On June 5th, 2024, IWP hosted a one-day colloquium titled “Liaison & Legacy: Edward Geary Lansdale,” focusing on the late U.S. military intelligence officer, advisor, and expert on irregular warfare who practiced his craft in the Philippines and Vietnam. This chronology was created as a part of the colloquium.
Chronology
1908: February 6: Born in Detroit, Michigan.
1931: Dropped out of the University of California, Los Angeles, a few credits shy of graduation due to foreign language difficulties.
1931-1941: Worked as a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles and San Francisco. During this time, he was also commissioned as a Reserve Officer in the United States Army.
1942-1945: Served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
1943: Promoted to Lieutenant, U.S. Army.
1945-1948: Appointed Chief of Intelligence Division. Extended stay in Philippines at AFWESPAC and PHILRYCOM; helped the Philippine Army rebuild its Intelligence Services.
1947: Commissioned as a Captain in the newly formed United States Air Force, temporary rank of Major. Promoted to Major. Transferred to the Philippines, AFWESPAC.
1948: Instructor, Strategic Intelligence School, Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado.
1949: Temporary promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.
1950: Assigned to the Far East Division/Plans under U.S. Army Colonel Richard Stilwell, likely seconded to the Office of Policy Coordination, then the covert operation element within the Central Intelligence Agency.
In Washington, met Ramon Magsaysay, chair of the Defense Committee, Philippine House of Representatives, and soon to be appointed Secretary of National Defense; they became close friends.
At the request of President Elpidio Quirino, transferred to Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group in the Philippines to advise the Philippine Army Intelligence Services in the fight against the Huks (Communists). Assisted in election security and in development of psychological ops and civic actions that included farms for Huk defectors under the new Economic Development Corporation (EDCOR).
1951: Temporary promotion to Colonel, USAF.
1953: Worked on the successful presidential campaign of Magsaysay. Also a member of General J. W. “Iron Mike” O’Daniel’s mission to the French forces in Indochina; acted as an advisor on special counter-guerrilla operations.
1954-1956: Transferred to Saigon, served with MAAG-Vietnam. Became an advisor to Ngo Dinh Diem from his first days as President. Helped advise Vietnamese government and armed forces on problems of internal security, including pacification program (1954-55), psychological operations, intelligence, and integration of sect armies.
Assisted with “Freedom Company” and “Operation Brotherhood,” bringing in Filipino counter-communist experts as part of aid projects to South Vietnam.
The Lansdale team included Lucien Conein, Rufus Phillips, Charles Bohannan, other Americans, and many Vietnamese.
1957: Assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.; became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Operations.
1959: Staff member of the President’s Committee on Military Assistance (Draper Committee).
1960: Temporary promotion to Brigadier General.
1961: Became Assistant Secretary of Defense for special operations. Tasked as Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s Action Officer for “Operation Mongoose,” which consisted of intelligence and paramilitary operations against the Castro regime.
1963: Temporary promotion to Major General. Led fact finding trips to Bolivia and Venezuela, troubled by guerrilla activity.
1963: October 31 Retired; awarded Distinguished Service Medal (second time) for counter-insurgency work. Became consultant to director of Food for Peace, White House.
1965-1967: Returned to South Vietnam as Senior Liaison Officer of the U.S. Mission to South Vietnam, appointed by Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. Also appointed Minister by President Johnson. Staff became the “Senior Liaison Office” (SLO). Work involved winning support in the Vietnamese countryside.
1967-1968: Assistant to Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, U.S. Mission to South Vietnam.
1972: Author, book: In the Midst of Wars: An American’s Mission to Southeast Asia.
1975: Testified before the U.S. Senate’s “Church Committee” on U.S. intelligence operations.
1987: February 23: Died in McLean, Virginia.
Selected Published Papers, Reports and Speeches
As located in the Lansdale archive of The Hoover Institution Collection: Lansdale (Edward G.) papers :
Box 1
“The Report the President Wanted Published” written anonymously as “An American Officer” in The Saturday Evening Post, 20 May 1961
“Operation ‘Cold Store’: The Government’s Reply to the Open Letter” (1964) – Addressing Singaporean communist activities
Box 2
Mike Benge 1974-1978
Box 22
Benge, Michael. Printed matter and mimeograph report 1973-1974
Box 45
“Binh Hung: A Counter-Guerrilla Case Study,” 1961 February 9
“Civic Action,” lecture, Counter-Guerrilla School, Fort Bragg 1961 February 24
“Civic Action and Counter-Insurgency,” memorandum 1962 March 22
“Civil Activities of the Military, Southeast Asia,” memorandum 1959 March 13
“Counter-Guerrilla Operations in the Philippines, 1946-53,” seminar, Fort Bragg 1961 June 15
“Defense Activities in the Cold War,” lecture, Army War College 1960 December 21
“The Free Citizen in Uniform,” talk, U.S. Army Civil Affairs School, Fort Gordon, Georgia 1960 November 1
“Fundamentals for Americans,” panel talk, Military Government Association, Washington, D.C. 1959 June 13
“The Insurgent Battlefield,” talk, Air Force Academy 1962 May 25
“Lessons Learned–The Philippines, 1946-53,” lecture, Foreign Service Institute, Washington, D.C. 1962 September 26
“Letter From the Boon-Docks,” memorandum 1961 May 1
“Military Psychological Operations,” lecture, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia 1960 January 7
“Partisan Warfare,” memorandum 1961 March 22
“Psychological Action by Air,” memorandum 1963 June 7
“A Roman General’s Opinion of Military Critics,” undated
“Soldiers and the People,” lecture, Fort Bragg 1962 August 30
“Southeast Asia,” lecture, Army War College 1958 December 3
“Through Foreign Eyes,” memorandum 1963 October 7
“The True American,” 1960 June 3
“Unconventional Forces,” lecture, Air War College 1961 March 3
“The U.S. Military in Non-Military Warfare,” panel, National War College 1959 July 23
Box 74
“After the War, Still Vietnam,” New York Times, typescript, printed copy, and letters (1972 Sept. 5)
“The American Revolution,” typescript memorandum (1973 February 6)
“The American Spirit,” typescript memorandum (1972 October 13)
“Art of Guerrilla,” The Christian Science Monitor, printed copy (1964 January 18)
“Binh Hung: A Counter-Guerrilla Case Study,” mimeograph (1961 February 1)
“A Case History of Insurgency–The Philippines,” speech, the National War College, typescript (1964 March 26)
“A Catalyst Team for Vietnam,” mimeograph (1964 June 12)
“The Challenge of Subversive Insurgency,” speech, Michigan State University, holograph, program, letters, and miscellany (1964 February 29)
“Civic Action,” speech, Counter-Guerrilla School, Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, mimeograph (1961 February 24)
“Civic Action Helps Counter the Guerrilla Threat,” Army Information Digest, printed copy (1962 June)
“Civil Activities of the Military, Southeast Asia,” memorandum, mimeograph (1959 March 13)
“Communist Insurgency,” speech, American Society for Industrial Security, holograph and typescript (1964 September)
“A Comparison: Viet Nam and the Philippines,” unpublished paper, typescript (undated) Institute For Defense Analysis (IDA)
“Comrades,” Bulletin of the American Historical Collection, typescript, letter, and printed copy (1984 April-June)
“Concept for Victory in Vietnam,” mimeograph and notes (1964 June 8)
“The Early Involvement, 1945-1961,” typescript and letters (1979) – Memorandum relating to a manuscript by Ronald Spector.
“Early Years: Vietnam,” lecture, Army War College, holograph (1977 March 22)
“The Electoral Process in Vietnam,” Washington Post, printed copy (1971 August 31)
“Eulogy for Oscar Arellano,” typescript (1974 November 9)
“The Free Citizen in Uniform,” speech, U.S. Army Civil Affairs School, Fort Gordon, Georgia, mimeograph (1960 November 1)
“Freedom Academy,” unpublished paper, Washington, D.C., typescript (1965 June)
“Freedom and Democracy: A Declaration of Principles,” unpublished paper, mimeograph (1961 October 3)
Box 75
“Fundamentals for Americans,” speech, Military Government Association, Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C., mimeograph (1959 June 13)
“General Lansdale on Vietnamese Elections,” Washington Post, typescript, printed copy, and clippings (1971 May 26)
“General Lansdale Replies,” Washington Post, typescript, printed copy, and clipping (1972 September 12)
“General Plan for SEA Study 1954-64,” unpublished paper, mimeograph (undated)
“Get to the People With a Better Idea,” printed copy (1965 August 29)
“Guerrilla Warfare: Lessons Learned and Their Implications,” speech notes, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, holograph (1964 April 13)
“How to Win in Vietnam,” typescript (1965 January 10)
Box 79
“Individual re the State,” holograph (1957 February 19)
“The Insurgent Battlefield,” speech, Air Force Academy, mimeograph (1962 May 25)
Interview, printed copy (undated)
Interview, transcript and letters by Joe Treaster (1975)
Interview, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library oral history project, transcripts and correspondence (1981 June-September)
Interview, Library of Congress, transcript and letter (1982 November 19)
Interview, Journal of Defense and Diplomacy, printed copy (1983 July)
Interview, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, printed copy (1984 January 7)
Interview, U.S. State Department, transcript and letters (1984 September 6)
“Introduction…U.S. Organization for the War,” typescript (undated)
“Introductory Comments on the Campaign,” speech, seminar on the Huk campaign, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, mimeograph (1961 June 15)
“Lecture: Southeast Asia,” speech, Army War College, mimeograph (1958 December 3)
“Lessons Learned, The Philippines: 1946-53,” speech, interdepartmental course on counterinsurgency, Foreign Service Institute, mimeograph (1962 September 26)
Letter to the editor, Washington Post, typescript and letter (1971 August 16)
Letter to the editor, Washington Post, typescript (1972 June 16)
Letter to the editor, Washington Post, typescript (1972 July 8)
Letter to the editor, Washington Post, typescript (1972 September 2)
Letter to the editor, Washington Post, typescript (1975 May 2)
Letter to the editor, Washington Post (1977 January 31)
Letter to the editor, World View, printed copy (1977 May)
“Liberty Hall,” memorandum, typescript (1963 November 29)
“Limited War,” symposium contribution, U.S. Air Force Academy, typescript, correspondence, and contributions by others (1978 October 20)
Box 80
“The Local Scene Abroad,” typescript (1963 December 12)
“Military Policy in Underdeveloped Areas,” informal discussion with Colonel Valeriano, Philippine Military Attaché, typescript notes (1957 February 27)
“Military Psychological Operations,” speech, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia, mimeograph (1960 January 7)
“Military Psychological Operations: Part Two,” speech, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia, mimeograph (1960 March 29)
“A Moral Somewhere,” Washington Post, typescript and printed copy (1972 February 13)
“Notes on Magsaysay,” holograph (undated)
“Our Battleground in Asia,” seminar, Harvard University, typescript (1957 June 19)
“Pacification,” typescript (undated)
“People in Field,” holograph (undated)
“People’s Wars,” typescript (1973 January 15)
“Political Struggle in the Vietnam War,” presentation, U.S. Air Force Academy, holograph (1981 September 30)
“A Political Warfare Lesson,” typescript (1954 April)
“The Psychological Edge,” holograph and notes (1980 June 27)
“The Refugee Strategy: ‘A Fabrication,'” typescript and printed copy (1975 April 11)
Review of Alan Dawson, 55 Days, holograph, typescript, and correspondence (1978 April)
“Revolutions I Have Known,” typescript, printed copy, and correspondence (1975 Winter)
“Soldiers and the People,” speech, Special Warfare School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, mimeograph (1962 August 30)
“Some Comments on Vo Nguyen Giap,” typescript and letter (1973 March 12)
“Some Possible Initiatives by the U.S. in re: Viet Nam,” memorandum (1975 April 6)
“Some Thoughts About Central America,” typescript (1983 May 10)
“Some Thoughts About the Retirement of Fritz Kraemer,” typescript and letter (1978 May)
“Some Thoughts on the 100-Day Speech,” holograph (undated)
“Some Thoughts on Instability in Developing Countries,” speech, National War College, typescript (1974 November 25)
“Some Thoughts on Strategy in the Vietnam War,” unpublished paper presented at a colloquium at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1974 May)
Box 81
Speech, typescript (circa 1965)
Speech, typescript (1980 May 4)
Speech, Air War College, “Elements and Developments of Insurgency,” mimeograph and correspondence (1972 January 18)
Speech, Army War College, typescript and correspondence (1973 February 20)
Speech, Panel on “The U.S. Military in Non-Military Warfare,” National Strategy Seminar, National War College, mimeograph (1959 July 23)
Speech, Principia Conference on Vietnam, Elsah, Illinois, mimeograph (1965 April 9)
Speech, UCLA Student Colloquium, Los Angeles, California, holograph (1966 May 6)
Speech notes, Huk campaign, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, holograph (1976 May 31)
Speech notes, interdepartmental seminar, Foreign Service Institute, holograph (1964 May 4)
“Thoughts About a Past War,” introduction to The War For Vietnam by Allan R. Millett, typescript, printed copy, correspondence, and preface by Millett 1977 June
“The Three Systems of Forces,” typescript undated
“The ‘True American,'” speech, mimeograph 1960 June 3
“A Trauma to Heal,” notes and typescript 1980 August 11
“Two Steps to Get Us Out of Vietnam,” Look, holograph, typescripts, printed copy, and correspondence 1969 March 4
“The U.S. Army’s Public Relations in the Philippines,” typescript 1948 May
“Vietnam: A Test of American Understanding of Revolution,” mimeograph 1964 August 8
“Vietnam and Beyond–Our American Role in the Pacific,” speech, typescript circa 1968
“Vietnam: Do We Understand Revolution?” Foreign Affairs, draft, typescript, printed copy 1964 October
“Vietnam: Still the Search for Goals,” Foreign Affairs, printed copy and correspondence 1968 October
“Virginian Hearts and Minds: The Vietnamese Issue,” typescript and letter 1975 April 21
“Whither Vietnam?” typescript 1968
Adapted by Kevin D. Smith from U.S. Air Force and Hoover Institution Records in 2024.