Oral history transcript, George Jacobson, interview 1 (I), 10/29/1985, by Ted Gittinger
Title:
Oral history transcript, George Jacobson, interview 1 (I), 10/29/1985, by Ted Gittinger
Number of Pages:
46
Description:
an overview of Jacobson's military career 1954-1975; Jacobson's opinion of Ed Lansdale, General John W. "Iron Mike" O'Daniel and General Samuel T. Williams; Williams' abilities as a diplomat in Vietnam; comparing Generals O'Daniel, Williams, Lionel McGarr, Charles Timmes and Paul Harkins as commanders of Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) and later Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV); Jacobson's work for Agency for International Development (AID) in Vietnam; the 1963 coup in Vietnam; Vietnamese leadership, especially Ngo Dinh Diem; LBJ's vice presidential visit to Vietnam; Diem's assassination; Ambassadors Frederick Nolting and Hanry Cabot Lodge; public reaction to and U.S. foreknowledge of, the 1963 coup to overthrow Diem; how Cabot Lodge got Jacobson a position in the State Department as mission coordinator; Jacobson's opinion of Graham Martin, Maxwell Taylor, Ellsworth Bunker, Creighton Abrams, and Frederick Weyand; Ed Lansdale's 1965 trip to Vietnam and the work of a group under his command; Phil Habib's and Dan Ellsberg's work in Vietnam; Don Oberdorfer's book Tet! The Turning Point in the Vietnam War; Jacobson's Tet experience; Jacobson's response to LBJ's March 31, 1968, announcement that he would not seek re-election; Jacobson's opinion of LBJ's visit to Vietnam in 1966; Jacobson's work with Civil Operations Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS); military organization in Vietnam; the Vietnam War during Richard Nixon's and Gerald Ford's administrations; evacuating people out of Vietnam in 1975 and Jacobson's regrets over U.S. actions toward the Vietnamese; lessons learned from the Vietnam War; Jacobson's view of author Frank Snepp; what Jacobson would have done differently in evacuating people from Vietnam; criticism of the strategic hamlet program.
