Archives Branch: Campaign Collections
Vietnam War
Official Documents from the Vietnam War
The Archives Branch maintains collections of primary sources pertaining to Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam War. This artificial collection consists of official publications, analyses, historical summaries, after action reports, operation orders, maps, overlays, photographs, diagrams, blueprints, doctrinal publications, correspondence, interviews, and various secondary sources related to Marine Corps activities in Vietnam, dated 1954 - 2004. The collection spans 38 boxes (19 linear feet).
If you have any questions about these collections, please contact the Archives at (703) 784-4685 or history.division@usmcu.edu.
Note: When requesting materials from these collections, please provide the following information: collection name, collection number, and box number (i.e., Vietnam War Collection, COLL/3808, Boxes 1-3).
- Vietnam War Collection Finding AidThis finding aid for the Vietnam War Collection (COLL/3808) describes the official records of Marine Corps units held by the Archives Branch.
Index to Vietnam War Personal Papers Collections
The Archives Branch maintains indexes of personal papers collections to serve as pathfinders for prospective researchers. The criteria for selecting collections for inclusion in this index is limited to those personal papers that contain materials pertinent to the study of the Marine Corps' involvement in the Vietnam War.
Collections in these indexes are comprised of official Marine Corps records, documents, and publications; letters and correspondence; manuscript drafts; photographs; maps; memoirs and reminiscences; clippings and articles; oral histories and interviews; and ephemera.
- Vietnam War Collection IndexThis index highlights collections found in the Archives Branch concerning Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam War, 1965-1975.
- Battle for Hue City Collection IndexThe Archives Branch holds approximately 15 collections related to the Marine Corps at the battle of Hue City (January - March 1968). This index highlights some of those collections, focusing on those that have notably unique content.
- Battle of Khe Sanh Collections IndexThe Archives Branch holds approximately 30 collections related to the Marine Corps at Khe Sanh, January - July 1968.
Vietnam War Oral Histories
The U.S. Marine Corps Oral History Program began in 1965 when the Commandant, General Wallace M. Greene, ordered that field interviews be conducted in Vietnam to better document the war and provide “living history.” This established the top priority for the History Division’s Oral History Program, interviewing active duty Marines involved in current and historically significant operations. Over 10,000 interviews were collected in Vietnam with Marines of all ranks and MOS’s during that war. A catalog of most of these interviews is displayed here. The interviews listed are available through the Oral History Office at the U.S. Marine Corps History Division.
- Oral History Collection Catalog Vietnam InterviewsCatalog of Vietnam interviews available through the Oral History Office at the Marine Corps History Division.
Vietnam War Photographs
The Archives Branch maintains a Flickr page dedicated to showcasing photographs found in our collections. Of these, approximately 1,900 images document Marine Corps activities during the Vietnam War.
Among the photographs featured are images of individual Marines, such as Carlos Hathcock; ground unit operations; civil affairs endeavors; and vehicles and equipment. Also included are images from numerous combat operations, including Operation Dewey Canyon and the battle for Hue City, among others.
Please note that some of the photographs found on our Flickr pages are considered public domain and have been cleared for release. While some imagery is public domain, any use of such imagery from this site must be attributed to the U.S. Marine Corps, or the individual photographer. Photographs may not be used to deface the reputation of the Marine Corps, its personnel, or policies. Additionally, some imagery on this site may fall under copyright protection, such as imagery from personal photo collections donated to the Archives. Please contact us for more information regarding proper use of and/or copyright restrictions for these images.
- Vietnam War Photographs on Archives Branch FlickrSelections of Vietnam War era photographs from the collections of the Archives Branch.
Vietnam War Maps
- Vietnam Archive Map Collection at Texas Tech UniversityThe Vietnam Archive Map Collection at the Texas Tech University Vietnam Archive and Center Map Collection contains over 1,500 maps depicting Vietnam, Indochina, and Southeast Asia. Maps can be searched by map title, subject, scale, or location. Maps can also be downloaded in a variety of sizes and formats.
Publications and Monographs produced by the Marine Corps History Division
Available as full-text, searchable PDFs from the Government Publishing Office.
- "Death in the Imperial City: U.S. Marines in the Battle for Hue, 31 January to 2 March 1968"by Colonel Richard D. Camp, USMC
This monograph focuses on the battles of Quang Tri City and Hue that took place during the 1968 Tet offensive. The offensive itself, an all-out effort by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces to overrun the major cities of South Vietnam, marked the turning point of the Vietnam War. Although the attacks were costly failures in military terms, they set the United States on a path of disengagement from the war that ultimately led to the fall of Saigon some seven years later. - "First to Fight: U.S. Marines in Operation Starlite, August 1965"On 18 August 1965, U.S. Marines of Regimental Landing Team 7 (RLT 7) and Viet Cong soldiers of the 1st Viet Cong Regiment met each other in a ferocious struggle that would continue for several more days. Operation Starlite, as the Marines called it, took place on the Van Tuong Peninsula, about 10 miles south of the Marine base at Chu Lai. It was a significant battle for many reasons. Though the Marines and Viet Cong had encountered each other in small-sized patrols and ambushes before, Operation Starlite was the first time they met in open battle in regimental-sized formations.
- "Hill Fights: The First Battle of Khe Sanh, 1967"by Colonel Rod Andrew, Jr., USMCR
In the spring of 1967, some of the most vicious and bloody fighting of the Vietnam War occurred in the remote northwestern corner of the Republic of Vietnam. Khe Sanh lies in the mountainous northwest corner of Quang Tri Province. As an otherwise insignificant village, Khe Sanh’s location astride Route 9 near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Vietnam and just 10 kilometers east of the Laotian border made it strategically important to American military planners and their North Vietnamese foes. Later, in 1968, the legendary siege of Khe Sanh, partly coinciding with the larger Communist Tet Offensive, would make this small village a household name among Americans and a well-known heroic chapter in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps. - "Hill of Angels: U.S. Marines and the Battle for Con Thien, 1967 to 1968"by Colonel Joseph C. Long, USMC
This monograph examines U.S. Marine and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) actions throughout much of the northern half of a region that became known as “Leatherneck Square,” an area bounded by Con Thien and Gio Linh to the north—just below the demilitarized zone (DMZ)—and Cam Lo and Dong Ha to the south. The Battle of Con Thien also included activities within the DMZ north and west of Con Thien as far as the Ben Hai River. More than a dozen Marine operations were involved in varying degrees with the Battle of Con Thien. This account deals with the battle’s most significant and costly operations: Operation Hickory (18–28 May 1967), Operation Buffalo (2–14 July 1967), Operation Kingfisher (16 July–31 October 1967), and Operation Kentucky (1 November 1967–28 February 1968). - "In Persistent Battle: U.S. Marines in Operation Harvest Moon, 8 December to 20 December 1965"by Nicholas J. Schlosser
Harvest Moon was the Marines’ last large-scale, conventional operation of 1965 in Vietnam. Fought in the valleys and hills between the city of Tam Ky and the inland outpost of Hiep Duc, it was the largest combined operation between Marine units and the South Vietnamese military to that date. Perhaps most importantly, the battle demonstrated many of the frustrations and problems faced by all the American forces in South Vietnam as they tried to defeat the Viet Cong-led insurgency. The disparity in the fighting abilities between the Marines and South Vietnamese Army units hindered combat effectiveness. The lack of coordination between the two forces, and between the Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, also led to heavy losses on the allied side. - "Leadership Lessons and Remembrances from Vietnam"by Lieutenant General Herman Nickerson, Jr., USMC
- "The Path to War: U.S. Marine Corps Operations in Southeast Asia, 1961 to 1965"by Colonel George R. Hofmann, Jr., USMC
This narrative chronicles the activities of the U.S. Marine Corps in Southeast Asia from January 1961 to March 1965. The period witnesses increasing Marine Corps involvement in the region as our nation’s leaders responded to Communist aggression and sought to protect the United States’ national interests. - “U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Landing and the Buildup, 1965”This volume details the Marine activities during 1965, the year the war escalated and major American combat units were committed to the conflict. The narrative traces the landing of the nearly 5,000-man 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its transformation into the Ill Marine Amphibious Force, which by the end of the year contained over 38,000 Marines.
- "U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese, 1967"This volume details the change in focus of the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF), which fought in South Vietnam's northernmost corps area, I Corps.
- "U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Vietnamization and Redeployment, 1970-1971"This operational history details the gradual withdrawal in 1970-1971 of Marine combat forces from South Vietnam's northernmost corps area, I Corps, as part of an overall American strategy of turning the ground war against the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong over to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam.
Other Vietnam War Primary Sources
- Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech UniversityThe mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive is to encourage research and education regarding all aspects of the American experience in the Vietnam War. The VNCA maintains 7 million pages of scanned materials, including documents, photographs, slides, negatives, oral histories, artifacts, moving images, sound recordings, and maps. All non-copyrighted and digitized materials are available for users to download.
- Marine Corps Command Chronologies for the Vietnam WarCommand chronologies from the Vietnam War era (circa 1965-1979), held by the National Archives. Chronologies for deployed units are available as PDFs. Command Chronologies include the following four sections of information: organizational data, narrative summaries of events, accomplishments and losses, sequential listings of significant events within the unit, and supporting documentation. More extensive chronologies include lists of commanders, lists of staff officers, lists of locations where units were stationed, lists of awards and training received, lists of operations, situation reports, and records relating to community relations activities. Overall, the Command Chronologies provide a concise review of a unit’s experiences.