125.192.86.52 (talk) please discuss extensive removal of image and re-wordings. i think there are a few times other people disagree with using the word "purported". |
Undid revision 848317571 by 125.192.86.52 (talk)discuss on Talk page is you have specific comments to make, until then stop edit-warring this Tag: Undo |
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{{short description|1967 engagement between US and Viet Cong forces in the Vietnam war}} |
{{short description|1967 engagement between US and Viet Cong forces in the Vietnam war}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}} |
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{{Infobox civilian attack |
{{Infobox civilian attack |
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|date= |
|date=31 January – 1 February 1967 |
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|fatalities=145 |
|fatalities='''Vietnam claims:''' 145 civilians killed <ref name=Kwon>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=FNLMLDQxblUC&pg=PA139|title=After the Massacre: Commemoration and Consolation in Ha My and My Lai|last=Kwon|first=Heonik|date=November 10, 2006|publisher=University of California Press|year=|isbn=9780520247970|location=|pages=137-139|language=en}}</ref><ref name=Turse>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=PeFK5dkYZsEC|title=Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam|last=Turse|first=Nick|date=January 15, 2013|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|year=|isbn=9780805095470|location=|pages=117-119|language=en}}</ref><br>'''US claims''': 101 Viet Cong killed<br>22 civilians killed in fighting |
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|location=Thủy Bồ, [[Điện Bàn District]], [[Quảng Nam Province]], [[South Vietnam]] |
|location=Thủy Bồ, [[Điện Bàn District]], [[Quảng Nam Province]], [[South Vietnam]] |
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|perps=Company H, [[2nd Battalion, 1st Marines]] |
|perps=Company H, [[2nd Battalion, 1st Marines]] |
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}}}}{{Campaignbox Vietnam War massacres}} |
}}}}{{Campaignbox Vietnam War massacres}} |
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The '''Thuy Bo massacre''' was |
The '''Thuy Bo massacre''' was purportedly conducted by US Marines from 31 January to 1 February 1967, during the [[Vietnam War]] in Thủy Bồ village ({{IPA-vi|tʰwɪj˧ ɓow˦|pron}}, approximately {{respell|twee|boh}}) in [[Điện Bàn District]], [[Quảng Nam Province]] 15km southwest of [[Đà Nẵng]], in an area close to the foothills of the Central Highlands and situated near the Bo Bo Hills. The memorial erected to the event records 145 civilian deaths, mainly women, children and elderly men. |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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The village was reported by both survivors as friendly to US forces before the battle.<ref name=":4"/><ref name=":7"/> |
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The village was reported by survivors as friendly to US forces before the battle.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":7" /> Between January 29 and 31, Company H, [[2nd Battalion, 1st Marines]], engaged in a fire-fight with NVA{{clarification needed|date=June 2018}} units moving in from the Bo Bo Hills, a hotbed of activity given its proximity to the Central Highlands.<ref name=":1" /> A well-hidden NVA ambush was conducted and they{{who|date=June 2018}} had ordered strafing and bombing attacks against Thủy Bồ village.<ref name=":1" /> Heavy resistance during the two prior days had caused some casualties.<ref name=Tucker>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=qh5lffww-KsC&pg=PA80|title=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History|last=Tucker|first=Spencer C.|date=May 20, 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851099610|language=en|page=80}}</ref> During the night of the third day, most of the guerrillas in the area responsible for the ambush withdrew alongside{{clarification needed|alongside?!? marching parallel or in the same vehicles or what?|date=June 2018}} the Marines who had withdrawn to their base. The following morning, the Marine company was ordered to conduct a search-and-destroy operation and assaulted the village were there was "sporadic gunfire during the assault.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/U_S_Marines_in_Vietnam.html?id=7oYcAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y|title=U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese 1967|last=Telfer|first=Gary L.|last2=Rogers|first2=Lane|last3=Fleming|first3=V. Keith|date=1984|publisher=History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=51-52|language=en}}</ref> Expecting continual resistance, there was none present and no signs of Viet Cong activities or bodies.<ref name=Tucker/> Nevertheless by their own accounts the Marines had proceeded to "fire on anything that moves".<ref name=Tucker/> Some of the villagers were killed during the initial assault during the first two days, but the next morning villagers from Thủy Bồ allege that massacres had occurred in which women, children, infants and some old men were killed deliberately and at close range after the guerrilla fighters had left.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_70464E9F491C4331BD237394762C5D02|title=Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Ky, 1981|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name=Tucker/> The village has recorded and memorialised 145 civilians killed, primarily women, children and old men.<ref name=":5" /> |
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On 31 January, Company H, [[2nd Battalion, 1st Marines]], was patrolling the area and at midday approached the hamlet of Thuy Bo when they were engaged by a [[Viet Cong]] (VC) main force battalion. The Marines were pinned down by 0.50 caliber machine gun and other automatic weapons fire from the hamlet and the Company commander Captain Edwin J. Banks called in air and artillery support on the VC. At 13:30 Capatin Banks requested the Marines' quick reaction force to reinforce their position, but even with these reinforcements the Marines were unable to advance or withdraw and remained engaged with the VC until nightfall. The following morning the Marines assaulted into Thuy Bo but were met by only scattered fire as the VC had withdrawn during the night.<ref name=Telfer>{{cite book|last=Telfer|first=Gary|title=U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese 1967|url=https://archive.org/details/FightingTheNorthVietnamese|publisher=History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps|year=1984|isbn=978-1494285449|page=51}}</ref><ref name=Tucker>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=qh5lffww-KsC&pg=PA80|title=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History|last=Tucker|first=Spencer C.|date=May 20, 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851099610|language=en|page=80}}</ref> |
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A few of the survivors of the massacre brought some of the corpses, around 22 to the military post but the investigation stated that "these were a regrettable corollary to the fighting".<ref name=":1" /> Official KIA reports were 5 marines killed for 101 dead Viet Cong soldiers, for the two days which very likely includes dead civilians;<ref name=":1" /> a kill-to-death ratio that was noted as unusually high.<ref name=Turse/> Captain Edward J. Banks, commander of the company would later receive a Silver Star for activities in this period.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/23237|title=Edward Banks - Recipient - Military Times Hall Of Valor|website=valor.militarytimes.com|language=en|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref> A further discussion on this issue revolves around [[Body count#Vietnam War|body count.]] |
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By their own accounts the Marines had proceeded to "fire on anything that moves".<ref name=Tucker/> Some of the villagers were killed during the initial assault, but the next morning villagers from Thuy Bo allege that massacres had occurred in which women, children, infants and some old men were killed deliberately and at close range after the VC had left.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_70464E9F491C4331BD237394762C5D02|title=Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Ky, 1981|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> Prior estimates of civilian dead ranged from 100–400, from a handful of reports and allegations, but the village itself has recorded and memorialised 145 civilians killed, primarily women, children and old men.<ref name=Kwon/> |
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From 1-2 February Vietnamese villagers brought 18 wounded villagers and the bodies of 22 dead who had been injured or killed by air, artillery and small-arms fire to the 2/1 Marines command post. Following an investigation the Battalion concluded that "these were a regrettable corollary to the fighting".<ref name=Telfer/> |
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Marines casualties were 5 dead and 26 wounded while VC losses were estimated at 101 killed.<ref name=Telfer/> The loss ratio was noted as unusually high.<ref name=Turse/> |
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==Interviews with survivors and Company H members== |
==Interviews with survivors and Company H members== |
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Interviews with both the massacre survivors and alleged perpetrators were conducted by [[Stanley Karnow]] for the ''[[Vietnam: A Television History]]'' documentary series<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog?f%5Baccess%5D%5B%5D=Available+Online&f%5Blocations%5D%5B%5D=Thuy+Bo,+Vietnam|title=WGBH Openvault Search Results|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>, including Captain |
Interviews with both the massacre survivors and alleged perpetrators were conducted by [[Stanley Karnow]] for the ''[[Vietnam: A Television History]]'' documentary series<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog?f%5Baccess%5D%5B%5D=Available+Online&f%5Blocations%5D%5B%5D=Thuy+Bo,+Vietnam|title=WGBH Openvault Search Results|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref>, including Captain Banks<ref name=":3" /> Banks stated "... you never knew who was the enemy and who was the friend. They all looked alike. They all dressed alike. They were all Vietnamese. Some of them were were Viet Cong." and that "For example a young woman of twenty-two or twenty-three years old that's pregnant, sits and watches your men walk down a trail and watches a booby trap go off and kill and wound several of your men, she knows that booby trap's there, she makes no move to warn the troops... who's to say whether she is any less the enemy then the twelve year old Vietnamese boy that's a VC that's in a ditch or trench."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_1BBD5E1108E947579F9F0402807D5C23|title=Vietnam: A Television History; America Takes Charge (1965 - 1967); Interview with Edward J. Banks, 1982|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> Note that Captain Edward Banks is not indicated to have participated, only that an order for a "search-and-destroy" was assigned.<ref name=":3" /> |
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A Vietnamese survivor stated "there were no men, only old men. There were only women and children. When they came over here, the children asked them for candies. And the women, some were eating lunch while others were pressing sugarcanes. When the Americans came they shot in short spurts. I ran outside and, about half an hour after the first gunfire, flames were shooting up. And in about an hour and a half, they all left. I then ran back to the hamlet and saw all the dead."<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_6A07A197F6DF423EA89E0D5F5B0C6583|title=Vietnam: A Television History; America Takes Charge (1965 - 1967); Interview with Nguyen Huu, 1981|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> |
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One of the Company H interviewees, Jack Hill stated "Our emotions were—were very low. You know cause the ah the death rate was ridiculous for what we figured was a friendly village. So, the orders were search and destroy". This was the following day when NVA Fighters had left the area following an ambush they had set-up.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F1F9A2F3A0D54A57898253AE29165FB6|title=Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Jack Hill, 1982|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> "We were ordered to sweep, our initial orders were to sweep that village and uh, and, and, or those two villages, and we had done that. We had obviously routed the VC that were in there, and we held up right there."<ref name=":3" /> A woman with a visible facial gun wound, Nguyen Thi Nhi states "First of all, they arrived and burned everything (referring to the search and destroy). When I saw them, I was sitting. Then I was shot and shot, and I fell down. After that I did not know what else had happened."<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_820439F444554C709DE690BD454CCAE7|title=Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Thi Nhi|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> |
One of the Company H interviewees, Jack Hill stated "Our emotions were—were very low. You know cause the ah the death rate was ridiculous for what we figured was a friendly village. So, the orders were search and destroy". This was the following day when NVA Fighters had left the area following an ambush they had set-up.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F1F9A2F3A0D54A57898253AE29165FB6|title=Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Jack Hill, 1982|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> "We were ordered to sweep, our initial orders were to sweep that village and uh, and, and, or those two villages, and we had done that. We had obviously routed the VC that were in there, and we held up right there."<ref name=":3" /> A woman with a visible facial gun wound, Nguyen Thi Nhi states "First of all, they arrived and burned everything (referring to the search and destroy). When I saw them, I was sitting. Then I was shot and shot, and I fell down. After that I did not know what else had happened."<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_820439F444554C709DE690BD454CCAE7|title=Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Thi Nhi|website=openvault.wgbh.org|language=en|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> |
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==Commemoration== |
==Commemoration== |
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⚫ | |||
[[File:Dien Ban Martyr's Memorial.jpg|thumb|318x318px|Dien Ban Martyr's Memorial and Cemetery, located near the site of the Thủy Bồ Massacre and commemorates both.]] |
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⚫ | The massacre is covered in [[Nick Turse]]'s ''Kill Anything That Moves'' in which the unit alleged to have been responsible were "killing more civilians than VC" but writing off those killed as Viet Cong.<ref name=Turse/>{{rp|117-125}} |
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A memorial to the 145 victims of the Thủy Bồ village massacre was erected in 1977, ten years after the event |
A memorial to the 145 victims of the Thủy Bồ village massacre was erected in 1977, ten years after the event. The memorial features a tall Gothic tower with a panorama of war-time village life, with Viet Cong and villagers participating in day to day activity at one end, and a scene of a massacring at the other end, with scenes including a soldier marked with "US" on its helmet holding an infant by the leg on one hand and a club in the other, an infant clinging to the breast of their dead mother, an angry and defiant young woman clenching her first towards the sky.<ref name=Kwon/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 05:51, 1 July 2018
Thủy Bồ incident | |
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Location | Thủy Bồ, Điện Bàn District, Quảng Nam Province, South Vietnam |
Date | 31 January – 1 February 1967 |
Target | Thủy Bồ Hamlet |
Attack type | Massacre |
Deaths | Vietnam claims: 145 civilians killed [1][2] US claims: 101 Viet Cong killed 22 civilians killed in fighting |
Perpetrators | Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines |
The Thuy Bo massacre was purportedly conducted by US Marines from 31 January to 1 February 1967, during the Vietnam War in Thủy Bồ village (pronounced [tʰwɪj˧ ɓow˦], approximately twee-boh) in Điện Bàn District, Quảng Nam Province 15km southwest of Đà Nẵng, in an area close to the foothills of the Central Highlands and situated near the Bo Bo Hills. The memorial erected to the event records 145 civilian deaths, mainly women, children and elderly men.
Description
The village was reported by both survivors as friendly to US forces before the battle.[3][4]
On 31 January, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, was patrolling the area and at midday approached the hamlet of Thuy Bo when they were engaged by a Viet Cong (VC) main force battalion. The Marines were pinned down by 0.50 caliber machine gun and other automatic weapons fire from the hamlet and the Company commander Captain Edwin J. Banks called in air and artillery support on the VC. At 13:30 Capatin Banks requested the Marines' quick reaction force to reinforce their position, but even with these reinforcements the Marines were unable to advance or withdraw and remained engaged with the VC until nightfall. The following morning the Marines assaulted into Thuy Bo but were met by only scattered fire as the VC had withdrawn during the night.[5][6]
By their own accounts the Marines had proceeded to "fire on anything that moves".[6] Some of the villagers were killed during the initial assault, but the next morning villagers from Thuy Bo allege that massacres had occurred in which women, children, infants and some old men were killed deliberately and at close range after the VC had left.[7] Prior estimates of civilian dead ranged from 100–400, from a handful of reports and allegations, but the village itself has recorded and memorialised 145 civilians killed, primarily women, children and old men.[1]
From 1-2 February Vietnamese villagers brought 18 wounded villagers and the bodies of 22 dead who had been injured or killed by air, artillery and small-arms fire to the 2/1 Marines command post. Following an investigation the Battalion concluded that "these were a regrettable corollary to the fighting".[5]
Marines casualties were 5 dead and 26 wounded while VC losses were estimated at 101 killed.[5] The loss ratio was noted as unusually high.[2]
Interviews with survivors and Company H members
Interviews with both the massacre survivors and alleged perpetrators were conducted by Stanley Karnow for the Vietnam: A Television History documentary series[8], including Captain Banks[9] Banks stated "... you never knew who was the enemy and who was the friend. They all looked alike. They all dressed alike. They were all Vietnamese. Some of them were were Viet Cong." and that "For example a young woman of twenty-two or twenty-three years old that's pregnant, sits and watches your men walk down a trail and watches a booby trap go off and kill and wound several of your men, she knows that booby trap's there, she makes no move to warn the troops... who's to say whether she is any less the enemy then the twelve year old Vietnamese boy that's a VC that's in a ditch or trench."[9] Note that Captain Edward Banks is not indicated to have participated, only that an order for a "search-and-destroy" was assigned.[9]
A Vietnamese survivor stated "there were no men, only old men. There were only women and children. When they came over here, the children asked them for candies. And the women, some were eating lunch while others were pressing sugarcanes. When the Americans came they shot in short spurts. I ran outside and, about half an hour after the first gunfire, flames were shooting up. And in about an hour and a half, they all left. I then ran back to the hamlet and saw all the dead."[4]
One of the Company H interviewees, Jack Hill stated "Our emotions were—were very low. You know cause the ah the death rate was ridiculous for what we figured was a friendly village. So, the orders were search and destroy". This was the following day when NVA Fighters had left the area following an ambush they had set-up.[3] "We were ordered to sweep, our initial orders were to sweep that village and uh, and, and, or those two villages, and we had done that. We had obviously routed the VC that were in there, and we held up right there."[9] A woman with a visible facial gun wound, Nguyen Thi Nhi states "First of all, they arrived and burned everything (referring to the search and destroy). When I saw them, I was sitting. Then I was shot and shot, and I fell down. After that I did not know what else had happened."[10]
One of the Marines ordered to the search and destroy stated "We dropped a couple of grenades in the hootches to get the people out because to get one Vietnamese out of that hole that won't come. I mean you had, we didn't speak perfect Vietnamese so ah in order to get them out of there you either cranked off a couple of rounds or you dropped your M-26 grenade down there and they get the message and they come on out of there. You know, if they got wounded or if they got hit that was that was the point of war. Something you have to live with."[3] One of the village residents interviewed, Le Thi Ton stated "They turned around and laughed and then lobbed a grenade into my house. Ten persons were blown into pieces. The only person who was wounded and who survived was me. My son and everyone else just fell dead. I was wounded and extremely frightened so I crawled quickly into a corner of the house. The grenade had already exploded then, but they trained their guns on the bodies to make sure that nobody would survive. There was a baby who was only two months old. They smashed it and then threw it into the fire and then walked out. As they walked out, they suddenly turned around and opened fire again."[10]
Another survivor of the massacre states that "Next door to me was a woman who had just given birth to her baby. The baby was about a month old. They killed the mother and smashed the baby against the wall like this. Then they used a knife to slit the baby up and then burnt it. They rubbed powdered gasoline on the baby and just burnt it. I was extremely angry. They called everybody a VC. All the women and children were called VCs. What kind of soldiers were they who could not even identify women and children? What kind of a war was this they were fighting? We were all women and children. There was not a single able bodied man around."[11]
One of the villagers stated that "corpses were still strewn all around, and blood was still oozing from these bodies. There were still babies who were still clinging to their mothers' dead bodies and sucking at the breasts. These children are still living here." Following this day, "we carried these bodies to the Bo Bo military post and to the Trang military post, demanding the commanders there to stop all these outrageous activities." Among some of the village survivors there was allegations that the Marine unit ordered villagers to dig up buried bodies to "look for VC" who were killed.[12]
Commemoration
The massacre is covered in Nick Turse's Kill Anything That Moves in which the unit alleged to have been responsible were "killing more civilians than VC" but writing off those killed as Viet Cong.[2]: 117–125
A memorial to the 145 victims of the Thủy Bồ village massacre was erected in 1977, ten years after the event. The memorial features a tall Gothic tower with a panorama of war-time village life, with Viet Cong and villagers participating in day to day activity at one end, and a scene of a massacring at the other end, with scenes including a soldier marked with "US" on its helmet holding an infant by the leg on one hand and a club in the other, an infant clinging to the breast of their dead mother, an angry and defiant young woman clenching her first towards the sky.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Kwon, Heonik (November 10, 2006). After the Massacre: Commemoration and Consolation in Ha My and My Lai. University of California Press. pp. 137–139. ISBN 9780520247970.
- ^ a b c Turse, Nick (January 15, 2013). Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 117–119. ISBN 9780805095470.
- ^ a b c "Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Jack Hill, 1982". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ a b "Vietnam: A Television History; America Takes Charge (1965 - 1967); Interview with Nguyen Huu, 1981". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c Telfer, Gary (1984). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese 1967. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 51. ISBN 978-1494285449.
- ^ a b Tucker, Spencer C. (May 20, 2011). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2nd Edition [4 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 80. ISBN 9781851099610.
- ^ "Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Ky, 1981". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "WGBH Openvault Search Results". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Vietnam: A Television History; America Takes Charge (1965 - 1967); Interview with Edward J. Banks, 1982". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ a b "Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Thi Nhi". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "Vietnam: A Television History; America Takes Charge (1965 - 1967); Interview with Thuong Thi Mai, 1981". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Nguyen Ky, 1981". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018.