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Vietnam War: In Country

Soldier paddles a three-man assault boat down a canal in VietnamPhotograph of Private Fred L. Greenleaf Crossing a Deep Irrigation Canal during Operation Bang DongPhotograph of Children Sitting in a Special Forces JeepPhotograph of Private Michael J. Mendoza Firing His M-16 Rifle Into a Valley during Operation Cook

 

Accordion

Explore photographs, textual, and other records related to events happening on or around the battlefield during the Vietnam War in our Catalog.

Maps, Charts and Aerial Photography

While many resources are available online for research, there are many more records to discover in National Archives research rooms across the country. The following records have been described at the Series and File Unit level, but have not yet been digitized. This list is not exhaustive; please consult our Catalog to browse more records, and contact the Reference Unit listed in each description for more information. 

Explore teaching and learning resources for the Vietnam War, including primary sources, online tools, lesson plans, and multimedia on DocsTeach.org, our online tool for teaching with documents.

Electronic Records Relating to the Vietnam War

Online Resources

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Textual Records Relating to the Vietnam War

Textual documents relating to the Vietnam conflict are spread across several record groups (RGs).

U.S. Army

The most heavily used record group is:

Additional records relating to the U.S. Army in Vietnam may be found in:

  • RG 112 Office of the Surgeon General
  • RG 319 Army Staff
  • RG 334 Records of Interservice Agencies
  • RG 335 Office of the Secretary of the Army
  • RG 338 Records of U.S. Army Commands

U.S. Air Force

The National Archives has received a limited number of records from the U.S. Air Force for the Vietnam War period.
Please Note: These records have not been processed and almost all are still classified.

  • RG 341, Records of the U.S. Air Force Staff
  • RG 342, Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations
  • RG 340, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Navy

Unit histories and supporting documents of Air Force units are in the custody of the Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL.

U.S. Marine Corps

The National Archives has custody of U.S. Marine Corps command chronologies during the Vietnam era and some other records for Vietnam.

  • RG 27 Records of the Marine Corps - Command Chronologies (Entry UD-07D 1)

Researchers should also contact the Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections at

Marine Corps Archives and Special Collections
Alfred M. Gray Research Center
2040 Broadway Street
Quantico, VA 22134

U.S. Navy

The National Archives has custody of U.S. Navy deck logs and U.S. Navy muster rolls/personnel diaries for the Vietnam conflict. The personnel diaries include lists of officers in addition to the enlisted personnel. Please note: U.S. Navy muster rolls/personnel diaries after 1971 utilize social security numbers and are subject to privacy restrictions.

  • RG 24 Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel

U.S. Navy action reports and war diaries for the Vietnam conflict are in the custody of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Naval History and Heritage Command
Operational Archives Branch
805 Kidder Breese Street, SE
Washington Navy Yard
Washington, DC 20374-5060

U.S. National War Policy

For records relating to U.S. national war policy, information may be found in

  • RG 218 Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • RG 330 Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense

 

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