30-Year War]. See also the Combined Studies Institute version published on 2 February 1983, as Southeast Asia Report 1247.
13 Vien, Final Collapse, p. 23; Le Gro, Capitulation, p. 28; Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 190.
14 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 205; Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 26.
15 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 48; Le Gro, Capitulation, pp. 80-89.
16 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 232; Marc Leepson, ed. With Helen Hannaford, Webster’s New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999), pp. 522-524; Report, by CIA, “Communist Military and Economic Aid to North Vietnam, 1970-1974,” Declassified in 2005.
17 John Prados, The Blood Road: The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War, (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998), pp. 371-373. For a pro-NVA view of the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail, see Virginia Morris & Clive Hill, A History of the Ho Chi Minh Trail: The Road to Freedom, (Orchid Press: Bangkok, Thailand, 2006).
18 William E. Momyer, The South Vietnamese Air Force, 1951-1975: An Analysis of Its Role in Combat, (Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Air University Press, 1985), pp. 70-71, [hereafter South Vietnamese Air Force].
19 Ibid., pp. 55-56.
20 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, pp. 189-194.
21 William P. Head, “The Significance of Dien Bien Phu and the End of the First Indochina War, 1953-1954,” Virginia Review of Asian Studies, (Spring 2012) Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 23-24.
22 Arnold R. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), pp. 333-335, [ Without Honor]; Hoang Van Thai, The Liberation of South Vietnam, Memoirs, (Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 1992), pp. 36-37, 73, [Hereafter Memoirs]. This book was published after the General’s death in 1986. For an anti-communist view of this period see, Oleg Sarin and Lev Dvoretsky, Alien Wars: The Soviet Union’s Aggression Against the World, 1919 to 1989, (Novato, California: Presidio Press, 1996); George J. Veith, Black April: The Fall of South Vietnam, 1973-1975, (New York: Encounter Books, 2012). The later publisher is a press with a very conservative leaning.
23 Merle L. Pribbenow, “North Vietnam’s Final Offensive: Strategic Endgame Nonpareil,” Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, (Winter 1999-2000), pp. 58-71.
24 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 225; Vien, Memoirs, pp. 58-60.
25 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, pp. 224-226.
26 Vien, Final Collapse, pp. 63-65; Le Gro, Capitulation, pp. 136-137; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 2-3.
27 Vien, Final Collapse, p. 68; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 3-4.
28 Military Institute of Vietnam (MIV), Victory in Vietnam: A History of the People’s Army of Vietnam, 1954-1975, trans. By Merel Pribbenow, (Lawrence, Kansas, University of Kansas Press, 2002), p. 360, [hereafter Victory in Vietnam]; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 4-5.
29 Dong, RVNAF, p. 27. This specific account is recounted in, Tra, 30-Year War, pp. 136-138. For specifics on the lead up to Xuan Loc, see pp. 136-165, Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 5-6.
30 Vien, Final Collapse, pp. 30-32; MIV, Victory in Vietnam, p. 364; Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 6.
31 Vien, Final Collapse, pp. 69-70.
32 Ibid, p. 72.
33 Arnold R. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia, (Baltimore: John’s Hopkins University, 1983), pp. 314-315, [hereafter Without Honor].
34 Ibid., p. 320.
35 Wallbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 229; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 6-7.
36 Vien, Final Collapse, p. 78.
37 Ibid., p. 76.
38 Ibid., p. 78.
39 Ibid., pp. 80-82.
40 Alan Dawson, 55 Days: The Fall of South Vietnam, (Englewood Cliffs, New York: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977), p. 58, [hereafter 55 Days]; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 7-9.
41Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 52; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 8-10.
42 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, pp. 54-55; Vien, Mamoirs, p. 94; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 11-13.
43 Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 13-16; Van Tien Dung, Our Great Spring Victory: An Account of the Liberation of South Vietnam, trans. John Spragens, Jr., (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977), p. 95, [hereafter Our Great Spring Victory].
44 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, pp. 59-60; Stephen T. Hosmer, Konrad Kellen & Brian M. Jenkins, The Fall of South Vietnam: Statements by Vietnamese Civilian Leaders, (Santa Monica, California: RAND Corp., 1978), p.95, [hereafter The Fall of South Vietnam]; James Olsen & Randy Roberts, Where the Last Dominos Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-1990, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991), p. 251, [hereafter Where the Last Dominos Fell].
45 Willbanks, “Last 55 Days,” p. 15; Olsen and Roberts, Where the Last Dominos Fell, p. 259.
46 Vien, Memoirs, pp. 75-76, 118; Le Gro, Capitulation, pp. 160-162.
47 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, pp. 68-69.
48 Ibid.
49 Vien, Final Collapse, p. 102.
50 Ibid., p. 104; Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 70.
51 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, pp. 70-71. Đà Nẵng is the largest city in central Vietnam and one of its important ports. It has mountains on one side and the South China Sea on the other. It is 472 miles south of Hanoi and 600 miles north of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.
52 Ibid., pp. 73-74; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 16-19. Hue is located in central Vietnam on the banks of the Perfume River, just a few miles inland from the East Sea. It is about 430 miles south of Hanoi and about 680 miles north of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.
53 Hosmer, Kellen and Jenkins, The Fall of South Vietnam, p. 109.
54 Vien, Final Collapse, p. 109.
55 Ibid., pp. 108-113; Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 251-253; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 19-22; Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 83. For more on South Vietnamese air power, see Momyer, South Vietnamese Air Force, p. 76.
56 Isaacs, Without Honor, p. 380.
57 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 251; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 22-27; Dawson, 55 Days, pp. 66, 234, 238, 239.
58 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 27; Isaacs, Without Honor, pp. 414-415.
59 Dawson, 55 Days, p. 59; Pham Ngoc Thach & Ho Khang, History of the War of Resistance against America, 8th ed., (Hanoi: National Politics Publishing House, 2008), pp. 372–376, [hereafter War of Resistance].
60 Tra, 30-Year War, pp. 166-193; Dung, Spring Victory, pp. 134-137.
61 Dawson, 55 Days, p. 238.
62 Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 27-28; Ho Son Dai, History of the 4th Army Corps-Cuu Long Corps, (Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House, 2004), p. 112, [hereafter 4th Army Corps]. For more details, see Nguyen Van Bieu, The Army at the Tây Nguyên Front- 3rd Army Corp, (Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House, 2005).
63 Pham Ngoc Thach and Ho Khang, War of Resistance, p.381.
64 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 27; Duong Hao, A Tragic Chapter, (Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House, 1980), p. 208, [hereafter Tragic Chapter].
65 Phillip B. Davidson, Vietnam at War, (Novato, California: Presidio Press, 1988), pp. 767-794, [hereafter Vietnam at War].
66 Ibid.
67 Duong Hao, Tragic Chapter, p. 219.
68 Ho Son Dai, 4th Army Corps, p.102; Dinh Van Thien and Do Phuong Linh, Battles on the Doorstep of Saigon, (Hanoi: People's Army Publishing House, 2005), pp. 3-5, [hereafter Battles on the Doorstep].
69 Ho Son Dai, 4th Army Corps, pp. 104–105; Davidson, Vietnam at War, pp. 780-788.
70 Dawson, 55 Days, p. 63; Frank Snepp, A Disastrous Retreat, (Ho Chi Minh City: Ho Chi Minh City Publishing, 2001), p. 75.
71 Duong Hao, Tragic Chapter, p. 208; Dawson, 55 Days, p. 59.
72 Monograph, by Czechoslovakian Committee for Solidarity with Afro-Asian Countries, Printed by Ruch Liberec, p. 43. Found in the Texas Tech University Vietnam Archive. File, Vietnam: The Collapse of the Neo-Colonial Regime, Item #2390811003, Doug Pike Collection, Unit 11 Monographs, pp. 43-47, Xuan Loc and fall of Saigon.
73 Pham Ngoc Thach and Ho Khang, War of Resistance , pp. 372–376.
74 Snepp, Decent Interval, p. 275.
75 Dougan and Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 113; Dung, Spring Victory, p. 160.
76 Duong Hao, Tragic Chapter, pp. 228–229; Hoang Cam, Journey of Ten Thousand Days, (Hanoi: People’s Army Publishing House, 2001), p. 168, [hereafter Ten Thousand Days].
77 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 28; Tran Xuan Ban, History of the 7th Infantry Division, (Hanoi: People’s Army Publishing House, 2006), p. 146, [hereafter 7th Infantry Division].
78 Message, Defense Attache, US Embassy in Saigon, Gen. Smith to Gen Brown, CJCS “The Battle of Long Khanh” (Xuan Loc), 130351Z Apr 75. Found in Box 8 “Saigon to Washington, April 9-28, 1975 (1),” NSA, Saigon Embassy Files of Ambassador Graham Martin, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
79 Telegram, Ambassador Graham Martin, Saigon to American Embassy Jidda, Saudi Arabia 9 April 1975 (originally Eyes Only/declassified by NARA 5/22/95). Box 8 “Saigon to Washington, April 9-28, 1975 (1),” NSA, Saigon Embassy Files of Ambassador Graham Martin. Original Documents located at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
80Tran Xuan Ban, 7th Infantry Division, p. 146; Pham Ngoc Thach and Ho Khang, War of Resistance, p. 382; Hoang Cam, The Journey of Ten Thousand Days. p.172.
81 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 28; Ho Son Dai, 4th Army Corps, p. 135.
82 Ho Son Dai, 4th Army Corps, pp.136–137; Pham Ngoc Thach and Ho Khang, War of Resistance, p. 384. The CBU-55 was a Fuel Air Explosive cluster bomb developed during the Vietnam War, by the United States Army, and was used only once. Unlike most incendiaries, which contained napalm or phosphorus, the 750 pound CBU-55 was fueled primarily by propane. It was one of the more powerful conventional weapons used in Vietnam. It had three main compartments, with propane, a blend of other gases acting as an oxidizing agent, and an explosive. It had two variations. The CBU-55/B consisted of 3 BLU-73A/B FAE sub-munitions in a SUU-49/B Tactical Munitions Dispenser, and the CBU-55A/B had 3 BLU-73A/B sub-munitions in a SUU-49A/B dispenser. The SUU-49/B dispenser could be carried only by helicopters or low-speed aircraft, whereas the SUU-49A/B was redesigned with a strong back and folding tailfins, so that they could also be delivered by high-speed aircraft.
83 Message, Ambassador Graham Martin to Gen. Brent Scowcroft 0700 Saigon time, 13 April 1975, (Declassified 9/21/94 NARA). Found in Box 8 “Saigon to Washington, April 9-28, 1975 (1),” NSA, Saigon Embassy Files of Ambassador Graham Martin, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
84 Ho Son Dai, 4th Army Corps, pp. 138–189.
85 Dung, Our Great Spring Victory, p. 167; Le Gro, Capitulation, p. 173.
86 Telegram, Ambassador Graham Martin to State Dept. and NSC #4884. 13 April 1975, (Declassified 8/24/94 by NARA). Found in Box 8 “Saigon to Washington, April 9-28, 1975 (1),” NSA, Saigon Embassy Files of Ambassador Graham Martin, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
87 Ibid.
88 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 130.
89 Dung, Our Great Spring Victory, pp. 167-168.
90 Hosmer, Kellen & Jenkins, The Fall of South Vietnam, p. 133; Le Anh Dai Kiet, The Narratives of Saigon Generals, (Hanoi: People's Police Publishing, 2003), pp. 181-182, [hereafter Narratives].
91 Van Nguyen Duong, The Tragedy of the Vietnam War: A South Vietnamese Officer’s Analysis, (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., Inc., 2008), p. 206; John Fricker, “Crosswind,” Aeroplane, (October 2006), Vol. 34, No. 10, p. 120.
92 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 30. Original in Letter, President Nguyen Van Thieu to President Gerald R. Ford, in Nguyen Tien Hung and Jerrold L. Schecter, The Palace File, (New York: Harper and Row, 1986), pp. 320-327.
93 Le Anh Dai Kiet, Narratives, pp. 181-183; Pham Ngoc Thach & Ho Khang, War of Resistance, pp.369, 392-393)
94 Willbanks, “The Last 55 Days,” pp. 30-32; Le Gro, Capitulation, p. 173; Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, pp. 400-406.
95 Snepp, Decent Interval, p. 99; Pham Ngoc Thach & Ho Khang, War of Resistance , pp. 369, 392-393; Vien, Final Collapse, p. 132.
96 Gen. William C. Westmoreland, Soldier Reports, (New York: Doubleday Inc., 1976), p. 242.
97 Le Gro, Capitulation, p. 173.
98 Dawson, 55 Days, p. 66; Duong Hao, Tragic Chapter, pp.241–242; Ho Son Dai, 4th Army Corps, pp. 138–189; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 30-32.
99 Col. Harry G. Summers, Jr., Vietnam Magazine, April 1995, accessed from http://www.historynet.com/americas-bitter-end-in-vietnam.htm. 28 March 2013.
100 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, pp. 255, 402-408.
101 Isaacs, Without Honor, p. 408.
102 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 127.
103 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 257.
104 Dougan and Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 100; Vien, Final Collapse, p. 142.
105 Dougan and Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 139.
106 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 271; Dung, Our Great Spring Victory, pp. 184-187.
107 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, pp. 257-259; Vien, Final Collapse, pp. 135-138.
108 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 258; Dougan and Fulghum, The Fall of the South, pp. 102-103, 142-144; Vien, Final Collapse, p. 146; Isaacs, Without Honor, 433-439.
109 Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 32-33; Dougan and Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 158; Thomas G. Tobin, Arthur E. Lehr & John F. Hilgenberg, Last Flight from Saigon, (Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Air University Press, 1979), pp. 21-22, [hereafter Last Flight].
110 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 275; Willbanks, “55 Days,” pp. 34-36.
111 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 37.
112 Ibid., p. 37; Momyer, The Vietnamese Air Force, p. 79.
113 Dougan & Fulghum, The Fall of the South, p. 172.
114 Tobin, et. al., Last Flight, p. 122.
115 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 38; Isaacs, Without Honor, p. 467.
116 Willbanks, “55 Days,” p. 38.
117Dougan & Fulgham, The Fall of the South, p. 175.
118 Francis Terry McNamara with Adrian Hill, Escape with Honor: My Last Hours in Vietnam, (Dulles, Virginia: Brassey’s Inc., 1997), pp. 129-149.
119 Isaacs, Without Honor, p. 500.
120 Vien, Final Collapse, p. 7.
121 Isaacs, Without Honor, p. 502.
122 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 278.
123 Major General Nguyen Duy Hinh, Vietnamization and the Cease-Fire, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History), 1980, p. 190.
124Douglas Kinnard, The War Managers, (Wayne, New Jersey: Avery Pub. Group, 1985), p. 145.
125 Gabriel Kolko, Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience, (New York: Pantheon Inc.), p. 380.
126 Willbanks, Abandoning Vietnam, p. 278.
127 Isaacs, Without Honor, p. 502.
128 Gabor Boritt ed., Why the Confederacy Lost, Gettysburg Civil War Institute Books, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 19.
129 Dung, Our Great Spring Victory, p. 62.
130 Memo/Report, by CIA/DIA, “Communist Military and Economic Aid to North Vietnam, 1970-1974,” (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State, 1975), pp. 1-7.
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