A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam

Question

One of the unique features of the Vietnam War was the war correspondent (a special type of journalist) that went to the war zone and reported on what was happening there. How did this affect how the U.S. military commanders conducted the war?

Asked by Cat on 15 Feb 03:42

Last updated by Cat on 15 Feb 04:46

1 Answers

Answered by Cat on 15 Feb 04:46

War correspondents had been used before, but never as extensively as in Vietnam. The commanders that were running the war now had to bear in mind the public relations and image aspects of horrors of war on top of their primary duties of winning. This created some trepidation among the command staff and may have had an adverse effect on military performance.