Why Vietnam (USIS London pamphlet)
The cover of a 48-page pamphlet titled "Why Viet Nam" in large red capitals sits on a collage of newspaper headlines from 1965, among them "Communist forces massing to cut S Vietnam in half", "Vietcong say 'no' to peace mission" and "No surrender pledge by Johnson". Selecting headlines about Communist attacks, refused talks and a US pledge not to retreat lets the cover present one reading of events before any text is opened.
- Date
- October 1965
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- United States Information Service, American Embassy, London
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Books and pamphlets
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Johnson Administration
- Leader
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Event
- Vietnam War
- Techniques
- Card stacking
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Internet Archive (University of Alberta Libraries scan), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- U.S. federal work (USIS, American Embassy London, Oct 1965 imprint), 17 U.S.C. 105; no licence stated on IA record
United States Information Service, American Embassy, London; scan by University of Alberta Libraries via Internet Archive
Text on the object
WHY VIET NAM Background newspaper headlines, partly cut off at the edges: China denounces Vietnam peace mission / Johnson backs Geneva-style peace effort but Cambodia says 'no' / Communist forces massing to cut S Vietnam in half / Viet Cong attack with new arms / US may call up reserves to build Vietnam force / CHINESE IN BATTLE, SAY AMERICANS / CRUCIAL STRUGGLE F[illegible] SOUTH VIETNAM BAS[illegible] / Vietcong blow[illegible] fuel depot / Dragnet for Saigon terror bombers / [illegible]0,000 more US troops ordered [illegible] Vietnam / Vietnam peace hope dashed / UN move soon on Vietnam? / U.S. tries again for Vietnam peace / [illegible]rst-yet outrage by the Vietcong / Thirty die in Saigon blasts / U.S. DISREGARDS CHINA THREAT ON VIETNAM / PEACE TALKS CONDITION / VIETCONG SAY 'NO' TO PEACE MISSION / Kremlin admits a dilemma over Vietnam / NO SURRENDER PLEDGE BY JOHNSON / We will not retreat ... we will not surrender
Headline fragments at the cover's edges are cut off or overlapped by the library label and are marked [illegible]; the large title is split across lines as printed (WHY / VIET / NAM).
