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John Paul Vann: Man and LegendBy Peter Kross | Vietnam | Single Page | 19 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post Accompanying ARVN units to the field, Vann quickly realized to his dismay that the South Vietnamese army lacked the will to fight. In the face of enemy fire, far too many ARVN officers and soldiers opted not to engage the enemy and took flight. The disastrous battle at Ap Bac on January 2, 1963, was a turning point for Vann. Attempting to direct the battle from a light and unarmed observation aircraft, Vann was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Yet despite Vann's best efforts and a solid tactical plan that should have succeeded, the ARVN allowed the VC to escape. Subscribe Today
The more Vann came to understand the political situation in Saigon, the more he became disenchanted with the way President Diem was running the country. It was an open secret in Saigon and Washington that the Diem government was rife with corruption. Vann witnessed firsthand how Diem refused to implement needed political and military reforms and how his corrupt brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, rewarded friends in the military. Seeing how badly the Diem regime was responding to the ever-growing Communist threat, and the lack of military progress against the VC, Vann decided he had to tell his superior officers, and anyone else who would listen, just how badly things were going in Vietnam. It had become obvious to some of the Americans at MACV by late 1962 that the war on the ground was not going right. Instead of learning from mistakes or correcting the situation, many of the senior officers around MACV's General Harkins had begun to rein in any officers who were deviating from the playbook. Vann, however, publicly called the January 1963 battle of Ap Bac a defeat for American and ARVN forces and "a miserable damn performance." Harkins almost fired him, giving him a severe tongue-lashing. From that day forward, Vann was persona non grata at MACV headquarters in Saigon. In his reports, Vann used statistical analysis methods to show that the South Vietnamese government was grossly inflating VC body counts, further infurating his superiors. Vann also incurred the wrath of his superiors by stating openly that the ARVN troops would not risk conducting search-and-destroy missions but instead assumed defensive positions whenever possible. He further angered senior military leaders by his association and friendship with two young American reporters in Saigon, David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan. Vann shared his misgivings with them, and they in turn filed news reports of alleged ARVN ineptitude. Vann was also strident in his criticisms of the Strategic Hamlet Program, which he thought was a waste of time and energy, and he was critical of the way MACV ran counterintelligence operations. Harkins had finally had enough. In April 1963 Vann returned to America. When he arrived in Washington, he carried with him his final report as a senior adviser — a scathing critique of the way the war was being handled by the South Vietnamese armed forces. Few of the Pentagon's senior officials wanted to read his report, however. Vann's new assignment in the Pentagon involved managing the financial resources allocated to the Special Forces counterinsurgency program. He also interviewed many military officers who had been in Vietnam, and he finally produced a narrative that made the Pentagon take notice. In his report, Vann backed up with hard statistical analysis his assessment that the number of enemy troops actually killed was less than two-thirds the number claimed by MACV. Many of those counted as enemy dead were in reality civilians caught in crossfire. Vann also was highly critical of South Vietnamese tactics, noting a tendency to make excessive use of airstrikes and artillery, rather than putting ground units into VC territory. To his surprise, Vann found one ally among the top brass in the Pentagon: Lt. Gen. Barksdale Hamlett, the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations. General Hamlett agreed that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not getting the full truth about combat in Vietnam. Hamlett tried to get General Maxwell Taylor, the JCS chairman, to allow Vann to brief them, but Taylor refused. Despite Taylor's orders to the contrary, Hamlett scheduled a meeting with Vann and the chiefs. In the end, the meeting was canceled. Taylor, however, did have what was reported to be a very confrontational meeting alone with Vann. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
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19 Comments to “John Paul Vann: Man and Legend”
Thank You for this story!
Vietnam Vet
Larry Mandrell
By mandrell_larry@yahoo.com on Jul 7, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I MEET JOHN PAUL IN 1972 HE WAS A GREAT MAN I WAS WITH THE 4TH CAV ASIGN TO HIS UNIT AND I WAS THERE. THIS IS WENT I HEARD HE GOT KILL.
By mitchell smith on Jul 18, 2008 at 11:53 pm
While the factual information presented in this biography may be true, the most important aspect of JP Vann's life is entirely overlooked. I worked for JP Vann in the Phoenix program. Although most aspects of this program will remain classified for years to come, eventually this too will become public knowledge and the contributions of this man will be recognized.
By Wayne Marshall on Sep 16, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I am the grandson of John Paul Vann, his son Peter is my father. Thank you for taking the time to write this article.
By Ryan Vann on Dec 6, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Hello Ryan (and Peter and John A and Jesse and Patricia);
I worked for your grandfather at MAC-CORDS, IV Corps, 69-70. Considered him a mentor; changed my life along with his good friend, fellow soldier and free thinker, Col Carl Bernard.
JPV was a second father to me — though for only a short period of his life and a shorter period of mine. He was indomitable and was only brought down by the laws of physics. I have no doubt that had he survived we would have had a different and better outcome in Vietnam.
Stumbled across this article today by chance. Anyone interested should read Neil's Bright Shining Lie. And anyone interested in contacting me, feel free; look me up on the net.
Ryan, you and your father and uncles and aunt come from the best stock. Stand proud.
Ed
By Edward Story on Feb 14, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Mr. Story,
My Grandfather is Eugene W. Vann, better known as John's brother. He was a CMSgt in the Air Force. I've been in the AF almost ten years and am proud to bear our last name on my uniform. I'm putting in my package to go Green and be a Warrant Officer… your comment about being from the best stock would be awesome somewhere in my package! Wish me luck!
Jeremy
By Jeremy Vann on Mar 5, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Does anyone know what happened to John Vann's Vietnamese daughter? Did her family leave Vietnam after 1975?
By Gary Richardson on Apr 7, 2009 at 1:29 am
Cool article. My dad was a LtC. and named me after him out of the respect he held for him. (Vo is my mom's family name… they were not sure if any of my mom's relatives survived the war, so they wanted me to carry the name another generation)
By Vo Vann Decker on Apr 8, 2009 at 8:45 pm
In 1972 Gene La Rouche and I drove from Cam Ranh to Qui Nhon on the day the Tet Offensive began. We were working for ITT-Federal Electric and were delivering test equipment for calibration. Three bridges were taken out behind us and we were stuck in Qui Nhon, as it came under attack.
We hitched a ride on a Huey headed back to Nha Trang, from a young Warrant Officer Pilot we met in the Officers Mess. We were diverted to Tuy Hoa, by orders from John Paul Vann. He commandeered
the Huey and Pilot to inspect mountain top microwave communication sites, that had come under attack, during the offensive.
We met Mr. Vann in passing, as he boarded the Huey and took off
for his inspection of the mountain top sites. We sat at Tuy Hoa and
listened to his radio calls, as he flew from one mountain site to the other. One particular radio transmission will always stick in my mind. He was talking to a Vietnamese Officer and said "you tell
General(can not recall his name), that if he does not have that bridge in by noon, I will have his ass on the carpet in Saigon".
It's difficult to convey the aura of no nonsense and dedication he
displayed,as this civilian, retired officer worked around us. I am
proud to have met and see him in action.
When our Pilot returned from the inspection flight, he told us, one
mountain top site was held by an old Vietnamese man who was hired to run the diesel generators, that powered the site. While under attack, the ARVN company fled and he manned a M-60, killing many VC on their perimeter and held the mountain top
site by himself. On another site it was a similar situation and a
American Army Major, serving in an advisory capacity, held the
mountain top firing from a bunker, and fought the VC off killing
at least a score of them, while the ARVN company fled and his Vietnamese counterpart cowered in the bunker near him. So went the war near the end
By Jack Johnstone on Apr 11, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Please note an error that I made when submitting my original comments. The incidents I described, happened during the Easter Offensive in 1972, not during a Tet Offensive. Although the memory
fades after 37 years the incidents I described, are absolutely true.
By Jack Johnstone on Apr 12, 2009 at 11:23 am
ASSLAM O ALLAIKUM….i m ALI from PAKISTAN…i just saw the movie A BRIGHT SHINNING LIFE..and i m inspired by hius personlity..he was geius..i m also in army and i have great interest in reading and knwoing abpout military leaders..and unfortunatley most of them they could not have successfull perosnal life…but he was really a hero…nation having men like him is lucky….i would love to see ppl related to hi talking or contacting me and i salute all those soldiers who sacrified their lives in veitnam………….
By ALI HUSSAIN on May 15, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Gary,
Last I heard she and her mother relocated to the US. East coast I believe. I heard Maryland. We don't communicate with them.
Thank you Ed. I will not forget your words.
If any of you have any questions please contact me at Ryan_Vann1@msn.com
By Ryan Vann on Jun 6, 2009 at 2:52 am
I have read about JPV for many a year and he has to me seemed like a perfect hero, flawed yet brilliant, his children can be proud of who he was and what he achieved – JPV We Salute You Sir.
By thecleaner on Jun 20, 2009 at 12:50 pm
JPV has been a hero to me for years now. I first heard of him when I joined the military book club and bought the book, A Bright Shining Lie. Later, the HBO movie brought the book to life. I share the book and movie with friends, so they may know the story about a soldier who led a very interesting life.
JPV was certainly a great American and leader of men, whose life was taken too soon, as happens to many heroes.
I am just an enlisted soldier who has served in Desert Storm and Afghanistan, and respect what JPV stood for- the courage to lead from the front and tell it like it is…
By Ruperto Fiories on Aug 22, 2009 at 6:00 am
I am Eugene W. Vann, the youngest brother of John Paul Vann. I want to thank everyone for their comments about my brother who adored his family and was adored by his Mom and Dad and brothers and sister. He was our hero and is missed every day. My grandson, Jeremy R. Vann is doing his best to follow in the footsteps of this great man and we are extremely proud of him, just as we were of John. John had a human side that has never been written about. He was kind, loving , gentle and generous and that is the part of him that lives in our hearts. To put into feelings simply….he was my brother.
By Eugene W. Vann on Oct 3, 2009 at 11:18 pm
My name is Jo Vann, John Paul Vann's sisiter-in-law. Reading the comments about John, one from Ruperto Fiores struck me…he referred to himself as,"just an enlisted soldier." There is no such thing…every man who puts on a uniform and heads off to war to defend this great country is a National Hero and deserves the respect and gratitude of every citizen in the USA. Ruperto, you are no less a hero to me than John was and I, personally, want to thank you for your service and thank God you returned home safely. If only 15 minutes of time was bought for our country as a result of your service, that is a great tribute to John for all his efforts and it is greatly appreciated by the Vann family. May all the good things in life come your way and again, thank you.
By Jo Vann on Oct 3, 2009 at 11:40 pm
In 1972 I was with the Central District Engineers. We had moved our operations from Cam Rahn Bay in March to Nha Trang and became Headquarters Engineer Region MR 2. A request came from II Corp HQ in Plieku that Col Vann wanted to build an area in his command center where he could talk and hear on a telephone. The need was for some kind of sound proofing / deadening material.
I was able to "locate and aquire" some acoustical ceiling tiles which were duly sent to Plieku.
A week or two later I was told there was a call for me. The caller identified himself as Mr. Vann and asked if I could hear him OK and I responded with a loud and clear. He said he was calling from his new phone booth / corner to thank me for finding the material and getting it to his HQ. It was working better than he had hoped it would.
What a class act that was for him to personnally call. He didn't need to but he did. A brief converstion, yes. But one I won't forget.
Not many weeks later he was gone.
By Wm. Johnston on Dec 23, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I am Lt. Col. Vann's great nephew (his sister is my grandmother). I am 20, and was not even alive during all this. i feel honored to be related to such an important man. Im amazed that all i know about my great uncle is what I'm reading on the internet on sites like this. My own immediate family hasnt even told me much about him other than telling me about the book written about him by Mr. Sheehan. This really is an honor. Anyone who can tell me more about him personally please dont hesitate to respond to " wolfonapalehorse@gmail.com ".
By Zach Moyer on Feb 17, 2010 at 10:24 pm