John F. Kennedy 1962 Typed Letter Signed on Guerilla
President Kennedy Typed Letter Signed to Captain B.H. Liddell Hart July 27, 1962: exceptional content letter as President Kennedy is researching T.E. Lawrence's guerrilla tactics as Vietnam heats up and responds to influential English soldier and military historian Captain B.H. Liddell Hart.
"I will agree with you that 'those who frame policy and apply it need a better understanding of the subject than has been shown in the past.' I was interested in your statement on page 6 that, 'The ratio of space to forces is a key factor in guerrilla war.'" Kennedy further states, "I am interested in this mathematical calculation, but I haven't been able to find it in a search through Lawrence's writings. I would appreciate it if you could drop me a line and give me a more exact reference."
This fascinating letter demonstrates Kennedy's keen interest in military history and has an important connection to the impending war in Vietnam. Faced with the prospect of a communist threat in southeast Asia, Kennedy increased American involvement in Vietnam—by the end of 1962, the US had dispatched 12,000 military personnel to the region, a tenfold increase from the beginning of JFK's presidency. Still President Kennedy hoped to avoid combat and possibly it was Kennedy's study of Lawrence's success that made him hesitant to engage in guerilla warfare in Vietnam which influenced his decision to remove 1,000 serviceman by the end of 1963, with an intention to bring home all soldiers the following year. This plan was obviously not implemented by LBJ, after President Kennedy's assassination as the American presence in Vietnam increased dramatically and by war's end 58,000 American soldiers lost their lives.
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President Kennedy Typed Letter Signed to Captain B.H. Liddell Hart July 27, 1962: exceptional content letter as President Kennedy is researching T.E. Lawrence's guerrilla tactics as Vietnam heats up and responds to influential English soldier and military historian Captain B.H. Liddell Hart.
"I will agree with you that 'those who frame policy and apply it need a better understanding of the subject than has been shown in the past.' I was interested in your statement on page 6 that, 'The ratio of space to forces is a key factor in guerrilla war.'" Kennedy further states, "I am interested in this mathematical calculation, but I haven't been able to find it in a search through Lawrence's writings. I would appreciate it if you could drop me a line and give me a more exact reference."
This fascinating letter demonstrates Kennedy's keen interest in military history and has an important connection to the impending war in Vietnam. Faced with the prospect of a communist threat in southeast Asia, Kennedy increased American involvement in Vietnam—by the end of 1962, the US had dispatched 12,000 military personnel to the region, a tenfold increase from the beginning of JFK's presidency. Still President Kennedy hoped to avoid combat and possibly it was Kennedy's study of Lawrence's success that made him hesitant to engage in guerilla warfare in Vietnam which influenced his decision to remove 1,000 serviceman by the end of 1963, with an intention to bring home all soldiers the following year. This plan was obviously not implemented by LBJ, after President Kennedy's assassination as the American presence in Vietnam increased dramatically and by war's end 58,000 American soldiers lost their lives.
Format: TLS
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
