
The Navy Department Library
- Expand navigation for A A
- Abbreviations Used for Navy Enlisted Ratings
- "The Ablest Men"
- Abolishing the Spirit Rations in the Navy
- Account of the Battle of Iwo Jima
- Account of the Operations of the American Navy in France During the War With Germany
- Act providing a Naval Armament
- Action Report, Battle of Okinawa at RP Station #1, 12 April 1945
- Action Report USS LCS(L) (3) 57, Battle of Okinawa at RP Station #1, Apriil 12, 1945
- Advanced Intelligence Centers in the US Navy
- Admiral Caperton in Haiti
- Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80
- Afghanistan: A Short Account by P.F. Walker
- Afghanistan - Silver Star Presented Francis L. Toner IV
- African Squadron
- Agreement Between the United States and the Republic of Haiti
- Alcohol in the Navy
- The Aleutians Campaign
- Allied Ships present in Tokyo Bay
- Amelia Earhart
- American Naval Mission in the Adriatic, 1918-1921
- American Naval Participation in the Great War (With Special Reference to the European Theater of Operations)
- American Naval Planning Section London
- American Ship Casualties of the World War
- Amphibious Landings in Lingayen Gulf
- Amphibious Operations: Capture of Iwo Jima
- Amphibious Operations - The Planning Phase
- Analysis of the Advantage of Speed and Changes of Course in Avoiding Attack by Submarine
- Anchor of Resolve
- Expand navigation for Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Navy Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Navy
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1821
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1822
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1823
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1824
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1825
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1826
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1827
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1828
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1829
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1830
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1831
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1832
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1833
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1834
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1835
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1836
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1837
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1838
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1839
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1840
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1841
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1842
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1843
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1941
- Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy - 1845
- Anomaly of the Enlisted Officer
- Answering a Call in a Crisis
- Antiaircraft Action Summary
- Antiaircraft Action Summary COMINCH P-009
- Antisubmarine Information, ONI No. 14, 1918
- Antisubmarine Tactics, ONI No. 42, 1918
- Antisubmarine Warfare, ONI No. 9, 1917
- Anti-Suicide Action Summary
- Are the Southern Privateersmen Pirates?
- Arleigh Burke: The Last CNO
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals
- Army-Navy E Award
- Articles for the Government of the United States Navy, 1930
- Assault Landings on Leyte Island
- The Assault on Kwajalein and Majuro (Part One)
- Atlantis: The Legendary Island
- Attack on Halifax and Adjacent Territory
- Aviation Personnel Fatalities in World War II
- Awards Manual 1994
- Expand navigation for B B
- Battle of the Atlantic Volume 4 Technical Intelligence From Allied Communications Intelligence
- Battenberg Cup Award
- Battle Experience - Radar Pickets
- Battle Instructions for the German Navy
- Battle for Iwo Jima
- Battle of Derna, 27 April 1805: Selected Naval Documents
- Battle of Guadalcanal
- Battle of Jutland War Game
- Battle of Lake Erie: Building the Fleet in the Wilderness
- Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898
- Battle of Midway: Aerology and Naval Warfare
- Battle of Midway: Army Air Forces
- Battle of Midway: 3-6 June 1942 Combat Narrative
- Battle of Midway: 4-7 June 1942
- Battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942: Combat Intelligence
- Battle of Midway: 4-7 June 1942 SRH-230
- Battle of Midway - Interrogation of Japanese Officials
- Battle of Midway: Japanese Plans Chapter 5 of The Campaigns of the Pacific War
- Battle of Midway: Preliminaries
- Battle of Midway: U.S. Marine Corps
- Battle of Mobile Bay
- Battle of Mobile Bay: Selected Documents
- Battle of Savo Island August 9th, 1942 Strategic and Tactical Analysis
- Battle of the Atlantic Volume 3 German Naval Communication Intelligence
- Battle of the Atlantic Volume 4 Technical Intelligence From Allied Communications Intelligence
- Battle of the Coral Sea
- Battle of the Coral Sea- Combat Narrative
- Battle of the Nile
- Battle of Tripoli Harbor, 3 August 1804: Selected Naval Documents
- Battlecruisers in the United States and the United Kingdom, 1902-1922.
- The Battles of Cape Esperance 11 October 1942 and Santa Cruz Islands 26 October 1942
- Battles of Savo Island and Eastern Solomons
- Bayly's Navy
- Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil
- Bells on Ships
- Bismarck, Sinking of
- Boat Pool 15-1 Manila, P.I. Thanksgiving '22 Nov. 45
- Blockade-running Between Europe and the Far East by Submarines, 1942-44
- Bombing As a Policy Tool in Vietnam
- Expand navigation for Boxer Rebellion and the US Navy, 1900-1901 Boxer Rebellion and the US Navy, 1900-1901
- Brass Monkey
- Brief History of Civilian Personnel in the US Navy Department
- A Brief History of Naval Cryptanalysis
- Brief History of Punishment by Flogging in the US Navy
- Brief History of the Seagoing Marines
- Brief Summary of the Perry Expedition to Japan, 1853
- Bronze Guns (cannons) Glossary
- Budget of the US Navy: 1794 to 2014
- Expand navigation for Building the Navy's Bases in World War II Building the Navy's Bases in World War II
- Bull Ensign
- Bunker Busters: Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator Issues
- Expand navigation for By Sea, Air, and Land By Sea, Air, and Land
- Foreword
- Chapter 1: The Early Years, 1950-1959
- Chapter 2: The Era of Growing Conflict, 1959-1965
- Chapter 3: The Years of Combat, 1965-1968
- Chapter 4: Winding Down the War, 1968 - 1973
- Chapter 5: The Final Curtain, 1973 - 1975
- Medal of Honor Recipients of the U.S. Navy in Vietnam
- Secretaries of the Navy and Key United States Naval Officers, 1950 - 1975
- Aircraft Tailcodes
- Enemy Aircraft Shot Down by Naval Aviators in Southeast Asia
- Bibliography
- Glossary
- Expand navigation for C C
- Expand navigation for Cannons of the Washington Navy Yard Cannons of the Washington Navy Yard
- No. 1 Austrian 6-pounder Howitzer with cutout
- No. 1 Austrian 6-pounder Howitzer - Plaque
- No. 2 French 4-pounder Smoothbore
- No. 3 Austrian 6-pounder Howitzer
- No. 4 Austrian 6-pounder Howitzer
- No. 4 Austrian 6-pounder Howitzer - Sight Cutaway
- No. 5 Japanese Gun - Bore 6.875 inches
- No. 6 4-pounder
- No. 6 Austrian 4-pounder
- No. 7 U.S. Army 24-pounder Howitzer
- No. 8 Spanish 12-pounder
- No. 9 Spanish 6-pounder
- No. 9 Spanish 6-pounder - Arms
- No. 10 Spanish 27 -pounder
- No. 10 Spanish 27-pounder - Plaque
- No.11 French 12-pounder
- No. 11 French 12-pounder - Le Belliqueux
- No. 11 French 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 11 French 12-pounder - Royal Arms
- No. 12 French 12-pounder
- No. 12 French 12-pounder - Le Vigoureux
- No. 12 French 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 13 Spanish 27-pounder
- No. 13 Spanish 27-pounder - Plaque
- No.14 Spanish 12-pounder
- No. 14 Spanish 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 15 Spanish 12-pounder
- No. 15 Spanish 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 16 Spanish 12-pounder
- No. 16 Spanish 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 17 Spanish 12-pounder
- No. 17 Spanish 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 18 Spanish 12-pounder
- No. 18 Spanish 12-pounder - Plaque
- No. 19 Spanish 9-pounder
- No. 19 Spanish 9-pounder - Plaque
- No. 20 Spanish 9-pounder
- No. 20 Spanish 9-pounder - Cambernon
- No. 20 Spanish 9-pounder - Plaque
- No. 21 British Howitzer
- No. 22 British Howitzer
- No. 23 4.63-inch Howitzer
- No. 23 4.63-inch Howitzer
- No. 23 4.63-inch Howitzer - 249
- No. 24 6.5-inch Spanish Howitzer
- No. 25 Venetian 5.75-inch Howitzer
- No. 25 Venetian 5.75-inch Howitzers
- No. 26 Venetian 5.75-inch Howitzer
- Flagpole and Mortars
- Flagpole and Mortars - Base
- Flagpole and Mortars - Mortar
- The Navy Museum
- View Along Dahlgren Avenue
- Captain Raphael Semmes and the C.S.S. Alabama
- Captain Samuel Nicholson: A Monograph [pdf]
- Capture of CSS Florida by USS Wachusett - Report of Commander Napoleon Collins
- Capture of CSS Florida by USS Wachusett - Report of Lieutenant Morris
- Capture of the Frigate USS Philadelphia
- Caribbean Tempest: The Dominican Republic Intervention of 1965
- Carrier Deployments During the Vietnam Conflict
- Carrier Locations - Pearl Harbor Attack
- Carrier Strikes on the China Coast
- Case of the Somers' Mutiny 1843
- Casualties: US Navy & Marine Corps Personnel
- Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action
- Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony of the Commandant Naval District, Washington, DC
- Change of Command Ceremony
- Charles Morris A Man of Letters and Numbers
- Chart Your Future As A Woman Officer
- Chester Nimitz and the Development of Fueling at Sea
- Christmas 1932 U.S. Naval Air Station San Diego California
- CIC [Combat Information Center] Manual (RADSIX)
- CIC [Combat Information Center] Operation in an AGC
- CIC [Combat Information Center] Yesterday and Today
- CIC Operations On a Night Carrier
- CINCPAC Glossary of Commonly Used Abbreviations and Short Titles
- Expand navigation for CinCPac Report - Pearl Harbor CinCPac Report - Pearl Harbor
- Circular September 13, 1839
- Circular 17 July, 1869
- Colored Persons in the Navy of the U.S. (1842)
- Combined Operation Craft: Small Scale Drawings
- COMINT [Communications Intelligence] Contributions [to] Submarine Warfare in WW II
- Command and Control of Air Operations in the Vietnam War
- Commander Task Force Seventeen Operation Plan 1-45
- Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations
- Comparison of Military and Civilian Equivalent Grades
- Compilation of Enlisted Ratings and Apprentiships US Navy 1775-1969
- Composition of Japanese Forces
- Composition of US Forces
- Condition of the Navy and Its Expenses 1821
- Conduct of War at Sea
- Conflict and Cooperation: The U.S. and Soviet Navies in the Cold War
- Constitution Fighting Top
- The Constitution Gun Deck
- Constitution Sailors in the Battle of Lake Erie [pdf]
- Continental Congress and the Navy
- The Continental Navy: "I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight."
- Copy of talk given by Captain B.E. Manseau, USN, before the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Naval Architets and Marine Engineers
- Cordon of Steel
- The Corps' Salty Seadogs Have All But Come Ashore: Seagoing Traditions Founder as New Millennium Approaches
- Costs of Major US Wars
- Cruising Fleets
- Cruising in the Old Navy
- Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
- Expand navigation for Cuban Missile Crisis Cuban Missile Crisis
- Current Doctrine Submarines
- Cursor scales for the VG [Plan Position Indicator (radar)
- Customs and Traditions, Navy
- Expand navigation for Cannons of the Washington Navy Yard Cannons of the Washington Navy Yard
- Expand navigation for D D
- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion: Combat Demolition Units
- Dartmoor Prison
- Decatur House and Its Distinguished Occupants
- Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force
- The Defense and Burning of Washington in 1814: Naval Documents of the War of 1812
- De Klerk Diary
- Demolition Units of the Atlantic Theatre of Operations
- Department of Defense Acronyms
- Destroyers at Normandy
- Destroyers for Bases Agreement, 1941
- Destroyers transferred to Britain under Destroyers for Bases agreement
- Destruction of CSS Albemarle - Report of A. F. WARLEY
- Destruction of CSS Albemarle - Report of Lieutenant William Barker Cushing
- The Development of Japanese Sea Power: "Know Your Enemy"! [CinCPOA Bulletin 93-45, 1945]
- Expand navigation for The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869 The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869
- Digest Catalogue of Laws and Joint Resolutions: The Navy and the World War
- Disaster at Savo Island, 1942
- Disaster in the Pacific
- Discipline in the U.S. Navy
- Expand navigation for Diving in the U.S. Navy: A Brief History Diving in the U.S. Navy: A Brief History
- Documents, Official and Unofficial, Relating to the Capture and Destruction of the Frigate Philadelphia at Tripoli - 1850
- Documents Related to the Resignation of the German Commander in Chief, Navy, Grand Admiral Raeder and to the Decommissioning of the German High Seas Fleet
- DoD Rules for Military Commissions - 2006
- Expand navigation for Dominican Republic Intervention Dominican Republic Intervention
- Doolittle Raid
- The DRVN Strategic Intelligence Service
- Expand navigation for E E
- Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean
- Elementary Map and Aerial Photograph Reading
- Emancipation Proclamation, Navy general Order No. 4, 1863
- Employment of Naval Forces
- Enlisted Uniforms
- Enlistment, Training, and Organization of Crews for Our New Ships
- Essay on Naval Battles of the Korean War
- Establishment of the Department of the Navy
- Establishment of the Navy
- Exercise Tiger
- Exorcizing the Devil's Triangle
- Expeditions, Diplomatic and Scientific Activity, and Operations Against Native Americans and Pirates
- Exploring the Antarctic 1840 - The Wilkes Expedition
- Eye-Witness Account of the Battle Between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia Mar 9 1862
- Evolution of Naval Weapons
- Expand navigation for F F
- Far Eastern Sighting Guide [ONI-F-31 FE]
- Fifty Years of Naval District Development 1903-1953
- Filipinos in the United States Navy
- Final Contact: USS Indianapolis (CA-35) passes USS LST-779 29 July 1945
- The First Raid on Japan
- Fixing Wages and Salaries of Navy Civilian Employees
- Flag Sizes
- Fleet Air Wing Four Strikes
- Fleet Post Office, New York, New York
- Fleet Post Office, San Francisco, California
- "Forward ... From the Start": The U.S. Navy & Homeland Defense: 1775-2003
- Fourth of July Dinner the Spirit of '45
- French Indo-China PSIS 400-35
- Frocking
- From Dam Neck to Okinawa: A Memoir of Antiaircraft Training in World War II
- From the Sea to the Stars
- Expand navigation for G G
- GAF (German Air Force, Luftwaffe] and the Invasion of Normandy
- Gearing Up for Victory American Military and Industrial Mobilization in World War II
- Gedunk
- General Information for Employees - Washington Navy Yard - 1941
- General Instructions for Commanding Officers of Naval Armed Guards on Merchant Ships - 1944
- General Instructions for Sloops and Torpedo Craft
- General Mess Manual and Cook Book
- Expand navigation for General Orders General Orders
- General Order (21 January 1834) Presents
- General Order (28 November 1838) Animals
- General Order (18 February 1846) Port and Starboard
- General Order (17 December 1850) Furnishing Vessels
- General Order (27 September 1851) Contracts of Enlistment Ending
- General Order (17 May 1858) Naval Academy Graduates Denied Letter
- General Order (22 April 1862) Officers Forbidden to Give Publicity to Any Hydrographical Knowledge
- General Order (12 December 1862) Rules for Naval Communication
- General Order (23 December 1862) Rules Corresponding with SecNav and Bureaus
- General Order No. 1 (1863) Rules to Disseminate General Orders
- General Order No. 4 (1863) Emancipation Proclamation
- General Order No. 9 (1863) Observance of Paroles
- General Order No. 51 (1865) Announcing Death President Abraham Lincoln
- General Order No. 73 (1866) Resolution of Thanks from Congress to Admiral Farragut for Mobile Bay Action
- General Order No. 81 (1866) Requirements of Guardians for Boy to Enlist
- General Order No. 83 (1867) Proclamation Issued by President Johnson
- General Order No. 90 (1869) Uniform Changes
- General Order No. 99 (1869) Authority Given to Fleet Officers
- General Order No. 105 (1869) North & South Pacific Squadrons Combined into Pacific Station
- General Order No. 110 (1869) Forbidding Applications for Duty Through Persons of Influence
- General Order No. 112 (1869) Sea Service of Officers to be Three Years
- General Order No. 123 (1869) Uniform Change for Masters, Ensigns & Midshipmen
- General Order No. 127 (1869) List of Types of Officers to Mess in Second Ward Room
- General Order No. 128 (1869) Exercises for Ships with Sails
- General Order No. 131 (1869) Economizing the Use of Coal
- General Order No. 175 (1872) Division of the Pacific Station into Two Stations
- General Order No. 226 (1877) Importance of Complete Reports and Logs
- General Order No. 230 (1877) Special Shore Service and Duty
- General Order No. 232 (1877) Working Hours at Navy Yards and Stations
- General Order No. 248 (1880) Correct and General Understanding of Signals
- General Order No. 250 (1880) Establishment of the Office of Judge Advocate General of the Navy
- General Order No. 252 (1880) Painting Schematic for Boats
- General Order No. 292 (1882) Establishment of the Office of Intelligence
- General Order No. 370 (1889) Copies of Books to the Navy Department Library
- General Order No. 372 (1889) Order for Official Communications
- General Order No. 544 (1900) Establishment of the General Board
- General Order No. 55 (1901) Decorations for Philippine Islands and Boxer Rebellion
- General Order No. 56 (1901) Puget Sound, Naval Station to Navy Yard
- General Order No. 128 (1903) Establishment of Naval Districts
- General Order No. 129 (1903) Surplus Provisions
- General Order No. 74 (1908) Establishing Ship Post Offices
- General Order No. 135 (1911) Definitions of Well-known Naval Terms
- General Order No. 30 (1913) Movement of the Rudder
- General Order No. 98 (1914) Movement of the Rudder
- General Order No. 99 (1914) Prohibition in the Navy
- General Order No. 132 (1915) Khaki Dye for White Undress Uniform
- General Order No. 258 (1917) SecNav Announces Death of Admiral Dewey
- General Order No. 259 (1917) Executive Order and Message on Death of Admiral Dewey
- General Order No. 294 (1917) Identification Tags ("Dog Tags")
- General Order No. 456 (1919) Observance of the Sabbath Day
- General Order No. 541 (1920) Standard Nomemclature for Naval Vessels
- General Order No. 244 [1934] Alcoholic Liquors
- General Order No. 47 (1935) Precedence of Forces in Parades
- General Orders 1921-1935
- General Orders for the Regulation of the Navy Yard Washington, D.C. - 1833-1850
- General Orders USS Independence 1815
- German Commanders Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl on the Invasion of Normandy in 1944
- German Defense of Berlin
- Expand navigation for German Espionage and Sabotage German Espionage and Sabotage
- German Report on the Allied Invasion of Normandy
- German Submarine Activities on the Atlantic Coast
- German Submarine Attacks
- German Submarines in Question and Answer
- Expand navigation for Glossary of U.S. Naval Code Words (NAVEXOS P-474) Glossary of U.S. Naval Code Words (NAVEXOS P-474)
- Going back to civilian life facts you should know about
- going back to civilian life - a pamphlet
- Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations & Dismissals On the Eve of the Civil War
- Grand Strategy Contending Contemporary Analyst Views & Implications for the US Navy
- The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Naval Training Station Hampton Roads and the Norfolk Naval Hospital
- Greely Relief Expedition
- Expand navigation for Grenada: Operation Urgent Fury Grenada: Operation Urgent Fury
- Guadalcanal Campaign
- Guide to Command of Negro Naval Personnel NAVPERS-15092
- Guidelines: Naval Social Customs
- Guide to US Military Casualty Statistics
- The Guidebook for NAVAL RESERVE CHAPLAINS
- General Description of the Whitehead Torpedo
- Expand navigation for H H
- Haitian Campaign of 1915
- Haiti - US Navy Medal of Honor - 1915
- Halsey-Doolittle Raid
- Handbook of First Aid Treatment for Survivors of Disasters at Sea
- Head - Ship's Toilet
- Historical Approach to Warrant Officer Classifications
- The Historical Importance to Navigation of Nathaniel Bowditch's New American Practical Navigator
- History and Descriptive Guide of the US Navy Yard Washington, DC
- History of Convoy and Routing [1945]
- History of Flag Career of Rear Admiral W.B. Caperton
- History of Paul Jones, the Pirate
- History of the Bureau of Engineering During WWI
- History of the Chief Petty Officer
- History of the Dudley Knox Center for Naval History
- History of the Navy Department Library
- Expand navigation for History of the Seabees History of the Seabees
- Expand navigation for History of the US Navy History of the US Navy
- Expand navigation for History of United States Naval Operations: Korea History of United States Naval Operations: Korea
- Foreword - History of US Naval Operations: Korea
- Preface - History of US Naval Operations: Korea
- List of Maps - History of US Naval Operations: Korea
- List of Tables - History of US Naval Operations: Korea
- Chapter 1: To Korea By Sea
- Chapter 2: Policy and Its Instruments
- Chapter 3: War Begins
- Chapter 4: Help on the Way
- Chapter 5: Into the Perimeter
- Chapter 6: Holding the Line
- Chapter 7: Back to the Parallel
- Chapter 8: On to the Border
- Chapter 9: Retreat to the South
- Chapter 10: The Second Six Months
- Chapter 11: Problems of a Policeman
- Chapter 12: Two More Years
- A Note on Source Materials
- Glossary of Naval Abbreviations
- History of US Navy Uniforms 1776 - 1981
- Expand navigation for Honda (Pedernales) Point, California, Disaster, 8 September 1923 Honda (Pedernales) Point, California, Disaster, 8 September 1923
- Honda (Pedernales) Point, California, Disaster, 8 September 1923
- How the Navy Talks
- How to Fold Your Navy Uniform
- How to Mark Your Navy Uniform
- How to serve your country in the WAVES
- The Hungnam and Chinnampo Evacuations
- Hurricanes and the War of 1812
- History and aims of the Office of Naval Intelligence
- Expand navigation for I I
- I Was a Yeoman (F)
- Identification Tags - Dog Tags
- In Honor of Master Chief Britt K Slabinski: United States Navy, Retired: MEDAL OF HONOR - HALL OF HEROES INDUCTION CEREMONY- THE PENTAGON AUDITORIUM- 25 MAY 2018
- In Memory of CTIC(IW/EXW) Shannon M. Kent
- Incredible Alaska Overland Rescue
- Indians in the War 1945
- Expand navigation for Influenza Influenza
- 1918 Influenza by Vice Admiral Albert Gleaves, Commander of Convoy Operations in the Atlantic, 1917-1919.
- Admiral William B. Caperton of the 1918 Influenza on Armored Cruiser No. 4, USS Pittsburgh
- A Forgotten Enemy: PHS's [Public Health Service] Fight Against the 1918 Influenza Pandemic
- Great Flu Crisis at Mare Island Navy Yard.
- Influenza at the United States Naval Hospital, Washington, D.C.
- The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 by Carla R. Morrisey, RN, BSN
- Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu) and the US Navy
- Influenza on a Naval Transport
- Influenza-Related Medical Terms
- The Pandemic of Influenza in 1918-1919
- Philadelphia, Nurses, and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918
- A Winding Sheet and a Wooden Box
- Information in Relation to the Naval Protection Afforded to The Commerce of the United States in the West India Islands, &c. &c.
- Injury and Destruction of Navy Vessels by Earthquakes, Dec. 1868
- Inquiry Into Occupation and Administration of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
- Instances of Use of US Armed Forces Abroad, 1798 - 2004
- Instructional Material for the Fight Against Enemy Propaganda
- Instructions for the examination and entry into United States Ports in time of war
- Instructions on Reception, Care and Training of Homing Pigeons
- Inter-Allied Naval Relations and the Birth of NATO
- Interrogation of General Alfred Jodl
- Interrogations of Japanese Officials - Vol. I & II
- Invasion of Sicily
- The Invasion of Southern France: Aerology and Amphibious Warfare
- Iran, Gulf Security, and U.S. Policy
- Iran Hostage - Rescue Mission Report
- Irregular Enemies and the Essence of Strategy
- Irregular Warfare Special Study
- Instructions for Painting and Cementing Vessels of the United States Navy
- Expand navigation for J J
- Japan's Struggle to End the War - 1946
- Japanese Interrogation Of Prisoners Of War
- Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses - WWII
- Japanese Naval Ground Forces
- Japanese Naval Shipbuilding
- Japanese Operational Aircraft CinCPOA 105-45
- Japanese Operational Aircraft CinCPOA 105-45 Revised
- Japanese Radio Communications and Radio Intelligence CinCPOA 5-45
- Japanese - Smithsonian War Background Study
- Expand navigation for Japanese Story of the Battle of Midway Japanese Story of the Battle of Midway
- Java Sea Campaign
- John Paul Jones
- John Paul Jones
- Journal of the Disasters in Afghanistan, 1841-2
- Expand navigation for K K
- Kite Balloons in Escorts
- Kosovo Naval Lessons Learned During Operation Allied Force
- Expand navigation for Korean War Chronology Korean War Chronology
- Korean War Interim Evaluation No 1
- Expand navigation for L L
- Lost of Flight 19 Official Accident Reports
- Landing Operations Doctrine, USN, FTP-167
- Expand navigation for Law of Naval Warfare: NWIP 10-2, 1955 Law of Naval Warfare: NWIP 10-2, 1955
- Law of Naval Warfare: Chapters 1 - 6
- Appendix A: Convention For the Adaption to Maritime War of the Principles of the Geneva Convention - X Hague, 1907
- Appendix B: Convention Concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Maritime War - XIII Hague, 1907
- Appendix C: Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick
- Appendix D: Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12, 1949
- Appendix E: Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949
- Appendix F: Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949
- Appendix G-I
- Lend Lease Act, 11 March 1941
- Letter from President Harry S. Truman to Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal regarding the Five-Star Rank
- Lengthy Deployment: The Jeannette Expedition In Arctic Waters
- Letter to Mr. Ride
- Library Regulations - USS Pittsburgh
- Limited Duty Officer
- List of Authorized Abbreviations for Use in Bureau of Naval Personnel Messages (1958)
- List of Expeditions 1901-1929
- List of Patrol Squadron Deployments to Korea During the War
- Living Conditions in the 19th Century US Navy
- Log of the trip of the president to the Casablanca Conference 9-31 January, 1943
- The Logistics of Advance Bases
- Look at YOU in the United States NAVY
- Lookout Manual 1943
- Loss of Flight 19 Official Accident Reports
- Lost Patrol
- LSU Squadron Two Thanksgiving Dinner November 22 1951
- The Landings in North Africa
- Expand navigation for M M
- Magic Background of Pearl Harbor
- Magic Background of Pearl Harbor Vol. 2
- Magic Background of Pearl Harbor Vol. 2 Appendix
- Magic Background of Pearl Harbor Vol. 4
- Main Navy Building: Its Construction and Original Occupants
- Manual for Buglers, US Navy
- Manual of Commands and Orders, 1945
- Manual of Information Concerning Employments for the Panama Canal Service
- Marine Amphibious Landing in Korea, 1871
- Market Time (U) CRC 280
- Master File Drawings of German Naval Vessels
- Matthew Fontaine Maury: Benefactor of Mankind
- Menu Thanksgiving Day November 27, 1913
- Merchant Marines
- Merchant Ship Shapes
- Mers-el-Kebir Port Instructions for Merchant Vessels [1942]
- Mess Night Manual
- Midway in Retrospect: The Still Under Appreciated Victory
- Midway’s Operational Lesson: The Need For More Carriers
- Midway: Sheer Luck or Better Doctrine?
- Midway's Strategic Lessons
- Midway Plan of the Day Notes
- Military Sealift Command
- Military Service Records and Unit Histories
- Mine Sweeping Manual 1917
- Mine Warfare
- Mine Warfare in South Vietnam
- Expand navigation for Miracle Harbor Miracle Harbor
- Miscellaneous Actions in the South Pacific
- More Bang for the Buck: U.S. Nuclear Strategy and Missile Development 1945-1965
- My days aboard U.S.S. Santa Fe
- Expand navigation for N N
- Naming of Streets, Facilities and Areas On Naval Installations
- Narrative of Captain W.S. Cunningham, US Navy Relative to events on Wake Island in December 1941, and subsequent related events
- Narrative of Joshua Davis an American Citizen 1811
- Narrative of the Capture, Sufferings and Escape of Capt. Barnabas Lincoln
- Narrative of the March and Operations of the Army of the Indus
- Narrative of the United States' Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea
- Navajo Code Talker Dictionary
- Navajo Code Talkers: World War II Fact Sheet
- Naval Anecdotes Relating to HMS Leopard Versus USS Chesapeake, 24 June 1807.
- Expand navigation for Naval Armed Guard Service in World War II Naval Armed Guard Service in World War II
- Expand navigation for The Naval Bombing Experiments The Naval Bombing Experiments
- Naval District Manual 1927
- Naval Districts
- Naval Gun Factory (Washington Navy Yard) Facilities Data: World War II
- Naval Guns at Normandy
- Naval Memorial Service, Casting Flowers on the Sea in Honor of the Naval Dead
- Expand navigation for The Naval Quarantine of Cuba The Naval Quarantine of Cuba
- Naval Yarns by Captain Bartlett [manuscript]
- The Navy by Michael A. Palmer
- Navy and Defense Reform: A Short History and Reference Chronology
- Expand navigation for Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual [Rev. 1953] Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual [Rev. 1953]
- Pt. 1 - Personal Decorations
- Pt. 2 - Unit Awards
- Pt. 3 - Special and Commemorative Medals
- Pt. 4 - Campaign and Service Medals
- Pt. 5 - Decorations Awarded By Foreign Governments
- Pt. 6 - Other Federal Decorations (non-military)
- Index
- Memo - Changes
- Ships & Other Units Eligible for the Korean Service Medal
- Navy at a Tipping Point - 2010
- Navy Civil War Chronology
- The Navy Department A brief history until 1945
- Navy Department Communiques 1-300 and Pertinent Press Releases
- Navy Department Communiques 301 to 600
- Navy Filing Manual 1941
- Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans - 2016
- The Navy in the Cold War Era, 1945-1991
- Navy Interdiction Korea Vol. II
- Navy Nurse Corps General Uniform Instructions 1917
- The Navy of the Republic of Vietnam
- Navy Records and [Navy Department] Library (E Branch)
- Navy Regulations, 1814
- Navy Ship Procurement: Alternative Funding Approaches
- Navy Ship Propulsion Technologies - 2006
- Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense
- Navy-Yard, Washington, History by Hibben
- The Navy's World War II-era Fleet Admirals
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- Forward Presence in the Modern Navy: From the Cold War to a Future Tailored Force
- Historiography of Programming and Acquisition Management since 1950 - Hone
- Historiography of Technology Since 1950
- Naval Personnel since 1945: Areas for Historical Research
- Navy, Science, and Professional History
- The Social History of the U.S. Navy, 1945–Present
- U.S. Navy’s Role in National Strategy
- Writing U.S. Naval Operational History 1980–2010
- Negro in the Navy - 1947
- Negro in the Navy by Miller
- Neutrality Instructions US Navy 1940
- New Equation: Chinese Intervention into the Korean War
- A New Look at the Cuban Missile Crisis
- Nixon's Trident: Naval Power in Southeast Asia, 1968-1972 by John D. Sherwood
- Nomenclature of Decks
- Nomenclature of Naval Vessels
- Non-Discrimination in V-12 Program
- Northern Barrage and Other Mining Activities
- Northern Barrage: Taking Up Mines
- Northern Formosa, Pescadores
- Notes on Anti-submarine Defenses ONI Publication No. 8
- Notes on Writing Naval (not Navy) English
- Expand navigation for O O
- Occupation of Kiska
- Occupation of the Gilbert Islands
- The Offensive Navy Since World War II: How Big and Why, A Brief Summary
- Office of Naval Records and Library 1882-1946
- Officers and Key Personnel Attached to the Office of Naval Records and Library 1882-1946
- Officers of the Continental Navy and Marine Corps
- Officers of Navy Yards, Shore Stations, and Vessels, 1 January 1865
- Expand navigation for Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 1775-1900 Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 1775-1900
- Marine Corps Officers: 1798-1900
- Continental Navy Officers: 1775-1785
- Continental Marine Corps Officers: 1775-1785
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (A)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (B)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (C)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (D)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (E)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (F)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (G)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (H)
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- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (L)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (M)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (N)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (O)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (P)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (Q)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (R)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (S)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (T)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (U)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (V)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (W)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (Y)
- Navy Officers: 1798-1900 (Z)
- "Official" USS Missouri Survival Guide
- Expand navigation for Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads
- Expand navigation for Operation NEPTUNE - The Invasion of Normandy Operation NEPTUNE - The Invasion of Normandy
- Table of Contents - Operation NEPTUNE
- Editor's Note - Operation Neptune
- Chapter 1: THE STRATEGIC BACKGROUND OF OVERLORD
- Chapter 2: PLANNING AND PREPARATION FOR CROSS-CHANNEL (OVERLORD) OPERATIONS
- Chapter 3: THE STRATEGIC BACKGROUND OF OVERLORD
- Chapter 4: NEPTUNE OPERATIONS PLANS
- Chapter 5: Naval Preparations for Cross-Channel Operations
- Chapter 6: The Operation Begins
- Chapter 7: Defensive Measures - NEPTUNE Operation
- Chapter 8: Bombardment and Other Defensive Operations Against Enemy Land Forces
- Chapter 9: The NEPTUNE Assaults
- Chapter 10: The Build-up for the Battle of France
- Operation NEPTUNE - Index
- Operation NEPTUNE Administrative History's Table of Contents
- Expand navigation for Operation Neptune Operation Neptune
- Operations of the Navy and Marine Corps in the Philippine Archipelago
- Operations of the Seventh Amphibious Force
- Operations of USS Don Juan de Austria
- OPNAV [Office of the Chief of Naval Operations] Acronyms
- Origin of Navy Terminology
- Our Vanishing History and Traditions - Knox
- Operation of the Admiral Scheer
- Our Navy at War
- Expand navigation for P P
- Expand navigation for Pacific Typhoon, 18 December 1944 Pacific Typhoon, 18 December 1944
- Admiral Nimitz's Pacific Fleet Confidential Letter on Lessons of Damage in Typhoon
- List of Commands and Ships Involved
- Personnel Casualties Suffered by Third Fleet, 17-18 December 1944, Compiled from Official Sources
- Aircraft Losses Suffered by Third Fleet, 17-18 December 1944, Compiled From Official Sources
- Extracts Relating to the Typhoon from Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet Report
- Oral History
- Expand navigation for Pacific Typhoon, June 1945 - Reports Pacific Typhoon, June 1945 - Reports
- Pacific Typhoon October 1945 - Okinawa
- Peacekeeping and Related Stability Operations: Issues of U.S. Military Involvement
- The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941 - Overview
- Pearl Harbor Navy Medical Activities
- Expand navigation for "Pearl Harbor Revisited: USN Communications Intelligence" "Pearl Harbor Revisited: USN Communications Intelligence"
- Pearl Harbor Salvage Report 1944
- Pearl Harbor Submarine Base 1918-1945
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- USS Arizona - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack
- USS California- Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack
- USS Maryland - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack
- USS Oklahoma - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack
- USS Tennessee - Report by Survivor of Pearl Harbor Attack
- USS West Virginia - Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack
- Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal
- Pentagon 9/11
- Expand navigation for Personal Identification Tags or "Dog Tags" Personal Identification Tags or "Dog Tags"
- Perspectives on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques
- Expand navigation for Philadelphia Experiment Philadelphia Experiment
- Phonetic Alphabet and Signal Flags
- The Pioneers - A Monograph on the First Two Black Chaplains in the Chaplains Corps of the United States Navy
- The Pivot Upon Which Everything Turned
- Plea in Favor of Maintaining Flogging in the Navy
- Pocket Guide to Japan
- Pocket Guide to Netherlands East Indies
- Pocket Guide to New Guinea and the Solomons
- Expand navigation for Port Chicago, CA, Explosion Port Chicago, CA, Explosion
- Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: A Sketch
- Post Mortem CIC [Combat Information Center] Notes
- Post Mortems on Enemy Ships
- Potato Famine of 1847
- Precisely Appropriate for the Purpose
- Preserving an Honored Past
- Priceless Advantage by FD Parker
- Propaganda Foreign Military Studies 1952
- Public Law 333, 79th Congress
- Expand navigation for Pacific Typhoon, 18 December 1944 Pacific Typhoon, 18 December 1944
- Expand navigation for Q Q
- Expand navigation for R R
- Radio Intelligence Appreciations Concerning German U-Boat Activity in the Far East
- Radio Proximty (VT) Fuzes
- Ready Seapower: A History of the US Seventh Fleet by Edward J. Marolda [pdf]
- Recollections of Capture by the Germans, Imprisonment, and Escape of Lieutenant Edouard Victor Isaacs, U.S.N.
- Recollections of Ensign Leonard W. Tate
- Recollections of Lieutenant Commander William Leide
- Recollections of Lieutenant Wilton Wenker and Lieutenant Elby Concerning the Crossing of the Rhine River in 1945
- Recollections of USS Pampanito's rescue of prison ship survivors by Lieutenant Commander Landon Davis
- Recollections of Vice Admiral Alan G. Kirk Concerning the Crossing of the Rhine River in 1945
- Reestablishment of the Marine Corps
- Expand navigation for Registers of the Navy Registers of the Navy
- Register of the Navy, 1812
- Register of the Navy, 1814
- Register of the Navy, 1815
- Register of the Navy, 1816
- Register of the Navy, 1818
- Register of the Navy, 1819
- Register of the Navy, 1820
- Register of the Navy, 1821
- Register of the Navy, 1822
- Register of the Navy, 1823
- Register of the Navy, 1824
- Register of the Navy, 1825
- Register of the Navy, 1826
- Register of the Navy, 1827
- Register of the Navy, 1829
- Register of the Navy, 1830
- Register of the Navy, 1831
- Register of the Navy, 1832
- Register of the Navy, 1833
- Register of the Navy, 1834
- Register of the Navy, 1836
- Register of Patients at Naval Hospital Washington DC 1814
- Register of USN & USMC Officer Personnel 1801-1807 [pdf]
- Regulation, December 7, 1841
- Regulations for the Information of Officers On Neutrality Duty in Connection With the Visits of Belligerent Vessels of War [1916]
- Regulations For Powder Magazines and Shell Houses 1874
- Regulations Governing the Uniform of Commissioned Officers 1897
- Reincarnation of John Paul Jones The Navy Discovers Its Professional Roots
- Religions of Vietnam
- Remarks on Protection of a Convoy by Extended Patrols
- Remarks on Submarine Tactics Against Convoys
- Reminiscences of Seattle Washington Territory and the U. S. Sloop-of-War Decatur
- Reminiscences of Seattle Washington Territory and the US Sloop-of-War Decatur During the Indian War of 1855-56
- Report by the Special Subcommittee on Disciplinary Problems in the US Navy
- Reports of Arica, Peru Earthquake from USS Powhatan and USS Wateree
- Republic of Korea Navy
- Resolution of the Continental Congress, 11 December 1775
- Resolution of the Continental Congress, 25 November 1775
- Hyman G. Rickover's Promotion to Admiral [H.A.S.C. 93-16]
- Ringle Report on Japanese Internment
- Riverine Warfare Manual [1971]
- Riverine Warfare: The US Navy's Operations on Inland Waters
- Rocks and Shoals: Articles for the Government of the U.S. Navy
- The Recruitment of African Americans in the US Navy 1839
- The Role of COMINT in the Battle of Midway
- The Role of the United States Navy in the Formation and Development of the Federal German Navy, 1945-1970
- Rommel and the Atlantic Wall
- Royal Works USS Lexington [Crossing the Line 1936]
- Rules for the Regulation of the Navy - 1775
- The Russian Navy Visits the United States
- Expand navigation for S S
- SACO
- Expand navigation for Sailors as Infantry in the US Navy Sailors as Infantry in the US Navy
- The Sailors Creed
- Samoan Hurricane
- A Sampling of U.S. Naval Humanitarian Operations
- Expand navigation for Seabee History Seabee History
- Secretary of the Navy's Report for 1900 on the China Relief Expedition
- Expand navigation for Selected Documents of the Spanish American War Selected Documents of the Spanish American War
- Battle of Manila Bay
- Battle of Manila Bay: Miscellaneous Documents
- Olympia in Battle of Manila Bay
- Raleigh in Battle of Manila Bay
- Concord in Battle of Manila Bay
- Baltimore in Battle of Manila Bay
- Petrel in Battle of Manila Bay
- Boston in Battle of Manila Bay
- McCulloch in Battle of Manila Bay
- U.S. Consul at Manila
- Official Spanish Report on Battle of Manila Bay
- Expand navigation for Selected Groups in the Republic of Vietnam Selected Groups in the Republic of Vietnam
- Seventh Amphibious Force - Command History 1945
- Shelling of the Alaskan Native American Village of Angoon, October 1882
- Ship to Shore Movement
- Ship Shapes Anatomy and types of Naval Vessels
- Shipboard Ettiquette [Naval R. O. T. C. Pamphlet No. 16]
- Shiploading - A Picture Dictionary
- Expand navigation for Ships named for Individual Sailors Ships named for Individual Sailors
- Ships Present at Pearl Harbor
- Ships Sunk and Damaged in Action during the Korean Conflict
- A Short Account of the Several General Duties of Officers, of Ships of War: From an Admiral, Down to the Most Inferior Officer
- Short Guide to Iraq
- The Sicilian Campaign, Operation 'Husky'
- Signals for the Use of the Navy of the Confederate States
- Sinking of C.S.S. Alabama by U.S.S. Kearsarge - 19 Jun 1864
- Expand navigation for Sinking of the Bismarck Sinking of the Bismarck
- Sinking of the USS Guitarro
- The Sinking of the USS Housatonic by the Submarine CSS H.L. Hunley
- Expand navigation for Sinking of USS Indianapolis - Press Releases & Related Sources Sinking of USS Indianapolis - Press Releases & Related Sources
- Expand navigation for Skill in the Surf: A Landing Boat Manual Skill in the Surf: A Landing Boat Manual
- Chapter I. Landing Boats Are Important!
- Chapter II. Landing Craft From Troy to Tokio
- Chapter III. Know Your Boat!
- Chapter IV. Know Your Job!
- Chapter V. Keep It Running!
- Chapter VI. The Coxswain Takes Over
- Chapter VII. Learning the Ropes
- Chapter VIII. The Salvage Boat
- Chapter IX. Where Sea Meets Land
- Chapter X. Hit That Beach!
- Chapter XI. Information, Please!
- Appendix A
- Appendix B
- Appendix C
- Appendix D
- Appendix E
- Appendix F
- Appendix G
- Appendix H
- Appendix I
- Appendix J
- Skunks, Bogies, Silent Hounds, and the Flying Fish
- Slapton Sands: The Cover-up That Never Was
- Small Wars Their Principles and Practice
- Smith, Melancton Rear Admiral USN A Memoir
- Smoker Sat., July 27, 1918 U.S.S. Arizona
- So You are Going to the South Pacific?
- Soldier's Guide Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Solomon Islands Campaign: I The Landing in the Solomons
- Solomon Islands Campaign: II Savo Island & III Eastern Solomons
- Solomon Islands Campaign: IV Battle of Cape Esperance
- Solomon Islands Campaign VII Battle Tassafaronga
- Solomon Islands Campaign IX Bombardments of Munda and Vila-Stanmore
- Solomon Islands Campaign: X Operations in the New Georgia Area 21 June-5 August 1943
- Solomon Islands Campaign: XI Kolombangara and Vella Lavella 6 August - 7 October 1943
- Solomon Islands Campaign XII The Bougainville Landing and the Battle od Empress Augusta Bay, 27 October - 2 November 1943
- Some Experiences Reported by the Crew of the USS Pueblo and American Prisoners of War from Vietnam
- Some Memorandums Construction of Ships Frederick Tudor
- Somers, essay on legal aspects of Somers Affair
- Sources on US Naval History by State
- Expand navigation for Spanish American War Spanish American War
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 1
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 2
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 3
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 4
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 5
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 6
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 7
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 8
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 9
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 10
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 11
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 12
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 13
- Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898 Part 14
- Spanish-American War; War Plans and Impact on U.S. Navy
- Special Order 1865 April 17 Assemblage of Officers to Attend
- Special Order 1865 April 17 Navy Department Closure
- Special Order 1865 April 17 Officers to Attend Funeral
- Special Order 1865 April 20 List of Officers to Accompany Remains
- Special Order No. 73 - 1905 April 18 Travel Pay
- Expand navigation for Specifications for Ship and Motor Boat Bells Specifications for Ship and Motor Boat Bells
- Sports in the Navy: 1775 to 1963
- Stalin's Cold War Military Machine: A New Evaluation
- Statement Regarding Winds Message
- The Story Of The Confederate States' Ship Virginia
- Strait Comparison: Lessons Learned from the 1915 Dardanelles Campaign
- Strategic Concepts of the U.S. Navy (NWP 1 A)
- Striking the Flag
- Structural Repairs in Forward Areas During WWII
- Study of the General Board of the U.S. Navy, 1929-1933
- Submarine Activities Connected with Guerrilla Organizations
- Expand navigation for Submarine Sighting Guide ONI 31-2A Submarine Sighting Guide ONI 31-2A
- Submarine Sighting Guide ONI 31SS-Rev. 1
- Submarine Silhouette Book No. 1
- Submarine Turtle Naval Documents
- Surprised at Tet: U.S. Naval Forces in Vietnam, 1968
- Survey of the Amazon- Selfridge
- Survival of the Collection of the Navy Department Library
- Syria's Chemical Weapons: Issues for Congress
- Expand navigation for T T
- Tactical Lessons of Midway
- Target Information From CIC [Combat Information Center]
- Expand navigation for Terminology and Nomenclature Terminology and Nomenclature
- Terrorism in Southeast Asia
- Terrorism: Some Legal Restrictions on Military Assistance
- Tet: The Turning Point in Vietnam
- This is Ann - Malaria
- Time of Change: National Strategy in the Early Postwar Era
- Titanic Disaster: Report of Navy Hydrographic Office
- Tokyo a Study in Jap Flak Defense
- Tokyo Bay: The Formal Surrender of the Empire of Japan
- Expand navigation for Tonkin Gulf Crisis Tonkin Gulf Crisis
- Tonkin Gulf Crisis, August 1964 - Summary
- Formerly Classified Documents from 2 August - 4 August 1964
- Formerly Classified Documents Subsequent to 4 August 1964
- Publicly Released Information
- Gulf of Tonkin the 1964 Incidents
- Gulf of Tonkin the 1964 Incidents [Part II]
- Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Code Words
- Tonkin Gulf Crisis Select Bibliography
- Torpedo War - Rodgers - Fulton
- Training Ships
- The Trial of Admiral Doenitz
- Tsunami (Tidal Wave) Disasters
- 20th Century Warriors: Native American Participation in the United States Military
- Typhoons and Hurricanes: The Effects of Cyclonic Winds on US Naval Operations
- Typhoons and Hurricanes: The Storm at Apia, Samoa, 15-16 March 1889
- Expand navigation for U U
- U-2s, UFOs, and Operation Blue Book
- U-94 Sunk By USN PBY Plane and HMCS Oakville 8-27-42
- U-162 Sunk By HM Ships Pathfinder, Vimy, and Quentin 9-3-42
- U-210 Sunk By HMCS Assiniboine 7-6-42
- U-352 Sunk By U.S.C.G. Icarus 5-9-42
- U-505 Sinking
- U-571, World War II German Submarine
- U-595 Scuttled and Sunk Off Cape Khamis, Algeria 11-14-42
- U-701 Sunk By US Army Attack Bomber No. 9-29-322, Unit 296 B.S. 7-7-42
- U-Boat War in the Caribbean: Opportunities Lost
- Ultra and the Campaign Against U-boats in World War II
- Underwater earthquake disasters and the U.S. Navy
- Uniform Regulations, 1797
- Uniform Regulations, 1802
- Uniform Regulations, 1814
- Uniform Regulations, 1833
- Uniform Regulations, 1841
- Uniform Regulations, 1852
- Expand navigation for Uniform Regulations, 1864 Uniform Regulations, 1864
- General Regulations: Full Dress, Undress, Service Dress
- Coats, Overcoats, Jackets
- Cuff and Sleeve Ornaments
- Pantaloons, Vests
- Part 1: Rear Admiral to Ensign
- Part 2: Engineer Corps
- Part 3: Professors, Secretaries
- Part 4: Medical Corps
- Part 5: Chaplains, Paymasters
- Part 6: Naval Constructors
- Part 7: Regulations for Wearing Shoulder Straps
- Cap and Cap Ornaments
- Straw Hats, Sword and Scabbard, Sword-Belt, Sword-Knot, Buttons, Cravat
- Dress for Petty Officers and Crew
- Uniform Regulations, 1866
- Uniform Regulations, 1869
- Uniform Regulations, Women's Reserve, USNR, 1943
- Expand navigation for Uniforms of the US Navy Uniforms of the US Navy
- Aiguillettes
- Uniform-Buttons
- Chief Petty Officers' Uniforms U.S. Navy
- Cold-Weather/Foul-Weather Wear
- Gas Masks and Breathing Apparatus U.S. Navy Uniform
- Hats/Caps
- Uniform and Dress of the Navy of the Confederate States
- Insignias U.S. Navy Uniform
- Maintenance/Care of Uniforms
- Men's Uniforms
- Pants/Bell-Bottoms
- Personal Appearance
- Seabags
- Navy Seabags
- Shirts/Jumpers
- Shoes
- Swords
- Naval Uniforms, misc.
- Women's Uniforms
- Petty Officer Rating Badge Locations and Eagle Designs
- Uniform Changes
- Historical Surveys of the Evolution of US Navy Uniforms
- Uniform Regulations
- History of US Navy Uniforms, 1776-1981
- Identification Tags ("Dog Tags")
- United States Atlantic Fleet Organization 1942
- United States Pacific Fleet Organization, 1 May 1945
- United States Naval Hospital Ships
- United States Naval Railway Batteries in France
- United States Navy and the Persian Gulf
- United States Navy and World War I: 1914–1922
- United States Navy's World of Work
- Expand navigation for United States Submarine Losses World War II United States Submarine Losses World War II
- Notes to US Submarine Losses in World War II
- Introduction
- Albacore (SS 218)
- Amberjack (SS 219)
- Argonaut (SS 166)
- Barbel (SS 316)
- Bonefish (SS 223)
- Bullhead (SS 332)
- Capelin (SS 289)
- Cisco (SS 290)
- Corvina (SS 226)
- Darter (SS 227)
- Dorado (SS 248)
- Escolar (SS 294)
- Flier (SS 250)
- Golet (SS 361)
- Grampus (SS 207)
- Grayback (SS 208)
- Grayling (SS 209)
- Grenadier (SS 210)
- Growler (SS 215)
- Grunion (SS 216)
- Gudgeon (SS 211)
- Harder (SS 257)
- Herring (SS 233)
- Kete (SS 369)
- Lagarto (SS 371)
- Perch (SS 176)
- Pickerel (SS 177)
- Pompano (SS 181)
- R-12 (SS 89)
- Robalo (SS 273)
- Runner (SS 275)
- S-26 (SS 131)
- S-27 (SS 132)
- S-28 (SS 133)
- S-36 (SS 141)
- S-39 (SS 144)
- S-44 (SS 155)
- Scamp (SS 277)
- Scorpion (SS 278)
- Sculpin (SS 191)
- Sealion (SS 195)
- Seawolf (SS 197)
- Shark I* (SS 174)
- Shark 2* (SS 314)
- Snook (SS 279)
- Swordfish (SS 193)
- Tang (SS 306)
- Trigger (SS 237)
- Triton (SS 201)
- Trout (SS 202)
- Tullibee (SS 284)
- Wahoo (SS 238)
- German U-Boat Casualties in World War Two
- Italian Submarine Casualties in World War Two
- Japanese Submarine Casualties in World War Two (I and RO Boats)
- Unmanned Vehicles for U.S. Naval Forces: Background and Issues for Congress
- US Democracy Promotion Policy in the Middle East
- US-Greek Naval Relations Begin
- US Marines at Pearl Harbor
- US Mining and Mine Clearance in North Vietnam
- US Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters, 1919-1924
- US Naval Forces in Northern Russia 1918-1919
- US Naval Plans for War with the United Kingdom in the 1890s
- US Naval Port Officers in the Bordeaux Region, 1917-1919
- Expand navigation for US Navy Abbreviations of World War II US Navy Abbreviations of World War II
- Expand navigation for US Navy and Hawaii-A Historical Summary US Navy and Hawaii-A Historical Summary
- US Navy at War Second Official Report
- US Navy at War Final Official Report
- US Navy Capstone Strategies and Concepts (1970-1980)
- US Navy Capstone Strategies and Concepts (1974-2005)
- US Navy Capstone Strategies and Concepts (1981-1990)
- US Navy Capstone Strategies and Concepts (1991-2000)
- US Navy Capstone Strategies and Concepts (2001-2010)
- US Navy Capstone Strategy, Policy, Vision and Concept Documents
- US Navy Code Words of World War II
- US Navy Congo River Expedition of 1885
- US Navy Forward Deployment 1801-2001
- Expand navigation for US Navy in Desert Shield/Desert Storm US Navy in Desert Shield/Desert Storm
- Executive Summary
- Overview: Desert Storm - The Role of the Navy
- The Gathering Storm
- A Common Goal - Joint Ops
- Bullets, Bandages and Beans - Logistic Ops
- Thunder and Lightning - The war with Iraq
- Epilogue
- Lessons Learned
- Appendix B: Participating Naval Units
- Appendix A: Chronology - August 1990
- Appendix A: Chronology - September 1990
- Appendix A: Chronology - October 1990
- Appendix A: Chronology - November 1990
- Appendix A: Chronology - December 1990
- Appendix A: Chronology - January 1991
- Appendix A: Chronology - January 1991 cont.
- Appendix A: Chronology - February 1991
- Appendix A: Chronology - March 1991
- Appendix A: Chronology - April 1991
- Appendix C: Allied Participation and Contributions
- Appendix D: Aircraft Sortie Count
- Appendix E: Aircraft Readiness Rates
- Appendix F: Aircraft and Personnel Losses
- Appendix G: Naval Gunfire Support
- Appendix H: Surface Warfare
- Appendix I: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- Appendix K: Sealift
- Appendix L: Airlift
- US Navy in the World (2001-2010)
- Expand navigation for US Navy instruction for the destruction of signal books, 1863 US Navy instruction for the destruction of signal books, 1863
- US Navy Interviewer's Classification Guide
- US Navy Libraries
- US Navy Libraries: Historic Documents
- US Navy Motor Torpedo Boat Operational Losses
- US Navy Nurse Corps General Uniform Instructions, 1917
- US Navy in Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-2002
- US Navy Personnel in World War II: Service and Casualty Statistics
- US Navy Personnel Strength, 1775 to Present
- US Navy Sailors Operating Ashore as Artillerymen Roth
- US Navy Ships Lost in Selected Storm/Weather Related Incidents
- US Navy Special Operations in the Korean War
- US Navy Submarines Losses, Selected Accidents, and Selected Incidents of Damage Resulting from Enemy Action, Chronological
- US Occupation Assistance: Iraq, Germany and Japan Compared
- US Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934
- US Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured
- US Radar: Operational Characteristics of Radar Classified by Tactical Application
- Use of Naval Forces in the Post-War Era
- U.S.S. Colorado BB-45 Diary
- U.S.S. Searaven S.S. 196 4 July 1945
- Expand navigation for USS Constitution's Battle Record USS Constitution's Battle Record
- USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) Memorial Ceremony
- USS Kearsarge Rescues Soviet Soldiers, 1960
- USS Monitor Versus CSS Virginia and the Battle for Hampton Roads
- USS Pirate; Selected documents on the Salvage of USS Pirate and USS Pledge
- USS Vega, Report of Pearl Harbor Attack
- USS West Virgina, Report of Salvage, Pearl Harbor
- The U.S. Navy Enlistment, Instruction, Pay and Advancement
- Expand navigation for V V
- Expand navigation for W W
- Expand navigation for War Damage Reports War Damage Reports
- Destroyer Report - Gunfire, Bomb and Kamikaze Damage
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Viet-Nam Free-World Challenge in Southeast Asia
by
George W. Ball
Under Secretary of State
Department of State

VIET-NAM: Free-World Challenge in Southeast Asia
This article is based on an address made by Under Secretary Ball before the Economic Club of Detroit at Detroit, Michigan, on April 30, 1962.
VIET-NAM: Free-World Challenge in Southeast Asia
Viet-Nam is one of the world's danger spots where a valiant people are struggling to defend their freedom. We Americans are assisting them in this struggle.
This pamphlet will explain why we are helping them, how we are helping them, and what are the prospects for peace and stability.
Historical Background
What is Viet-Nam? It is a narrow strip of high hills, swamps, and riceland that runs along the South China Sea. Together with Cambodia and Laos, it formed the area of the French Empire called Indochina.
During the Second World War the Japanese took over its administration from the Vichy government. Then in 1946 - at a time when peace was settling over most of the world - war began in earnest in Viet-Nam, when France attempted to reestablish its authority. This quickly turned into a struggle between France together with nationalist elements that looked to France for eventual independence on one side, and a Vietnamese Communist regime on the other - a mean, jungle conflict known in Paris as "the dirty war."
Moreover, it seemed to have no ending. With material assistance from the United States and with massive French military support, the struggle went on for 8 long and tragic years. Over this period, France granted increasing autonomy to the non-Communist Vietnamese. Finally, in the middle of 1954, after the fall of the jungle fortress of Dien-Bien-Phu, agreements were signed at Geneva - the Geneva Accords - that ended hostilities and effectively partitioned Viet-Nam at the 17th parallel.

Under these agreements France accorded complete independence to Viet-Nam and subsequently withdrew its forces. The agreements created an International Control Commission to supervise the carrying out of their provisions. Neither South Viet-Nam nor the United States was a signatory, but after the agreements were concluded the US Government under President Eisenhower made clear by unilateral declaration that, while it would refrain from using force to disturb the agreements, it would view any renewal of aggression in violation of the agreements as a serious threat to international peace and security. The Geneva agreements effectively made Viet-Nam a divided land - like Korea and Germany.
The free Vietnamese found a determined and resourceful leader who is today the President of the Republic of Viet-Nam: Ngo Dinh Diem.
It was apparent from the first that President Diem would have a hard struggle to maintain the security of the new nation against the relentless ambition of Ho Chi-Minh, the leader of the Communist regime in North Viet-Nam (called the Viet Minh), to extend Communist domination. The free Vietnamese needed help and we provided it. The United States undertook to assist in training Diem's army. Through the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) treaty, which came into force early in 1955, the United States joined with others in throwing a protective arm around the embattled new nation.
Free Viet-Nam faced problems of monumental dimensions. When it achieved independence its economy was a shambles. Years of occupation and bitter fighting had left their harsh mark on a troubled land. Canals and irrigation systems were damaged and neglected. Thousands of farmers had killed off their stock and sought refuge in the cities. The transportation system had broken down. And all this was enormously complicated by the departure of the French technicians and specialists who for so long had operated the economy, leaving behind a staggering shortage of managerial and technical skills.
Moreover, by creating a symbol of liberty and independence, the new state compounded its own problems. It became a magnet for those wishing to be free. Almost a million North Vietnamese fled south across the 17th parallel to escape from a Communist system they found intolerable.
With such staggering problems optimism seemed foolhardy. Few observers thought the new republic could survive over the long pull. The estimates of its life expectancy ranged from 6 months to a year.
But these calculations omitted one enormous concealed resource -- the intelligence, the native skill, and the pride of the Vietnamese. These qualities alone could not, of course, keep the young republic afloat without some outside help. The United States poured in large amounts of capital and technical assistance. Other nations assisted. Yet all the outside assistance in the world would not have altered the balance without that saving element -- the fierce will of the Vietnamese people to survive in freedom.
South Viet-Nam's Achievements
Not only did they survive; they built their country under appalling difficulties and they achieved striking social progress. They effectively integrated the vast flood of refugees into their society. Under an agrarian reform plan, 300,000 tenant farmers were offered the chance to buy their own land for a modest price. Thousands of new schools were built. In 4 years, from 1956 to 1960, the elementary school population increased from 400,000 to 1,500,000.
Most significantly, while in the free South the standard of living was moving upward, in the Communist North it was dismally falling. During those 4 years per capita food production rose in the South by 20 percent but fell in the North by 10 percent. Textile output in the South jumped more than 20 percent in 1958 alone. Sugar production during that year more than doubled. And today, although the bulk of the industrial plant is located in North Viet-Nam and the population of the North is 2 million greater than the South, the gross national product of South Viet-Nam is higher than its Communist neighbor.
This would have been impressive progress even for a peaceful land, but South Viet-Nam was not permitted to live in peace. Its progress was too conspicuous - so conspicuous as to be intolerable to Ho Chi-Minh and his Communist henchmen in Hanoi.
Just as the masters of the Kremlin could neither overlook nor forgive the brilliant economic progress of West Berlin, so the Communist leaders in Hanoi could not ignore this vivid demonstration of their own failure in Southeast Asia. In one instance, the Communists built a wall. In the other they began a steady calculated effort of terror, infiltration, murder, and conquest. We shall not attempt here to describe the intricate operations of the Viet Cong organization, which has its headquarters in Hanoi, the capital of North Viet-Nam. There has been much information in the press recently as to the systematic way in which men and materials have been introduced into the South along the sea and land infiltration routes. This has all been fully reported. It is not rumor or speculation but documented fact.
Campaign of Subversion and Insurgency
Let us at this point dispel a few myths.
The struggle in South Viet-Nam today is not a local civil war. It is a carefully planned and mounted campaign of subversion and insurgency - equipped and directed from Hanoi.
Consider, for example, what the Viet Cong is seeking to destroy. Its targets are the very symbols of economic progress: schools, hospitals, first aid stations, malaria eradication teams, and the transport system.
Tactics such as these are directed to the ends of a Communist takeover; they do not serve the people.
There is no doubt as to what we are observing in Viet-Nam. It is another attempt by the Communists to extend their control by fomenting disorder and revolt against established governments. We have seen this same pattern before -- in Greece, Malaya, and the Philippines. As it was defeated there, so, with our support, the free Vietnamese will defeat it in South Viet-Nam.
The Communists in Viet-Nam have fitted their tactics to the conditions of the struggle. Given the present stage of weaponry and the difficulties of supply through the narrow bottleneck of Hanoi, they have avoided the kind of naked aggression that marked the war in Korea. Instead they have employed the tactics of guerilla warfare, the techniques of terror and propaganda, in an effort to achieve the same end -- the conquest of territory and people.
Since 1958 the Viet Cong terror campaign has increased sharply. Officials have been assassinated, teachers killed in their schoolrooms; anything and anyone that represented stability or order has served as a likely target. The control apparatus in the north has been vastly expanded. Political cadres and military replacements have been sent south in increasing numbers. Infiltration systems -- by sea and by land -- have been expanded. Local recruitment has become a priority assignment for all Communists units. Given the size of the country and the resources available, the Communist effort, directed from Hanoi, to penetrate, subvert, and conquer South Viet-Nam is one of the most extensive of its kind in history.
The United States and Viet-Nam
But one can say: What does this mean to us? Granted the valiance of the Vietnamese people, the high quality of their fighting spirit, how does a guerilla war 10,000 miles away in the fetid jungles of Southeast Asia concern America? How is it relevant to the larger interests of our policy? Is it worth the millions of dollars we have poured into Viet-Nam or the risk of American lives?
The answer to all of those questions must be affirmative. We have consistently given that answer for a number of years.
In 1955, with the overwhelming approval of the Senate, the United States joined its partners in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Although, because of the provisions of the Geneva Accords, South Viet-Nam could not be a signatory to that treaty, the protective umbrella of the treaty was extended to cover Viet-Nam by means of a protocol agreed to by all the signatories.
President Eisenhower defined our obligation well when he stated in a message to the Vietnamese Government in 1960:
"Although the main responsibility for guarding independence will always, as it has in the past, belong to the Vietnamese people and their government, I want to assure you that for so long as our strength can be useful, the United States will continue to assist Viet-Nam in the difficult yet hopeful struggle ahead."
The protocol to the SEATO treaty is an expression of the signatories' vital interests in the preservation of the integrity and independence of Viet-Nam. Those interests derive both from geography and from the very nature of the power struggle now going on in the world between aggressive Communist power and freedom.
One does not have to accept fully the automatic operation of the so-called "domino" theory to recognize the strategic significance of South Viet-Nam. It forms one shore of the South China Sea, which is the gateway to Malaya and Indonesia. It controls the mouth of the Mekong River, which is the coronary artery of Southeast Asia. If the Vietnamese people were to lose the struggle to maintain a free and independent nation, it would be a loss of tragic significance to free-world interests in the whole of Asia and the South Pacific.
And more than that, if the United States were to neglect its responsibilities to the Vietnamese people, the consequences would not be limited even to those areas; they would be worldwide. For the free-world's security cannot be given away piecemeal; it is not divisible. When the going gets rough we cannot observe those responsibilities that are easy or near at hand and disregard the others.
What we do or fail to do in Viet-Nam will be felt both by our antagonists and our friends. How we act in Viet-Nam will have its impact on Communist actions in Europe, in Africa, and in Latin America.
Last December, in responding to President Diem's request for assistance, President Kennedy reaffirmed the American position clearly:
"…our primary purpose is to help your people maintain their independence. If the Communist authorities in North Viet-Nam will stop their campaign to destroy the Republic of Viet-Nam, the measures we are taking to assist your defense efforts will no longer be necessary."
The peace of Southeast Asia is not threatened from the south or from the west; the threat comes only from the north, from those who have declared their intention to force the rest of the world into their pattern -- in spite of the fact that no people has yet chosen that pattern in a genuinely free election.
There can be peace overnight in Viet-Nam -- provided the aggressors stop their campaign of terror, murder, and subversion and adopt a peaceful course. The situation is just as simple as that.

Laos as Factor in Vietnamese Conflict
Viet-Nam is a land not easy to defend against the kind of terror and guerilla tactics the Communists are employing. It is a land of high mountains, dense jungles, and trackless swamps. At the moment, the Viet Minh in the north are systematically infiltrating South Viet-Nam in increasing numbers, not only across the 17th parallel but across the border of Laos. The situation in Laos thus becomes a factor of relevance and importance. It affects the size and effectiveness of the Viet Minh effort.
Unfortunately, in spite of the effort we have devoted to strengthening the forces of the Royal Lao Army, those forces -- faced with rebellious Lao troops reenforced by Viet Minh units -- have been unable to assure peace and stability to that troubled area. We have thus sought to approach the problem not only by military assistance but by diplomacy. As the result of long and difficult negotiations at the 14-nation conference in Geneva, we worked out the basis for an agreement (to which the Soviet Union and Red China were among the parties). This agreement would provide for the withdrawal of the Viet Minh forces from Laos. It would provide further that the routes of access to South Viet-Nam should be kept under observation by an international commission in which the Canadian and Indian members would have much greater freedom of action than has been the case with the control commission in South Viet-Nam. In addition, the Soviet Union would undertake as cochairman to assure the compliance of the Communist parties to the agreement.
This agreement is to take effect when the Lao people complete the establishment of a government of national union that will unite the present three warring elements.
US Role in Viet-Nam
The closing of the Laos border to infiltration can reduce the buildup of organized subversion and terror in South Viet-Nam. But under the best of circumstances the creation of a secure Vietnamese state will be a long, slow process. It will require not only the building of indigenous political support but the achievement of a rate of economic progress that alone can assure political stability - political stability that can in turn provide the base on which to build the military strength needed to create the climate of confidence and security in which economic and social progress are possible.
Inevitably the main burden of meeting and beating the Viet Cong threat must fall on the people of South Viet-Nam, on their Government, and on their armed forces. It is their country, their lives, their future that are most directly in danger.
But we can provide, we are providing, and we must continue to provide the means to help the Vietnamese help themselves. We are increasing our effort in training, in logistics, in the transport of the Viet-Nam forces.
Let there be no misunderstanding as to the shape and dimensions of the role we are playing. The United States has no combat units in Viet-Nam. We are not fighting the war, as some reports have suggested. We are not running the war, as the Communists have tried assiduously to argue.
What we are doing is to provide material and training personnel -- all at the request of the Vietnamese Government. We are helping them in their struggle. Even this limited effort cannot be accomplished without some danger. A part of our men are necessarily exposed to combat situations as they work with their Vietnamese comrades. Over the past 7 years there have been 19 Americans killed or wounded by the Viet Cong, 4 of them civilians. At the present rate the South Vietnamese are suffering that number of casualties every 12 hours.
Much of the ground training is being undertaken by members of the United States Special Forces, who have been trained at Fort Bragg, NC. Every man in the Special Forces is a double volunteer. First, he volunteered as a paratrooper; only after qualifying as a paratrooper was he permitted to apply for Special Forces training. In the course of his training he learned judo, archery, knife fighting, mountain climbing, skiing, and snowshoeing, as well as the techniques for survival under jungle conditions. In addition he may have qualified as an expert in field medicine, demolition, communications, or weaponry. He studied native languages and customs.
The Special Forces graduate is physically tough. But more important than his physical stamina is his leadership ability -- and, broadly speaking, his political understanding. For he is first and foremost a teacher, and in a hard school.
Counterinsurgency by South Viet-Nam
Can the Vietnamese win their battle against the Communists even with our help? Here again the answer is definitely yes. Systematic insurgency is not unbeatable if the proper methods are used to beat it.
The guerillas whom the Vietnamese Army is fighting are under distinct handicaps. In many cases they are poorly trained and equipped and not motivated by deep conviction. Rather, they are merely unsophisticated villagers or peasants who have been conscripted by terror or treachery. In such a case they are likely to have had only rudimentary training in weapons handling and tactics. Their equipment may be makeshift, often just what they can capture or fabricate themselves.
Only the leaders and the hard core have a strong ideological commitment. The rank and file are their puppets -- those whom they have bought, coerced, or intimidated.
The Viet Cong guerrillas are seeking, by a variety of means, to achieve psychological dominance over the Government forces. They are relying heavily on propaganda and psychological warfare techniques. But such techniques are vulnerable; they depend to a large extent on maintaining the mystique of success. They can, therefore, be undercut by a serious defeat or a succession of defeats that will destroy the aura of invincibility on which their effectiveness depends.
To counter the guerrilla attack, the guerrillas must be deprived of their source of support, which means that they must be denied access to the villages. In Viet-Nam the guerrillas do not have the support of the people. Yet so long as they have access to the people, they can undermine confidence, disrupt local government, and compel submission by terror and threat.
To deny this access the villages must be provided with security and protection. Strong ties must be developed between local communities and the central Government. The village people must be helped to acquire a sense of identity with the national state.
And at the same time the mystique of success must be dispelled. Military units must be trained and deployed to destroy or capture the insurgent forces. Effective action depends on the development of sound, dependable intelligence -- quick knowledge of guerrilla movements and sufficient mobility to permit force to be brought to bear rapidly to repel guerrilla attacks.
Within the past few weeks the Vietnamese Government has embarked on a course of action patterned in part on the successful British antiguerrilla campaign in Malaya during the 1950's. This plan calls for subdividing areas of heavy guerrilla penetration into small districts. Key villages within these districts are then encircled with a protection of barbed wire and watchtowers. Entry is carefully scrutinized. Everyone over 12 years of age must have a special pass. Curfews are ordered by the civil authorities. Controls are being placed on food, clothing, and other supplies to make sure that none are diverted to the guerrillas.
To the greatest extent possible the villagers are being armed and trained and the villages provided with radios that will enable them to request aid when an attack occurs.
In the occasional situations where necessary -- but only where necessary -- scattered villages and areas heavily infested by marauding bands will be abandoned and their occupants moved into defended villages that will afford them protection.
As these actions are taken, the guerrillas are beginning to find themselves uncomfortably conspicuous. Without identification they find it difficult to intermingle. After the curfew they find it difficult to move.
The progressive insulation of the villages will deny the guerrillas their chief source of food and supply. As their supplies diminish, the guerrillas will be forced to take greater risks, even to attack the fortified villages. And when attacked, the villagers will not only be prepared to defend themselves but will be able, by radio, to call for immediate help. The helicopters we are supplying will make it possible for Government forces to respond immediately.
Through fear of reprisal the villagers, in the past, have provided intelligence to the guerrillas but little to the Government. With the elimination of that fear they should serve as equally diligent sources of information on guerrilla movement. Meanwhile, recruitment of new guerrillas within the villages should drop off sharply.
As each area is pacified and brought under effective protection the program will be extended to other areas of heavy infiltration. Finally, the entire nation should be once again under total Government control.
Creating a Basis for Progress
Yet all these aspects of a counterinsurgency campaign can only create the conditions in which social and economic progress is possible. Without that progress there can be no permanent success, for an unstable society is a fertile soil for insurgency.
The response to the Communist threat in Viet-Nam cannot, therefore, be limited to military measures, no matter how well conceived and conducted. The Government in Saigon is aware that, in the long run, victory will be won or lost in the villages and cities and in the minds and hearts of men.
While carrying on the struggle against externally supported forces, the Vietnamese authorities are tackling, as rapidly as conditions permit, the tasks all new nations face. With assistance from the United States and other friendly countries they are rebuilding road systems, training teachers, and erecting schools.
South Viet-Nam is potentially a rich agricultural area. Before enemy action increased in recent months, rice production had been stepped up so that exports were again possible. Research and experimentation in diversification of agriculture has had a high priority. New fiber crops are now grown in the highlands. Rural credit facilities have been established to aid small farmers.
United States loans and Vietnamese Government funds are being used to reequip the railroads, modernize the Saigon water system, and increase the power resources. French aid is helping to reestablish coal production and build a cement plant. German assistance has developed a technical training school. The Japanese are building a power dam.
Small industries are taking hold. In spite of the insecurity of the area, Vietnamese and foreign investors are taking the first steps toward creating industrial strength. The beginnings are there -- a papermill, a glassworks, pharmaceutical plants, textile mills. American and British oil companies have just signed an agreement to build a refinery. The native ability of the Vietnamese people has been proven. Granted the possibility of peace, their destiny is assured.
Recognizing the Nature of the Conflict
The task that we have set for ourselves in Viet-Nam can thus be simply stated. It is to help a courageous people maintain and defend their independence in a strategic area where the free-world's interests are deeply committed. This is a task that we must stay with until the Viet Minh stop their aggression. This task may not be concluded quickly. It took 8 years in Malaya. Since then much has been learned -- but it will still take time.
The struggle in Viet-Nam requires the slow, relentless execution of a tried and proven plan of counterinsurgency. This is not a type of struggle congenial to the American temperament. We prefer dramatic victories, frontal attacks, the organization and mobilization of massive force and its effective employment.
What we can expect in Viet-Nam by contrast is the long, slow, arduous carrying out of process. Results will not be apparent overnight, for the operation is, of necessity, the patient winning back of a land to freedom, village by village.
Yet it is important that we recognize the nature of the conflict underway in that remote corner of the globe, that we study it and that we comprehend its meaning, for the struggle in Viet-Nam represents a type of threat that we would be well advised not to underestimate.
Insurgency of this sort we have seen before in recent years. We are likely to see it again and again as the Communists seek, through the methods of stealth and terror, to disrupt the newer nations that are struggling toward the establishment of an independent national life and to frustrate the hopes of their peoples for peace and freedom.
It will take effort to defeat this insurgency in Viet-Nam. Most of all it will take the patient application of effort over a long period of time. But the Vietnamese people are sturdy and resilient and they have the will to win -- and when they do win, the world can count one more victory on the side of freedom and justice and the hope for stable peace.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 7388
Far Eastern Series 113
Released June 1962
Office of Public Services
BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1962 O-641954
Note: George W. Ball (1909-1994), a lawyer and statesman, worked on a number of war-related projects during World War II, including directing the US Strategic Bombing Survey. In 1961 President Kennedy appointed him as Under Secretary of State; he resigned in 1966.
For further information:
American National Biography. vol.2. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. [See "Ball, George, pp.73-75, which includes a short bibliography on Ball.].
Ball, George W. The Past Has Another Pattern: Memoirs. New York: Norton, 1982.
Bill, James A. George Ball: Behind the Scenes in U.S. Foreign Policy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
DiLeo, David L. George Ball, Vietnam, and the Rethinking of Containment. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.
Halberstam, David. The Best and the Brightest. New York: Random House, 1972.
[END]
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