Let the Dogs Bark: The Psychological War in Vietnam, 1960-1968 Metadata

Title

• Main Title Let the Dogs Bark: The Psychological War in Vietnam, 1960-1968

Creator

• Author: Roberts, Mervyn Edwin, III
  Creator Type: Personal

Contributor

• Chair: Citino, Robert Michael, 1958-
  Contributor Type: Personal
  Contributor Info: Major Professor
• Committee Member: McCaslin, Richard B.
  Contributor Type: Personal
• Committee Member: Stockdale, Nancy L.
  Contributor Type: Personal
• Committee Member: Wawro, Geoffrey
  Contributor Type: Personal
• Committee Member: Hunter, Bruce
  Contributor Type: Personal

Publisher

• Name: University of North Texas
  Place of Publication: Denton, Texas
  Additional Info: www.unt.edu

Date

• Creation: 2016-05

Language

• English

Description

• Content Description: Between 1960 and 1968 the United States conducted intensive psychological operations (PSYOP) in Vietnam. To date, no comprehensive study of the psychological war there has been conducted. This dissertation fills that void, describing the development of American PSYOP forces and their employment in Vietnam. By looking at the complex interplay of American, North Vietnamese, National Liberation Front (NLF) and South Vietnamese propaganda programs, a deeper understanding of these activities and the larger war emerges. The time period covered is important because it comprises the initial introduction of American PSYOP advisory forces and the transition to active participation in the war. It also allows enough time to determine the long-term effects of both the North Vietnamese/NLF and American/South Vietnamese programs. Ending with the 1968 Tet Offensive is fitting because it marks both a major change in the war and the establishment of the 4th Psychological Operations Group to manage the American PSYOP effort. This dissertation challenges the argument that the Northern/Viet Cong program was much more effective that the opposing one. Contrary to common perceptions, the North Vietnamese propaganda increasingly fell on deaf ears in the south by 1968. This study also provides support for understanding the Tet Offensive as a desperate gamble born out of knowledge the tide of war favored the Allies by mid-1967. The trend was solidly towards the government and the NLF increasingly depended on violence to maintain control. The American PSYOP forces went to Vietnam with little knowledge of the history and culture of Vietnam or experience conducting psychological operations in a counterinsurgency. As this dissertation demonstrates, despite these drawbacks, they had considerable success in the period covered. Although facing an experienced enemy in the psychological war, the U.S. forces made great strides in advising, innovating techniques, and developing equipment. I rely extensively on untapped sources such as the Foreign Broadcast Information Service transcripts, Captured Document Exploitation Center files, and access to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Archives. Additionally, I have digitized databases such as the Hamlet Evaluation System and Terrorist Incident Reporting System for Geographic Information System software analysis. The maps provide examples of the possibilities available to the historian using these datasets.
• Physical Description: x, 583 pages : illustrations

Subject

• Keyword: PSYOP
• Keyword: PSYWAR
• Keyword: Vietnam
• Keyword: psychological operations
• Keyword: Chieu Hoi
• Keyword: propaganda
• Keyword: Vietnam War
• Keyword: counterinsurgency
• Keyword: 4th PSYOP Group
• Keyword: 245th PSYOP Company
• Keyword: U.S. history
• Keyword: military history
• Keyword: Southeast Asia
• Library of Congress Subject Headings: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Psychological aspects
• Library of Congress Subject Headings: Psychological warfare

Coverage

• Place Name: Vietnam
• Coverage Date: 1960/1968

Collection

• Name: UNT Theses and Dissertations
  Code: UNTETD

Institution

• Name: UNT Libraries
  Code: UNT

Rights

• Rights Access: public
• Rights Holder: Roberts, Mervyn Edwin, III
• Rights License: copyright
• Rights Statement: Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

Resource Type

• Thesis or Dissertation

Format

• Text

Identifier

• Accession or Local Control No: submission_111
• Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metadc849646

Degree

• Degree Name: Doctor of Philosophy
• Degree Level: Doctoral
• Academic Department: Department of History
• College: College of Arts and Sciences
• Degree Discipline: History
• Degree Publication Type: disse
• Degree Grantor: University of North Texas

Note

• Embargo Note: Item would be restricted to campus view only for 5 years. Start date for restriction period is the first day of the month immediately following graduation month: June 1 (May graduation), September 1 (August graduation), or January 1 of following year (December graduation). Embargo expired on 2021-05-01.