The Tunnels of Cu Chi (47 page)

In addition, we wish to thank:

In Hanoi, Vo Dong Giang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; in Ho Chi Minh City, Colonel Nguyen Phuong Nam of the People's Army; interpreters Tran Van Viet and Nguyen Chinh.

In Washington, D.C.: Robert Fink, whose brilliant and resourceful research uncovered people and records we were sure were untraceable; Bettie Sprigg of the Defense Information Directorate at the Pentagon; Wanda Radcliffe, of the Washington National Records Center; the staff of the U.S. Army Center for Military History: Catherine Morrison, for her kindness and help.

Elsewhere in the United States: Joyce Wiesner of the U.S. Army Records Center; the public affairs officers and librarians of the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Carson, Colorado: and Fort McClellan, Alabama. We especially value the time given us by retired generals Fred C. Weyand, Ellis W. Williamson, William E. Depuy, Richard T. Knowles, and Harley J. Mooney.

In Sydney, researcher Chris Masters uncovered the role of the Australian army.

In Paris, the late Wilfred Burchett—one of the only English-speaking Westerners to spend time with the Viet Cong during the war—was generous with his advice and written material; he died in September 1983.

In London, we were appreciative of the help of Sir Robert Thompson KCB CMG DSO MC, former adviser to the government of South Vietnam; and of Colonel Robert Scott
L/RAMC, Professor of Military Surgery at the Royal Army Medical College. The diplomats at the Embassy of Vietnam in London (and its delegation to the United Nations in New York) were unfailingly helpful. So, too, were fellow journalists and Southeast Asia specialists William Shawcross and Chris Mullin.

We owe a special debt to our Vietnamese translator in England, Van Minh Tran; and to the loyal typist of the manuscript, Heather Laughton. The book's very existence results from the professional skills and dedication of our literary agent, Jacqueline Korn of David Higham Associates; and our editors, Robert Loomis of Random House, and Ion Trewin of Hodder & Stoughton. Christopher Capron, former Head of Current Affairs Programmes at BBC Television, kindly allowed this book to be written, and gave it his encouragement.

T.C.M.
J.V.G.P.