When the Viet Nam War ended, with the United States of America defeated, many wondered how a military powerhouse lost to a "raggedy-ass, little fourth-rate country," as President Lyndon Johnson called North Viet Nam. Frank Scotton knew why. A young Foreign Service Officer assigned to Viet Nam in 1962, Scotton drove roads others avoided, walked trails alone and spent nights in remote hamlets. Learning the Vietnamese language, carrying a carbine and living out of a rucksack, he proved that small teams, correctly trained and ...
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When the Viet Nam War ended, with the United States of America defeated, many wondered how a military powerhouse lost to a "raggedy-ass, little fourth-rate country," as President Lyndon Johnson called North Viet Nam. Frank Scotton knew why. A young Foreign Service Officer assigned to Viet Nam in 1962, Scotton drove roads others avoided, walked trails alone and spent nights in remote hamlets. Learning the Vietnamese language, carrying a carbine and living out of a rucksack, he proved that small teams, correctly trained and led, could compete with communist units. In 1964, Scotton organised mobile platoons to emphasise political aspects of the conflict. Those special teams, adopted by the CIA, became models for the national pacification programme. He prepared units in some provinces at the request of General Westmoreland, and in 1965 and 1966 worked with Special Forces. While organisational assistant and trouble shooter for Robert Komer in 1967, and subsequently with William Colby in the military headquarters (MACV), Scotton reluctantly concluded that improved counter insurgency techniques could not beat back the challenges posed by North Viet Nam resolve, lack of political energy in South Viet Nam, and the dissolving American commitment. For the first time Scotton shares his important observations and reasoned conclusions about the United States's involvement in the Viet Nam War.
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Add this copy of Uphill Battle: Reflections on Viet Nam to cart. $80.10, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Texas Tech University Press.
Add this copy of Uphill Battle: Reflections on Viet Nam to cart. $127.48, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Texas Tech University Press.
Uphill Battle is a biography of Frank Scotton during his extensive experience in Vietnam as a civilian in US federal agencies. It provides a "who's who" of important names of those who framed the war and efforts at a lasting peace through nation-building. I was first attracted to this account book because much of it took place in the delta, My Tho, the 7th ARVN Division, and correlated with my experiences as a military advisor as described in my book Prodigals: A Vietnam Story.
The book is well written, but reflects the futility of fighting a war without political resolve or inspired military leadership until too late to turn things around. It also reflects a nation that wasn't committed to winning. This accounts adds significantly to the archives of Vietnam history. It might have been improved had there been more analysis of those things that succeeded and failed. However, anyone interested in the Vietnam War should read it.
