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Pentagon Papers

The Pentagon Papers, officially titled "Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force", was commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1967. In June of 1971, small portions of the report were leaked to the press and widely distributed. However, the publications of the report that resulted from these leaks were incomplete and suffered from many quality issues.

On the 40th anniversary of the leak to the press, the National Archives, along with the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Presidential Libraries, has released the complete report. There are 48 boxes and approximately 7,000 declassified pages. Approximately 34% of the report is available for the first time.

What is unique about this, compared to other versions, is that:

  • The complete Report is now available with no redactions compared to previous releases
  • The Report is presented as Leslie Gelb presented it to then Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford on January 15, 1969
  • All the supplemental back-documentation is included. In the Gravel Edition, 80% of the documents in Part V.B. were not included
  • This release includes the complete account of peace negotiations, significant portions of which were not previously available either in the House Armed Services Committee redacted copy of the Report or in the Gravel Edition

Files

All files in the "Title" column are in PDF format.

Due to the large file sizes, we recommend that you save them rather than try to open them directly.

Title File Size National Archives Identifier
Index (3.84 MB) 5890484
[Part I] Vietnam and the U.S., 1940-1950 (121 MB) 5890485
[Part II] U.S. Involvement in the Franco-Viet Minh War, 1950-1954 (46.1 MB) 5890486
[Part III] The Geneva Accords (66 MB) 5890487
[Part IV. A. 1.] Evolution of the War. NATO and SEATO: A Comparison (26.3 MB) 5890488
[Part IV. A. 2.] Evolution of the War. Aid for France in Indochina, 1950-54 (17.7 MB) 5890489
[Part IV. A. 3.] Evolution of the War. U.S. and France's Withdrawal from Vietnam, 1954-56 (35.2 MB) 5890490
[Part IV. A. 4.] Evolution of the War. U.S. Training of Vietnamese National Army, 1954-59 (53.3 MB) 5890491
[Part IV. A. 5.] Evolution of the War. Origins of the Insurgency (185.8 MB) 5890492
[Part IV. B. 1.] Evolution of the War. Counterinsurgency: The Kennedy Commitments and Programs, 1961 (90.9 MB) 5890493
[Part IV. B. 2.] Evolution of the War. Counterinsurgency: Strategic Hamlet Program, 1961-63 (27 MB) 5890494
[Part IV. B. 3.] Evolution of the War. Counterinsurgency: The Advisory Build-up, 1961-67 (74 MB) 5890495
[Part IV. B. 4.] Evolution of the War. Counterinsurgency: Phased Withdrawal of U.S. Forces in Vietnam, 1962-64 (29.3 MB) 5890496
[Part IV. B. 5.] Evolution of the War. Counterinsurgency: The Overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem, May-Nov. 1963 (55.6 MB) 5890497
[Part IV. C. 1.] Evolution of the War. U.S. Programs in South Vietnam, November 1963-April 1965: NASM 273 -- NSAM 288 -- Honolulu (73 MB) 5890498
[Part IV. C. 2. a.] Evolution of the War. Military Pressures Against NVN. February - June 1964 (38.7 MB) 5890499
[Part IV. C. 2. b.] Evolution of the War. Military Pressures Against NVN. July - October 1964 (48 MB) 5890500
[Part IV. C. 2. c.] Evolution of the War. Military Pressures Against NVN. November - December 1964 (57.1 MB) 5890501
[Part IV. C. 3.] Evolution of the War. ROLLING THUNDER Program Begins: January - June 1965 (92.9 MB) 5890502
[Part IV. C. 4.] Evolution of the War. Marine Combat Units Go to DaNang, March 1965 (22.4 MB) 5890503
[Part IV. C. 5.] Evolution of the War. Phase I in the Build-up of U.S. Forces: March - July 1965 (68.7 MB) 5890504
[Part IV. C. 6. a.] Evolution of the War. U.S. Ground Strategy and Force Deployments: 1965 - 1967. Volume I: Phase II, Program 3, Program 4 (72.3 MB) 5890505
[Part IV. C. 6. b.] Evolution of the War. U.S. Ground Strategy and Force Deployments: 1965 - 1967. Volume II: Program 5 (116.4 MB) 5890506
[Part IV. C. 6. c.] Evolution of the War. U.S. Ground Strategy and Force Deployments: 1965 - 1967. Volume III: Program 6 (47 MB) 5890507
[Part IV. C. 7. a.] Evolution of the War. Air War in the North: 1965 - 1968. Volume I (106.5 MB) 5890508
[Part IV. C. 7. b.] Evolution of the War. Air War in the North: 1965 - 1968. Volume II (101.4 MB) 5890509
[Part IV. C. 8.] Evolution of the War. Re-emphasis on Pacification: 1965-1967 (534 MB) 5890510
[Part IV. C. 9. a.] Evolution of the War. U.S.-GVN Relations. Volume 1: December 1963 - June 1965 (325.1 MB) 5890511
[Part IV. C. 9. b.] Evolution of the War. U.S.-GVN Relations. Volume 2: July 1965 - December 1967 (309.5 MB) 5890512
[Part IV. C. 10.] Evolution of the War. Statistical Survey of the War, North and South: 1965 - 1967 (103.4 MB) 5890513
[Part V. A.] Justification of the War. Public Statements. Volume I: A--The Truman Administration (386.8 MB) 5890514
[Part V. A.] Justification of the War. Public Statements. Volume I: B--The Eisenhower Administration (190.6 MB) 5890515
[Part V. A.] Justification of the War. Public Statements. Volume I: C--The Kennedy Administration (164.7 MB) 5890516
[Part V. A.] Justification of the War. Public Statements. Volume II: D--The Johnson Administration (496.1 MB) 5890517
[Part V. B. 1.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Roosevelt Administration (309.4 MB) 5890518
[Part V. B. 2. a.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Truman Administration. Volume I: 1945 - 1949 (121.5 MB) 5890519
[Part V. B. 2. b.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Truman Administration. Volume II: 1950 -1952 (138.5 MB) 5890520
[Part V. B. 3. a.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Eisenhower Administration. Volume I: 1953 (134.4 MB) 5890521
[Part V. B. 3. b.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Eisenhower Administration. Volume II: 1954 - Geneva (223 MB) 5890522
[Part V. B. 3. c.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Eisenhower Administration. Volume III: Geneva Accords - 15 March 1956 (190.8 MB) 5890523
[Part V. B. 3. d.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Eisenhower Administration. Volume IV: 1956 French Withdrawal - 1960 (156.2 MB) 5890524
[Part V. B. 4.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Kennedy Administration. Book I (196.3 MB) 5890525
[Part V. B. 4.] Justification of the War. Internal Documents. The Kennedy Administration. Book II (103.1 MB) 5890526
[Part VI. A.] Settlement of the Conflict. Negotiations, 1965-67: The Public Record (42 MB) 5890527
[Part VI. B.] Settlement of the Conflict. Negotiations, 1965-67: Announced Position Statements (140.7 MB) 5890528
[Part VI. C. 1.] Settlement of the Conflict. Histories of Contacts. 1965-1966 (90.9 MB) 5890529
[Part VI. C. 2.] Settlement of the Conflict. Histories of Contacts. Polish Track (71.4 MB) 5890530
[Part VI. C. 3.] Settlement of the Conflict. Histories of Contacts. Moscow-London Track (74 MB) 5890531
[Part VI. C. 4.] Settlement of the Conflict. Histories of Contacts. 1967-1968 (139.9 MB) 5890532
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