The Vietnam War From The Rear Echelon

Author : Timothy J. Lomperis
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2011-09-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9780700618095

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The Vietnam War from the Rear Echelon by Timothy J. Lomperis Pdf

Timothy Lomperis knows the Vietnam War, both as a soldier and as a scholar. In the latter role he has published extensively, including The War Everyone Lost-and Won, hailed as one of the best books ever written on that conflict. Even though he served two tours "in country" during the war's most frustrating period-from the infamous Easter Invasion through the Paris Peace negotiations-this is the first time he has written about the war from such a personal perspective. An intelligence officer at the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Lomperis and his comrades were tasked with translating Washington war policy into action. Lomperis provides a rare view of the war from the perspective of a rear echelon officer. He and other so-called REMFs were deeply involved in trying to devise and implement strategies that would the win the war. This largely neglected perspective takes center stage in Lomperis's memoir, presenting a seldom-seen midlevel perspective that provides the missing links between the Washington-Hanoi peace negotiations and the deadly battles between troops in the field. In exposing the inner workings of a military headquarters during wartime, Lomperis recounts the tensions of a command caught between the political imperatives of Washington and the deteriorating military situation on the ground. Involved in the planning and execution of Nixon's 1972 Christmas Bombing Campaign, designed to push the North Vietnamese into peace negotiations, Lomperis sheds new light on Nixon's "secret plan to end the war" while offering rare glimpses of military operations and decision making on the ground in Saigon. Giving color to the REMF story, he also offers a portrait of life in wartime Saigon, writing with genuine respect for and curiosity about Vietnamese culture. And ultimately, he describes his own moral conundrum as the son of missionaries and an initial Cold Warrior who undergoes a gradual disillusionment that resolves into peaceful reconciliation. This incisive memoir is essential for better comprehending what the Vietnam experience was like for the large contingent of Americans who served there. It suggests the need for some fundamental rethinking about Vietnam-not only for the war's veterans but also for those concerned with the lessons it carries for U.S. involvement in current insurgencies.

Author : Sherman Lynch
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2023
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1637510470

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Taking It In the Rear by Sherman Lynch Pdf

Author : John Vandevanter Carter
Publisher : Sunbury Press, Incorporated
Page : 470 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2018-03-27
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1620067811

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R.E.M.F. by John Vandevanter Carter Pdf

Nine out of ten of all US military personnel who served the Vietnam War did not fight. Instead, they served in support of those who did. They were postal workers, military police, guards, office clerks, mechanics, cooks, and drivers. Very few of their stories have ever been told. Van Carter was an Iowa boy who was sent to Vietnam as an infantry lieutenant, but who instead served as one of these rear echelon personnel. He discovered the other side of Vietnam, the side where all these people lived who worked in support of the soldiers in the field. He saw rampant drug use, prostitution and a huge racial divide between black and white American soldiers. He saw the absurdity of poor leadership, bad planning and even worse implementation of America's war effort. He saw how everything and everyone became corrupted in Vietnam. And he, himself, succumbed to this all-pervasive corruption. He smoked dope, visited an authentic opium den, enabled some of the prostitution, openly defied authority, and made new rules he still hopes saved many from life-long addictions to heroin. And he fell in love. These are his recollections.

Author : Steve Lefelt
Publisher : Bookbaby
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2018-09-17
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1543938779

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Memoirs of a Rear Echelon M***** F***** by Steve Lefelt Pdf

Most books written about the Vietnam War focus on those who actually fought and died in that conflict. In this memoir, the author recounts his memories from 1966-67 when he was the 40th Signal Battalion's Adjutant in the early years of the Vietnam war. The book describes some of the turmoil that was roiling this country at home and over there, and the challenges confronting and sometimes terrorizing the author as a soldier not directly involved in the war's violence. It also explains how his experiences fostered his life long love of adventure and shaped his personality, character, and future professional career as a judge in New Jersey's Superior Court, Appellate Division.

Author : Timothy J. Lomperis
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2023-04-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9780700635597

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The Vietnam War from the Rear Echelon by Timothy J. Lomperis Pdf

Timothy Lomperis knows the Vietnam War, both as a soldier and as a scholar. In the latter role he has published extensively, including The War Everyone Lost—and Won, hailed as one of the best books ever written on that conflict. Even though he served two tours "in country" during the war's most frustrating period-from the infamous Easter Invasion through the Paris Peace negotiations-this is the first time he has written about the war from such a personal perspective. An intelligence officer at the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Lomperis and his comrades were tasked with translating Washington war policy into action. Lomperis provides a rare view of the war from the perspective of a rear echelon officer. He and other so-called REMFs were deeply involved in trying to devise and implement strategies that would the win the war. This largely neglected perspective takes center stage in Lomperis's memoir, presenting a seldom-seen midlevel perspective that provides the missing links between the Washington-Hanoi peace negotiations and the deadly battles between troops in the field. In exposing the inner workings of a military headquarters during wartime, Lomperis recounts the tensions of a command caught between the political imperatives of Washington and the deteriorating military situation on the ground. Involved in the planning and execution of Nixon's 1972 Christmas Bombing Campaign, designed to push the North Vietnamese into peace negotiations, Lomperis sheds new light on Nixon's "secret plan to end the war" while offering rare glimpses of military operations and decision making on the ground in Saigon. Giving color to the REMF story, he also offers a portrait of life in wartime Saigon, writing with genuine respect for and curiosity about Vietnamese culture. And ultimately, he describes his own moral conundrum as the son of missionaries and an initial Cold Warrior who undergoes a gradual disillusionment that resolves into peaceful reconciliation. This incisive memoir is essential for better comprehending what the Vietnam experience was like for the large contingent of Americans who served there. It suggests the need for some fundamental rethinking about Vietnam—not only for the war's veterans but also for those concerned with the lessons it carries for U.S. involvement in current insurgencies.

Author : James Stoup
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2015-06-17
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1682131084

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Behind the Wire by James Stoup Pdf

Behind the Wire is a story about the other side of the Vietnam War. It takes place at the beginning of the end of the United States' involvement in Vietnam, from May 1970 to May 1971. Unlike many of the combat stories coming out of this war, this is a story about life in the rear, life behind the wire, and the 365 day experience that was shared by hundreds of thousands of soldiers who went to Vietnam but never saw combat. It's a story about the large subculture of anti-war/anti-establishment troops that served there, and how they lived and experienced their "year in the Nam." It's a story about drugs, sex, rock & roll, insubordination, fraggings, and the incredible lifestyle that evolved in every rank of the military over the ten year course of the war. And it's a story about an Army that knew it was losing, not only the war, but also the confidence and support of its troops. Just as protesters back home were changing the country's view and support for the war, so too were many of the troops in Vietnam protesting the war in their own right. This is a real REMF (rear-echelon m--f--) story, as told by a U.S. Army journalist who spent his year in the Nam at the start of the wind-down period of the war.

Author : James Van Trump
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2016-04-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0692664629

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Remf by James Van Trump Pdf

This memoir recalls the experiences of young men serving in US Army in Thailand during the mid 1960s. We supplied the air force with the bombs of Rolling Thunder. We aren't Vietnam Vets because, while we served within the designated combat area of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam for far in excess of the thirty days required, we were not in direct support of ground forces. We were REMFs. Rear echelon service is the rule in the military. Actual combat soldiers (so-called maneuver elements or trigger pullers) are the exception. This produces a sense of elitism among those in combat, who refer to the majority of their fellow troops as rear echelon mother fuckers (REMFs). They earned the elitism, since the death rate among members of maneuver elements runs around fifty times that of rear echelon troops. What percentage of US ground forces are REMFs? Well, according to Michael Kelly (Misconceptions: Vietnam War Folklore) only about 1/3 of the personnel in deployed combat units end up as trigger pullers. In addition, only 25 to 30% of the military at large are in combat units. The rest end up in headquarters and administration, life support, or as in our case, logistics. So like many Vietnam era troops we aren't Vietnam Vets, but we were definitely involved. This is our story as I remember it.

Author : George M. Watson Jr.
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2001-11-09
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781462834136

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Voices from the Rear by George M. Watson Jr. Pdf

Voices from the Rear: Vietnam 1969-1970 This is one soldier's memoir. It is a story packed with anecdotes, incidents, and memorable characters that would be familiar and recognizable to many whom served in the Vietnam War. It is also a story about Vietnam, draftees, and my two years in the U.S. Army. In a larger context, the war tore at the ideological foundations of the silent majority. The U.S. counterculture became more adamant in its belief that the war was a terrible wrong. The Tet offensive in 1968 clearly showed that the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong could muster a full-scale attack at any time and any place within Vietnam. At a tremendous cost of lives, the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies eventually drove the Communists from their newly captured areas. However, the Tet offensive successfully dampened U.S. hopes for a swift end to the war. In addition, this battle made young American men and college graduates more reluctant to serve in the military. On a more personal level, this memoir speaks to the inequalities of the draft system and my experience with a local draft board. I describe the difficulties posed by the draft system, and the inconsistencies of the draft laws, which left to the discretion of the local draft boards the policy of deciding who served and who didn't. Moreover, as a doctoral student in history with an M.A. degree in hand and college teaching experience, I was an anomaly in basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and advanced individual training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I had worked in an adult world and had acquired a sense of self-discipline, and was suddenly thrust into the freedomless existence of an army that included seventeen-and-eighteen year olds. I was lost, but worse than that I was caught in a system, that was distinctly American but as alien as the country that I was supposed to unchain from the shackles of communism. On another level, this is a social history of the U.S. Army during two tumultuous years 1969 and 1970. Like most soldiers who were sent to Vietnam, I had anxieties about going. When I finally arrived, I had trepidations about a unit assignment. I introduce characters with whom I lived with for over a year and describe their backgrounds, their personalities, and many of our shared experiences. For a year, these men were my family. I relished their friendship. Most of them would not have been in Vietnam were it not for the draft. Although being drafted required two years of service, many soldiers were three-year draftees. They had signed up for a military occupational skill (MOS) of their choice to avoid the infantry. I was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as rear echelon personnel specialist (clerk) in the Division's Administration Company. Like many rear echelon personnel, I experienced the fears and the apprehension of guard duty, and the horror of rocket attacks, as well as the many amusing times. The intrusive hand of the Army consistently reminded us that we were not free individuals. It was not only the infantry that fought the war and contended with Army. Indeed, the rear echelon, which comprised the majority of troops that served in Vietnam, expressed similar animosities towards the war and the Army. The rear troops often maneuvered ingenuously to cope with the institution that held them there. The book shows how these soldiers created a culture and shared comradeship, which helped them survive the war and endure the Army. At times the soldiers fought the Army as much as they did the enemy. As the year 1969 closed, my unit moved from Bien Hoa near Saigon to Phu Bai near Hue, to be closer to Division headquarters. By this time, our attitudes towards the war and the Army had become further strained. The sense of purpose or mission, if there ever was any, became focused on surviving and not being the last one sacrificed in an unjust war. The activity on the ho

Author : Charles R. Anderson
Publisher : Gower Publishing Company, Limited
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 1982
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : STANFORD:36105081356870

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Vietnam, the Other War by Charles R. Anderson Pdf

Author : Rick Smith
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 108 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2003-10-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1410775151

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Remf by Rick Smith Pdf

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Author : Eric Mawson
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 50 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2006-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780595390632

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Oil and Vinegar by Eric Mawson Pdf

For those of us who were drafted at the height of the Vietnam War, we found ways of dealing with the moral and social dilemma a draftee was faced with when serving in the military. Not all draftees went into the infantry, some of use had office jobs to keep the paperwork going. The Army's contempt for us, and our contempt for the Army proved to be a war within a war. If M*A*S*H was to Korea, then certainly our band of RESOBS (rear echelon sons of a bitches) was to Vietnam. What and how we did to rebel against the Army led to many compromising situations. In the long run, there was no pride or espirit de corps in what did. Our focus was to survive, rebel, function, and return back home. What we did provided no honor or pride, only shame and bewilderment.

Author : Andrew Atherton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2014-07
Category : Soldiers
ISBN : 0989207919

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Drafted by Andrew Atherton Pdf

Married for several years and just shy of twenty-six, philosophy student Andrew Atherton receives his draft notice and suddenly finds himself immersed in a military culture for which he is neither well suited nor prepared. After surviving basic and advanced individual training, he is sent to Vietnam as an infantryman. Instead of humping in the boonies with the 101st, however, he is assigned to be a clerk and ends up editing Bronze Star and Purple Heart recommendations and publishing his battalion's newspaper. And at night, he goes back to the office to type letters home to his wife and stories-both amusing and disturbing-that reflect his awakening to the heroism and horror, tedium and terror, and the incompetence and banal cruelty of life in a war zone.

Author : Robert Mumper
Publisher : Vantage Press, Inc
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2008-02
Category : Vietnam War, 1961-1975
ISBN : 0533157285

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Rear Echelon Military Forces by Robert Mumper Pdf

From Marine Corps service in Vietnam to his teaching career to his hilarious experiments with Viagra while modeling in university art classes, the action--and comedy--never stops! The language steams and the antics are usually off-color. But under the chuckles and guffaws are Mumper's candid, insightful reflections on life's more awkward moments.

Author : Dean Muehlberg
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2005-04-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781411629448

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Remf War Stories 17th Cag - Nha Trang, Vietnam - 1969 by Dean Muehlberg Pdf

Not a tale of firefights and blood, this book should be read by anyone who lived through the Vietnam era that was not directly involved and did not go to Vietnam. It provides a sense of what went through their minds, the conflicts and confusion and related fears. In a self-deprecating style, the author comes of age, examining these emotions and the guilts of being assigned to a secure area, of leaving a job before it was completed, and abandoning faithful Vietnamese friends. It should be read by anyone who cares about those who went and who want to understand more about them and their era. Forty photos provide a flavor of the year and the place. RAPID CITY JOURNAL 8-21-05 SAYS "MORE THAN OTHER STORIES ABOUT VIETNAM, THIS ONE IS REFLECTIVE, AND THANKFULLY SO. MUEHLBERG SORTS THROUGH THE MORASS TO FIND ENOUGH GOOD TO GIVE HIMSELF AND READERS THE FEELING THAT VIETNAM WAS NOT ENTIRELY AN INSTANCE OF MINDLESS OBLIVION THAT IT SOMETIMES SEEMS." ***Rapid City area may contact author for copies (605-342-4297).***

Author : Maurice Isserman,John Stewart Bowman
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Vietnam War, 1961-1975
ISBN : 9781438100159

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Vietnam War by Maurice Isserman,John Stewart Bowman Pdf

The Book ReportThis riveting history includes a clear discussion of the roots of U.S. involvement in Indochina in the days just after World War II and goes on to explore the varied and complex motives behind America's effort to.