The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the Secretary of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. A Path to War is the first in a series dedicated to the Marine Corps' involvement in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s until 1975.  This commemorative publication covers the period from 1961 to 1965, a time when the Marine involvement in the region deepened from an advisory and supporting role to the amphibious landing near Da Nang in March 1965, which marked the first major commitment of U.S. ground forces to the war in Vietnam. Contains five color maps and numerous black and white photographs.

The Path to War: U.S. Marine Corps Operations in Southeast Asia, 1961-1965: U.S. Marine Corps Operations in Southeast Asia, 1961-1965

History

Hofmann Jr., George R.

Asia

Marine Corps Association

<p>This operation highlights the role that the small country of Laos played in the foreign policy calculations of the newly elected U.S. president, John F. Kennedy. Gravely concerned that the Laotian government was in danger of being overwhelmed by a growing Communist insurgency known as the Pathet Lao, President Kennedy took the bold step of deploying Marine Air Base Squadron-16 (MABS-16) to nearby Thailand for the purpose of supporting a collection of helicopters piloted by an organization called Air America. Hollywood later made a movie about Air America, and it is now widely known that it was linked to the Central Intelligence Agency. The Marines of MABS-16 received no such fanfare. Working behind the scenes in austere conditions, MABS-16 gave new meaning to the phrase “in any clime and place.” While Operation Millpond may seem like a small thing in comparison with much larger operations that were soon to be conducted by Marines in the Republic of South Vietnam, it nonetheless represents a clear beginning to a growing U.S. military commitment to the region as a whole, one that did not end until the last Marine left the roof of the American embassy in Saigon in 1975.</p>

Operation Millpond: U.S. Marines in Thailand, 1961

Military

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

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