Today’s post was written by Martin Gedra, archivist with the A2 Reference, Research Rooms, and Augmented Processing Branch.
March 29, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the end of active U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and also the end of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). When the Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973, MACV still existed as the highest U.S. military command in Vietnam. However, with the ratification of the negotiations in Paris, its days as a command were numbered. Two Operation Plans (OPLANs) of the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (COMUSMACV) focused on activities following a possible ceasefire.
One was COMUSMACV OPLAN J-200.[1] The version of the OPLAN in place at the time of the Paris Peace Accords was from January 11, 1973, which had replaced an earlier plan from 1971. Older versions of the OPLAN were to have been destroyed when superseded, but a copy of the one from December 1971 is available among the Working Papers of COL Donald S. Marshall.[2] The outdated version replaced the previous plan from February 1971; just as peace negotiations had been ongoing for years, potential withdrawal considerations had been under way years prior to the multinational agreement. Similar withdrawal plans also existed at subordinate commands, such as the Delta Regional Assistance Command (DRAC) having a plan in place since 1971 for the southern-most portion of the country.[3]
The other plan was COMUSMACV OPLAN J-215 THUNDERBOLT.[4] It is dated November 9, 1972, two days after the U.S. elections. This plan provided further guidance to the redeployment of U.S. forces as well as other international troops upon agreement of a ceasefire.
The day following the signing of the ceasefire, both OPLANs became Operation Orders (OPORDs) as the implementation of the plans was set in motion. The OPORDs maintained the same number designations as the respective OPLANs; OPLAN J-200 became OPORD J-200 and OPLAN J-215 became OPORD J-215. For the 60 days following the agreement – resulting in the March 29 end date – these operation orders provided an overview of the process of U.S. forces ceasing their involvement in South Vietnam.
The sixty-day limit was cemented in the agreement from the Paris – the Multilateral Agreement specifies in Chapter II, Article 5 “Within sixty days of the signing of this agreement, there will be a total withdrawal from South Viet-Nam of troops, military advisers, and military personnel”[5] – but the length of withdrawal also had been referenced repeatedly in the preparations delineated in the OPLANs. For example, in OPLAN J-200, the section for Situation states, “Repatriation of prisoners of war and foreign civilian detainees will be accomplished within sixty days of the signing of the agreement” and “US and FWMA [Free World Military Assistance] forces and military advisors will withdraw from South Vietnam within sixty days of the agreement.” In OPLAN J-215, the stated purpose of the plan was “to provide guidance for the redeployment of the U.S. and FWMA forces and selected equipment from the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) within 60 days of the signing of a ceasefire agreement.”
As noted in the MACV Command History, “The MACV staff and agencies personnel began the tasks…of drawing down and closing out the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam within 60 days.”[6] The end of the 60-day time period – March 29, 1973 – meant the sunset of MACV as a command. For the U.S. military, the war in the Republic of Vietnam had come to an end.
[1] 227-01 MACV OPLAN J200 – Ceasefire, 1973; Operation Plans, 1969–1973 (NAID 2660903); Department of Defense. Pacific Command. U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam. Operations Directorate. Operational Plans Division; Record Group 472: Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
[2] COMUSMACV OPLAN J200 Ceasefire – December 1971; Working Papers of Colonel Donald S. Marshall, ca. December 15, 1965–1973 (NAID 2790738); Department of Defense. Pacific Command. U.S. Support Activities Group/Seventh Air Force. Defense Attache Office, Saigon. Operations and Plans Division; Record Group 472: Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
[3] 203-03 DRAC OPLAN J-200, 1971; Security Classified General Records, ca. 1969–1973 (NAID 5722978); Department of Defense. Pacific Command. U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam. Delta Regional Assistance Command. Office of the G-3 (Operations) Advisor; Record Group 472: Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
[4] 227-01 MACV OPLAN J215 THUNDERBOLT, 1972; Operation Plans, 1969–1973 (NAID 2660903); Department of Defense. Pacific Command. U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam. Operations Directorate. Operational Plans Division; Record Group 472: Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
[5] TIAS 7542, Multilateral and Bilateral: Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet-Nam, January 27, 1973 (Folder 3 of 4, Bilateral – English Text); “Paris Peace Accord”; Treaties and Other International Acts, 1942–1995 (NAID 1667503); Department of State. Office of the Legal Adviser. Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs; Record Group 11: General Records of the United States Government; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
[6] MACV Command History, 1972-1973, Final Determination; Annual Command Histories, 1964–1973 (NAID 2547555); Department of Defense. Pacific Command. U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam. Office of the Secretary of the Joint Staff. Military History Branch; Record Group 472: Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
For more information about today’s post, check out the National Archives Catalog or email Archives2reference@nara.gov and Archives1reference@nara.gov.