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Bernard Fall: Memories of a Soldier-Scholar

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I was lucky in that I got to see the first book presentation by Dorothy Fall on the day this book came out, September 18.

I used a number of Fall's books in my thesis on Vietnam over 20 years ago. As Dorothy stated, there are many lessons to learn regarding the war in Iraq and modern issues from what happened to Bernard Fall.

I was surprised to read how Bernard's mother was deported to Auschwitz, where she died. They were Jewish and living in Austria, fleeing to initially to France. They were given up by the Jewish community leaders, something Bernard never forgot. He claims to have murdered the French Jews responsible as the worst kind of collaborators. His father was eventually caught and killed by the Gestapo, which was why Bernard joined the resistance at 16. He made some interesting observations, in that killing Germans resulted in 50 French being killed in retaliation. the resistance switched to killing traitors and collaborators, which was much more effective. Toward the end of the war, Bernard was in the regular French Army and fighting with the Moroccans.

I was surprised that Bernard then worked for the Nuremberg Trials as a researcher, specifically the Krupp trials. He seemed to have come up with a great idea of producing maps and diagrams like a statistician. He would later use this technique to prove VC domination in Vietnam. He made maps that showed areas where the villagers did not pay taxes and also where the most assassinations were taking place.

The chapter "Howard" was another revelation. He really planted the seed with black students at this prestigious black university. Even Stokely Carmichael wrote glowingly about Fall as an influence. Even the late Ron Ridenhour, the Vietnam War soldier who broke the My Lai massacre by writing to congressmen (who blew him off), said he was inspired by Fall and had read his book Street Without Joy.

I was also surprised that Dorothy, an extremely gifted painter, drew the diagrams, maps, and pictures in that book. When Bernard interviewed Ho, he mentioned that his wife had drawn a picture of him for the book. Ho got excited and had him show it. He was impressed, then took the flowers out of the vase on the table, gave them to Bernard, and told him to kiss Dorothy on the cheek for him. Unfortunately, Bernard was killed in 1967 at age 40 when he stepped on a mine while on patrol with Marines.

The chapter Surveillance shows how out of control this government was. He was watched and the phone tapped by the FBI, just because he told the truth about the war and how badly it was going. The FBI tried to get the military to stop inviting him to speak, but they always stuck by him. Many job opportunities and visa rejections were put out by the FBI. Even many big national newspapers refused to print his reports. Dorothy, however, still seemed not to understand why the Washington Post refused to print his stories, while one Post reporter called Bernard a traitor.

Dorothy says there are many lessons for today. I totally agree. It's all here: positive spin over truth, a government out of touch with reality, corrupt politicians, and a weak American media. Strange how history repeats itself.

This book is a taut, lucid, sometimes emotional, but never sentimental account of a fascinating life - that of Bernard Fall. Of course, I had heard of Bernard Fall. What literate adult during the Vietnam War had not? But, unlike many, I had not read his books and certainly did not know his story. In his widow's eyes, the author of this book, Bernard was a soldier-scholar who devoted his life to the unyielding pursuit of truth. He was a tough guy. From age sixteen until age nineteen he fought against the Nazis as a member of the French resistence and then served in the French army. At age twenty he worked as an investigator assisting the Nuernberg tribunal. But during the Vietnam War, while popular with the military, he was a misguided missile in the mind of FBI Director Hoover. His phones were tapped. FBI surveillance was openly conducted. Government officials who spoke with Fall were subjected to FBI interviews suggesting that care should be taken with their associations. A lesser man would have been intimidated. Not Fall. And, of course, then as now the efforts to silence political critics with labels of "aid and comfort" to the enemy were wrong to the point of lunacy. For example after describing the Vietminh death march of French prisoners following the fall of Dien Bien Phu - Ms. Fall quotes Bernard's outraged response, ". . . it turns my stomach over what the Commies have done to our men. And it is kept secret for fear it'd upset the delicate apple cart in certain situations. Like hell - I'm gonna get some of this out and politics be damned. " [p. 118]

This book reveals some unmistakable lessons of history. Now, as a result of reading this book, I have purchased Street Without Joy and Hell in a Very Small Place, which are venerated as Fall's masterpieces. I expect that the story of that terrible time will, in some ways, be more richly revealed in them. But Ms. Fall's book discloses personal details that will not be found in her husband's books. These give added meaning to her late husband's writings - and to his life. If you are interested in which lessons from the Vietnam era that should have been studied before and after America's invasion of Iraq, you definitely should read this book.
George W. Shadoan

I took a break from coding, wandered over to the internet and googled 'Bernard Fall'. I ended up at a website that asked for reminiscenses from any people who might have known the great scholar-journalist-soldier. I had never met Bernard Fall but always felt a kinship so I sent an e-mail and the next day received a reply from Dorothy Fall, his widow. She told me about her book and now I have read it.

Mrs. Fall's account of Bernard's falling out with his professor brought home to me a truth that I have learned in life: once harsh words are spoken, something breaks inside that can never be repaired. Yes, you can reconcile but the trust -- the true friendship -- that was there is gone never to be regained. I have seen this too many times. Never humiliate or let your angry words cross the line that separates communication -- however heated -- and personal attack. If you do, your friend will become your acquaintance. If it is your spouse, your child, your mother or father, brother or sister, you will acquire a sadness and a regret that stays with you until you die.

Except for my father and elderly relatives, I have never lost a loved one and the prospect has always been my greatest fear. But Mrs. Fall lost her dear one in such an abrupt way and at such a young age. The greatness of the man never diminishes but his fame does diminish with time. I can't imagine what it is like to live with the memory of such a man after over 40 years. I am grateful that she wrote this book to help keep his memory alive and I hope that it will point some young people in the direction of his books and thus carry his legacy to future generations.

To the extent that Bernard Fall's major works can be described as scholarly in nature, they are of an extremely engaging and accessible type. If they can be called journalism, they are a rare form of scholarly journalism. I know his books are read widely in the military. I wonder if his works and his methods are studied much in journalism schools. They should be. The point here is that his observations were delivered not as simple reportage or advocacy but as the result of careful and thorough research. Would that all reporters today took that approach. Would that the men in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations had given him the time that he deserved. Some had a bunker mentality born of the realities of the cold war. They correctly saw that many on the anti-war left were not just against the war but were ideologically in sync with communism and hoped for an American defeat for its own sake. Their error was that they could not see that Fall was not one of them. He could have helped so much. Others were just arrogant.

Another aspect of Fall's writing is his acceptance of the nature of war. Read 'Hell In A Very Small Place' and reflect on the affection that the French soldiers had for their 'quad 50's'. Fall understood that affection and related it to the reader unalloyed by moral reservations. Up until the end of the seige, French voluteers jumped into the valley and likely death. Again, Fall understood what motivated these men and this understanding comes through in his writing. Had he been in the service at the time, I am sure that he would have been among those who jumped.

So why would a 61-year-old programmer end up googling Bernard Fall? I was a history major but went to study in Thailand in '66 while under the influence of the finest teacher I have ever met, political science professor Ralph Fretty. I bought Fall's books from a bookstore in Bangkok and read them all in my spare time. Professor Fretty taught me what true scholarship is and I immediately perceived that in Fall's writings. When I read the affectionate accounts of Fall's former students that Dorothy Fall included in her book, everything clicked. I hold Bernard Fall's memory dearly because he is, for me, a Mr. Chips. Like professor Fretty, he taught me the true meaning of scholarship. When the teacher is of such greatness, the devotion never dies.

This intimate portrait of Bernard Fall by his wife is a detailed reflection on the author and his collected works that will be read for generations by many of the world's military as well as politicians, reporters and others. It offers a personal vantage point into Fall's insights regarding the nature of insurgency warfare in Vietnam. This work leads the reader to reflect on why American leaders did not have the foresight to heed the author's warnings about the necessity to learn the history, culture and politics of a nation before leaping into war. In the latest case, Iraq. The profound depth and originality of Fall's work is confirmed by the detailed insights into the man and motives by his wife. One powrful aspect of this book is that is not pretentious. Jack Casserly longtime war correspondent and author of 10 books

I'll never forget that February day in Saigon when the message announcing Bernard Fall's death crossed my desk. It was unbelievable that Viet-Nam had finally consumed this man. All of us who'd been there in the early '60s and involved in our counterinsurgency effort had read his books and to us he was the one person who really knew something about the country. When Lee Lanning and I wrote our seminal book on the communist Vietnamese soldier we relied heavily on Dr. Fall's writings. Although his criticism of our government's policy in Viet-Nam put him into the company of some people whose anti-war motives I've always considered far more sinister than "educating" the public, Bernard Fall was always a loyal American, an honest scholar, a friend of the American soldier, and no communist. I knew that 40 years ago but it came as a shock to me to read Mrs. Fall's account of how the FBI spied on him. I was also unaware that he tried to bring pressure on the VC through Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia to release Capt. Humbert R. Versace from captivity. I knew Capt. Versace when he was an advisor to the Vietnamese 5th Infantry Division. Dr. Fall's intervention on Rocky's behalf, albeit unsuccessful, was an outstanding act of humanity typical of Bernard Fall. Those are only two of many fascinating insights this excellent biography brings to light about this extraordinary scholar-soldier. There are areas where one may disagree with Mrs. Fall's opinions about certain Vietnamese leaders and her husband's views on how we should've dealt with them. She does not seem to understand that the Viet Cong were nothing more than an extension of the North Vietnamese Politburo whose agenda and strategy were dictated from the very beginning by Hanoi. Also, the South Vietnamese people never rallied to the Viet Cong and the war was not won by popular resistance to Saigon but by North Vietnamese tanks and artillery after the United States Congress cravenly withdrew U. S. military support from our Vietnamese allies. Are there parallels here to events of the present day, as Mrs. Fall suggests? You bet there are. But this is not a critical biography in the way others have written about famous people or an analysis of the Viet-Nam war. It is the intimate, honest, and compelling story from an unique perspective of Bernard Fall's life. I've often wondered what Dr. Fall would've thought of the events that occurred after his death, the great Tet Offensive of 1968, the Paris peace talks, the final collapse of South Vietnam, the hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees fleeing communism, and the concentration camps into which the Vietnamese who trusted us were thrown. I don't think any of that would have surprised him. I don't think he'd have been very happy about it either.

This is a wonderful book. This judgment is with the knowledge that I would most probably not have liked Bernard Fall (French resistance fighter, scholar, writer, historian, professor) had I been privileged to have known him. He was too much the adventurer, often arrogant, too cocksure, and hell-bent in pursuit of the passions which cost him his life. But I admire his intellect and most of all the integrity through which he doggedly stalked the facts from which he drew unpopular conclusions and expressed, without reservations, what he perceived as the truth about the quagmire that was Vietnam for both France and the United States. For this, I believe, his work will live on for as long as nations fall prey to the lure of empire.

All that aside, I fell almost in love with Dorothy through the words of this memoir in honor of the soldier-scholar who was her destiny. While she is a canvas artist by profession, she is equally an artiste when it comes to words in print. "Bernard Fall" is, at its roots, the story of a marriage, if sometimes a frustrating one. In its opening pages she candidly recognizes the competition of his mistress: the bizarre, baffling, and enigmatic attraction to Vietnam and to warfare into which it led him. At first it seemed a strange methapor by which to open a biography. But Barnard's love of both war and Indochina was so great that there was no better choice. She had married not only a husband but a mistress as well. And so there was no extraction. Even as she powerfully describes considerations of divorce, we know that it could never have happened. They are, as the writing of this book so long after the events which propels it illustrates, tied together beyond "until death us do part."

The book, however, is more than a biography and a love story. It is a travelogue offering stunning descriptions of the sights, sounds, and essences of locales where she and Barnard lived or visited in Southeast Asia, a compendium of quotations from his writings and from their letters, and a book of art and photographs. A piece of Dorothy's art heads each chapter and numerous photos are scattered throughout. Of particular interest is a chapter on the FBI's investigations and surveillance of Bernard and Dorothy; phones tapped and agents parked for hours near their home in the quiet Hollin Hills neighborhood in Northern Virginia not far from where I have lived for years. Eerie when so close to home. J. Edgar Hoover thought him a French spy. But to the FBI's credit they seem to have finally cleared him and given up the chase. Yet it remains an example of the paranoia of our age.

Perhaps, I am a little too harsh on Barnard for his cock-sure adventurism and his attachment to warfare even while so keenly analyzing the foibles and follies of both France and America in dealing with it in Vietnam. We are fascinated by and too often attracted to evil of which war is the epitome. More than forty years after experiencing deadly combat during World War II, I felt its seductive enticements again as I researched and wrote a memoir about it. Even Bernard Fall's scholarly bent failed to shield him from war's come-hither siren song. It seems doubtful if humankind shall ever learn to flee its alluring call.

If only the policy makers had paid attention to Bernard Fall during the run up to the full American combat involvement in the Vietnam war. So many lives could have been saved from destruction. Both Vietnamese and American. The basic ignorance and willfulness of the American leadership and their advisers led to this disastrous outcome.

Dorothy Fall has written a very loving and realistic account of her life with the great French/American war journalist, Bernard Fall. He was a man of great courage and many accomplishments. However, she also gives a full picture. Not only his virtues, but some of his shortcomings as well, are depicted in book.

I served briefly in Vietnam during 1968. I did so grudgingly with my eye on the exit sign during my abbreviated tour. Even at that time when I was at a very young age, I thought that the war effort by our side was probably doomed. The obvious hostility of the base workers from the local village--and this was supposedly a "friendly village"--did not bode well for the future. The lack of trust was a mutual condition. The average GI's attitude to the Vietnamese, that I heard, was often one of contempt colored with racist overtones. I think I heard "gook" used more often than "Vietnamese" in describing the Vietnamese. Hardly the stuff of "winning hearts and minds."

The winning of hearts and minds, though, was the only way the war was going to be won by our side. We won the battles with our great military power, but the Vietnamese, in general, did not want to abide us or the corrupt South Vietnamese government.

Bernard Fall understood all of this well before I had ever heard the name, "Vietnam." He knew that the French had lost their colonial war and that the Americans were making a colossal blunder of stumbling into the former role of the departed French. Ho Chi Minh was revered by most Vietnamese as the nationalist freedom fighter of Vietnam--much in the manner that we view George Washington. I think, we, the Americans were viewed by most Vietnamese as the new intruders and invaders of Vietnam. They saw us as the new, white colonialists. We really weren't though.... Instead, we were the great anti-Communist crusaders and containers of the Chinese. This motivation of ours is amusing given the great distrust and dislike of the Chinese by the Vietnamese because of the Chinese's long history of trying to control Vietnam. Another case of historical illiteracy on our part. Given the fierceness of Vietnamese nationalism and pride, I believe there really could only be one likely outcome from our involvement in the war.

Relating this to the Iraqi war, it's also tragic that we've had such incredibly poor leadership in this country from the Bush administration. A competent administration would have informed themselves more thoroughly about Iraqi culture and history and understood likely outcomes. An honest administration would not have lied the country into the Iraqi war in the first place. A similar, if less blatant charge of lying, could also be directed to the Johnson administration for our entry into Vietnam.

Dorothy Fall had a front row seat to view much of the follies of that Vietnam War era. Her husband, Bernard, should be honored by all of us who value hard work, clear and insightful thinking, courage, and absolute integrity. He was really an inspirational man. A very good book, well recommended.

Mrs Fall's biography captures Dr. Fall's love for Indochina and his strong ethical convictions. He was a true scholar with purpose who also happened to be a soldier.

It is his love afair with Vietnam that his wife shows to be his "mistress".

An excellent Book it is well written with love and tenderness only a women of strength can write.

Dorothy Fall's account of her husband's life is moving, fascinating and revealing. I read all of Bernard Fall's books about the Vietnam war when I was working there as a television producer for ABC News. He was the only person who had the experience and background to tell us at the time what had happened during the last phase of the French war against Ho Chi Minh, and also to interpret the meaning of the new American war that began with the French defeat. Dorothy's account is personal, evocative and permits the reader to share the insights of a scholar whose life was cut short in 1967 during a military operation with US Marines. You'll enjoy this book.

Great book, in great condition, a must read, especially if you're into Vietnam, foreign policies, or U.S. History.