The Foreign Service Journal, April 2015

20 APRIL 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Editor's Introduction BY SHAWN DORMAN O n the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army and the evacuation of many thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese from the country, we take a look back at the Foreign Service role in Vietnam. Why revisit Vietnam? After all, the history of the war has been written and rewritten. Yet the civilian side of the story—the work and experiences of Foreign Service personnel who served in Viet- nam during the 1960s and 1970s—is not so well known. At the time, all those joining the Foreign Service knew there was more than a good chance they would be sent to Vietnam. That’s what worldwide availability meant. Service in Vietnam shaped a generation of Foreign Service officers, but do we understand how? As of late 1971, some 600 FSOs—or 20 percent of the Foreign Service—had served in Vietnam, more than half of themwith the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support program, or CORDS. In the following pages, we bring you some of the voices of the FS Vietnam generation, starting with an account of the beginning of the end, the 1968 Tet Offensive. First-person narratives of the final days in Saigon from different vantage points follow. And a critical review of the counterinsurgency effort and an analysis and snapshots of Vietnam today round out the presentation. In these stories you will find plenty of drama and tragedy, but also bravery, hope and inspiration. And, not least, lessons for today. Expeditionary Diplomacy Redux The Foreign Service experience in Vietnam, and in particular History Revisited FOCUS ON THE FOREIGN SERVICE IN VIETNAM with CORDS and its predecessor counterinsurgency efforts, was “expeditionary diplomacy” in all but name. Language-trained FSOs serving in the provinces were able to gain a true under- standing of the real situation on the ground, not something that was always welcome in Washington, or even at the embassy in Saigon. In addition to reporting, these FSOs were directly involved in leading project work in cooperation with the military. Mortal danger was ever-present. In all, 42 FSOs—most serving with or assigned to USAID—were killed in Vietnam between 1965 and 1975. Their names are inscribed on the AFSA Memorial Plaque at the State Department. In 1975, out of an extremely tragic situation of a new nation and U.S. ally collapsing, heroes emerged who, collectively, saved thousands of people. The two other U.S. allies in the Indochina war also fell that year. Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17, and Laos collapsed gradually as the Pathet Lao seized power. In subsequent years, the U.S. accepted significant numbers of refugees from both countries. At the heart of our story is a group of FSOs who, acting largely without instruction (and in some cases without permission) in the face of U.S. government inaction, organized what would become the largest refugee resettlement operation since World War II to rescue at-risk Vietnamese. Two of them, Lionel Rosenblatt and Craig Johnstone, saw the writing on the wall fromWashington and, frustrated that the U.S. government was not planning for the end, set off for Vietnam on their own, helping several hundred Vietnamese get out. In 1976, the two received AFSA dissent awards for their efforts. While Lionel Rosenblatt is not an author in this issue, his insights and recommendations informed our choices for who best to tell the story. For that, I offer this public note of thanks.