The Vietnam War from the Rear Echelon: An Intelligence Officer's Memoir, 1972-1973

Timothy Lomperis knows the Vietnam War, both as a soldier and as a scholar. In the latter role he has published extensively, including The War Everyone Lost—and Won, hailed as one of the best books ever written on that conflict. Even though he served two tours “in country” during the war’s most frustrating period—from the infamous Easter Invasion through the Paris Peace negotiations—this is the first time he has written about the war from such a personal perspective. An intelligence officer at the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Lomperis and his comrades were tasked with translating Washington war policy into action. Lomperis provides a rare view of the war from the perspective of a rear echelon officer. He and other so-called REMFs were deeply involved in trying to devise and implement strategies that would the win the war. This largely neglected perspective takes center stage in Lomperis’s memoir, presenting a seldom-seen midlevel perspective that provides the missing links between the Washington-Hanoi peace negotiations and the deadly battles between troops in the field. In exposing the inner workings of a military headquarters during wartime, Lomperis recounts the tensions of a command caught between the political imperatives of Washington and the deteriorating military situation on the ground. Involved in the planning and execution of Nixon's 1972 Christmas Bombing Campaign, designed to push the North Vietnamese into peace negotiations, Lomperis sheds new light on Nixon’s “secret plan to end the war” while offering rare glimpses of military operations and decision making on the ground in Saigon. Giving color to the REMF story, he also offers a portrait of life in wartime Saigon, writing with genuine respect for and curiosity about Vietnamese culture. And ultimately, he describes his own moral conundrum as the son of missionaries and an initial Cold Warrior who undergoes a gradual disillusionment that resolves into peaceful reconciliation. This incisive memoir is essential for better comprehending what the Vietnam experience was like for the large contingent of Americans who served there. It suggests the need for some fundamental rethinking about Vietnam—not only for the war’s veterans but also for those concerned with the lessons it carries for U.S. involvement in current insurgencies.

Table of Contents:
Preface: “What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?”Part I. Getting There 1. Prelude to the War’s End: The Years 1972-1973 2. Nixon’s “Secret” Plan and How I Got to Vietnam Part II. Over There 3. My Arrival In-Country 4. How the War Was Run: The Easter Invasion 5. Life in Saigon and a Trip to Tuy Hoa 6. Peace Talks, Christmas Bombing—and an Indian Interlude 7. I Spy 1: My Time as an Intelligence Liaison Officer 8. I Spy 2: The Order-of-Battle Conference 9. Civilian Life: The Kieu and Tay Ninh 10. The Unraveling: An Overblown Medal Part III. Coming to Terms 11. Conclusion: Going Native and Going Home 12. Epilogue: Secret Mission Revealed—and Its Liberation Chronology Notes Acronyms and “Nam Speak” Index

About the Author :
Timothy J. Lomperis, a Bronze Star veteran, is an emeritus professor of political science at Saint Louis University. He lives in Maryville, TN, where he writes a monthly column for the local paper, The Daily Times, and is the author of several books, including From People’s War to People’s Rule: Insurgency, Intervention, and the Lessons of Vietnam.

Review :
A significant contribution to our understanding of the war and an entertaining story for the general reader." - Proceedings, U.S. Naval Institute"Lomperis has crafted a useful study of the war through a synthesis of memoir and historical analysis. . . . Lomperis provides a stimulating analysis of the United States intelligence officer during the last American phase of the Vietnam War. His compendium on the history of the war intertwined with his personal account offers a new, dynamic source of information to Vietnam War scholars concerned with day-to-day intelligence activities at the ground level. . . . In addition to his research and discussion, Lomperis provides a concise timeline of the war as well as a useful glossary aptly titled ‘Nam Speak.’ Scholars will find this work as an excellent foundation to further research on the role that intelligence officers played during the Vietnam War." - H-Net Reviews "Lomperis deftly handles the personal and the political and historical in this well-written and valuable book." - The VVA Veteran "Lomperis’s conclusions offer refreshing perspectives, making this essential for serious readers in this subject. A valuable contribution on a little understood part of the war." - Library Journal "An inspired and compelling personal perspective on what was surely the ultimate tipping point in the Vietnam War . . . written with elegance and with an eye to small details and telling human moments." - Frank Snepp, author of Decent Interval: An Insider’s Account of Saigon’s Indecent End Told by the CIA’s Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam "An engagingly written, often touching, candid and revealing memoir." - Lewis Sorley, author of A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam "Strongly recommended for anyone interested in the Vietnam War." - James H. Willbanks, author of Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War