The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam

by Max Boot

The commitment of American airpower brought with it the commitment of American ground forces, because, as numerous attacks had made clear, South Vietnamese troops could not adequately guard American bases. “I’m scared to death of putting ground forces in,” Johnson confided to McNamara, “but I’m more frightened about losing a bunch of planes from lack of security.”21 On March 9, 1965, the front page of the New York Times depicted Marines storming ashore from landing craft onto the beaches of Da Nang, a coastal city in central Vietnam, as if it were Iwo Jima. Thirty-five hundred leathernecks, two battalions’ worth, were to provide security at the nearby American air base. They were not supposed to undertake offensive operations or engage in any combat at all unless first attacked. But it was not long before what a later generation would call “mission creep” set in. By August, despite growing unrest at home, there were more than 125,000 American troops in South Vietnam, and they were beginning to take the offensive against the Vietcong. By the end of what would become a pivotal year, the U.S. commitment would swell to 184,000 troops.