TABLE OF CONTENTS
Primary Sources
“South Vietnamese Officer Executes a Viet Cong Prisoner” Photograph (1968)
Combat Area Casualties (1998)
Memorandum for the President from Henry Kissinger: “Possible Responses to Enemy Activity in South Vietnam” (1969)
Agenda and Testimony of William Colby (1970)
Quang Nam Province: Phoenix/Phung Hoang Briefing (1970)
About the Author
Fritz Fischer is a Professor of History and Director of History Education at the University of Northern Colorado. He is the 1998 recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences award for outstanding teaching and the recipient of the Mortar Board Outstanding Teacher Award in 2003 and 2006.
The Tet Offensive
Memorandum for the President from Henry Kissinger: “Possible Responses to Enemy Activity in South Vietnam” (1969)
Annotation
The Nixon Library is in the midst of declassifying and digitizing a number of fascinating and interesting documents, a number of which pertain to Nixon’s policies towards Vietnam. This is a memo written by then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger to President Nixon on March 4, 1969, a full year after the Tet Offensive. Kissinger passes along a second memo written by Melvin Laird that suggests “countermeasures” to be taken to thwart North Vietnamese actions. The memo defends the “high level of effort” being used against the enemy.
Excerpt from Memorandum for the President from Henry Kissinger:
March 4, 1969
Top Secret
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
From: Henry A. Kissenger
Subject: Possible Response to Enemy Activity in South Vietnam
Attached is a memorandum from Mel Laird summarizing his views on the nature of the North Vietnamese offensive and his appraisal on counter-actions which might be undertaken.
Mel is anxious that you have this memorandum to his departure for Europe.
Attachment
(Note: see link in the "Citation" section for the full, declassified, typed memo.)
National Archives, Nixon Library. "Memorandum for the President from Henry Kissinger: “Possible Responses to Enemy Activity in South Vietnam"." March 4, 1969.