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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which ARVN commander launches a "dummy assault" on the Ap Bac site to save face and put a positive PR spin on the confrontation?

2. During the late 1960s, who is the station chief in Vietnam for the pacification-worker project?

3. In what year are John Paul Vann and Mary married?

4. According to John Paul Vann, the Vietnamese colonels in Saigon are best described as:

5. Which distinguished general from World War II is dispatched to Vietnam to assess the situation?

Short Essay Questions

1. What word best describes John Paul Vann's mother, Myrtle Lee Tripp? Provide a justification for your answer.

2. What were some of John Paul Vann's assigned duties upon his return to Vietnam?

3. What did this situation make John Paul Vann realize?

4. Following the inconclusive, but embarrassing, result of Ap Bac, General Huynh Van Cao launched a dummy attack on the same location. Why did he do this? What was the result?

5. Following the conflicting stories regarding the success of the Battle of Ap Bac, how did Washington, DC, respond?

6. Which parent did the majority of the household chores in the Vann home? Why?

7. What media figure befriends John Paul Vann and is responsible for stealing and leaking the "Pentagon Papers" to the U.S. media? What strategy of John Paul Vann's did this person find most appealing?

8. What new war tactic, employed by the U.S. marines in 1965, particularly disgusted John Paul Vann and why?

9. When did Myrtle Lee Tripp's second husband, Frank Vann, finally adopt John Paul Vann as his son? Why did it take so long?

10. With whom did John Paul Vann spend a great amount of his time growing up? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

John Paul Vann retired from the military in 1963. However, he re-enlisted to serve in Vietnam as a civilian with the Agency for International Development (AID) just two years later, in 1965. Briefly explain why you think John Paul Vann would make that decision and support your answer with information given in the text.

Essay Topic 2

At least five United States' Presidents attempted to deal with the situation in Vietnam. Which presidents were involved and how did each one approach the problems created by the U.S. military (or advisory) operations in Vietnam? In your opinion, which president's approach was best in your opinion and why?

Essay Topic 3

What was the U.S. military's rationale for the burning of villages policy enacted in August, 1965? Given his strong desire to defeat the Vietcong, why did John Paul Vann disassociate himself from the practice in a very vocal way? Did John Paul Vann believe that the U.S. marines could have pursued a better course of action? If so, what was it?

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