John Paul Vann

Re-post 2009 NamSouth



Distinguished Service Cross

"We don't have 12 years experience in this country. We have one year's experience 12 times."
--LTC John Paul Vann
At the end of his 1962-1963 tour in Vietnam


(Read "A Bright Shining Lie," An excellent book on John Paul Vann who grew up in poverty. He led a a Ranger company on reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines for three months during the Korean War. A Virginian, who never slept more than four hours a night, and could go for months at a time on two. He liked the Vietnamese and lived with a girl there. A truly remarkable man. The book has been translated into Vietnamese, though the Communists took some liberty with their wording! He became the first American civilian to command U.S. regular troops in combat in the position of a Major General. After the Battle of Kontum, he was killed when his helicopter crashed in the twilight. For actions on April 23 & April 24, 1972, since ineligible for the Medal of Honor as a civilian, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the only civilian so honored in Vietnam.

John Paul Vann interview at the two minute mark. The ARVN that you see firing into the river is probably shooting at a log or something similar, as the VC would hide behind these in an attempt to get under a bridge and blow it up, so most anything unknown in the water was shot at to determine validity. The ARVN boarding with the civilians were a protection force who would return to gather more civilians once their load was dropped off. BT)

"The basic fact of life is that the overwhelming majority of the population — somewhere around 95 percent — prefer the government of Vietnam to a Communist government or the government that's being offered by the other side."
--John Paul Vann

"This is a political war and it calls for discrimination in killing. The best weapon for killing would be a knife, but I'm afraid we can't do it that way. The worst is an airplane. The next worst is artillery. Barring a knife, the best is a rifle — you know who you're killing."
--John Paul Vann

John Paul Vann Interviewed In Vietnam