I've searched the entire internet and found only one person who has collected almost all of the photos. Link to the person's Flickr page

How did this person gain access to these photos? In the photo descriptions, the source is mentioned as Corbis, but when I searched for the company, it seems like Corbis was acquired by Getty Images.

I am a huge fan of the history of the Vietnam War, so I really want to take a deep look and understand it better.

Its pretty much a common meme mocking the arrogance of the French army for the cluster%@#! that is Dien Bien Phu in particular about the widespread belief in the military stationed in Indochina that there is no way for the VietMinh to bring up artillery over the top of the mountains of DBP. An assumption that would cost the battle and lead to the worst defeat any European colonial power has aver faced after World War 2. So much to the point the French are the only major empire that lost a major head-on conventional pitch battle in the style of Clausewitz against the colonized rebels during the downfall of colonialism.

But as I read more into the whole war, it becomes apparent the French weren't alone in believing that it'd be impossible to transport artillery to Dien Bien Phu. Bernard Fall mentions that Americans who were involved in French affairs actually believed the uphill mountains would be extremely difficult even for the US army to transport any equipment with noteworthy firepower like AA guns and tanks never mind large tall heavy cannons that made up the bulk of Vietnamese far ranged weapons in the battle. At least one American intel officer ultimately agreed with the French conclusion that there's no way the stationed division there could lose as the VietMinh wouldn't have the weapons to obliterate the flimsy trenches and bunkers built on the location esp with French counter-battery. And even if they brought big guns, American analysts sincerely believed no way would they be brought in large enough numbrs with enough shells to pose a threat.

I seen British statements to the French also saying that while they warned the place would be a death trap if a Western equipped army is able to cross over, the artillery equipment would be a gigantic pain to bring up. Even the Soviets were treating the whole thing as a side show where if the VietMinh lost, its no big deal and a minor liability and if they win, well great investment for the communist PR withe little money thrown which is why the bulk of equipment came through Chinese direct aid rather than Soviets directly doing the supply chains. Basically plenty of the goods where Chinese-purchased if not even made in China and the Soviets while hoping for a victory, where not throwing big investments because they thought it'd more likely be another typical defeat in the war.

I have to ask why did the West practically believe that the VietMinh would unlikely to have transport mass artillery into Dien Bien Phu? I mean I'm just flabbergasted reading from not just Bernard Fall but from other books of how its not just the French but the Americans equally believed as well that artillery (or at least enough of it) would be impossible to transport across the hills over the summit of the highest mountains into the valley and the Brits and Soviet pessimism in the situation for the Vietnamese side. Why was this believe so rife among first world nations? instead DBP would be the greatest single victory in a traditional Western style mass battle ever won by the anti-colonialist revolutionaries and this is due to the fact they did the impossible task of transporting howitzers and other heavy firepower into the place despite large hills and even a mountain or two alone the way!

Closest thing we had to bathing - a quick run down the road from our firebase. 4/60th Dusters - West of Bong Son, 1970.

Was my grandpas but was passed down to me

My father passed this year and I'm building a shadowbox. He served two tours in Vietnam. I don't have all of the details but he was enlisted guard in NY during this period and then went active and retired after 22 years or so. i have his final 214 which is crisp and clear but I'm really interested in knowing what these awards are on his 214 from 1972. Can you all help me decode the acronyms here? NDSM -national defense service memo, RVNCM - republic of Vietnam campaign medal, VSM?, MUC - meritorious service medal, RVN? osf gallantry?, CCMD(1st award)? thanks!

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I’m going crazy trying to find this photo that I’m beginning to think I made it up. It was a soldier or marine taking a knee and firing an m60 one handed while feeding the belt with his other hand. He had no helmet on and some sunglasses on. Been trying to find it for the last hour and feel like I’m going crazy as I thought it was a pretty popular picture. Cheers

I’ve always mainly read about the 1st cavalry and 23rd ID when it comes to the books I’ve read about Vietnam. As such most of my knowledge about the war is from them mainly we were soldiers, If I die in A combat zone, and When I turned 19. I’m looking to see if there’s any books/ memoirs from vets of the 1st, 4th or 25th IDs since I’ve been trying to look into their history since idk much other than the 4th fought at Dak To and my uncle served in a maintenance unit with them near plekiue. Any suggestions are appreciated thank you.

The painter was a friend of his in the service. We only have a photo of the painting. Is there any way we can find out who painted it? It is absolutely breathtaking, he was a fantastic painter.

Of course, like all soldiers, my Dad was very handsome in his uniform!

I am trying to track down the source of a story I remember hearing about. The gist is that during the war there were reports of pilots experiencing bouts of sudden blindness while in flight, when looked into it was determined that the rotor vibration had been resonating with a part of the pilot's eyes (Specifically some part of the back of the eye if memory serves).

I am having trouble finding any references to this however, has anyone else heard of this occurrence or do you think this was more of an urban legend?

Other than the rank being upside down, what can you all tell me about them? My Dad is 92, served in Korea and Vietnam, and doesn’t like to talk about it.

Bolger's descriptions and poetic style of writing stopped me in my tracks a few times with its wide lens of reflection. He goes deep into details on weapons, the lingo of war, the battles within Mini-Tet, the 1968 assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, and the growing chasm that was the anti-war movement back home. He also spends considerable time explaining the metrics of victory and the problematic and typically outdated ways the war was fought. Using many examples in different situational contexts, he highlights the approach ordered by a WWII General to be carried out by "grunts" in the jungle, surrounded by unknown tripwires and an elusive enemy that never seems to show himself. Each example seems to showcase the vast difference in the war that was being fought slowly by a rifle platoon machete-hatching their way through the boggy jungle and how it was being fought by MVAC and the U.S. government back in Washington.

In Vietnam, Chuck and Tom Hagel served side by side in the same rifle platoon. Together, they fought in the Mekong Delta, battled snipers in Saigon, chased the enemy through the jungle, and saved each other's life under fire. However, when their one-year tour was over, these two brothers came home side by but no longer in step—one supporting the war, the other hating it.

Together, Chuck and Tom Hagel have five Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a V for Valor, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. I am also currently reading Mark Bowden's Hue 1968 and Bolger's Our Year at War, which was a wonderful and more narrow exploration to accompany that. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in personal war stories that are usually too granular for military histories.

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Any recommendations for books detailing what it was like coming home after the war or adjusting to life in the 60s/70s afterward?

Can be historical fiction.

I was watching We Were Soldiers last night and it came to the scene where Snake Shit flies over a trail clearly illuminated with hundreds of VC carrying candles in the dark.

Surely this did not happen...? I can't think of an easier target for an air strike.

Does anyone have any information on the RVN Police Field Force? Including but not limited to photos, websites, and or books? Any information would help.

My grandfather passed away and left behind a series of autobiographical notes for a book he wanted to write. I was reading through them and there's a brief (1 page) passage about a group of 75 GI's that he was a part of that lived in Chau Doc in 1971/72. He said the group was called "The Community of Foreign Angels". They were cut off from the rest of the US Army and only got supplies via helicopter drop once a week. The notes mention that they traveled into Cambodia to get other supplies. I know enough about the Vietnam war to know they definitely weren't supposed to go into Cambodia and I also know he was a member of Army Intelligence, so I'm guessing this group was there for more than charity work. If it helps, he does mention they were working with a Catholic church run by a Chicago educated priest and three english speaking nuns. I can't find anything on google for The Community of Foreign Angels nor anything about US soldiers being in Chau Doc at that time. Does anyone know what this group could be or where I can start doing more research to uncover what he was doing there?

He also mentioned his call sign was Alpha Two Six.

Hello,

I'm looking for a source(s) of information on the CIA operations dealing with interrogation during the war in the 1964-68 timeframe.