How was a successful Marine Corps strategy in Vietnam implemented and then shot down – Interview with Ted Easterling

Ted Easterling war in the villages

How was a successful Marine Corps strategy in Vietnam implemented and then shot down – Interview with Ted Easterling

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3fh5Las

Interview Timeline

Ted Easterling served as a U.S. Marine combat engineer in the Vietnam War. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Akron, where he taught history. He studied and wrote a book about USMC Combat Action Platoons in Vietnam. We spoke about these units and the Vietnam War. War in the Villages: The U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons in the Vietnam War (University of North Texas Press, 2021)

0:42 – Ted talks about his experiences as a Marine in Vietnam and why he wrote this book.

3:04 – Ted talks about being a combat engineer in Vietnam.

4:37 – ed talks about when he got his PhD.

5:48 – Ted talks about how he broke the parts of the book.

15:27 – Ted talks about the strategy of attrition versus an enclave strategy.

19:13 – Ted describes what the Marine CAPs were like.

20:20 – Ted talks about the size of the villages and the CAPs that were in them.

21:58 – Ted goes into detail about the Popular Forces.

22:42 – Ted discusses the interactions between the CAPs and PFs.

23:59 – Ted discusses the volunteer aspect of the CAPs.

25:44 – Ted talks about the support the CAPs had.

27:05 – Ted talks about the bases for the CAPs.

28:39 – Ted talks about how support for CAPs began to increase.

35:02 – Ted talks about the dangers the CAPs faced.

41:53 – Ted talks about the resources he used for his research.

42:37 – Ted talks about the evolution of the CAPs

50:27 – Ted talks about Lt Col Corson.

54:45 – Ted talks about the three American leaders who fascinated him the most.

58:22- More information about the book can be found at the North Texas Press website.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3fh5Las

https://untpress.unt.edu/catalog/3918

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Ted N. Easterling

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, academic, podcast, University of North Texas Press, Modern War, United States, Vietnam, Vietnam War,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3fh5Las

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