Silence Was A Weapon: The Vietnam War In The Villages

by Stuart A. Herrington

Forward air controllers fought a tension-filled, three-dimensional war in Vietnam, quite literally running the air war on the battlefield where they coordinated all air strikes. It was a dangerous life as they flew low and slow, always a prime target for enemy small arms fire.

Genres: Military Fiction, Military History, History, War

238 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1982

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is mediocre, and oddly naif at times. But the content is a reasonably sharp and nuanced look at insurgency.

[Walk-Minh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counter-intelligence and counter-insurgency are not exactly fool's errands if you’re ultimate goal is to undermine and defeat an enemy. That is, unless, you fail to learn, study and essentially become your enemy, which, on its face, is counterintuitive. Thus, Herrington’s book provides good snapshots and clear-headed analysis of his role in Operation Phoenix during his one-and-a-half tours in South Vietnam near the Cambodian border.

Once Herrington touches down in the Hau Nghia district he soon finds himself in an increasingly precarious situation with multiple forces conspiring to unravel the U.S. military’s mission to hand over ownership of fighting South Vietnamese communist insurgents and North Vietnamese regular troops to South Vietnamese military and police forces. That’s on the macro-level. On the micro-level, though, Herrington encounters individual Vietnamese who are simply trying to survive and live normal lives in extraordinary circumstances.

The author’s relationships with captured Viet Cong insurgents who decide to “rally” to the South Vietnamese government’s side is possibly the most fascinating aspect of the book because his accounting of them brings the revolutionary movement out of the shadows and serves to shatter assumptions people tend to have about the war in Vietnam. Herrington illustrates how and why he developed the skills to effectively deal with detainees who would eventually provide him and the other authorities with valuable information that they could act on. By behaving in a cordial, professional and friendly manner, he essentially broke down the psychological and communication barriers between himself and the detainee in order to begin the process of them working towards one common goal: to expose, infiltrate and dismantle the Viet Cong infrastructure.

But, make no mistake about it, Herrington views the cause of South Vietnam and the U.S. to be the more righteous one and is fully committed to helping defeat the communist military forces in that country. Telling, though, are his encounters with, knowledge of and frustration with the endemic corruption exhibited by the South Vietnamese authorities and ambivalence toward the government shown by the villagers with whom he had regular contact, and the peasantry in general. I count this book as a valuable resource on my way to better understanding the war from which I was born.

[Mrs. Hassig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my husband, the Vietnam War reader. However, I ran out of books on our cruise and got desperate. When I stared reading it I was a might bit bored! But I stuck with it and I'm glad I did! I learned even more about a war that I lived through, taught to students, watched dozens of documentaries and movies about, and read multiple books by actual participants. Yet still, I am filled with questions and a deep, deep sadness for the tens of thousands of American lives and millions of East Asian lives sacrificed for a reason so complicated or so simplistic depending on who you are and how realistic your views my be. Herrington was there and he experienced the war from every angle because he was right in the middle of it. His final answers will make you think and hurt your heart.

[Reader Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rare first hand account into the covert US operations in Viet Nam and tactics, techniques that were not codified in military doctrine - which would have served the US military well in future conflicts faced. Captain Herrington would go on to distinguish himself as the Army’s preeminent spy catcher and master interrogation expert, retiring as a Colonel and a recognized, sought after expert consulting the Department of Defense even in retirement.

[Travis Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A personal account of a military advisor during the Vietnam War. For a war memoir this book is not nearly as

dry as you might think. Herrington analyzes the successes, and many failures over the Phoenix Program, the

effort to eliminate the shadow VC government, but more important it looks at the war from a grassroots

level, inside the villages, and why the US never managed to really win the "hearts and minds" of the

people. What makes this book different is that it contains a lot of humor and anecdotes as well as a cast

of interesting and complex characters that make the book feel less like a straight up military study. Also,

the book has a lot of wisdom about counterinsurgencies that seems very relevant today. A really good read

for any lover of military history,

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding short read on a personal perspective of Vietnam providing a "medium picture" of the situation. Provides great insight on strategies both successful and unsuccessful against the VietCong in their unconventional warfare. A "Must Have" in any decent Vietnam literature collection.