bibliography have been omitted from the published version; a fully documented account with bibliography is filed with the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
The reader should be reminded that most of the writing was accomplished while the war in Vietnam was at its peak, and the monographs frequently refer to events of the past as if they were taking place in the present.
Lieutenant General Stanley Robert Larsen is well qualified to write the history of the Republic of Korea armed forces in the Vietnam conflict. As Commanding General, I Field Force, Vietnam, from August 1965 to August 1967, he skillfully managed the complex administrative and logistical problems incidental to the arrival of Korean Army and Marine units within his area of command. As the senior U.S. military official in the II Corps Tactical Zone to which the Koreans were assigned, General Larsen was in a good position to observe the abilities and accomplishments of the Korean forces in Vietnam. Drawing on his previous experience as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations of the Eighth U.S. Army in Korea, General Larsen worked closely with the Koreans on joint military operations and numerous programs designed to win the allegiance of the Vietnamese people. In recognition of his outstanding service and assistance to the Korean armed forces in Vietnam, the Korean government awarded General Larsen the Order of Ulchi, one of its most prestigious decorations.
Brigadier General James Lawton Collins, Jr., presently the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army, has the wealth of experience required to tell the story of allied participation in the Vietnam War. After having served in Korea as the Assistant Commander, I Corps (Group) Artillery, General Collins had two tours of duty in Vietnam that involved close liaison with all nations participating in the allied effort. In 1964 he was assigned as the senior U.S. advisor to the Vietnamese Regional Forces and Popular Forces, and in May 1965 was named Special Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. In the latter capacity General Collins was the personal representative of General Westmoreland to the Vietnamese Joint General Staff on all matters pertaining to the co-ordination of U.S., Vietnamese, and allied forces operations. For his outstanding service in Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam awarded him the National Order and the Army Distinguished Service Medal, two of its most coveted awards.
Washington, D.C.
1 May 1974
iv
