Office of the Historian

Sources

The editors of the Foreign Relations series have complete access to all the retired records and papers of the Department of State: the central files of the Department; the special decentralized files (“lot files”) of the Department at the bureau, office, and division levels; the files of the Departmentʼs Executive Secretariat, which contain the records of international conferences and high-level official visits, correspondence with foreign leaders by the President and Secretary of State, and memoranda of conversations between the President and Secretary of State and foreign officials; and the files of overseas diplomatic posts. When this volume was being compiled, all Department of State records consulted were still under the custody of the Department, and the footnotes citing Department of State files indicate that the Department is the repository. By the time of publication, however, all the Departmentʼs indexed central files for the 1964–1968 period have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives II) at College Park, Maryland. Many of the Departmentʼs decentralized office (or lot) files covering this period will also be transferred from the Departmentʼs custody to Archives II over the next several years.

The editors of the Foreign Relations series also have full access to the papers of President Johnson and other White House foreign policy records. Presidential papers maintained and preserved at the Presidential libraries include some of the most significant foreign affairs-related documentation from the Department of State and other Federal agencies, including the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Agency.

The Department of State arranged for access to the many audiotapes of President Johnsonʼs telephone conversations that are held at the Johnson Library. These audiotapes include substantial numbers of telephone conversations between President Johnson and Secretary of State Rusk, Secretary of Defense McNamara, National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy, and key members of Congress. The editor of this volume listened to the audiotapes of President Johnsonʼs 1966 telephone conversations dealing with Vietnam. Transcriptions were then prepared for those portions selected for use in the volume. Although the transcriptions give the substance of the conversations, readers are urged to consult the recordings for a full appreciation of those dimensions that cannot be captured fully in a transcription, such as the speakersʼ inflections and emphases that convey nuances of meaning. At the time of the publication of this volume, the 1966 portion of the Johnson audiotapes had not yet been opened for public review but such opening is expected as part of the program [Page XVI] that included the release of the audiotapes for the 1963–1964 period.

Department of State historians also have access to records of the Department of Defense, particularly the records of the Secretaries of Defense and their major assistants and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Central Intelligence Agency provides access to Department of State historians to high-level intelligence documents from those records in the custody of that Agency and at the Presidential Libraries. This access is arranged and facilitated by the History Staff of the Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, pursuant to a May 1992 memorandum of understanding. Department of State and CIA historians continue to work out the procedural and scholarly aspects of identifying the key portions of the intelligence record.

All of this documentation has been made available for use in the Foreign Relations series thanks to the consent of these agencies, the assistance of their staffs, and especially the cooperation and support of the National Archives and Records Administration.

The following list identifies the files and collections the editor used in the preparation of this particular volume. The declassification and transfer to the National Archives of these records is in process. Many of the records are already available for public review at the National Archives. The declassification review of other records is going forward in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 12958, under which all records over 25 years old, except for file series exemptions requested by agencies and approved by the President, should be reviewed for declassification by 2000.

Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
    • Central Files. See National Archives and Records Administration below.
      • Lot Files
        • Ball Files: Lot 74 D 272
          • Files of Under Secretary of State George Ball, 1961–1966.
        • Bundy Files: Lot 85 D 240
          • Files of William P. Bundy as Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, 1964–1969.
        • EA/ACA-Vietnam Negotiations: Lots 69 D 277, 69 D 412, and 70 D 380
          • Files on Vietnam peace negotiations, including material on the positions and efforts of Communist and non-Communist countries and groups, international organizations, and individuals, 1964–1968.
        • EA/VN Files: Lot 75 D 167
          • Files on political and military issues in Vietnam and on trips and meetings of President Johnson, Secretary Rusk, and others, 1963, 1965–1969.
        • EA/VN-Vietnam Working Group: Lots 70 D 102, 70 D 233, and 72 D 219
          • Files of the interagency Vietnam Working Group, 1964–1967.
        • INR Files: Lot 81 D 343
          • Consolidated files of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
        • INR/EAP Files: Lot 90 D 99
          • Copies of National Intelligence Estimates and Special National Intelligence Estimates.
        • INR/IL Historical Files
          • Files of the Office of Intelligence Coordination, containing records from the 1940s through the 1980s, maintained by the Office of Intelligence Liaison, Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
        • Katzenbach Files: Lot 74 D 271
          • Files of Under Secretary of State Katzenbach, 1966–1969.
        • Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163
          • Correspondence between Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union and between other high officials of the two countries, 1961–1969.
        • Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192
          • Files of Secretary of State Dean Rusk, 1961–1969, including texts of speeches, miscellaneous correspondence files, White House correspondence, chronological files, and memoranda of telephone conversations.
        • S/S-International Conferences: Lot 67 D 305
          • Files on Secretary Ruskʼs trip to the Far East, January 1966.
        • S/S-International Conferences: Lot 67 D 586
          • Files on the Manila Conference and the Presidentʼs Asian trip, October-November 1966, and on Secretary Ruskʼs Asian trip, December 1966.
        • S/S-Miscellaneous Vietnam Reports: Lot 70 D 48
          • Miscellaneous Vietnam reports and briefing books for the years 1949–1968.
        • S/S-NSC Files: Lot 70 D 265
          • Master set of papers pertaining to National Security Council meetings, including policy papers, position papers, and administrative documents for the years 1961–1966.
        • S/S-Vietnam Briefing Books: Lot 70 D 207
          • Negotiation books, negotiation background papers, briefing books, and miscellaneous documents on Vietnam, 1965–1968.
  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
    • Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State
    • Subject-Numeric Indexed Central Files
      • ORG 7 S, trips by Secretary Rusk
      • POL UK-USSR, political relations, United Kingdom-Soviet Union
      • POL US–USSR, political relations, U.S.-Soviet Union
      • POL VIET S, political relations, Vietnam
      • POL 7 CAN, visits and meetings, Canada
      • POL 7 US/LEONHART, visits, William Leonhart
      • POL 14 VIET S, Vietnamese elections
      • POL 15 VIET S, Government of Vietnam
      • POL 15–1 VIET S, Vietnamese head of state/Executive Branch
      • POL 23–8 VIET S, demonstrations, riots, and protests in Vietnam
      • POL 27 VIET S, military operations in Vietnam
      • POL 27 VIET S/PINTA, peace negotiations during the 37-day bombing pause
      • POL 27–3 VIET S/LOUISIANA, use of foreign country forces in Vietnam
      • POL 27–7 VIET, prisoners of war
      • POL 27–14 VIET, truce, cease fire, armistice
      • POL 27–14 VIET/ASPEN, peace negotiations code named Aspen
      • POL 27–14 VIET/ELMTREE, negotiations code named Elmtree
      • POL 27–14 VIET/MARIGOLD, peace negotiations code named Marigold
      • POL 27–14 VIET/XYZ, peace negotiations code named XYZ
      • POL 30 VIET S/THRUSH, defectors from the National Liberal Front
  • Center of Military History, Washington, DC
    • William C. Westmoreland Papers
  • Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia
    • DCI Executive Registry: Job 80–B1676R
    • DCI (Helms) Files: Job 80–B01285A
    • DDO/EA Files: Jobs 78–000032R, 85–00329R, 92–00428R
    • George Carver Files: Job 80–R01720R
      • GAC Chron
    • O/DDI Registry: Job 79–R01012A
  • Department of Defense, Washington, DC
    • Official Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas
    • Papers of Lyndon B. Johnson
      • National Security File
        • Agency File
        • McGeorge Bundy Files
        • Country File, Vietnam
        • International Meetings and Travel File
        • Robert W. Komer Files
        • Komer-Leonhart File
        • Memos to the President
        • Name File
        • National Intelligence Estimates
        • National Security Actions Memorandums
        • National Security Council Histories
        • National Security Council Meetings File
        • Walt W. Rostow Files
        • Bromley Smith Files
      • Office Files of the White House Aides
        • S. Douglass Cater
        • Harry C. McPherson
        • Bill D. Moyers
      • Special Files
        • Meeting Notes File
        • Office of the President File
        • Presidentʼs Appointment File (Diary Backup)
        • Presidentʼs Daily Diary
        • Recordings and Transcripts of Telephone Conversations and Meetings
      • White House Central Files
        • Confidential File
        • Subject File
    • Other Personal Papers
      • George Ball Papers
      • McGeorge Bundy Papers
      • Public Statements of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense
      • Dean Rusk Papers, Personal Appointment Books
      • Paul Warnke Papers, John McNaughton Files
      • William C. Westmoreland Papers
  • Hoover Institution, Palo Alto, California
    • Edward Lansdale Papers
  • Library of Congress, Washington, DC
    • Averell Harriman Papers
  • National Defense University, Washington, DC
    • Maxwell Taylor Papers
  • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
    • Record Group 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
      • McNamara Files: FRC 71 A 3470
        • Files of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, 1961–1968.
      • McNamara Vietnam Files: FRC 77–0075
        • Vietnam files of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, 1961–1968.
      • OASD/ISA Files: FRC 70 A 4443, 70 A 4662, 70 A 6648, and 70 A 6649
        • Subject files on Vietnam, 1966, of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
      • OSD Files: FRC 70 A 4443, 70 A 4662, 70 A 6649, 70 A 6648, and 71 A 6489
        • Subject Files on Vietnam, 1966, of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Published Sources

  • Documentary Collections
    • Herring, George, ed., The Secret Diplomacy of the Vietnam War: The Negotiating Volumes of the Pentagon Papers. Austin, 1983.
    • The Pentagon Papers: The Department of Defense History of United States Decisionmaking on Vietnam. The Senator Gravel Edition. 4 vols. Boston, 1971.
    • United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: Study Prepared by the Department of Defense. Washington, 1971.
    • U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations. Executive Sessions of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Historical Series). Volume XVIII. Eighty-Ninth Congress, Second Session, 1966. Washington, DC, 1993.
    • U.S. Department of State. American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1966. Washington, 1969.
      • ————. Department of State Bulletin. Washington, 1966.
    • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966. Washington, 1968.
    • The Vietnam Hearings. New York, 1966.
  • Memoirs
    • Ball, George. The Past Has Another Pattern: Memoirs. New York, 1982.
    • Bui Diem, with David Chanoff. In the Jaws of History. Boston, 1987.
    • Colby, William. Lost Victory: A Firsthand Account of Americaʼs Sixteen-Year Involvement in Vietnam. Chicago, 1989.
    • Cooper, Chester. The Lost Crusade: America in Vietnam. New York, 1970.
    • Gittinger, Ted, ed. The Johnson Years: A Vietnam Roundtable. Austin, Texas, 1993.
    • Humphrey, Hubert. Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics. Garden City, N.Y., 1976.
    • Johnson, Lyndon Baines. The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963–1969. New York, 1971.
    • Komer, Robert W. Bureaucracy Does Its Thing: Institutional Constraints on US–GVN Performance in Vietnam. Santa Monica, California, 1972.
    • McNamara, Robert S., with Brian VanDeMark. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lesson of Vietnam. New York, 1995.
    • McPherson, Harry. A Political Education. Boston, 1972.
    • Nguyen Cao Ky. Twenty Years and Twenty Days. New York, 1976.
    • Rostow, W.W. The Diffusion of Power: An Essay in Recent History. New York, 1972.
    • Rusk, Dean, as told to Richard Rusk. As I Saw It. New York, 1990.
    • Salisbury, Harrison E. Behind the Lines-Hanoi, December 23, 1966–January 7, 1967. New York, 1967.
    • Taylor, Maxwell. Swords and Plowshares: A Memoir. New York, 1972
    • Thant, U. View From the UN. Garden City, New York, 1978.
    • Valenti, Jack. A Very Human President. New York, 1975.
    • Westmoreland, William C. A Soldier Reports. Garden City, New York, 1976.