Vietnam War: The Battle of Ia Drang Valley (Part 2)

[NikolaiBelinski2357]

@ronpaul2008rocks you thought Ho Chi Minh was a bad guy then you were wrong Ho Chi Minh just want to unite our country like Abraham Lincoln did with USA

[Mshoon89]

This wasn't really a test for America, we had just spent millions and millions on previous wars, we had been in this war for way too many years and Congress had turned down many Military strategies that would have ended the war a lot earlier.

[newyork1969ful]

the nva were hardcore fighters and just like the japanese they did not like to surrender

[ronpaul2008rocks]

Two things:

1) What a waste. Just because Ho Chi Minh was a bad guy does not make a stupid war right or smart.

2) I can't believe the press was allowed to interview these soldiers straight out of combat. No respect at all for the soldiers, alive or dead.

[redbulljustice99]

this was a test for the usa

[allencrider]

Reminds me of the current clown act in Afghanistan.

[AccordGTR]

@2:40 announcer says Aircav "uses its 400 helicopters". Yes Aircav has that many but in this Ia Drang battle only 16 were available for the actual battle, according to book WE WERE SOLDIERS. 2 of its pilots won the Medal Of Honor.

At the end, who is that Col. Lynch? He never fought in this Ia Drang battle. No wonder he shows little respect for the NVA. Col. Moore shows respect for his former enemy.

[haskapaska]

1965 in Vietnam was like March 2003 in Iraq: smooth saling before sh*t storm.

[AccordGTR]

@360jarhead You seem to forget that the military, under a democratic govt, is under CIVILIAN rule. Yet you write as if you come from a autocratic or communist govt where military serves the whim of a dictator. You are the one who is sickening, talking about "democracy" yet calling for press censorship. Come on, we know you are just an idiot craving for attention just cuz you served. But we know who you serve and there is no honor killing innocent children and invading foreign countries.

[AccordGTR]

@360jarhead Oh you know where I learned my history? From US vets, talking to them and reading their books, going to Vietnam and visiting their museums and battle sites, and reading the US media articles about the war. Do you read other than watching Youtube? I'm Filipino and my Father-in-Law fought in Vietnam (for you idiots) in the 60's for 5 years

[AccordGTR]

@360jarhead haha quite an idiot you are thinking that Giap can be fired or Abrams can hope to win Vietnam through conventional battle using tanks and firepower. You, like many before you, have no clue about popular uprisings and revolution. You forgot about your own American revolution where the Southerners lost because the North was able to win the propaganda war. In Vietnam, US was like the South

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR you are just a stupid ungrateful filipino brown monkey piece of shit my papa was a soviet advisor of vietnam you idiot instead of you thanking the amerikans for freeing your shithole most corrupt country in asia hippokrite nation from japan in ww2 from 1965 to 1967 the u.s. beats the nva in most battles and the nva launched tet as their last hope of victory but whatsoever u.s. broked it the peace treaty signed by both north vietnam and u.s.

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris haha are you an idiot? Why are you defending the enemy of your father's former USSR? Do you want to be American, you low-life traitor? You have no pride in your own country, no? There you go again, looking at the numbers again. Yes my country's govt is corrupt but so is yours and every country in the world. US most corrupt cuz it invades other countries and causes mass murder. Stalin killed 20 million Soviet citizens. Yeah, stick to video games you are good at. LOL

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR i am not a traitor you fool you are!! u.s. saved you twice from spain to the japanese of ww2 and this is how you thank them i am just stating the real truth about vietnam most of you idiots and lowlives dont understand what vietnam war means and you are the traitor and the idiot you foolish filipino guess what your just an another amerikan colony go fuck yourself why coz someone from amerika fucked you badly? why are you evading the facts that u.s. saved you twice ungrateful monkeys!

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris What facts? You wanna debate me about history when you are only in kindergarten. Fact: we fought Spain and the US 1898-1902. Fact: PH was a US colony in WW2 - it was duty of US to protect us cuz we couldn't have our own army. Fact: Gen Wainright surrendered to the Japs in 1941. Filipino's never surrendered & continued fighting. Fact: Fil. guerrillas provided vital intel to US saving thousands of lives 1941-1943. Fact: PH fought with allies WW2, Korea and Vietnam. Idiot!

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR one more thing stupid fucks why you monkeys marry amerikans and other foreigners and scam foeigners because you are as poor as a rat ahhahahaha the most corrupt people on the mother fucking earth ill call you ploskim nosom obezʹyan (flat nosed monkeys in russian) ahahahahaha u.s. did not lose vietnam you are just another stupid smidget and you cant even beat the spaniards if it wasnt for the amerikans you are just another brown monkey faced chertovski der mo (fucking shit) hahah idiot

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR and operation linebacker ii was a u.s. victory u.s. overwhelmed our nva comrades anti aircraft missile defenses and then the north sent le duc tho to the peace treaty and both le duc tho signed the peace treaty with peace treaty so u.s. did not lose vietnam you are just a stupid ungrateful filipino brown flat nosed monkey mudak (in russian asshole) and you are the idiot coz you wont believe the truth your shitty women marry amerikan men for money how hippokrital of you people

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris Since you are in love with monkeys I will call you Lusha. haha You know a lot of your slutty Russian women are in PH and all over the world as prostitutes and pole dancers? Many want to marry rich Filipino men! haha. If US didn't lose to Vietnam, why did US not establish diplomatic relations until 1995? It was the last country to do so - that's how sore losers are. You know ordinary Russians and white Americans are very similar looking. Many dumb like you! haha

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR and since you are always against amerikans ill tell you about vietnam history my papa fought there and he saw what amerikans said so you cant fool me ploskim nosom derʹmo (flat nosed shit in russian) buwahahaha xDD you are the kindergartenistead thanking the amerikans of speaking english instead monkey language like what you filipinos have ooohhh aaahhh shit some cool shit hahahaha xDDD and you just showed that all filipinos are dumb racists like you a flatnosed monkey faced shit haha

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris Laugh at yourself, Lusha. You can't even respond to my questions except try to insult me. Instead, you insult yourself by showing people here all you can do is use your funny English that shows how uneducated you really are. Me racist? I only tell you the truth - look it up if you don't believe me, Lusha. I am not against Russian, Americans or whoever, I am against the inumane policies of their govt and ignorant people like you. I try to educate you, ok, Lusha? ;-p

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR hehehe ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey) still your trying to evade the facts that amerikans saved you twice from the spanish slavery to the japanese occupation of your shithole damned country and you are the one who is soo uneducated and you are the one with a very bad english :D and you just showed ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey) that how stupid poor and idiotic you filipino brown flatnosed monkeys

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris Lusha, I already told you America didn't save us from anyone - they came, we fought them and they conquered us. But we learned their ways and now we are free and strong allies - Obama invited Manny Pacquiao to the White House. Same with Japan, they came, we fought, now, we are friends. My girlfriend of 4 years is Japanese. I'm sorry you came to our country and stayed in a shitty place. Maybe you chose wrong travel agent? LOL

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR and you cant even beat the spanish the amerikans and the japanese even your demoralized ploskim nosom soldat obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey soldiers) cant even beat your rebel problem in mindanao not even your government can solve it and i am trying to tell you of what the u.s. have done to you ok ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey) :P

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris Oh wow you know about our internal problems, Lusha. Well, everybody knows about your Chechnya. You have a bigger problem than we do, you know, since Moscow is always a target of your rebels. US has a problem too with Islamic terrorist, do I have to educate you with 9/11, Lusha? Compared to those rebels, our rebels are nothing. You know Ramzi Yousef, the 9/11 bomber planned the 9/11 bombing in Manila? We found his plans and turned it over to FBI in 1995. US ignored our warnings.

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris In Vietnam, the Vietnamese used the Russians just as the South Vietnamese govt used the Americans. It was the Cold War and both USSR and US was trying to control the world, not understanding Filipino or Vietnamese people wanted to be free from foreign rule. Today, Vietnam and PH are free because we used idiots like your Papa to supply and educate us. My Grandpapa, my father and I were all educated in the US but are proud Filipino. Now do you get it, Lusha? Its really very simple

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR now i get it ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey ) :P so dont call my papa idiot ok ploskim nosom obezʹyany ( flatnosed monkey ) you just showed that how ungrateful you are you filipinos you could not even welcome amerikans because you are too idiotic your people are just hippocrital you dont have any idea that communist china is planning to attack there so instead of hating amerikans ploskim nosom obezʹyany ( flatnosed monkey ) so focus on china ok monkeyboy

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris Lusha, Lusha, why will China attack us? PH has a lot of business with China and US will defend the PH if anyone threatens us. China's enemies are Russia, US and India, not PH. China attacked Vietnam and South Korea. That's silly to think China will attack us. We never threatened China. Many Filipinos have Chinese blood, including my family. I have also Spanish blood, Lusha. So, how can I be flat-nosed? My nose is perfect! LOL (this is fun)

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey) i have heard the news why china sent you poisonous products that means they will attack you ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey) i dont care what you are ill call you ploskim nosom obezʹyany (flatnosed monkey) china is planning to invade you secretly cant you understand that ploskim nosom obezʹyany flatnosed monkey) :D

[AccordGTR]

@360jarhead You sound like a lost old man living in the past. Do you know that Lt. Gen. Hal Moore (Hero of the Ia Drang battles) met up in Hanoi with Gen. Giap, Gen. An and the other NVA top brass in the 1990's to discuss the Ia Drang battles? That's cuz US and Vietnam govt are now allies. You calling the veterans of the Vietnam War traitors too? Do you know Vietnam welcomes 4million tourists a year today, most of them from countries who fought there in the war? Move on with your life!

[dorkma]

Our commanders in the video seem so stupid. This is such propaganda. How can any reasonable person think war is worth it. It's stupid. American government just keeps repeating the same mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan. All to appease the military machine and special interests. It's really sickening.

[AccordGTR]

@dorkma agree. what's worse is how a lot of young Americans still eat up all the BS the media dishes out after all the facts and historical stories from the past that says "War is a racket"

[dimitboris]

congratulations amerikans of your victory in la drang if you did not withdrew you could have won the vietnam war :) greetings from Russia

[TheCpais]

@dimitboris One word for you my russian counterpart AFGHANISTAN

[dimitboris]

@TheCpais you will win afghanistan i am sure because you made a progress already

[TheCpais]

@dimitboris we still could win it if the politicians don't get in the way like they did in Vietnam

[dimitboris]

@TheCpais but remember in vietnam my friend you did not lose that battle you were winning and the nva and vc were losing after tet because theyre weakening by 1965 to 1967 the nva were losing battles from you and you inflicted them heavy casualties. i am sure the u.s. will win afghanistan please amerikans avenge us russians who were defeated there.

[TheCpais]

@dimitboris hopefully we can comrade but everyone just has to give it time

[dimitboris]

@TheCpais well i got a feeling the taliban will lose because theyre the one doing the bad things first and God hates the wicked remember

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris huh? US killing civilians and bombing villages - didn't you read Wikileaks? That's just propaganda that only Taliban are doing bad. If Taliban were bad, the people would be against them but they are not. Just like Vietnam. US was saying Vietcong and NVA were bad but why did the people support them and go against the US? US killed many innocents in Vietnam and turned the population against them.

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris If you are Russian, you have been watching too much America. Russians and Americans make the same mistake thinking they can fight against a revolution. You can bomb and kill villages and innocent people but you can cannot change their beilefs

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR listen filipino in vietnam the amerikans were winning that war by 1965 to 1967 the nva lost many battles and they lost hundreds of thousands dead and at 1968 the nva launched tet as their last hope of victory but however the amerikans broked it and after the amerikan victory in tet they began withdrawing by 1973 after the u.s. costly but successful bombing of hanoi of operation linebacker ii the north vietnamese sent le duc tho to sign the paris peace treaty

[aclock2]

@dimitboris The "successful " Christmas bombing in Hanoi was the worst defeat in US air force history with 81 aircraft down including 34 B-52 ( you could still find their corpses in various places in Hanoi and in VietNam history museums). The VietNamese was well prepared for the attack with nearly 800 anti-air artillery gun and 400 anti-air missile. The sole motive of that bombing was to saving US face which resulted in another embarassing defeat which US GO decided to never let it out in public

[dimitboris]

@aclock2 but in the end our nva comrades anti aircraft batteries and missiles were wiped out and overwhelmed and the u.s. successfully bombed hanoi though costly so the u.s. could also claim success watch wikipedia carefully man

[aclock2]

@dimitboris If you read carefully what I sent you from Wikipedia. You will see that the result of the negotiation is the same as the the one the Vietnamese had already agreed to before the bombing (But the America wanted more, that's one of the reason they bomb beside saving face ). So to conclude, the bombing did basically nothing beside a ruined city, a load plane shot down and few thousand dead. The term is still the same and the Vietnamese comfortably agreed with it (but the US was not ).

[dimitboris]

@aclock2 but you must also read that u.s. overwhelmed the nvas anti aircraft defense missiles and thats why the u.s. bombed them though that is costly the u.s. was successful ion their bombing why did north vietnam agreed because of it so it was an american success

[aclock2]

@dimitboris From what I read, the Vietnamese anti-air system were "overwhelmed but still capable " = not completely over-whelmed. And the main reason the North Vietnam agreed is because they've already agreed with it before the bomb.

[dimitboris]

@aclock2 have you read it carefully German it says though the nva anti aircraft system was still capable but however it was overwhelmed by numbers of american aircraft

[aclock2]

@dimitboris And can you please bring out something other than that "still capable but was overwhelmed " stuffs. It gives me an impression that you can not find anything better to say. It does not mean much to me and it definitely does not mean the US was victorious. All the US could destroy is some bricked neglected buildings, some outdated railway and hospitals while their expensive planes got shot down.

[dimitboris]

@aclock2 and also that bombing campaign in the final phase u.s. did not lose planes anymore read more carefully blurred eyes

[SaigonFarmer]

@dimitboris From what I know, there was indeed difficulties fighting those US raids. There was also pressure from China and USSR to force the North back to negotiation, dropping a few claims previously made.

The raid was not a tactical move, rather a strategic one. So why even bother about the tactical outcome ? After that raids, US went home and we fought on until 75. Everybody's happy, except for the South VN.

[SaigonFarmer]

It's also considered a diplomatic and strategic success for the North as from now the US military power would no longer be seen on the battle fields. The military balance could be shifted decisively to the North's favor.

[dimitboris]

@SaigonFarmer but you south vietnamese arvn did their best but the nva was better soldiers and the arvn could not win without amerikan support

[SaigonFarmer]

@dimitboris Even with US support, ARVN was not destined to win that war, risking bigger conflict with USSR and China. What it has best hoped for, was to survive the NVA and Vietcong attacks. Many Vietnamese believed China has wanted it that way, keeping a buffered zones between its homeland and the western powers like the case of the Korea peninsula.

[dimitboris]

@SaigonFarmer your right man about the arvn theyre soo corrupt thats why the amerikans left them and abandoned them hahaha

[aclock2]

@dimitboris It was a lot more costly for the US to carry on that bombing since there is nothing valuable left in the city. That's why they stopped, agreed with a term that obviously favor the Vietnamese to bring them back to the negotiation, after that they acted like: "Thanks God, we bombed them back to negotiation " in a desperate attempt to save their face.

[dimitboris]

@aclock2 why did the north agreed after that because of the bombing and though u.s. lost face but they did overwhelm the anti aircraft defenses wikipedia tells the truth but at least it was a successful u.s. raid

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris "amerikans were winning the war"? haha you are just like the Amerikans in 1967, thinking you win wars by attrition - bodycount. You "win" a war by destroying the other guy's army or ability to resist. Did the US ever accomplish that in Vietnam? Never. NVA used any means at their disposal to resist, including signing peace treaty while they built up their defenses. In other words, lie to the dumb US to stop bombing. Eventually US gave up.

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR so u.s. did not lose vietnam we russians really got our tactics wrong in afghanistan and the turning point was our invasion in panjsher valley but however the afghans kicked our asses so you filipino must instead thank the amerikans from saving your nation from the japanese in ww2 why did someone in u.s. fucked you?

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris You are 27 but you sound like 13. Did you just learn how to speak English so are practicing it here in Youtube? You are talking about battles like Gen. Westmoreland in the 1960's asking the US govt for "more troops". Well, guess what, this is 2011, dude, and u have only started reading about .01% of the historical fact that is out there. US did not save us from Japanese. We fought the Japanese. Filipinos are the best fighters in the world. We fought in Korean War also.

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR as i have read about philippine history you could not even beat the spanish during the late 19th centuries without the amerikan help but you dd not appreciate it which started the amerikan filipino wa r which ended as your defeat your leader captured. you couldnt even beat the amerikans even the japanese without their help again you are a 40 + year old man you speak like an 8 year old kid right? you must be grateful for the amerikan help twice you idiot

[AccordGTR]

@dimitboris Wow congratulations you read about a little history so you improved your knowledge to 0.011%!

If we lost to Spain, why did we declare our independence from them in 1896?? If we lost to America why did they give us independence in 1946?? Kinda like Vietnamese losing most battles but still getting rid of Americans, right? We banned the US from having military bases in 1986 Constitution. But US employs over 3 million Filipinos.

Not only are we good fighter, we are smart too! haha

[dimitboris]

@AccordGTR LMAO poshel na hui you filipino fucking smidget you think that you filipinos are greater well i didnt hate every one of you but your iq is only 0& BIG hahahahahahaha G fuck yourself just another former american colony

[aaaarghgl]

@dimitboris hmm laughing at the US because of Vietnam? I guess you forgot Afghanistan when the Sovjet Union invaded it? The Sovjets actually lost the war on military level not only on policital level (like the US did in Vietnam). Greetings (and no I'm not a US citizen)

[dimitboris]

@aaaarghgl in vietnam u.s. was winning that war but after their victory in tet 1968 they began withdrawing by 1973 after their costly but successful operation linebacker ii in 1973 the north vietnamese sent le duc tho to signt he paris peace treaty with henry kessinger and after that u.s. and north vietnam hostilities were over so u.s. did not lose vietnam the media biased everything the amerikans just lost politically not militarily in afghanistan we russians really lost militarily

[aaaarghgl]

@dimitboris hmm i must have expressed myself in a wrong way in my original post because I actually agree with what you are saying: US lost politically in Vietnam, The Sovjet Union lost militarily in Afghanistan. Regards

[dimitboris]

@aaaarghgl in afghanistan though i am a russian i am not proud being a Russian :(( fuck you taliban go to hell mujahideen may satan burn your souls in hell

[aaaarghgl]

@dimitboris You are not responable for political decisions of a now deceased political institution like the Sovjet Union ;-) none of us is responsable for the madness of some politicians in this world. I do not have any sympathy for the Taliban either no worries :-)

[dimitboris]

@aaaarghgl but i will also be embarrassed as a russian national because some people will really make fun of russia saying stuff like you lost from a small afghan?

[dimitboris]

@aaaarghgl in afghanistan my friend over 15000 young soviet soldiers died including my uncle in operation magistral :(( huhuu RIP uncle Boris

[dimitboris]

@aaaarghgl and politically i am not laughing about u.s. man i respect the amerikans

[fugit1000]

us got spanked hard in vietnam and its sad the way they were treated when they came home...then again as usual the us got involved in something that was none of their buisness as usual, just like saudi arabia now

[nekidbob]

My best friends sister lost her fiance in the Ia Drang Valley. I remember the day we were at his parents house when the drove up to inform his mom. We were at his little brother's 7th birthday party. We were the same age, I'll never forget that day as long as I live. His mother died six months after, his father a year and half later. ( RIP Chester )

[m16a1rifle]

great documentary on the US troops that fought in the ia drang valley

[acerb45666555]

@wogbasha ......on the contrary, without air support the war wouldve been much longer. it wouldve degenerated into a very personal Guadalcanal situation! and NVA wouldnt have to think of being bombed because theyd be thinking about the very angry men with knives creeping on theyre positions in the night! every night!!

[Mithraelis]

What an excellent video. Cheers.

[AccordGTR]

Great video. Thanks for footage of 1 of my favorite books on Vietnam WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE. Can u believe this was basically an experiment on how to fight using helicopters? Fact: US had little intelligence and did not know how many enemy. That's a blunder and resulted in hundreds of casualties. The media said that the enemy was destroyed. Fact is the enemy escaped and learned how to fight Americans. Fact: US military strategy to fight a war of attrition would not be acceptable to the US public

[aristarchuscom]

This flawed view that Viet Nam was a US Loss or the view that we lacked anything on the ground is what the press wanted to convey for ratings. We had all the intelligence we needed to defeat commies. What we didn't have was the authority from Johnson to be victorious. The generals in the field were barred from victory by our president at the time and flawed policy prevailed from pot bellied bureaucrats. We kicked more ass in Viet Nam than you'll ever believe and men were proud to win battles.

[AccordGTR]

@aristarchuscom I think the only "flawed view" is yours - for you, the world is like a boxing match or a football game. You have all kinds of excuses but you can't even be honest with yourself. You were supposed to be protecting Vietnamese democracy but what were you really protecting? A corrupt South Vietnam military dictator, western interests and American imperialism. How can you win that way? Look at Iraq and Afghanistan, it is the same thing over and over. It's shameful, not proud.

[aristarchuscom]

@AccordGTR There's a place for ya in Canada my friend!

[CafeChieuMua]

@aristarchuscom You could win all battles but you could not win the war. That's the way the history went.

[SilverSpoons17319]

@CafeChieuMua

yeah a political problem not a military problem. Military held up their end of the bargain.

[snakes3425]

@AccordGTR

Gen. Westmorland was an Artillery officer and Airborne commander who'd fought in Europe and Korea but not the Pacific and he fought the war in Vietnam like it was the European Theater or Korea all over again, in the long run he was the worst choice to lead the war in Vietnam, he, didn't understand gurellia warfare, the proper use of special forces, Vietnamese culture, and worst of all he underestimated the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese

[AccordGTR]

@snakes3425 I disagree. Westmoreland was there to serve the President period. US military certainly knew about guerrilla warfare and Viet culture. You know how I know? Filipino fought guerrilla warfare against Japanese in WW2. We taught US G.I. about jungle survival in Subic jungles of the Philippines before they shipped to Vietnam. SEALS practiced guerrilla tactics. Apparently you ALSO didn't know that CIA was operating inside Vietnam since 1958 as guerrilla fighters in a covert war.

[snakes3425]

@AccordGTR

I'm fully aware that the CIA and Special Forces were operating in Vietnam well before the Gulf of Tonkin, and they were actually far more successful in winning the hearts and minds of the average Vietnamese citizen note I said westmorland fought in EUROPE and KOREA, he never fought in World War II's Pacific Theater (Phillippines included in that) and he commanded the war in Vietnam like it was the European War all over again

[AccordGTR]

@snakes3425 Hmm, did he? Isn't it the Battalion commander's job to fight the battles of Vietnam? Westmoreland was just there to support them and report to Washington. The tactic used in Vietnam was helicopter warfare with massive fire support which, in a way, is a development of airborne warfare used in Europe during WW2. the 101st served in both wars in the front lines. The Generals, Colonels and old Sergeants of the 101st in Vietnam were WW2 veterans.

[snakes3425]

@AccordGTR

Westmorland wasn't a batallion commander he was the Commander in chief of the entire Vietnam War. the point I've been trying to make though is that Vietnam was a war better fit for AirCav, Marines and Special Forces not conventional forces using massive firepower. winning hearts and minds should've been the top pirotity of the Allied Forces in Vietnam, not body counts and you don't win hearts and minds by saying you're there to help the farmers and then set their houses on fire

[AccordGTR]

@snakes3425 I know Westi was Commander in Chief so it was his battalion commanders that would do the actual fighting. USMC was first conventional forces to land in Danang, Aircav was first to fight regiment-size battle against the NVA in 1965 and Special Forces were trying to win hearts and minds - you are right and US did what you recommended. Problem is, they didn't understand Vietnam had been fighting off invaders for 100 years. It was more a civil war which the North won

[snakes3425]

@AccordGTR

Things began to go down hill when the regular army took control of what until 1964 had been a primarily Special Forces war.The conventonal divisonal and battalion commanders didn't listen to the advice Special Forces commanders had to give about the VC or how to handel the situation, and as a result the conventional forces destroyed much of the support the Spec Ops teams had won in South Vietnam between 1957 and 1964

[AccordGTR]

@snakes3425 I'm sorry, you think just because you went in there and helped a bunch of peasants, yu think you were doing them good? What's funny is today, millions of American tourists have gone to Vietnam to see the cultural fishing villages that have been like that for thousands of years - UNESCO hertitage site Hoi An village, near former Da Nang base. Fyi 1957-64, CIA operations had hit squads & kidnap operating inside North Vietnam. Read FIGHTING DIRTY by Peter Harclerode

[snakes3425]

@AccordGTR

It was a different time and those UNESOC sites didn't exist at the time, sadly war is war regardless of how historic something is

I'm talking about the Montanards the job of the Special Forces was to train them to fight off VC raiding parties in the Highlands and if you're talking about the CIA run Pheniox Program I'm fully aware of that, and I also know that many South Vietnamese took advantage of the program to settle a vendetta or for political or economic gains

[AccordGTR]

@snakes3425 In 1954, after French lost, Vietnam was divided by the West. Secondly, Vietnam consists of many tribes. Ho Chi Minh wanted to unite the country as 1 nation which the West did not want. He is kinda like the Abe Lincoln of Vietnam-many Americans still do not understand this to this day. Same in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Lebanon - all these countries were created by the Western imperial powers with little consideration to the tribal culture of people living there.