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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. The term for General Westmoreland's war strategy is:

2. How many students (estimated) are arrested and sent to jail during the riots?

3. By 1967, how many acres of land (approximately) are destroyed by fighting, napalm, and chemical agent use throughout Vietnam?

4. In what year does John Paul Vann's mother, Myrtle, die?

5. What does John Paul Vann find out about the numbers of the Regional Forces in Hau Nghia?

Short Essay Questions

1. In 1963, President Diem set off what was known as the "Buddhist Crisis". What was this and what was the eventual result of it?

2. 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?

3. What prominent CIA figure eventually adopted and promoted John Paul Vann's assessment of the Vietnam War? Why was this person important?

4. Where did the Vann family live during John Paul Vann's childhood?

5. Why did General Harkins feel the way he did about John Paul Vann's report?

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

7. How did John Paul Vann react to the ARVN "victory" at Ap Bac? How did General Harkins accept John Paul Vann's assessment?

8. In what year did John Paul Vann retire from the Army? When and how did he return to Vietnam?

9. What vital information did John Paul Vann include in a three-page report to General Harkins and Colonel Porter regarding General Huynh Van Cao's approach to the war?

10. By this time, what was the political situation in Saigon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Briefly outline the major influential factors in John Paul Vann's childhood from his earliest recollections until the time he joined the Armed forces. Please note the significant factors that may have had a strong influence on him as a boy and helped shape who he became as a man later on. To what extent do you feel his environment affected his personality (if at all)?

Essay Topic 2

What were some of the staple foods in the Vann home? How did this particular diet affect the health and psychological well-being of the children? Which of John Paul Vann's parents was the primary cook and provider? Why?

Essay Topic 3

In many respects, Vietnam was considered to be the first "helicopter war". Based on your readings, do you think this is an accurate description? How did John Paul Vann and other commanders make use of "choppers" in the book? Please give 2-3 examples.

(see the answer keys)

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