This event is hosted by The Army and Navy Club.
Join Naval Institute Press authors Tom Cutler and Edward Marolda at The Army and Navy Club for a special presentation on The Brown Water War at 50: A Retrospective on the Coastal and Riverine Conflict in Vietnam. This event is open only to Army Navy Club members.
About the Book
The Brown Water War at 50 presents the work of renowned historians and Vietnam War veterans who describe and interpret the U.S. Navy’s major combat operations in South Vietnam and on its coast. The scope of the book includes the river war in South Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the coastal patrol, and the intelligence campaign. To complement text, the authors have added images and maps from the U.S. Navy archives, U.S. Naval Institute collection and from private collections. They also provide a list of the most authoritative works on the subject.
In this retrospective, Cutler and Marolda describe not only the actions of the warships, aircraft, and river vessels involved in one of America’s longest wars but also the professional skill, dedication, and courage of the Navy men and women who went in “harm’s way” in Vietnam. The authors detail the development and combat experience of the Navy’s River Patrol Force and the Army-Navy Mobile Riverine Force as they fought the Viet Cong. They relate in full the heroism of Medal of Honor recipients Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class James E. Williams and Lieutenant Thomas G. Kelley, and the leadership of Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr.
Intelligence which, until recently, was classified tells the story of the Navy’s intelligence effort in South Vietnam and describes the operations of SEAL and Naval Intelligence Officers at the tactical level. In short, this book takes an in depth look at the Navy’s major and essential role in a conflict that marked a milestone in modern American history.
About the Editors
Thomas J. Cutler is a former petty officer second class and retired lieutenant commander who has been serving the U.S. Navy in various capacities for more than fifty years, including a combat tour in Vietnam and service in aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and patrol craft. The author of many articles and books, he is the Gordon England Chair of Professional Naval Literature at the U.S. Naval Institute and Distinguished Fleet Professor of Strategy and Policy with the Naval War College. He has received the William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education as military teacher of the year at the U.S. Naval Academy, the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Naval Literature, the U.S. Maritime Literature Award, the Naval Institute Press Author of the Year Award, and the Commodore Dudley Knox Lifetime Achievement Award in Naval History.
Edward J. Marolda served as the acting director of Naval History and Senior Historian of the Navy. In 2017 the Naval Historical Foundation honored him with its Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award. He has authored, coauthored, or edited twelve books on the U.S. Navy’s experience in Vietnam. In support of the U.S. Naval Institute’s Oral History Program, he has interviewed Vietnam veterans and retired admirals Stanley R. Arthur and Joseph W. Prueher. As adjunct professor at Georgetown University, Dr. Marolda taught courses on the Cold War in the Far East and the Vietnam War.