The “Phoenix” is rising from the ashes. Those of you select Vietnam vets will know what I am talking about.
I wasn’t there, but wow —> “By 1972, Phoenix operatives had “neutralized” 81,740 suspected NLF operatives, informants and supporters, of whom between 26,000 and 41,000 were killed.”
MACV
Those of you select Vietnam vets
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It helps to be ‘select’ but not mandatory.
Phoenix, Air America, the CIA ‘Navy’, hit squads were quite the thing..
Did the term ‘when you have them by the gonads, the hearts and minds soon follow’ and ‘we have to destroy the village to save it’ come from there?
I used to ‘run with’ a former OSS then CIA type that was instrumental in the overthrow of 1963... Of course with Lou he managed to mix enough BS in with facts to make his stories interesting and true without ‘giving the farm away’...all of which have been proven to be basically true as per historic records etc...(ref Black Luigi or 3 fingered Luigi) Even NYT obit says he had many tales, MOST of them true (my emphasis).
I had volunteered for ‘Nasty Boats’ in 1962 and got turned down for a # of reasons among them had already served in WestPac better part of 5 years, was on East Coast and had medically been declared unfit for Submarines and I had a TS+ Crypto....Guess any one or a combination of all disqualified me.
Of course after the SHTF in 1964 etal my disqual points would suddenly turn int QUAL but I had already went on my way....
My Dad was deputy director of Operation Phoenix/Phung Hoang at the same time I was flying Hueys in M.R. III.
Phung Hoang’s mission was to neutralize VCI (Viet Cong infrastructure), the communist shadow government that existed in RVN down to village level and was awaiting final NVA victory.
There are several sites which discuss Phung Hoang and its effectiveness, which suffice it to say was mixed.
Center for Military History also has a Phung Hoang archive.