In 1965 the first American ground troops landed in Danang, South Vietnam.  Initially, the plan was to defend our bases and personnel from attack.  Soon thereafter, General Westmoreland believed that the best defense would be a good offense.  By December of 1965 over 200,000 men were in Vietnam and by the end of 1966 over 400,000 men were there.  General Westmoreland believed that the best way to defend our bases was to go out on missions, find the enemy, and kill them.  This was called a “Search and Destroy” strategy, which began in 1965 and was part of a larger strategy called attrition.  “Attrition” was the belief that we would kill significantly more Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers than they would kill of Americans and South Vietnamese.  Eventually, it was hoped they would wear down, be unable to replace their soldiers, and we would win because of superior might.

Such was the plan, but it didn’t work out that way.  Too often, American soldiers, tired of seeing the brutality of war and death of their friends and not knowing just who the enemy was, destroyed some villages of South Vietnamese civilians.  Soldiers would search everywhere for the VC and in their rage, the destroy part of their mission at times became the destruction of villages.  In the fear and chaos of the situation, some soldiers decided to shoot first and ask questions later.

But that is only part of the story, the search and destroy strategy worked at times when the enemy was engaged in a large battle.  Yes, the strategy made sense and it had some success, but another flaw in this strategy was that after major battles would be fought, for instance Hill 64 and Hamburger Hill, we would abandon the areas we just fought and died so hard to get.  Why?  Because the strategy was not one of winning geography, but of finding and killing the enemy.

In an odd and unintentional way, abandoning areas we just won may have tied in with the search and destroy strategy because, one could argue, if we just won a battle for a certain hill and enemy losses were significantly more than ours, we could repeat that battle and inflict still more losses on the enemy in an area where we knew we could win.  Ultimately, the biggest problem with the search and destroy strategy was the Vietcong and North Vietnamese ability to replace their troops with surprising speed and an apparent endless supply of troops.
 
 

It is impossible in a classroom situation to explain the level of anxiety, fear, and rage felt by soldiers in Vietnam.  EVERY step they took was a life and death situation.  EVERY person they met was potentially someone who wanted to kill them.  To judge men who were in those situations and say that they acted inappropriately does them a disservice.  We cannot criticize them because we were not walking in their shoes.  The purpose of this lesson, though, is to try to explain the thinking behind the search and destroy strategy, the larger strategy of attrition, and the actual execution of these strategies.  If this lesson informs, angers, confuses, and frustrates students, then it has been successful.

In the enclosed story of “The Bear,” yes, it could have been the bear charging through the forest and the men’s lives may have been in danger.  They could have shot first and asked questions later.  That is perhaps the only way they could be absolutely certain of their own safety.  On the other hand, what if the “beast” charging through the forest was their neighbor?

Once there were four men who were really good friends and they happened to be neighbors.  They liked to visit each others’ homes and had cookouts with their wives and children and they were a friendly group of people.  One of the things these four men liked to do together was hunt.  Sometimes they would hunt for rabbits and other times they liked to hunt for deer.

During their most recent deer hunting trip, at midnight they were sitting around the campfire telling stories when a large black bear with huge white teeth and claws the size of long knives attacked their camp, ripped their tents apart, and charged at the men.  Luckily, the men were near their fire and they were able to avoid the charge of their ferocious attacker.  After standing and roaring and scaring the men half to death, the bear eventually stormed back into the forest.  Frightened but relieved, the men knew they were lucky to be alive.  Their nerves were on edge and so they decided to go home the next morning.

On the way home, one of the men realized he left his wallet in the forest.  He felt stupid for having left it, so he didn’t tell his friends.  He figured he would just rush back to their camping spot the next day, get his wallet, and come straight home.  The next day he got up early, drove to the forest, hiked to their campsite and got his wallet.  But as he was picking up his wallet, he was suddenly and gruesomely attacked and killed by the bear.

When his friends received the news about what happened they rushed to his wife to console her.  She sobbed and wailed at the loss of her husband.  They all cried for hours for they had lost a great friend who was simply a wonderful person.  The pain of the loss of their friend was overwhelming and disheartening.

A couple of weeks passed and the men still felt badly about what happened.  They knew the bear was still out there.  After many long talks and sleepless nights, the three men decided to go hunting, but not for deer ----------- for the bear.  They would actually search for the bear and kill it before it killed them.  That way they would avenge the death of their friend and they would be able to hunt for rabbit and deer and live in peace.  They decided they would go hunting early the next Saturday morning.

Saturday came and two of the three men were standing in a driveway when the third man came by and said his wife’s car wasn’t working, he had to run some errands, and that he would meet the other two in the forest later.  A convenient excuse, thought the other two men.  They knew he was afraid to go and he was looking for a way out.  Still, they didn’t blame him for he had a wife and three children to care for.
 

Scared but determined, the other two men nervously went into the forest.  They knew the bear could be anywhere.  Slowly they walked, and with each step they became increasingly frightened.  They began to wonder what they were doing, and they remembered how big the bear was and how close they had come to being killed.  They remembered its enormous white teeth and its knife-like claws.  They remembered, too, their friend who had been killed and gradually their fear turned to rage.  They were not going to be killed by the bear!  They were going to avenge the death of their friend!!!!

Suddenly, in the bushes and trees to their right, the two men heard a rumbling sound of something charging at them!  Their hearts began to race and pound louder and louder as the beast got closer and closer!  Thoughts of the bear mauling their friend  raced through their minds! They were not going to wait to be killed!  So they raised their guns and ...................................

What should the men do?  Discuss this with your teammates and prepare a decision to present to the rest of the class.  Your decision must be realistic, but be sure to think creatively and thoroughly.  Analyze various options rather than racing to one decision.
Prepare a brief skit to present to the class.  Remember, though, it’s your thought process and decision making that is significantly more important than your presentation.

You have 30 minutes.  Tarry not.