Office of the Historian

List of Sources

Part A. Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
    1.
    Indexed Central Files. Papers in the indexed central files of the Department for the years 1958–1960 are indicated by a decimal file number in the first footnote. Among the most useful of these files are 751G.00, 751G.5, 751G.5–MAP, 751G.5–MSP, and 851G.00.
    2.
    Lot Files. Documents from the central files have been supplemented by lot files of the Department, which are decentralized files created by operating areas. A list of the lot files used in or consulted for this volume follows:
    • Conference Files, Lot 63 D 123
      • Collection of documentation on official visits by heads of government and foreign ministers to the United States and on major international conferences attended by the Secretary of State for the period 1955–1958, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.
    • Durbrow Files, Lot 68 D 404
      • Miscellaneous files of Ambassador Elbridge Durbrow covering the years 1934–1965, as retired by the Foreign Service Institute.
    • FE Files, Lot 60 D 90
      • Files maintained by the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs for the year 1958, including country files, letters, and memoranda of conversation.
    • FE Files, Lot 61 D 6
      • Files maintained by the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs for the year 1959, including country files, letters, memoranda of conversation, and conferences and visits.
    • FE Files, Lot 62 D 26
      • Files maintained by the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs for the year 1960, including country files, letters, memoranda of conversation, and conferences and visits.
    • FE–VN Files, Lot 66 D 193
      • Subject files of the Vietnam Working Group dealing with political, military, economic, aid, and administrative affairs for the years 1955–1962.
    • G/PM Files, Lot 64 D 359
      • Miscellaneous subject files maintained by the Combined Policy Staff of the Office of Politico-Military Affairs for the years 1953–1962.
    • INR–NIE Files
      • Files retained by the Bureau of Intelligence and Research containing copies of National Intelligence Estimates and Special National Intelligence Estimates, including NIE’s and SNIE’s for the 1958–1960 period.
    • OCB Files, Lot 62 D 430
      • Master files of the Operations Coordinating Board for the years 1953–1960, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
    • Phnom Penh Embassy Files, Lot 62 F 30 and Saigon Embassy Files, Lot 62 F 52; Lot 65 F 98; Lot 65 115.
      • See entries under Washington National Records Center.
    • Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation, Lot 64 D 199
      • Chronological collections of the Secretary of State’s memoranda of conversation and the Under Secretary of State’s memoranda of conversation for the years 1953–1960, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
    • Secretary’s Staff Meetings, Lot 63 D 75
      • Chronological collection of the minutes of the Secretary of State’s staff meetings during the years 1952–1960, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
    • S/P–NSC Files, Lot 62 D 1
      • Serial and subject master file of National Security Council documents and correspondence for the years 1948–1961, as maintained by the Policy Planning Staff.
    • S/S–NSC (Miscellaneous) Files, Lot 66 D 95
      • Administrative and miscellaneous National Security Council documentation, including NSC Records of Action, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat for the years 1947–1963.
    • State–JCS Meetings, Lot 70 D 328
      • Top secret records of meetings between representatives of the Department of State and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the period 1959–1963, as maintained by the Executive Secretariat.
    3.
    Memoranda of Interviews. Conducted by the Staff of the Office of the Historian.
    • William Colby. Conducted January 6, 1984.
    • Elbridge Durbrow. Conducted April 2, 1984.
    • Eric Kocher. Conducted March 29, 1984.
    • Edward G. Lansdale. Conducted September 6, 1984.
    • Lionel McGarr. Conducted February 14, 1984.
    • Joseph Mendenhall. Conducted December 27, 1983.
    • J. Graham Parsons. Conducted March 30, 1984.
  • International Cooperation Administration
    • See entries under Washington National Records Center.

  • Department of Defense

    See also under Washington National Records Center.

    • Center of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C.
      • Williams Papers
        • Papers of Lieutenant General Samuel T. Williams, United States Army, pertaining to his tour as Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam, November 1955–August 1960.
    • The Joint Chiefs of Staff
      • JCS Files
        • Documents obtained upon request from the Secretariat of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
    • Naval Historical Center
      • CINCPACFLT Message Files (microfilm)
        • Microfilm reels of messages to and from CINCPAC and CINCPACFLT to July 1, 1959.
    • National Defense University
      • Taylor Papers
        • Papers of General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chief of Staff, United States Army, 1955–1959.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas
    • Dulles Papers
      • Records of John Foster Dulles, 1952–1959.
    • National Security Council Staff Records
      • Includes the following elements: OCB Central Files, PSB Central File, NSC registry, OCB Secretarial Series, Executive Secretary’s Subject File, Planning Coordination Group, Special Staff File, Executive Secretary’s Chronological File, Miscellaneous Staff Files, and Disaster File.
    • Special Assistant for National Security Affairs Records
      • Records of the Office of the Special Assistant, 1952–1961, including records of Robert Cutler, Dillon Anderson, and Gordon Gray.
    • Staff Secretary Records
      • Records of the Office of the White House Staff Secretary, 1952–1961, including records of Paul T. Carroll, Andrew J. Goodpaster, L. Arthur Minnich, Jr., and Christopher H. Russell.
    • White House Office Files
      • Several White House office collections, including files of the Office of the Staff Secretary, and Project “Clean Up.”
    • Whitman File
      • Papers of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President of the United States, 1953–1961, maintained by his personal secretary, Ann C. Whitman. The Whitman File includes the following elements: the Name Series, the Dulles–Herter Series, Eisenhower Diaries, Ann Whitman (ACW) Diaries, National Security Council Records, Miscellaneous Records, Cabinet Papers, Legislative Meetings, International Meetings, the Administration Series, and the International File.
  • Hoover Institution, Palo Alto, California
    • Lansdale Papers
      • Papers of Major General Edward G. Lansdale, United States Air Force, pertaining to his entire career.
    • Williams Papers
      • Papers of Lieutenant General Samuel T. Williams, United States Army, pertaining to his entire career.
  • Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan
    • Fishel Papers
      • Papers of Wesley J. Fishel, adviser to President Ngo Dinh Diem and Chief Adviser of the Michigan State Vietnam Advisory Group, 1956–1958.
    • Hannah Papers
      • Papers of John A. Hannah, President of Michigan State College, later University, 1948–1969. Contains correspondence concerning the Michigan State Vietnam Advisory Group and a number of the group’s reports.
    • Vietnam Project Archive
      • General Records of the Michigan State Vietnam Advisory Group, including summary reports and reports of components in public administration, economics, and police administration.
  • National Archives, Washington, D.C.
    • JCS Records
      • National Archives Record Group 218, Records of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
    • National Security Council Records
      • National Archives Record Group 273, Records of the National Security Council. As of spring 1985, holdings included materials from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Principal units of this collection are the National Security Policy Paper Files, Operations Coordinating Board Central Files, National Security Council Meeting Minutes, and Planning Board Records of Meetings.
  • Princeton University Library, Princeton, New Jersey
    • Dulles Papers, Dulles Daily Appointment Book
      • Daily log of the meetings and appointments of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles for the years 1953–1959.
  • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
    • ICA Message Files, FRC 60 A 482, W–130
      • Incoming cables of the International Cooperation Administration for the period July 1, 1958–June 30, 1959.
    • Lansdale Papers, FRC 63 A 1803
      • Subject and country files maintained by General Lansdale as Deputy Assistant and later Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Special Operations) for the period 1957–1961.
    • OSD/ISA Files, FRC 62 A 1698 and FRC 62 B 1698
      • Country and general files of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs) for the year 1958.
    • OSD/ISA Files, FRC 63 A 1672 and FRC 62 B 1672
      • Country and general files of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs) for the year 1959.
    • OSD/ISA Files, FRC 64 A 2170 and FRC 62 B 2170
      • Country and general files of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs) for the year 1960.
    • Phnom Penh Embassy Files, FRC 63 A 172
      • Lot 62 F 30: Classified and unclassified files of the Embassy in Cambodia for the years 1956–1958.
    • Saigon Embassy Files, FRC 63 A 172
      • Lot 62 F 52: Classified and unclassified files of the Embassy in South Vietnam for the years 1956–1958.
    • Saigon Embassy Files, FRC 66 A 878
      • Lot 65 F 98: Classified and unclassified files of the Embassy in South Vietnam for the years 1956–1961.
      • Lot 65 F 115: Classified files of the Embassy in South Vietnam for the years 1959–1961.
[Page XII]

Part B. Published Sources

The following publications, including secondary accounts, were particularly useful in the preparation of this volume. No responsibility is taken by the Department of State for the truth or accuracy of these sources.

  • Joseph Buttinger, Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled, volume II, Vietnam at War (New York: Praeger, 1967).
  • King C. Chen, “Hanoi’s Three Decisions and the Escalation of the Vietnam War,” Political Science Quarterly, 90 (summer 1975) 239–259.
  • William Colby, Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978)
  • James Lawton Collins, Jr., The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, 1950–1972 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1975).
  • Bernard B. Fall, “South Vietnam’s Internal Problems,” Pacific Affairs, vol. 31, no. 3, September 1958.
  • ———, “Will South Vietnam Be Next?”, The Nation, May 31, 1958.
  • ———, The Two Vietnams (New York: Praeger, 1963).
  • George C. Herring, Americas Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975 (New York: John Wiley, 1979).
  • Edwin Bickford Hooper, Dean C. Allard, and Oscar P. Fitzgerald, The United States Navy and the Vietnam Conflict, Volume I, The Setting of the Stage to 1959 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1976).
  • Wolf Ladejinsky, “Agrarian Revolution in Japan,” Foreign Affairs, October 1959.
  • ———, “Vietnam: The First Five Years,” The Reporter, vol. 21, no. 11, December 1959.
  • William J. Rust, Kennedy in Vietnam (New York: Scribner’s, 1985).
  • Robert Scigliano, South Vietnam: Nation Under Stress (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1964).
  • Robert Scigliano and Guy Fox, Technical Assistance in Vietnam: The Michigan State University Experience (New York: Praeger, 1965).
  • Robert Shaplen, The Lost Revolution (New York: Harper and Row, 1965).
  • Ronald H. Spector, Advice and Support: The Early Years, 1941–1960, a volume in the series United States Army in Vietnam (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1983).
  • United States Department of Defense Study for Use of House Committee on Armed Services, United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967 (The Pentagon Papers), Book 10 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1971).
  • United States Department of State, Bulletin, 1958–1960.
  • ———, American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1962).
  • ———, American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1959 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963).
  • ———, American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1964).
  • United States President, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1959).
  • ———, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1960).
  • ———, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960–61 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1961).
  • Denis Warner, The Last Confucian: Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and the West, rev. ed. (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1964).
  • Robert H. Whitlow, U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era, 1954–1964 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1977).