I am deeply indebted to many individuals and institutions for their help in the completion of this work. But none more than to Brian VanDeMark.
During my seven years as secretary of defense, I kept no diary, and, when I left the Pentagon, I took no records with me other than one three-ring binder of highly classified memoranda to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. I would never have undertaken the task of writing this book had not Brian—a young professor of history at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis; author of his own work on Vietnam, Into the Quagmire; and associate of Richard Holbrooke in the writing of Clark Clifford’s autobiography—offered to help me. Above all else, his assignment was to ensure that, insofar as humanly possible, I remained true to the contemporaneous written, and taped, record—that where it ran contrary to my memory, I remained bound by the record. He performed that task to perfection.
But he did much, much more. We began by dividing my seven years of association with Vietnam into a series of time periods. For each he searched for and extracted documents from the Kennedy and Johnson presidential libraries, the Defense Department archives, the National Archives, and other public sources. To these were added material from personal interviews, oral histories, replies to written questions, and published articles and books. From all these sources, Brian provided me with a “file”—literally hundreds—of documents for each period. Based on these, I wrote the first draft of each chapter. Brian then reviewed my text for historical accuracy. In the process, he added to the balance and clarity of my writing. It is literally correct to say I could not have written this book without his collaboration.
Many others generously, and graciously, aided me in the preparation of the text.
I thank those who shared their own writings with me, in particular Raymond Aubrac, McGeorge Bundy, William Bundy, Roswell Gilpatric, Nicholas Katzenbach, Rear Adm. Eugene Carroll and Gene R. LaRocque, USN (Retired), Paul Warnke, and Adam Yarmolinsky.
I benefited greatly from the numerous people who read the manuscript carefully and critically, in whole or in part: McGeorge Bundy, William Bundy, Douglass Cater, Chester Cooper, Ben Eisman, Clayton Fritchey, David Ginsburg, Marion and Vernon Goodin, Phil Goulding, David Hamburg, Nicholas Katzenbach, Ernest May, Blanche Moore, Richard Neustadt, Robert Pastor, Walter Pincus, Lt. Gen. Robert Pursley, USAF (Retired), Elliot Richardson, Thomas Schelling, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Paul Warnke, Thomas Winship, and Adam Yarmolinsky. I did not accept all their suggestions—some offered alternative points of view or disagreed with my judgments—but I considered (and appreciated) every one of them.
Still more people helped in other ways.
William Gibbons and George Herring, two well-known Vietnam scholars, generously shared manuscripts of their latest monographs before publication. Nicole Ball researched the number of people killed by wars in the twentieth century. Martin Kaplan facilitated my correspondence with Raymond Aubrac. Blanche Moore helped with translations and photographs. John Newman brought intelligence documents to my attention.
I chose Random House from among four publishers who bid for the book because of Peter Osnos, head of its Times Books division. Peter proved a marvelous editor, wise and involved from the beginning. He pushed me at the right moments—and supported me on the occasions when I was ready to give up. He and his editorial associate Geoffrey Shandler greatly improved the structure and flow of the narrative. The other Random House personnel who assisted in the book’s publication—copy editor Susan M.S. Brown, designer Naomi Osnos, production and promotion staff—all worked with enthusiasm and efficiency.
Every step of the way, I relied on the good judgment and counsel of my literary agent, Sterling Lord, who bolstered the project with enthusiasm from concept to completion.
My endeavor has been greatly facilitated by the Defense Department’s assistance. Alfred Goldberg, historian of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and his associates Stuart Rochester, Lawrence Kaplan, Ronald Landa, and Steven Rearden read the manuscript both for factual errors and to question interpretive judgments. They offered many useful suggestions. The Pentagon’s longtime director of administration and management, “Doc” Cooke, handled my access and clearance requests with dispatch. Harold Neeley, records administrator in the OSD, together with Brian Kinney and Sandra Meagher of its Declassification and Historical Research Branch, performed a variety of helpful chores. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Historical Division processed classified notes expeditiously.
Four government officials took time away from busy schedules to expedite access to records under their jurisdiction in my papers at the Pentagon and the National Archives: former Secretary of Defense Les Aspin; Secretary of State Warren Christopher; National Security Adviser Anthony Lake; and former CIA Director James Woolsey. I thank them all.
Previously restricted or unavailable records—used here for the first time—proved especially valuable in preparing my text: the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s classified History of the JCS and the War in Vietnam; President Kennedy’s recordings of White House meetings on Vietnam in the fall of 1963; and President Johnson’s recorded telephone conversations, 1963–1968. I thank Gen. John Shalikashvili, Burke Marshall, and Harry Middleton, respectively, for arranging access to these important records.
Various institutions tendered much-needed and timely help, and I wish to acknowledge their contributions here: John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts: Charles Daly, Bradley Gerratt, Suzanne Forbes, Mary Boluch, Stuart Culy, Allan Goodrich, William Johnson, June Payne, Maura Porter, and Ron Whealan; Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin, Texas: Harry Middleton, Regina Greenwell, John Wilson, Claudia Anderson, Jacquie Demsky, Jeremy Duval, Ted Gittinger, Linda Hanson, Tina Houston, Mary Knill, Irene Parra, Philip Scott, and Jennifer Warner; State Department Historical Office: William Zlany, David Humphrey, and Glenn LaFantasie; Army Center of Military History: Vincent Demma; Office of Air Force History: Wayne Thompson; National Security Council Information Management and Disclosure Office: Nancy Menan and David Van Tassel; National Archives’ Office of Presidential Libraries: John Fawcett and Edie Price.
Miss Jeanne Moore, my never-complaining secretary, worked nights and weekends through innumerable drafts and changes to produce the final text.