[Vietnam War]:

$1,750 · Offered by William Reese Company

BASIC TERMINOLOGY. ENGLISH VIETNAMESE FARAI RHADE BAHMAR [wrapper title]. A fascinating illustrated phrasebook, possibly mimeographed by U.S. Special Forces in the field, translating life-or-death terminology between English, Vietnamese, and three regional languages: Farai, Rhadé, and Bahmar. The front wrapper states that it was "Prepared by S-5 Section, Company B, 5th Special Forces Group (ABN)" in November 1967, based on a document produced by the U.S. Army's education branch early on in American involvement in Vietnam. The 5th Special Forces were deployed shortly afterwards, initially working with the local Montagnard populations in the highlands to train a civilian irregular force, collect intelligence, and combat Communist propaganda efforts. While regularly involved in deadly skirmishes and guerilla combat, the unit saw the most active duty during a large-scale campaign in the Mekong Delta in mid-1967, possibly the impetus for this document. "The U.S. Special Forces men, aware of the importance of gathering intelligence, tried to emphasize that aspect of their missions and to set up intelligence nets that would produce information on the location of Viet Cong units and members....The language barrier proved to be a major obstacle to the U.S. Army in recruiting agents and acquiring information. Perhaps the major problem encountered by U.S. Special Forces men...was their relationship with their Vietnamese counterparts" (Kelly, pp.16-17).The text is indicative of these cha

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