What are /r/VietnamWar's favorite Products & Services?

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Which is still true.

The Ho Chi Minh biography I read made it sound like Ho initially started out trying to find support to remove the French, but even the French Communists/Socialists wouldn't support him, so he forded his own path with support from China, Russia, etc... I always wonder how committed he was towards Socialism/Communism vs. simple independence from China, France, the US.

Seawolves: First Choice by Daniel Kelly is a good memoir about US Navy chopper gunners that supported SEALs and other special operations. It gives a detailed myopic view of the war. It also features my grandfather, so I’m a bit biased.

Huê 1968 by Mark Bowden is a really good history of the Tet Offensive in Huê. Bowden also wrote Black Hawk Down. He’s an excellent author and his book was incredibly good.

Lost in Translation: A Combat Advisor's Story by Martin J Dockery

Dockery was a young U.S. Army Lieutenant sent to advise and assist an ARVN battalion in the Mekong Delta in 1962-63, when large scale U.S troop commitment was still years in the future. He lived, slept and fought alongside his ARVN counterparts as the only American advisor most of the time.

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Translation-Vietnam-Combat-Advisors/dp/0891418512

Well worth a read

P.S: It seems that Dockery wrote a follow up title which was published in April 2019

https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/vietnam-full-circle-martin-j-dockery/1130505761

I have never read this book, but the the description on the Amazon site says that the author was with the Marine unit that landed at Da Nang in March 1965. The book is very popular so I'm sure that reading would interest you, regardless.

A Rumor of War: The Classic Vietnam Memoir

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For the vets that are posting here, I'm sure you've heard of it, but if you haven't, Our Vietnam Wars are a series of great books where vets tell their (short) stories. I think the author (and audience!) is(are) always looking for new additions!

https://www.amazon.com/Our-Vietnam-Wars-veterans-served-ebook/dp/B079P35BT5

Well, I don't any books about the vietnam war but if you want to look at the Iraq War ( 2003 one ) from the perspective of an Iraqi conscript, Red Flags is a book I highly recommend. It's feels really real and not like a lot of the books from the american perspective that just feel sensationalized, just trying to make a best seller and not portray it accurately. Recently I've been trying to find war novels from different perspectives than the usual ones, it just helps me get a better grasp on the conflict of the whole and prevents any bias, I applaud you for trying to find new perspectives OP

I also found this after researching your topic:

https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/Militia%20Army%20Gunsmithing%20Weapons%20Blueprints%20Prepper%20ebooks%20archive/ebooks%201/The%20Quiet%20Killers.pdf

It's a British publication about the development of gun silencers for covert warfare. There's a chapter about the use of silencers specifically commissioned by the CIA for assassination and sniper missions in Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

Looks like the use of silencers began there in 1970, and my dad was discharged in 1969. He said his operations were nighttime, and not sure what they would have been using before then. I do know native troops used knives, arrows, etc.

Thanks again for reading and responding. If you have the time to check out this source, I would be interested know your thoughts.

He said "we had people who that was their job," and I asked for your opinion because that sounded to me like he was referring to Americans because that's who he was talking about otherwise. "We had people," I assume he meant Americans. Didn't pull it out of my ass.

I also stumbled across this... It looks like a British book from 1972 about the use of gun silencers in covert warfare. There is a chapter about Southeast Asia. My dad never mentioned silencers, but on page 40 the author starts talking about CIA directed assassinations. Hopefully this link works:

https://the-eye.eu/public/concen.org/Militia%20Army%20Gunsmithing%20Weapons%20Blueprints%20Prepper%20ebooks%20archive/ebooks%201/The%20Quiet%20Killers.pdf

I also found Christopher Robbins' book Air America online. In Chapter 9: Opium, he describes how pilots flew whatever and whomever they were asked to, no questions. "You call, we haul - we don't go into details." On the same page he said "they flew killers." There is no context or explanation Are you familiar with the book to know its credibility or the killers he might be referring to?

Apologies if I came across misleading in my other comment...I do not have a military background and the whole purpose of my post was to seek information. I appreciate your help as it has helped me find a few more resources today, but I assure you I am trying to be factual, not casual, and certainly am not pulling things out of my ass, thanks.

I'm glad you thought that website was interesting - I think firsthand accounts are priceless and fascinating.

I don't think I have anything regarding my dad's actual assignments. I can look at what I have and tell you what I find. He was proud to be a veteran and serve our country, but he NEVER talked about it. When I pressed him at the end of his life, he said he never got his original dog tags back and that he never had any paperwork after basic.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and respond.

Temptations - I got Sunshine Otis Redding - Sittin on a Dock on the Bay Martha and the Vandellas - Nowhere To Run The Beach Boys - I Get Around. Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

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The Element of Surprise by Darryl Young is an excellent read about SEALs operating in the Mekong Delta.

The Element of Surprise: Navy SEALS in Vietnam https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G60FUO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_lvW6FbSDDN87S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Maybe this is the one you looking for

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Night-Dreamed-Peace-Diary-ebook/dp/B000VMBX7Q

At the age of twenty-four, Dang Thuy Tram volunteered to serve as a doctor in a National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) battlefield hospital in the Quang Ngai Province.

https://goo.gl/images/2whnCd So I found a blank one on Google. I'm fairly certain these letters were pretty standard. I'm currently in a college course on the war and we've been using this book: https://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-War-History-Documents-Pages/dp/0195166353/ref=asc_df_0195166353/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312655151667&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10997900238604739564&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&am...

If you can find that in a library it is a pretty awesome primary source. It's a collection of documents including a draft notice, personal accounts and a lot of government documents. Hope that was somewhat helpful, did you try to see if your family member still has theirs? I'm not sure if they took them when they reported to duty or not.

My preference has always been for Christian Appy's "Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides". There's a lot of good material in there-- oral histories from soldiers, civilians, and others involved in the conflict.