John Paul Vann

Influential field operator in the Vietnam War, first as a United States Army advisor and lieutenant colonel, who later worked for the Agency for International Development in a role with the authority of a major general. While his public reason for resigning from the Army was indeed disagreement over U.S. policy and honesty, first evidenced at the Battle of Ap Bac, he had irregularities in his personal life that would have blocked his promotion to senior Army rank.

Army in Vietnam

• Battle of Ap Bac [r]: Fought on January 2, 1963, a small but politically significant battle of the Vietnam War, won by the Viet Cong against Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) troops with United States Army advisors. It was significant in that the command failures were publicized to the press by John Paul Vann; denials by U.S. senior commanders started the pattern of aggressive investigative journalism ^[e]