Anything That Flies, On Anything That Moves

Summary

The US covertly launched over two million bombing missions over Southeast Asian countries in the 1960s and 70s. Dig into the data behind the assault.

References and Appreciation

Thank you to the editors of the Parametric Press for the opportunity. Special thanks to Victoria Uren for editing and Matthew Conlen for guidance and help with the visualization and editing. Lastly, thank you to Noelle Vo and Kateka Seth for the support during the late hours of the night.

References by Headline

Operation Rolling Thunder Underway in North Vietnam

• Cox, Samuel J. 2018. “H-017-2: Operation Rolling Thunder Overview.” Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S. Navy. March 27, 2018. https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-017/h-017-21.html.

• Pribbenow, Merle L. "Rolling Thunder and Linebacker Campaigns: The North Vietnamese View." The Journal of American-East Asian Relations 10, no. 3/4 (2001): 197-210. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23613043.

Operation Tiger Hound Begins in Laos

• Shaplen, Robert. "Our Involvement in Laos." Foreign Affairs 48, no. 3 (1970): 478-93. doi:10.2307/20039458.

• Porter, Melvin F. 1966. Project CHECO Report: Tiger Hound. Project CHECO Report: Tiger Hound. Declassified

President Johnson Halts Air Strikes Against North Vietnam (12/25)

• “LBJ AND EISENHOWER ON BOMBING NORTH VIETNAM.” n.d. The Miller Center. University of Virginia. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/lbj-and-eisenhower-on-bombing-north-vietnam.

Johnson Resumes Bombings of North Vietnam

• Johnson, Lyndon B. n.d. “January 31, 1966: Statement on the Resumption of Bombing in North Vietnam.” The Miller Center. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-31-1966-statement-resumption-bombing-north-vietnam.

US Bombs Hanoi and Hai Phong For the First Time

• The Office of Current Intelligence. n.d. World Reaction to the US Bombing of Hanoi-Haiphong Petroleum Installations on 29 and 30 June. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00826A000900460001-6.pdf.

Martin Luther King Delivers “Beyond Vietnam” Speech

• King, Martin Luther. 1967. “Beyond Vietnam.” The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Speech, April 4. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/beyond-vietnam.

Muhammad Ali Refuses Induction Into US Forces

• Opinion Poll

• Broadcast. 1967. Muhammad Ali Refuses Army Induction in 1967. ABC News Network. https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/muhammad-ali-refuses-army-induction-1967-39593864.

Demonstrators March on the Pentagon

• Mettler, Katie. 2017. “Vietnam War Protests: The 1967 March on the Pentagon.” The Washington Post, October 19, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/19/the-day-anti-vietnam-war-protesters-tried-to-levitate-the-pentagon/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f8b6d3c5ae2a.

November Records Missing Due to Damage

• Data

• Zelizer, Julian E. 2018. “How the Tet Offensive Undermined American Faith in Government.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company. January 16, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/how-the-tet-offensive-undermined-american-faith-in-government/550010/.

The Tet Offensive Begins

• “U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive, 1968.” n.d. U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/tet.

President Johnson Calls for Halt to Bombings in Address (3/31)

• Johnson, Lyndon B. n.d. “March 31, 1968: Remarks on Decision Not to Seek Re-Election.” The Miller Center. Speech. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-31-1968-remarks-decision-not-seek-re-election.

The May Offensive Hits South Vietnam

• Thompson, A W. 1968. The Defense of Saigon. The Defense of Saigon. https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/039/0390135001A.pdf.

Johnson Calls for Complete Halt of North Vietnam Bombings; Operation Rolling Thunder Ends

• Cox, Samuel J. 2018. “H-017-2: Operation Rolling Thunder Overview.” Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S. Navy. March 27, 2018. https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-017/h-017-21.html.

• Johnson, Lyndon B. n.d. “The President Announcing His Decision to Halt the Bombing of North Vietnam.” LBJ Presidential Library. Speech. http://www.lbjlibrary.org/exhibits/the-president-announcing-his-decision-to-halt-the-bombing-of-north-vietnam.

Nixon Orders Secret Carpet Bombings Over Cambodia

• Clymer, Kenton. "Cambodia and Laos in the Vietnam War." In The Columbia History of the Vietnam War, edited by Anderson David L., 357-82. Columbia University Press, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/ande13480.18.

• High, Holly, James R. Curran, and Gareth Robinson. "Electronic Records of the Air War Over Southeast Asia: A Database Analysis." Journal of Vietnamese Studies 8, no. 4 (2013): 86-124. doi:10.1525/vs.2014.8.4.86.

• Kiernan, Ben. 1989. “The American Bombardment of Kampuchea, 1969-1973.” The Future of the Past: Revisionism and Vietnam 1 (1). https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=vietnamgeneration.

Demonstrators March on Washington in Nationwide Moratorium

• Wallace, Nina. "IN THE BELLY OF THE MONSTER: ASIAN AMERICAN OPPOSITION TO THE VIETNAM WAR." Densho Blog(blog), November 15, 2017. https://densho.org/asian-american-opposition-vietnam-war/.

• PBS. "Moratorium Protests, 1969." Advertisement. PBS.org. September 17, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/video/moratorium-protests-1969-ewcsig/.

Prince Sihanouk Falls, Lon Nol Rises

• Kiernan, Ben. 1989. “The American Bombardment of Kampuchea, 1969-1973.” The Future of the Past: Revisionism and Vietnam 1 (1). https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=vietnamgeneration.

• “Ending the Vietnam War, 1969–1973.” n.d. U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/ending-vietnam.

Nixon Orders a Joint US and South Vietnamese Attack in Cambodia; Four Kent State Students Slain During Protest

• Semple, Robert B. 1970. “NIXON SENDS COMBAT FORCES TO CAMBODIA TO DRIVE COMMUNISTS FROM STAGING ZONE.” The New York Times, May 1, 1970. https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/01/archives/nixon-sends-combat-forces-to-cambodia-not-an-invasion-president.html.

• Lewis, Jerry M, and Thomas R Hensley. n.d. “The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University: The Search For.” Kent State University. Kent State University. https://www.kent.edu/may-4-historical-accuracy.

• Nixon, Richard M. n.d. “President Nixon’s Speech on Cambodia, April 30, 1970.” Temple University. Speech. https://sites.temple.edu/immerman/president-nixons-speech-on-cambodia-april-30-1970/.

Operation Menu Ends; Operation Freedom Deal Begins

• Clymer, Kenton. "Cambodia and Laos in the Vietnam War." In The Columbia History of the Vietnam War, edited by Anderson David L., 357-82. Columbia University Press, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/ande13480.18.

• Finney, John W. n.d. “More Secret Air Attacks In Cambodia Disclosed.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/11/archives/more-secret-air-attacks-in-cambodia-disclosed-the-pentagon-concedes.html.

Anything that Flies, On Anything that Moves

• Blanton, Thomas, and William Burr. n.d. The Kissinger Telcons. The Kissinger Telcons. 123rd ed. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book . https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB123/DNSA%20KA04472%20December%209%201970%208%2045%20PM%20Kissinger%20Telcons.pdf

• Blanton, Thomas, and William Burr. n.d. The Kissinger Telcons. The Kissinger Telcons. 123rd ed. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book . https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB123/3%20%20Kissinger%20telcon%20with%20Haig.pdf

Pentagon Papers Are Released By The New York Times

• USA. Pentagon Papers. https://www.archives.gov/research/pentagon-papers.

• Chokshi, Niraj. "Behind the Race to Publish the Top-Secret Pentagon Papers." The New York Times. December 20, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/us/pentagon-papers-post.html.

Nixon Resumes Bombing in North Vietnam; Laos Bombing Decreases

• The New York Times. 1974. “NIXON ON BOMBING RECORDED IN TAPE,” June 30, 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/30/archives/nixon-on-bombing-recorded-in-tape-reason-for-moving.html.

FBI Launches Investigation of Watergate Break-Ins

• The Final Report

• “Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities.” 2018. U.S. Senate: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. July 31, 2018. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/investigations/Watergate.htm.

US Carpet Bombs North Vietnam in “Christmas Bombings”

• Kesby, Rebecca. 2012. “North Vietnam, 1972: The Christmas Bombing of Hanoi.” BBC News, December 24, 2012. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20719382.

Paris Peace Accords Signed; Ceasefire Agreed

• Document

• “Ending the Vietnam War, 1969–1973.” n.d. U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/ending-vietnam.

Operation Barrel Roll Ends

• Lamy, Perry L. 1995. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.501.2713&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Most Intensive Phase of Cambodia Bombings Begins

• High, Holly, James R. Curran, and Gareth Robinson. "Electronic Records of the Air War Over Southeast Asia: A Database Analysis." Journal of Vietnamese Studies 8, no. 4 (2013): 86-124. doi:10.1525/vs.2014.8.4.86.

• Kiernan, Ben. 1990. “Roots of Genocide: New Evidence on the US Bombardment of Cambodia.” Cultural Survival. September 1990. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/roots-genocide-new-evidence-us-bombardment-cambodia.

Operation Freedom Deal in Cambodia Ends

• Finney, John W. 1973. “NIXON SEES PERIL IN BOMBING HALT; WARNS CONGRESS.” The New York Times, August 4, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/04/archives/nixon-sees-peril-in-bombing-halt-warns-congress-he-reaffirms-cutoff.html.

• Gregory, Oliver. 2010. “Remembering the Killing Fields.” The Oxonian Globalist, December 7, 2010. https://issuu.com/rachelcee/docs/globalistmichaelmas2010_forwebsite_. (Interview with Sydney Schanberg)

• High, Holly, James R. Curran, and Gareth Robinson. "Electronic Records of the Air War Over Southeast Asia: A Database Analysis." Journal of Vietnamese Studies 8, no. 4 (2013): 86-124. doi:10.1525/vs.2014.8.4.86.

• Kiernan, Ben, and Taylor Owen. 2015. “ Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications.” The Asia-Pacific Journal, 3, 13 (17).

Installing dependencies

1. Install idyll globally (only need to do this once): npm install -g idyll
2. Install local dependencies: npm install

Running local dev server

1. Run idyll --template _local.html in the root of this project.