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Courageous Dissent:: The History Behind the Vietnam Warfighting Strategy and the Five Marine Generals Who Advocated Alternatives, 1965-1969
This history is written as a chronological narrative of Vietnam warfare strategies and the characters involved in their selection and implementation. These strategies are identified as principal reasons for America’s failure in Vietnam as well as alternatives offered by five Marine General dissenters. Two major operations are detailed as examples of two differing strategies—-Khe Sanh and Dewey Canyon. The time frame of these events is bookmarked by the arrival and departure of the first U.S. combat troops in Vietnam - the 9th Marine Regiment - an elite military organization, where all four writers of this book served as U.S Marine Lieutenants in 1968 and 1969.
- GenresNonfictionHistoryWar
184 pages, Paperback
Published May 24, 2023
3 people are currently reading
1597 people want to read
About the author
A.S. Kyle
1 book10 followersMy Background: following college, I was commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps. After Vietnam and graduate school, I worked for 25 years at a Fortune 100 technology company, 5 years as a division general manager. My second career was 3 start up companies - medical devices in cardiology and neurology . Courageous Dissent is my third career.
The other authors are friends from high school, college and the Marine Corps. All were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants: two graduated from Duke University where they completed NROTC together, one from the University of North Carolina, and one from Oklahoma State University. All would attend the Marine Officer’s Basic School at Quantico that summer—-three in the same company. All four would receive orders to -Vietnam upon finishing the Basic School. Two would choose the infantry specialty, and two would receive additional training and assignments in communications and artillery. All four would participate in Operation Dewey Canyon.
Two of the authors grew up in Marine families, both sons of Marine Generals who would serve as the Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. One of the authors would retire from the Marine Corps after more than twenty years, and all would find successful careers following their Marine Service. They represent experience and expertise in law, business, contracting/consulting, and academia. Together they hold four Bachelor degrees, five Masters degrees, one JD and one PhD.
The other authors are friends from high school, college and the Marine Corps. All were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants: two graduated from Duke University where they completed NROTC together, one from the University of North Carolina, and one from Oklahoma State University. All would attend the Marine Officer’s Basic School at Quantico that summer—-three in the same company. All four would receive orders to -Vietnam upon finishing the Basic School. Two would choose the infantry specialty, and two would receive additional training and assignments in communications and artillery. All four would participate in Operation Dewey Canyon.
Two of the authors grew up in Marine families, both sons of Marine Generals who would serve as the Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. One of the authors would retire from the Marine Corps after more than twenty years, and all would find successful careers following their Marine Service. They represent experience and expertise in law, business, contracting/consulting, and academia. Together they hold four Bachelor degrees, five Masters degrees, one JD and one PhD.
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June 30, 2023“Courageous Dissent,” The History Behind the Vietnam Warfighting Strategy and the Five Marine Generals who Advocated Alternatives, 1965-1969 is a remarkably frank narrative that puts forth the premise that conflicting war strategies made the Vietnam War unwinnable. The authors, who served in Vietnam as junior officers, document five Marine generals that dissented with the prevailing war strategy but were unsuccessful in changing strategic approaches. The authors cite two major operations--Khe Sanh and Dewey canyon--as examples of two differing strategies. Khe Sanh represented a defensive strategy, while Dewey Canyon typified an offensive high mobility operation. Meticulously researched and well written, “Courageous Dissent” adds new insight into the tragedy of America’s bloody Vietnam venture. I highly recommend the book. Colonel Dick Camp
June 28, 2023
I just finished reading Courageous Dissent, and would like to congratulate Al Kyle for writing a truly interesting book that tells so much about what might have happened during the Viet Nam War, if only the US leaders had listened to five very astute Marine Generals. He did a lot of very careful research, and combined that with clear organization that made this book readable, believable, coherent and effective in telling an important part of the history of the Viet Nam War. I finished the book thinking, “What if?” and “If only” these five very capable military leaders had been heeded. It was hard not to come away with a lot of anger towards Robert McNamara and General Westmoreland. As the old saying goes, they were seldom right, but never in doubt. Their overweening belief in their own competence left them totally blind to anyone else’s ideas — disastrous mind-sights when it came to conducting a war.
June 28, 2023
This is a terrific book. It reminds me of Mark Twain’s writing advice: “Write What You Know.”
That’s what the authors did here, since they also served together in Vietnam.
Courageous Dissent explains what went wrong on the battlefield in Vietnam in a simple, yet thought-provoking approach that will surely resonate with the authors’ contemporaries.
But readers of all kinds will love Courageous Dissent due to its brilliant concept.
The book focuses on five Marine Generals who bravely challenged conventional wisdom and advocated for significant changes in war strategy at critical moments in the conflict. Their advice, sadly, was not always taken.
But Courageous Dissent isn’t just a “What if…” book about Vietnam; it’s about the importance of speaking up and telling uncomfortable truths, regardless of who is listening. The stories of these Marines serve as inspiration, reminding us that courage and honor are timeless virtues.
The book whisks you from the battlefield to the White House and back again. It explains the importance of Khe Sanh and Dewey Canyon while also giving you the origin of terms like the Cold War. You’ll learn about the JASONS, as well as an extraordinary Marine Captain named Harry Baig, and get a firsthand account of what it’s like to live through a surprise attack by the North Vietnamese.
Above all, though, Courageous Dissent serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring significance of truth-telling, which remains as relevant today as it was half a century ago.
That’s what the authors did here, since they also served together in Vietnam.
Courageous Dissent explains what went wrong on the battlefield in Vietnam in a simple, yet thought-provoking approach that will surely resonate with the authors’ contemporaries.
But readers of all kinds will love Courageous Dissent due to its brilliant concept.
The book focuses on five Marine Generals who bravely challenged conventional wisdom and advocated for significant changes in war strategy at critical moments in the conflict. Their advice, sadly, was not always taken.
But Courageous Dissent isn’t just a “What if…” book about Vietnam; it’s about the importance of speaking up and telling uncomfortable truths, regardless of who is listening. The stories of these Marines serve as inspiration, reminding us that courage and honor are timeless virtues.
The book whisks you from the battlefield to the White House and back again. It explains the importance of Khe Sanh and Dewey Canyon while also giving you the origin of terms like the Cold War. You’ll learn about the JASONS, as well as an extraordinary Marine Captain named Harry Baig, and get a firsthand account of what it’s like to live through a surprise attack by the North Vietnamese.
Above all, though, Courageous Dissent serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring significance of truth-telling, which remains as relevant today as it was half a century ago.
June 11, 2023
I’d like to start my review of Courageous Dissent with a particular audience in mind – namely people like me – and then explore why others will be, indeed, should be interested in this extraordinary book for it is a powerful contribution not just to U.S. military history and military history in general, but to any historical understanding of our country and its involvement in the tragedy that was Vietnam.
Like the four authors, I was also a Marine officer in the 9th Regiment serving in Vietnam. I had a variety of assignments there, but near the end of my tour one of my duties was to attend intelligence briefings at the Regimental level and report back to the officers of my Battalion. Nevertheless, I had no clear idea of what our strategy was, there in I Corp along Route 9 just south of the DMZ. I knew that certain areas were more hazardous than others, and some of the reasons why, but beyond that the purpose of the various campaigns, troop movements, retrogrades, and so forth were things about which I was (almost) completely oblivious. It just didn’t seem to matter at my level of involvement.
When I got back from Vietnam, having been a compulsive reader all my life, there were a lot of books I wanted to dive into immediately, but books about Vietnam weren’t among them. I didn’t really want to know. And I felt that way up until the time I got out of the Corps, and then became interested not in the history of it, but in whether someone had captured the experience of it. And that’s when I found Dispatches by Michael Herr, read it, started thinking about Nam again, and decided it was unlikely to be done better than that.
Now, some fifty plus years later, this book Courageous Dissent comes my way by chance. And, although I resisted, the book took me deeply into the crucial decisions that had shaped the campaigns in which I was involved, deeply into how these decisions had been made, and deeply into the mistakes. And I was fascinated, angered, and enlightened by it.
There was, however, something more. This book is the story of five Marine Generals -- Wallace Greene, Victor Krulak, Wood Kyle, Lowell English, and Raymond Davis – each of whom courageously dissented from decision being made that they knew were mistakes. Each is told as a story, allowing the reader to find themselves within it, as the powers-that-be plow ahead over these dissents, and in the course of reading these five stories one can feel the frustration, frustrations that, better than almost anything else, capture the political/military machinations of the War.
In doing this, and this is the “something more” for me, I came away with an enormous respect for the Marine Corps. You’ll notice that I used the word “courageous” in describing these dissents. And that they were. This is not the bodily courage of Marines willing to give their lives for their fellow Marines. It is the sort of courage one needs over long periods of time, long hours of sleepless worrying, difficult self-assessments and doubts along the way. The courage of a steadfastness of belief that arises above all personal concerns. These were brave men acting at their own expense for the paramount good of saving live by prosecuting the War in a way that made strategic, tactical, and moral sense.
So, for readers like me, this was a powerful awakening. For those of you without a personal connection to the War, I can also tell you that you don’t need one to appreciate what these four officers have done here, appreciate the intelligence of their narratives, the passion with which they often write, and their belief in the story they are telling.
What Dispatches did for me, this book might do for you, that is, to give you a Vietnam War worthy of your continued thought, worthy of further examination for what it reveals about the way in which we make military decisions in time of War – a time we are now in both directly and vicariously through Ukraine—and worthy for what it can reveal about who “we” were and, therefore, who “we” are now.
I highly recommend it to you.
Like the four authors, I was also a Marine officer in the 9th Regiment serving in Vietnam. I had a variety of assignments there, but near the end of my tour one of my duties was to attend intelligence briefings at the Regimental level and report back to the officers of my Battalion. Nevertheless, I had no clear idea of what our strategy was, there in I Corp along Route 9 just south of the DMZ. I knew that certain areas were more hazardous than others, and some of the reasons why, but beyond that the purpose of the various campaigns, troop movements, retrogrades, and so forth were things about which I was (almost) completely oblivious. It just didn’t seem to matter at my level of involvement.
When I got back from Vietnam, having been a compulsive reader all my life, there were a lot of books I wanted to dive into immediately, but books about Vietnam weren’t among them. I didn’t really want to know. And I felt that way up until the time I got out of the Corps, and then became interested not in the history of it, but in whether someone had captured the experience of it. And that’s when I found Dispatches by Michael Herr, read it, started thinking about Nam again, and decided it was unlikely to be done better than that.
Now, some fifty plus years later, this book Courageous Dissent comes my way by chance. And, although I resisted, the book took me deeply into the crucial decisions that had shaped the campaigns in which I was involved, deeply into how these decisions had been made, and deeply into the mistakes. And I was fascinated, angered, and enlightened by it.
There was, however, something more. This book is the story of five Marine Generals -- Wallace Greene, Victor Krulak, Wood Kyle, Lowell English, and Raymond Davis – each of whom courageously dissented from decision being made that they knew were mistakes. Each is told as a story, allowing the reader to find themselves within it, as the powers-that-be plow ahead over these dissents, and in the course of reading these five stories one can feel the frustration, frustrations that, better than almost anything else, capture the political/military machinations of the War.
In doing this, and this is the “something more” for me, I came away with an enormous respect for the Marine Corps. You’ll notice that I used the word “courageous” in describing these dissents. And that they were. This is not the bodily courage of Marines willing to give their lives for their fellow Marines. It is the sort of courage one needs over long periods of time, long hours of sleepless worrying, difficult self-assessments and doubts along the way. The courage of a steadfastness of belief that arises above all personal concerns. These were brave men acting at their own expense for the paramount good of saving live by prosecuting the War in a way that made strategic, tactical, and moral sense.
So, for readers like me, this was a powerful awakening. For those of you without a personal connection to the War, I can also tell you that you don’t need one to appreciate what these four officers have done here, appreciate the intelligence of their narratives, the passion with which they often write, and their belief in the story they are telling.
What Dispatches did for me, this book might do for you, that is, to give you a Vietnam War worthy of your continued thought, worthy of further examination for what it reveals about the way in which we make military decisions in time of War – a time we are now in both directly and vicariously through Ukraine—and worthy for what it can reveal about who “we” were and, therefore, who “we” are now.
I highly recommend it to you.
July 12, 2023
In my opinion the four co-authors, all of whom valiantly served our country as Marine Corps officers during the Vietnam War, have done an outstanding job in researching and writing this book. While the Vietnam War has been the subject of many books that have been written by military historians and other participants in the War, these authors have done a uniquely remarkable job of writing a chronological narrative focused on certain warfare strategies used in Vietnam and the principal characters involved with those strategies, and they have done it with great clarity and attention to detail.
As I read the book, I experienced a wide range of emotions. While I knew some of the background based on various previous public accounts, I was shocked and angry to learn so much more about the extent of the lies told to the American public by our political leaders at the time and the extent of their disregard of the advice they were receiving from our military leaders, and in particular the five Marine Generals who advocated for alternative strategies for conducting the war that the authors describe in detail in the book. The decisions by our political leaders in adopting a “barrier strategy” (derived from the Maginot Line in World War II), a “strong point strategy” (e.g., defending certain locations like Khe Sanh when doing so had no strategic value), and perhaps worst of all, adopting an “attrition strategy” despite the obvious flaws in that strategy pointed out to our political leaders by the Marine Generals, all combined to make a successful outcome of the war impossible to be achieved.
The other emotion I experienced as I read the book was extreme sadness as I read the authors’ vivid accounts of the battles that were fought during the relevant period (1965-1969) that the warfare strategies were being used. The enormous toll in terms of additional dead and wounded soldiers that resulted from the terrible decisions that were made in disregard of the alternatives advocated by the five Marine Generals is hard to comprehend.
At the end of the book the authors pose the “What If” question. From my standpoint, after having read the authors’ narrative and the supporting Appendices describing the alternative strategies recommended by the five courageous Marine Generals in more detail, I am convinced that if the alternatives advocated by the Generals had been adopted by our political leaders the human toll would have been much less and even the eventual outcome could have been much different.
Finally, it is remarkable to me that the four co-authors, one of whom was my college roommate and a friend for over fifty years, after uncovering the truth about the failures of our political leaders that put them and their comrades at such unnecessary risk of death or injury, could have written this book without a tinge of bitterness in their narrative. All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to these authors for their courageous military service and the hard work that they put in to bring this narrative to fruition. One can only hope that future generations of political leaders will learn valuable lessons from this narrative and thereby better assure that the failures described in this book will not be repeated.
As I read the book, I experienced a wide range of emotions. While I knew some of the background based on various previous public accounts, I was shocked and angry to learn so much more about the extent of the lies told to the American public by our political leaders at the time and the extent of their disregard of the advice they were receiving from our military leaders, and in particular the five Marine Generals who advocated for alternative strategies for conducting the war that the authors describe in detail in the book. The decisions by our political leaders in adopting a “barrier strategy” (derived from the Maginot Line in World War II), a “strong point strategy” (e.g., defending certain locations like Khe Sanh when doing so had no strategic value), and perhaps worst of all, adopting an “attrition strategy” despite the obvious flaws in that strategy pointed out to our political leaders by the Marine Generals, all combined to make a successful outcome of the war impossible to be achieved.
The other emotion I experienced as I read the book was extreme sadness as I read the authors’ vivid accounts of the battles that were fought during the relevant period (1965-1969) that the warfare strategies were being used. The enormous toll in terms of additional dead and wounded soldiers that resulted from the terrible decisions that were made in disregard of the alternatives advocated by the five Marine Generals is hard to comprehend.
At the end of the book the authors pose the “What If” question. From my standpoint, after having read the authors’ narrative and the supporting Appendices describing the alternative strategies recommended by the five courageous Marine Generals in more detail, I am convinced that if the alternatives advocated by the Generals had been adopted by our political leaders the human toll would have been much less and even the eventual outcome could have been much different.
Finally, it is remarkable to me that the four co-authors, one of whom was my college roommate and a friend for over fifty years, after uncovering the truth about the failures of our political leaders that put them and their comrades at such unnecessary risk of death or injury, could have written this book without a tinge of bitterness in their narrative. All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to these authors for their courageous military service and the hard work that they put in to bring this narrative to fruition. One can only hope that future generations of political leaders will learn valuable lessons from this narrative and thereby better assure that the failures described in this book will not be repeated.
June 29, 2023
Much has been written over the years about why the American military effort in Vietnam eventually failed, often focusing on the ineffectiveness of the Johnson Administration’s scheme to erect a high-tech, anti-infiltration barrier, consisting of electronic sensors, barbed wire, and landmines, etc., across the length of the Demilitarized Zone, later dubbed “The McNamara Line” in honor of the Secretary of Defense who championed the idea. The Line was designed to stop North Vietnamese Army troops and supplies from entering the south and was later tweaked to create “strong point” forts along it, anchored in the west at what would prove to be the highly untenable Khe Sanh Combat Base.
What was less known to many, even to this day, is the fearless actions by five of the Marine Corps’ highest-ranking officers, some risking career suicide, to resist what they knew, from many decades of the Corps' experience fighting insurgencies, to be a flawed strategy, one that would result in ultimate defeat and the unnecessary loss of Marine lives.
Courageous Dissent tells their story in a tightly written chronology, woven within historical context and addressing the real-time ramifications of the plan. The four co-authors would later serve as Marine officers in Vietnam, all bearing the brunt of these ill-fated warfighting decisions.
As someone who has written extensively on this subject, and a Marine veteran of the 1968 siege of Khe Sanh, I found this book to be highly informative, and appreciate the new aspects I gained on the subject—in addition to being re-inspired by the courage of these general officers who refused to remain silent and did what they knew to be right and honorable.
What was less known to many, even to this day, is the fearless actions by five of the Marine Corps’ highest-ranking officers, some risking career suicide, to resist what they knew, from many decades of the Corps' experience fighting insurgencies, to be a flawed strategy, one that would result in ultimate defeat and the unnecessary loss of Marine lives.
Courageous Dissent tells their story in a tightly written chronology, woven within historical context and addressing the real-time ramifications of the plan. The four co-authors would later serve as Marine officers in Vietnam, all bearing the brunt of these ill-fated warfighting decisions.
As someone who has written extensively on this subject, and a Marine veteran of the 1968 siege of Khe Sanh, I found this book to be highly informative, and appreciate the new aspects I gained on the subject—in addition to being re-inspired by the courage of these general officers who refused to remain silent and did what they knew to be right and honorable.
January 29, 2024
"Courageous Dissent" represents a unique interpretation of America's military involvement in Vietnam from 1965 to 1969. The four brave writers of this well-researched Vietnam story have been able to step into the breach of exposing the then on-going conflict between Washington's Executive Branch and the five, battle-tested Marine generals that were directly responsible for their Marine troops in Vietnam.
Likewise, this proud, "blood and guts" story presents a remarkably detailed history of the U.S. Marines' role during a four-to-five year period in Vietnam. Quite stunning! The reader will be shocked by the various arguments, differences of opinion, conflicts and the resulting painful cons-
sequences between Washington's politicians and America's combat-experienced warriors fighting to win a difficult war.
Despite the staggering loss of human life (...over 58,000 Americans KIA and more than one million South East Asian lives lost."), in the end America failed to win the 20-year (1955-1975) Vietnam War.
Antony Edgar
Likewise, this proud, "blood and guts" story presents a remarkably detailed history of the U.S. Marines' role during a four-to-five year period in Vietnam. Quite stunning! The reader will be shocked by the various arguments, differences of opinion, conflicts and the resulting painful cons-
sequences between Washington's politicians and America's combat-experienced warriors fighting to win a difficult war.
Despite the staggering loss of human life (...over 58,000 Americans KIA and more than one million South East Asian lives lost."), in the end America failed to win the 20-year (1955-1975) Vietnam War.
Antony Edgar
June 21, 2023
This is a fascinating, engaging and enlightening book on several levels.
First, it is a wonderful historical account of key events and decisions that shaped the war and may have determined its outcome. I avoided being drafted for the Viet Nam War by just a year or two but I knew many friends and classmates who served there. Most of my knowledge of the war was based on broad-brush reporting and the discussion and debate that went on around me at the time. This book gives a detailed and close-up view of specific events in a way that provided a deeper and richer understanding of major turning points in the war. Purely as a historical work, it was fascinating.
Second, the book describes five key decision points in the war and demonstrates that, in each case, the Marine Generals involved proposed courses of action which, had they been followed, may have changed the direction and perhaps even the outcome of the war. In only one case was the general's strategy implemented (successfully) but in all the others, despite multiple attempts, well-supported arguments and clear thinking, the proposals were ignored or overruled. Yet, in each case, the proposals proved sound. Together, these events show the insight, clear thinking and sound judgment of the Marine leadership and left me wondering what would have happened had they prevailed in their arguments.
Last, the stories paint a picture of a Marine force (and, by extension, a US Military) that is truly impressive. The bravery, resourcefulness, determination, commitment and expertise of the Marines shines through and I was left with a sense of pride, admiration and confidence in the Marines and the US Military.
I highly recommend this book.
First, it is a wonderful historical account of key events and decisions that shaped the war and may have determined its outcome. I avoided being drafted for the Viet Nam War by just a year or two but I knew many friends and classmates who served there. Most of my knowledge of the war was based on broad-brush reporting and the discussion and debate that went on around me at the time. This book gives a detailed and close-up view of specific events in a way that provided a deeper and richer understanding of major turning points in the war. Purely as a historical work, it was fascinating.
Second, the book describes five key decision points in the war and demonstrates that, in each case, the Marine Generals involved proposed courses of action which, had they been followed, may have changed the direction and perhaps even the outcome of the war. In only one case was the general's strategy implemented (successfully) but in all the others, despite multiple attempts, well-supported arguments and clear thinking, the proposals were ignored or overruled. Yet, in each case, the proposals proved sound. Together, these events show the insight, clear thinking and sound judgment of the Marine leadership and left me wondering what would have happened had they prevailed in their arguments.
Last, the stories paint a picture of a Marine force (and, by extension, a US Military) that is truly impressive. The bravery, resourcefulness, determination, commitment and expertise of the Marines shines through and I was left with a sense of pride, admiration and confidence in the Marines and the US Military.
I highly recommend this book.
July 31, 2023
Should be required reading at military schools from captain level onward. Documented cases of dissent by senior officers in the Vietnam conflict provide examples of moral courage that should serve as exemplars for serving officers. The examples also illuminate the cost of ignoring mature advice by those who priorities are other than the most efficient and effective methods of fighting wars.
April 18, 2024
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