Office of the Historian

Sources

Sources for the Foreign Relations Series

The Foreign Relations statute requires that the published record in the Foreign Relations series include all records needed to provide comprehensive documentation on major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant U.S. diplomatic activity. It further requires that government agencies, departments, and other entities of the U.S. Government engaged in foreign policy formulation, execution, or support cooperate with the Department of State Historian by providing full and complete access to records pertinent to foreign policy decisions and actions and by providing copies of selected records. Many of the sources consulted in the preparation of this volume have been declassified and are available for review at the National Archives and Records Administration.

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 Department’s 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. All the Department’s indexed central files for these years have been permanently transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland (Archives II). Many of the Department’s decentralized office (or lot) files covering this period, which the National Archives deems worthy of permanent retention, have been transferred or are in the process of being transferred from the Department’s custody to Archives II.

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, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Sources for Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, Volume VI

In preparing this volume, the editor made extensive use of Presidential papers and other White House records at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library. The large Vietnam Country File within the National Security File was one of the most important sources. Other useful components of the National Security File were the NSC History File, the Files of Walt Rostow, and Memoranda to the President. For Johnson’s meetings on Vietnam, the Tom Johnson Notes were the most valuable collection, although Meeting Notes Files were also useful. The Johnson tape recordings, of both telephone conversations and meetings in the Cabinet Room, were another key source from the Johnson Library. Other Johnson Library collections cited less frequently but still of value were the Office Files of White House aides, such as Harry McPherson and George Christian, and the Papers of Clark Clifford, George Elsey, and General William Westmoreland.

Second in importance to the records at the Johnson Library were the central files of the Department of State. Documents relating to the various peace initiatives are filed in POL 27–14 VIET or POL 27–14/[negotiating track code-name]. For example, POL 27–14 VIET/CROC is the repository for Ambassador Harriman’s initial peace negotiations documentation. Basic reporting and recommendations on important developments in South Vietnam were often put in POL 27 VIET S, the file reserved for military operations, but used as a catch-all. It was the most important Department of State Central File. Of the Department of State lot files, the A/IM Files of Harriman and Cyrus Vance in Paris, Lot 93 D 82, were the most important. The IS/OIS files relating to the records of the Paris Peace Conference, Lot 90 D 345, and the IS/OIS files of Ambassador Bunker’s weekly reports to the President, Lot 92 D 306, were also valuable. The files of Ambassador at Large Averell Harriman, S-AH Files, Lot 71 D 461 are also important.

Of the records at the Department of Defense, which are at the Washington National Records Center, official files of Secretaries Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford, were significant: McNamara/OSD Files, FRC 330 71 A 3470, and the Clifford/OSD Files, FRC 72 A 2457–2468 and FRC 73 A 1250. The official records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were also valuable. In addition, the files of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam at the Institute of Military History and the Westmoreland and Creighton Abrams Papers at the Center for Military History, contained useful information.

At the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, the two most important collections for the volume were the Averell Harriman and Paul Nitze Papers.

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For intelligence issues, DCI (Helms) Files, the DCI Executive Registry Subject Files and the Files of DCI’s Special Assistant for Vietnam, George Carver, at the Central Intelligence Agency, were most useful. The National Security Council’s Intelligence Files provided papers submitted to the 303 Committee and records of the Committee’s meetings.

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

The following list identifies the particular files and collections consulted in the preparation of this volume. The declassification and transfer to the National Archives of the Department of State records are in process, and many of those 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 Orders 12958 and 13142, under which all records over 25 years old, except file series exemptions requested by agencies and approved by the President, should be reviewed for declassification by 2003.

Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State, Washington, D.C.
    • Central Files. See National Archives and Records Administration below.
    • Lot Files. These files may be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration at College Park Maryland, Record Group 59. See National Archives and Records Administration below.
    • INR/EAP Files: Lot 90 D 99
      • National and Special Intelligence Estimates, 1952–1985.
    • INR/IL Historical Files
      • Historical files relating to covert action and intelligence.
    • INR/REA/SA Files: Lot 75 D 352
      • South Vietnam Country files, 1968–1970.
    • INR/RSB Files: Lot 90 D 320
      • Soviet-Asia relations, 1965–1978.
  • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
  • Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State
    • Subject-Numeric Central Files. The subject-numeric system is divided into broad categories: Administration, Consular, Culture and Information, Economic, Political and Defense, Science, and Social. Within each of these divisions are subject subcategories. For example, Political and Defense contains four subtopics: POL (Politics), DEF (Defense), CSM (Communism), and INT (Intelligence). Numerical subdivisions further define the subtopics. The following are the most important files consulted for this volume: [Page XVI]
      • AID (US) VIET S, U.S. aid to South Vietnam
      • DEF 4 SEATO, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
      • E US–VIET S, economic relations, U.S.-South Vietnam
      • E VIET S, economic affairs, South Vietnam
      • E 12 VIET S, land reform, South Vietnam
      • FN 12 VIET S, balance of payments, South Vietnam
      • ORG SAIGON, organization and administration, Saigon Embassy
      • POL IT–US, political relations, U.S.-Italy
      • POL NOR–VIET N, political relations, Norway-North Vietnam
      • POL UK–US, political relations, U.S.-United Kingdom
      • POL US–USSR, political relations, U.S.-Soviet Union
      • POL 1 US–USSR, general policy, U.S.-Soviet Union
      • POL 1 VIET S, general policy, South Vietnam
      • POL 1–1 VIET S, contingency planning, South Vietnam
      • POL 7 US, visits and meetings, U.S.
      • POL 12 VIET S, political parties, South Vietnam
      • POL 15 VIET S, Government of South Vietnam
      • POL 15–1 VIET S, head of state/executive branch, South Vietnam
      • POL 15–1 US/JOHNSON, Head of State, the President
      • POL 15–1 VAT, correspondence and meetings with the Pope
      • POL 17 NOR CHICOM, diplomatic representation, Norway-China
      • POL 17 US–VIET N, diplomatic representation, U.S.-North Vietnam
      • POL 17 VIET N, diplomatic and consular representation, North Vietnam
      • POL 17–1 NOR–US, accreditation, U.S.-Norway
      • POL 23–9 VIET S, civil disturbances and revolts, South Vietnam
      • POL 27 US/HUMPHREY, Vice President’s assessment of military affairs
      • POL 27 VIET S, military operations, South Vietnam
      • POL 27 VIET S/MARIA, cease-fires, South Vietnam
      • POL 27–7 VIET, prisoners of war, Vietnam-POL 27–7 VIET S/BUTTERCUP, prisoner exchanges, South Vietnam
      • POL 27–12 VIET, war crimes, Vietnam
      • POL 27–14 VIET/ASPEN, peace negotiations codenamed Aspen
      • POL 27–14 VIET/BAMBOO, peace negotiations codenamed Bamboo
      • POL 27–14 VIET/CROCODILE, peace negotiations codenamed Crocodile
      • POL 27–14 VIET/KILLY, peace negotiations codenamed Killy
      • POL 27–14 VIET/LION, peace negotiations codenamed Lion
      • POL 27–14 VIET/MARIGOLD, peace negotiations codenamed Marigold
      • POL 27–14 VIET/NIRVANA, peace negotiations codenamed Nirvana
      • POL 27–14 VIET/OHIO, peace negotiations codenamed Ohio
      • POL 27–14 VIET S, truce talks, South Vietnam
      • POL 30 VIET S, defections, South Vietnam
      • REF VIET, refugees, Vietnam
      • REF VIET N, refugees, North Vietnam
    • Lot Files
      • A/IM Files: Lot 93 D 82
        • HARVAN correspondence and telegrams, 1968–1969.
      • Am Embassy-Saigon Files: Lot 75 F 193
        • Files and telegrams from classified and unclassified central subject files of the American Embassy in Saigon, 1950–1974.
      • Bundy Files: Lot 85 D 240
        • Files of William P. Bundy as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1964–1969.
      • Bunker Files: Lot 74 D 417
        • Files of Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, including telegrams, personal and presidential messages, and correspondence, 1967–1973.
      • Bunker Files: Lot 77 D 146
        • Files containing Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker’s official and personal correspondence, speeches and statements, interviews, and briefing books, 1967–1973.
      • EA Files: Lot 74 D 246
        • Records relating to the Paris Peace Negotiations on Vietnam, 1966–1973.
      • EA Files: Lot 71 D 10
        • Files on the Paris Peace Talks, 1966–1968.
      • EA Files: Lot 72 D 33
        • Background papers on Asia, 1967–1968.
      • EA/ACA Files: Lot 69 D 128
        • Files of weekly reports on Vietnam peace negotiations, 1967–1968.
      • EA/ACA Files: Lot 72 D 175
        • Miscellaneous files of the Asian Communist Affairs Office, 1961–1969.
      • EA/VN Files: Lot 72 D 207
        • Files on the Manila Summit, the Clifford-Taylor trip to Southeast Asia, the Tet Offensive, and background material, 1964–1968.
      • EA/VN Files: Lot 73 D 141
        • General files of the interagency Vietnam Working Group.
      • EA/VN Files: Lot 73 D 461
        • Files on politics, defense, rural development, and elections in South Vietnam, 1967–1969.
      • EA/VN Files: Lot 74 D 51
        • Military files containing the record of the air war in Vietnam, 1963–1970.
      • EA/VN Files: Lot 75 D 167
        • Files on Vietnamese political-military affairs and meetings and trips of senior U.S. government officials with Vietnamese and Asian leaders, 1963–1969.
      • EA/VN Files: Lot 75 D 303
        • Files relating to the Free World Assistance in Vietnam, 1963–1971.
      • HARVAN Files: Lot 93 D 82
        • Correspondence, telegrams, and records of meetings of the HARVAN (Harriman-Vance) mission to the Paris peace talks on Vietnam, 1968–1969, including background material on Vietnam peace negotiations, 1962–1969.
      • IS/OIS Files: Lot 90 D 345
        • Chronological records of the Paris Peace Conference, 1968–1969.
      • IS/OIS Files: Lot 92 D 306
        • Telegrams transmitting the weekly reports of Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker to the President, 1967–1973.
      • Johnson Files: Lot 90 D 410
        • Files of Ambassador U. Alexis Johnson, 1958–1973.
      • Katzenbach Files: Lot 74 D 271
        • Files of Under Secretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach, 1966–1969.
      • Kohler Files: Lot 71 D 460
        • Files of Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Foy Kohler concerning his discussions with Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin, 1967–1968; discussions between Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, 1962–1968.
      • Komer Files: Lot 69 D 303
        • Files of Robert W. Komer, 1949–1969.
      • 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-AH Files: Lot 71 D 461
        • Files of Ambassador at Large W. Averell Harriman concerning Vietnam peace negotiating channels, 1967–1968.
      • S/S-I Files: Lot 72 D 316
        • National Security Action Memoranda 1–371, 1961–1968.
      • S/S-I Files: Lot 72 D 318
        • National Security Council meeting memoranda and agenda, 1966–1968.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 68 D 453
        • International conference chronologies and briefing papers, 1967–1968, including background material for the Vice President’s East Asian trip, Ambassador at Large W. Averell Harriman’s Near Eastern and European trip, and the President’s visit to Australia.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 69 D 217
        • Administrative history of the Johnson administration; foreign policy fact books for Republican candidates; transition books, 1968.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 70 D 207
        • Vietnam briefing books and reports, contingency studies, and background papers on negotiations, 1965–1968.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 70 D 48
        • Miscellaneous Vietnam reports and briefing books, 1949–1968, including briefing books on negotiating initiatives and Senate committee reports.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 70 D 48
        • Miscellaneous Vietnam reports from the Executive Secretariat.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 71 D 228
        • Transition books for the incoming Nixon administration, December 1968.
      • S/S-S Files: Lot 76 D 435
        • U.S./U.S.S.R. Conversations on Vietnam and Southeast Asia, 1961–1968.
  • Record Group 84, Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the United States
    • Saigon Embassy Files of Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, 1967–1973.
  • Record Group 200, Records of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, 1961–1968
  • Record Group 273, Records of the National Security Council
  • National Security Action Memorandums
  • Record Group 407, Records of the U.S. Army Adjutant General’s Office
  • Westmoreland v. CBS Litigation Collection, 1966–1972
  • Record Group 472, Records of the U.S. Army in Southeast Asia
  • Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
    • Command Information Publications
    • Assistant Chief of Staff
    • Office of Civil Operations for Revolutionary Development
  • Nixon Presidential Materials Project
    • National Security Council Files
      • Agency Files
      • Name Files
      • Paris Talks/Meetings
      • HAK Office Files, Country Files, Far East, Vietnam, Negotiations
  • Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia
    • William Colby Files, Job 80–M01009A
    • DCI (Helms) Files, Jobs 80–R1580R, 80–B01721R, 80–R01720R, 80–M01044A, 80–B01285A, 85–T00268R
    • DDI Files, Job 80–B01721R
    • DDO/ISS Files, Jobs 78–32, 78–06425A, 78–0064235A
    • DO/EA Files, Jobs 79–00207A, 80–00088A, 80–00106A
    • Executive Registry Subject Files, Jobs 80–R51580R, 80–R01284A
    • O/DDI Files, Job 78–T02095R
    • SAVA (Carver) Files, Jobs 80–R01284R, 80–R012850R, 80–R01720R
  • Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas
  • Papers of President Lyndon B. Johnson
    • National Security File
    • Agency File
    • Country File
    • Intelligence File
    • International Meetings and Travel File
    • Head of State Correspondence
    • Special Head of State Correspondence
    • Files of Robert Komer
    • Komer-Leonhart File
    • Memos to the President
    • Name File
    • National Intelligence Estimates
    • National Security Action Memorandums
    • National Security Council Histories
    • National Security Council Meetings File
    • Files of Walt Rostow
    • Files of Bromley Smith
    • South Vietnam and U.S. Politics
    • Speech File
    • Subject File
    • Unarranged Files
    • Warnke-McNaughton Files
  • Office Files of the White House Aides
    • George Christian Files
    • James R. Jones Files
    • Harry McPherson Files
  • Special Files
    • Meeting Notes File
    • Office of the President File
    • President’s Appointment File (Diary Backup)
    • President’s Daily Diary
    • Recordings and Transcripts of Telephone Conversations
    • Reference File—Vietnam
    • Transcripts of Meetings in the Cabinet Room
  • White House Central Files
    • Confidential File
    • Subject File
    • Reference Files, Vietnam
  • Other Personal Papers
    • Clark Clifford Papers
    • George Elsey Papers
    • Alain Enthoven Papers
    • Morton Halperin Papers
    • Tom Johnson’s Notes of Meetings
    • William Jorden Papers
    • Oral History Collection
    • Dean Rusk Papers, Personal Appointment Books
    • Paul C. Warnke Papers, John McNaughton Files
    • William C. Westmoreland Papers
  • Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
    • Official Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Southeast Asia Files, 1966–1968.
  • National Security Council, Washington, D.C.
    • Intelligence Files
      • Records of the 303 Committee
      • Subject Files, Vietnam
  • 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.
    • OSD Files: FRC 72 A 2467–2468, FRC 73 A 1250
      • Office of the Secretary of Defense Files.
    • OSD/General Counsel Files: FRC 75 A 0062
      • Files on the Pentagon Papers.
    • OSD/OASD/ISA Files: FRC 71 A 4919, FRC 69 A 6216, FRC 72 A 1498–1499, FRC 72 A 7500–7515, FRC 73 A 1350–1352, FRC 83 A 0119–0129
      • Files of the Bureau of International Security Affairs.
  • Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Washington, D.C.
    • W. Averell Harriman Papers
    • Paul H. Nitze Papers
    • Henry A. Kissinger Papers
  • National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
    • Andrew Goodpaster Papers
    • Lyman Lemnitzer Papers
    • Maxwell Taylor Papers
  • U.S. Army Center for Military History, Washington, D.C.
    • Robert Komer Papers
    • DepCORDS/MACV Files
      • Files of the Deputy for Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
    • William Colby Papers
    • Creighton Abrams Papers
    • Thomas Thayer Papers
    • William C. Westmoreland Papers
      • History File, History Backup, and COMUSMACV Message Files, 1964–1968.
  • U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
    • Army Chiefs of Staff Collection
    • Creighton Abrams Papers
    • William DePuy Papers
    • Richard Gard Papers
    • Harold K. Johnson Papers
    • Bruce Palmer Papers
    • John Paul Vann Papers
    • William C. Westmoreland Papers
    • Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Headquarters Archive
    • Douglas Pike Collection

Published Sources

  • Documentary Collections
    • Barrett, David M., ed., Lyndon B. Johnson’s Vietnam Papers: A Documentary Collection. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press, 1997.
    • Council on Foreign Relations, Documents on American Foreign Relations, 1968–69. New York: New York University Press, 1972.
    • The Declassified Documents Quarterly Catalog and microfiche. Woodbridge, CT, 1975 onwards.
    • Herring, George, ed., The Secret Diplomacy of the Vietnam War: The Negotiating Volumes of the Pentagon Papers. Austin, TX, 1983.
    • Pike, Douglas, ed., The Bunker Papers: Reports to the President From Vietnam, 1967–1973. 3 vols. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990.
    • The Pentagon Papers: The Department of Defense History of United States Decisionmaking on Vietnam, The Senator Gravel Edition. 4 vols. Boston: Beacon Press, 1971.
    • U.S. Department of State, Department of State Bulletin, 1968–1969. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968–1969.
    • U.S. House of Representatives, Armed Services Committee, United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: Study Prepared by the Department of Defense. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971.
    • U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968–69. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.
  • Memoirs
    • Bui Diem, with David Chanoff, In the Jaws of History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
    • Bundy, William P., A Tangled Web: The Making of Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency. New York: Hill & Wang, 1999.
    • Califano, Joseph A., The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991.
    • Chennault, Anna, The Education of Anna. New York: Times Books, 1979.
    • Clifford, Clark, with Richard C. Holbrooke, Counsel to the President: A Memoir. New York: Random House, 1991.
    • Colby, William, with James McCargar, Lost Victory: A Firsthand Account of America’s Sixteen-Year Involvement in Vietnam. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989.
    • DeLoach, Cartha D., Hoover’s FBI: The Inside Story by Hoover’s Trusted Lieutenant. New York: Regnery Publishing, 1995.
    • Humphrey, Hubert, Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976.
    • Johnson, Lyndon Baines, The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963–1969. New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1971.
    • Kissinger, Henry A., White House Years. Boston: Little, Brown, 1979.
    • McNamara, Robert S., with Brian VanDeMark, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. New York: Times Books, 1995.
    • McPherson, Harry, A Political Education. Boston: Little, Brown, 1972.
    • Nguyen Cao Ky, Twenty Years and Twenty Days. New York: Stein and Day, 1976.
    • Nixon, Richard, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New York: Grossett & Dunlap, 1978.
    • Palmer, Bruce, The 25-Year War: America’s Military Role in Vietnam. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1984.
    • Rostow, Walt W., The Diffusion of Power: An Essay in Recent History. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
    • Rusk, Dean, as told to Richard Rusk, As I Saw It. New York: W.W. Norton, 1990.
    • Taylor, Maxwell, Swords and Plowshares: A Memoir. New York: W.W. Norton, 1972.
    • Westmoreland, William C., A Soldier Reports. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976.
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