into the stoneage when they first attacked our Embassy in Iran, I believe we would have a very different world today. Sgt Cliff Reed USMC DAV

ptt

Like the bumper sticker on my car reads: "We Were Winning When I Left". Our military didn't lose that war. The Politicians/Public abandoned it.

Pelican

woodshermit and ppt are both dead on. We would have had to completely occupy north and south and then colonize to maintain control. We didn't learn crap. Now we are making defense contractors rich and are killing our men for zip. The region has been waring since the Book of Gensis, we aren't going to make it peaceable.

Pel