*PrefaceOnly now, fifteen years after the last U.S. combat troops left Southeast Asia,are Americans finally coming to terms with the Vietnam War, recognizing thecomplex political and ideological forces at work there, realizing the tremendouscost of the conflict, but at the same time coming to appreciate the individualsacrifices of millions of men and women who served there under the most difficultof circumstances. Historians will, no doubt, continue to debate the origins ofthe conflict and, with “twenty-twenty hindsight,” suggest what might have been.No one, however, will question that the Vietnam War was a seminal event inmodem American history—a watershed against which the past will be measuredfor generations. In a sense, the war ended “the American century,” that periodof unrivaled power and virtue the United States enjoyed between 1918 and 1965.During the Vietnam years, liberalism gave way to cynicism, internationalism toisolationism, and naive innocence to cold reality. Quite simply, America was adifferent place in 1975 than it had been in 1964; life would never be the sameagain, and the Vietnam War was responsible.This Dictionary of the Vietnam War is designed to provide a ready referencetool for students and scholars. Its major focus is the thirty years between 1945and 1975, although critically important individuals and events from earlier yearsare also discussed. The Dictionary provides brief descriptive essays on most ofthe people, legislation, military operations, and controversies important to Amer¬ican participation in the Vietnam War. References at the end of each entry providesources of additional information for those wishing to pursue the subject further