President Lyndon B. Johnson Calls the Buildup of American Forces in Vietnam a “Great Achievement”
He expresses gratitude to the General who managed & accomplished it.
There were 16,000 American troops in Vietnam at the start of 1964. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that enabled the U.S. buildup to wage a full scale ground war in Vietnam took place in August 1964, but the actual deployment of American combat forces did not commence in earnest until March 1965,...
There were 16,000 American troops in Vietnam at the start of 1964. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that enabled the U.S. buildup to wage a full scale ground war in Vietnam took place in August 1964, but the actual deployment of American combat forces did not commence in earnest until March 1965, after Johnson had been reelected and inaugurated. By the end of 1965 there were 180,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam; by the end of 1966 the figure doubled. In addition to deploying men, the U.S. armed forces were required to initiate combat operations, create an enormous logistical support operation, and effect changes in a command structure that had originally been designed to accommodate only a U.S. military assistance mission.
The U.S. Army Materiel Command is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army, and was thus responsible for the huge and successful effort to quickly make all the required deployments to Vietnam according to the President’s instructions and time frame. In 1965-6 General Frank Besson was overall head of Materiel Command; his Deputy was General William B. Bunker, and on Bunker’s shoulders fell the responsibility to actually manage, coordinate and implement the U.S. buildup for the Vietnam War. LBJ appreciated Bunker and the results he achieved, and in March 1966 wrote to tell him so.
Typed Letter Signed, on White House letterhead, Washington, March 2, 1966, to General Bunker. “I am sure that military history will record the movement of American troops to Vietnam as the high water mark in logistics planning. I know that you and Gen. Besson are justifiably proud of this great achievement. I just wanted you to know that the work that you and your men are doing is greatly appreciated by me.” This is the first letter directly relating to the buildup of the Vietnam War that we have ever carried.
In 1968 Johnson awarded Bunker the Distinguished Service Medal for “exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States.”
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