Oral history transcript, William R. Desobry, interview 1 (I), 2/14/1983, by Ted Gittinger

Title:

Oral history transcript, William R. Desobry, interview 1 (I), 2/14/1983, by Ted Gittinger

Number of Pages:

128

Description:

Desobry's military career before going to Vietnam in 1965; Vietnam as a learning experience; Desobry's duties as a senior adviser in IV Corps; Robert McNamara's visits to Vietnam; how the military was prevented from defeating the enemy in Vietnam; Desobry's early assessment of the war in Vietnam; the Delta upon Desobry's arrival; Viet Cong provincial mobile battalions compared to Viet Cong main force battalions; the Tay Do battalion; organization in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and local forces; the National Police; mapping the progress of pacification; Hoa Hao Buddhists' activities in the Delta region; why some cities had both Cambodian and Vietnamese names; bringing in supplies by road or river; Vietnam history, including the oppression of its citizens; Nguyen Van Thieu and Nguyen Cao Ky's leadership; which areas were under Viet Cong control; pacification activities such as digging wells and setting up schools; State Department involvement in providing services to small Vietnamese towns; working in remote areas of Vietnam; battling the Viet Cong, not necessarily the North Vietnamese; Viet Cong major base areas and tactics to control the Delta; Civil Operations Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) activities; difficulty getting accurate body counts after battles against the Viet Cong; intelligence-gathering methods used by the U.S. military and, later, the CIA; raids to liberate Vietnamese and American prisoners; the Vietnamese military men Desobry worked with to get intelligence; problems getting accurate intelligence; how Viet Cong and North Vietnamese operations differed from U.S. operational procedures; how the Viet Cong moved supplies; the CIA denying that Viet Cong supplies were entering the Delta through Cambodia; Desobry's involvement in Operation Phoenix; pacification and the importance of removing the Viet Cong from certain areas; Vietnamese military briefings; Nguyen Van Manh; the relationship between Nguyen Cao Ky and Nguyen Van Thieu; General Dang Van Quang's firing; updates on the Vietnamese leaders Desobry worked with; the 42nd and 44th Rangers' strengths; Desobry's relationship with the press; Ward Just's writing; events leading up to the Tet offensive; the loss of Viet Cong strength in the Delta; the effects of the war in Vietnam on U.S. military and public morale; Desobry's interaction with Robert Komer; Komer and George Forsythe's efforts to get the Vietnamese to change their chain of command and protocols; John Paul Vann's personality; the importance of letting the Vietnamese fight their own war; a failed U.S. Marine attack in the Delta; Jack Lance's successful leadership; moving a mobile riverine force to the Delta area; the wet season in the Delta and how the Viet Cong dealt with flooding.

Contributor:

Desobry, William R.

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with William R. Desobry

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details