This is the first of a series of chronological histories prepared by the Marine Corps History and Museums Division to cover the entire span of Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam conflict. This particular volume covers a relatively obscure chapter in U.S. Marine Corps history—the activities of Marines in Vietnam between 1954 and 1964. The narrative traces the evolution of those activities from a one-man advisory operation at the conclusion of the French-Indochina War in 1954 to the advisory and combat support activities of some 700 Marines at the end of 1964.
As the introductory volume for the series this account has an important secondary objective: to establish a geographical, political, and military foundation upon which the subsequent histories can be developed.
I enjoyed this read and was very happy with the detail on Marine advisory roles in SVN. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the period prior to the commitment of ground troops to SVN.
A bit dry and occasionally skewed. On the content that it does report on (who knows what classified stuff was going on during this time period) it seemed to be a very accurate recounting.