Why the Battle at Tam Ky Was Hidden — A Change in US War Policy! . . .

Discovering why the Battle at Tam Ky was undisclosed was part of my in-depth research of US war records. The account is fully explained in Appendix 1 of my book. Here is the brief explanation. On 14 May 1969, newly elected President Nixon made his first, long-awaited announcement of his administration’s new war policy: “the US would no longer seek a purely military victory in Vietnam.” Just after that announcement the American public learned of the 101st Airborne’s brutal fight on Hamburger Hill. That battle’s high US casualties created an immediate firestorm of political controversy in Washington DC over Nixon’s conduct of war! If that was not bad enough, the 101st was already engaged in a second major battle at Tam Ky also with unexpectedly high casualties. The US Military Assistance Command - Vietnam never allowed US media to learn of the second battle. Its high US casualties were not immediately released. Together the two battles had over 1100 casualties. Had the casualties of the Tam Ky battle been reported, Nixon’s new strategy for ending the war would have been completely contradicted by the high casualties of the two battles. This material was put in an appendix because it is the backdrop of the story about our young soldiers who fought so valiantly. Those wanting to better understand US war policy may find the appendix quite interesting.