Oral history transcript, Charles Timmes, interview 1 (I), 11/6/1985, by Ted Gittinger
Title:
Oral history transcript, Charles Timmes, interview 1 (I), 11/6/1985, by Ted Gittinger
Number of Pages:
28
Description:
Timmes' work as advisor in Korea 1956-1958 and Vietnam in the early 1960s; problems facing American advisors in Vietnam, such as a lack of familiarity with the Vietnamese language, culture, and military training; the threat of insurgency in South Vietnam 1955-1961; mistakes that allowed the communists to infiltrate South Vietnam by 1961; General Maxwell Taylor's arrival in Vietnam in 1961; the development of the pacification program and Self Defense Corps; the role of helicopters and armored personnel carriers (APCs) in the pacification program; the Buddhist crisis of 1963; Duong Van Minh, also known as "Big Minh;" the coup lead by Nguyen Khanh; Timmes' relationship with Big Minh through 1985; John Paul Vann and his relationship with Huynh Van Cao; Vann's involvement with the Battle of Ap Bac; Vann's relationship with General Paul Harkins; problems in the pacification and strategic hamlet programs; Harkins' dependence on getting information from the Vietnamese; Frank Snepp's account of Vietnam in April 1975; why Saigon collapsed so suddenly; Timmes' last few days in Vietnam; Timmes' assessment of the situation in Vietnam in 1964; how military experience in Korea affected military choices in Vietnam; how things changed in Vietnam from 1964 to 1967; Timmes' duties in Vietnam in 1967; the Tet offensive and its effect on the character of the war; press coverage of the Vietnam war.
