The Vietnam War in the Villages

Stalking the Vietcong: Inside Operation Phoenix - Stuart Herrington

 After majoring in English at Duquesne University, Herrington landed the right job for somebody trained to read closely, listen attentively, analyze logically, and argue forcefully: an Army career in counterintelligence during the Vietnam era.

He was assigned to the Phoenix Program which has suffered a reputation for being an alleged Murder Incorporated, terminating with extreme prejudice inconvenient or suspect Vietnamese. In fact Phoenix's crucial task was at the district level. In 1971-72 Captain Herrington's job involved helping Republic of Vietnam officials in Hau Nghia province. This strategically vital spot was 45 kilometers northwest of Saigon and close to Cambodian locations to which the adversary typically retreated.

Herrington's task was to eliminate cadres of the Provisional Revolutionary Government who made up the shadow government of the VC. Unlike other spy masters and his RVN colleagues, he did not use brutality, abuse or torture. He insisted on providing prisoners - that is, prospective defectors - with unconditional humane treatment, new clothes, medical attention, and home cooked North Vietnamese dishes. Basically he used the truth to persuade POW's that they have been lied to and their idealism exploited.

 His methods achieved results despite the villagers’ silence and the relentless enemy totally convinced their inhuman and corrupt cause was just. Herrington points out that some VC's were determined and creative in bouncing back even when they had suffered major setbacks. Herrington also mentions corrupt and incompetent local officials who became more fatalistic and greedy to get while the getting was good as the US drew down. Near the end in April 1975, four North Vietnamese divisions easily overran Hau Nghia's defenses en route to Saigon.

The book was first published in 1982 as Silence was a Weapon: The Vietnam War in the Villages. This book is a must-read for people interested in counter-insurgency operations.