Texas Tech University

John B. O'Donnell Collection (1351) Finding Aid

Collection Item Number: 13510000000
Collection
John B. O'Donnell Collection
Title
Finding Aid
Linear Feet
1.5
Pages
1
Language(s)
English
Dates
Creation: 12 August 2004
Scope and Contents
Far East Training Center papers, United States Agency for International Development papers, Revolutionary Development and Rural Construction papers, Southeast Asia Development Advisory Group papers, Vietnam Information Notes from the United States Department of State, University of California Library Holdings on Vietnam, Classroom syllabi, News clippings and photocopied articles, photographs, and additional papers document John O'Donnell's career with USAID, particularly his assignment with the Far East Training Center at the University of Hawaii and his additional work with USAID in Southeast Asia in the 1960s.
Biographical / Historical
John O'Donnell joined the United States Army after graduating from Stanford University in 1956. In his first assignment, he served as a Cambodian and Laotian area studies specialist with the United States Army Pacific Command (USARPAC) Psychological Warfare Unit. He joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1962 and served as a provincial representative in South Vietnam. O'Donnell was also assigned to the Far East Training Center at the University of Hawaii, where he trained USAID personnel for assignments in Southeast Asia. He later worked with the United States counterinsurgency program in Thailand and USAID's headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was a member of USAID's senior foreign service from 1982 to 1991. O'Donnell retired in 1991, but continued to work for USAID as a consultant in Latin America.
Series
19
Books
America in Vietnam by Guenter Lewy (1978)
The Economics of Insurgency in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam by Robert Sansom (1970)
Engineer Memoirs: Lieutenant General Edward L. Rowny, Former Ambassador (December 1995)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume II Vietnam 1962, editor in chief John P. Glennon (1990)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume III Vietnam January-August 1963, editor in chief John P. Glennon (1991)
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Volume IV Vietnam August-December 1963, editor in chief John P. Glennon (1991)
The Green Berets in Vietnam, 1961-1971 by Francis J. Kelly (1991)
The Legacy of Vietnam: The War, American Society and the Future of American Foreign Policy, edited by Anthony Lake (1976)
My.Anh.Phap.Y Voi Van de Vietnam by Tran Ngoc Chau (1968)
No More Vietnams by Richard Nixon (1985)
A Soldier Reports by General William C. Westmoreland (1976)
South Vietnam: A Political History 1954-1970 Keesing's Research Report 5 (1970)
The Ten Thousand Day War, Vietnam: 1945-1975 by Michael Maclear (1981)
Twenty Years and Twenty Days by Nguyen Cao Ky (1976)
The United States in Vietnam by George McTurnan Kahin and John W. Lewis (1967)
Vietnam: An American Ordeal by George Donelson Moss (1990)
Village in Vietnam by Gerald Cannon Hickey (1964)
The War for South Vietnam: 1954-1975 by Anthony James Joes (1990)
Why We Were in Vietnam by Norman Podhoretz (1982)
1
Photographs
190 Photographs of Vietnam including Binh Dinh, Pha Yeh, Cia Dinh, Quang Nam and Phu Yen, VA037215 - VA037404
Click to view all Photographs
1
Maps
Southeast Asia June 1965 (map collection section 12, drawer16)
Click to view all Maps
1
Newsletters
Army Echoes: The Official Bulletin for the Army Retiree (January-March 1995)(Issue 1, Volume 39)
Click to view all Newsletters
122
Serials
The Times of Viet Nam Magazine:

Bound Volume 1 (note issues are bound out of date order): 1961: January 7, January 14, October 10, January 28, February 4, February 11, February 25, March 4, March 25, April 1, April 8, April 22, April 29, June 17, May 13, May 20, May 27, June 3, June 10, June 17, June 24

Bound Volume 2 1961: July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22, August 12, August 19, August 26, September 2, September 9, September 17, September 24, October 1, October 8, October 15, October 22, October 29, November 5, November 12, November 19, November 26, December 3, December 10, December 17, December 24, December 31

Bound Volume 3 1962: January 7, January 14, January 21, January 28, February 4, February 11, February 18, February 25, March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22, April 29

Bound Volume 4 1962: May 6, May 13, May 20, May 27, June 3, June 10, June 17, June 24, July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22, July 29, August 5, August 12, August 19, August 26

Bound Volume 5 1962: September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23, September 30, October 7, October 14, October 21, October 28, November 4, November 11, November 18, October 25 (handwritten annotations indicate that this issue should be November 25), December 2, December 9, December 16, December 23, December 30

Bound Volume 6 1963: January 6, January 13, January 20, January 27, February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24, March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24, March 31, April 7, April 14, April 21, April 28

Vietnam: 2000: December; 2001: February, April; 2002: February, April, June, August
Click to view all Serials
  • Box 1: [Barcode: 1] [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, Stacks [D97.2A ]]
  • Box 2: [Barcode: 2] [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, Stacks [D097.2B ]]
  • Box 1000: [Barcode: 1000] [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, Stacks, D056.3 Individual Oversize Collection Box 11 [D056.3]]
  • Box 1
  • Series: Far East Training Center Materials
  • Folder 1
  • Far East Training Center (AID/UH) Vietnam V (May 1-October 1967) training manual
  • Folder 2
  • Cycle V training assignments
  • Folder 3
  • Far East Training Center handouts
  • Folder 4
  • List of material given to trainees in Washington - MACV Directive 10-12 - Organization for Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support - Table of Organization of Hamlet Administration - Fortune magazine article The Struggle to Rescue the People: Vietnam's "other war" is just beginning and the outcome remains in considerable doubt - The Hoa Hao Story - OCO staffing in Vietnam - summary of speech of Deputy Ambassador Porter to ARVN officers studying the role of the armed forces in support of Revolutionary Development
  • Folder 5
  • Far East Training Center Cycle V Schedule - Week 1 May 1-6 - Week 2 May 8-13 - Week 3 May 15-20 - Week 4 May 22-26 - Week 5 May 29- June 3 - Week 6 June 5-10 - Week 7 June 12-17 - Week 8 June 19-24 - Week 9 June 26-July 1 - Week 10 July 3-7 - Week 11 July 10-15 - Week 12 July 17-22 - Week 13 July 24-29 - Week 14 July 31-August 5 - Language Groupings effective Monday May 15, 1967 - Cycle VI Schedule 1 July 24-29 - Cycle VI Schedule 2 July 31-August 5 - Cycle VI Schedule 3 August 7-12
  • Folder 6
  • Far East Training Center Cycle V Memos - Wednesday Morning Lecture Period (May 16, 1967) - Dr. Nguyen Dang Liem (May 3, 1967)
  • Folder 7
  • Far East Training Center Field Exercise
  • Folder 8
  • Far East Training Center Evaluation of Training Program
  • Folder 9
  • Observations on Training Program, prepared by Bohannan - Comments and Recommendations Concerning the AID/UH Training Project, prepared by Warren Ziegler
  • Folder 10
  • Far East Training Center binder - Summary statements - Cycle IV - Cycle III
  • Folder 11
  • Asia Training Center
  • Sub-Series - Papers and notes pertaining to John B. O'Donnell while serving in Vietnam
  • Folder 12
  • Papers and memos pertaining to O'Donnell service as Provincial Representative in Kien Hoa - Interview with a former Provincial Representative (March 8, 1967) - Briefing for Secretary of Defense McNamara I (19 December 1963)-2 copies - Briefing for Secretary of Defense McNamara II - A Critical Analysis of hte Strategic Hamlet Program in the 41st DTA - San Francisco Chronicle newspaper article Feud Within U.S. Viet Aid Mission - Memo from Nghiem Van Minh to Francis McElroy pertaining to John B. O'Donnell - Statement in response to memo by John B. O'Donnell - Newspaper article Failure to Produce Viet Miracles puts General Lansdale on Defense
  • Folder 13
  • Lecture material: Vietnam-Behind the Crisis (November 1966)
  • Folder 14
  • Meeting and Lecture notes
  • Folder 15
  • Handwritten notes on Vietnam and Southeast Asia
  • Sub-Series - U.S. Agency for International Development in Vietnam
  • Folder 16
  • U.S. Memo: Communist Community Development
  • Folder 17
  • Insurgency and counter-insurgency - paper by Rufus Phillips for James Killen - Insurgency and Counter-insurgency per Sir Robert Thompson - Memo: Counter-insurgency terms, objectives and Operation
  • Folder 18
  • Local Development Program - U.S. memo by Harold Voelkner: Research for the "Other War": Local Development Theory, Techniques and Training - Revolutionary Development in South Vietnam: The Next Step by Ben Ferguson and Edgar Owens - 2 copies - Letter to Dave Wood regarding village government and land reform in Vietnam - Letter to Jerome French from Dave Wood regarding local development fund and village council development - Memo from Dave Wood to D. Stoaks regarding Local Development Program -
  • Folder 19
  • Long An Province Survey, 1964
  • Folder 20
  • Long An Province Survey, 1966
  • Folder 21
  • Political Development in Vietnam - Vietnam: A Test of American Understanding of Revolution by Edward Lansdale - U.S. Policy Options in Vietnam: A Synopsis - Concept for Victory in Vietnam - Building a Political Base for Government in Vietnam - Land Reform and Political Development: Summary of Montgomery Report - SEADAG Papers on Development and Development Policy Problems: Backgrounds of South Vietnamese Cabinets - SEADAG Papers on Development and Development Policy Problems: Political Implications of Economic Change: South Vietnam
  • Folder 22
  • Provincial Representation - Budgets involved in Provincial Operations - Table of Organization - Role of Provincial Representatives - Office of Provincial Operations -3 copies - Some Characteristics of Successful and Less Successful Overseas Community Development Advisers - Functions and Responsibilities of the Provincial Representative - Job Description: Area Development Officer - Organizaitonal Framework Within Which the Provincial Representative in Vietnam Functions - Political Development Planning Guide Outline
  • Folder 23
  • Revolutionary Development - Table of Organization: Office of Civil Operations - Table of Organization: Revolutionary Development Group - Table of Organization: Revolutionary Development - Command Information Pamphlet 4-67: Revolutionary Development: Plan for a New Vietnam - Vietnam Rural Construction Cadre - Agency for International Development memo: Revolutionary Development Information Brief - Translation of speech delivered by The Minister of Revolutionary Development at the closing ceremony of the Administrative Conference - The "Other War" in Bac Lieu - Revolutionary Development Comes to Your Hamlet - Translation of speech given by Major General Nguyen Duc Thang
  • Folder 24
  • Revolutionary Development Cadre - Employment of Revolutionary Development Cadre - Background data: Revolutionary Development Cadre - Office of Field Operations Operational Memo 34-66: Transmittal of Revised Statute on RC Cadre and Related Documents - Temporary Directions for Implementing New Decrees on Rural Construction Cadre - Training Program Outline and Cadre Guide Book - Quotas for Revolutionary Development Course Number 11
  • Folder 25
  • Rural Construction - Table of Organization Rural Construction Cadre Group - The Rural Construction Program in Vietnam - Agriculture and the War Effort - Table of Organization for Rural Construction - Provincial Operations
  • Folder 26
  • Rural Development in Southeast Asia - Rural Development Programs in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines - The Accelerated Rural Development Program in Thailand -4 copies - The Rural Construction Program in Vietnam -5 copies - Statement by the Honorable Donald G. MacDonald, Director USAID Mission to Vietnam before the House Foreign Affairs Committee (19 April 1967) -
  • Sub-Series - Photocopies of Papers and Periodical articles pertaining to USAID in Southeast Asia
  • Folder 27
  • Department of State Memo: Training for Local Government Development
  • Folder 28
  • U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam Command Information pamphlet 7-67: The Art of War by Sun Tzu
  • Folder 29
  • Synopsis of "Evaluation of the Leadership Training Course for the Youth of Central America, Panama, and Dominican Republic of the Inter-American Center, Loyola University
  • Folder 30
  • The CYCLO Issue 2 and 3
  • Folder 31
  • USAID Public Administration Bulletin Vietnam, Number 38 Special Issue: The VIllage Elections (1 JUne 1967)
  • Folder 32
  • Offprint from Southeast Asian Tribes, Minorities, and Nations, edited by Peter Kunstadter - 13 copies
  • Folder 33
  • Vietnam Information Notes: Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, - Department of State, Vietnam Information Notes, Numbers 1-3, Revised May 1967 - Vietnam Information Notes: Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, - Department of State, Vietnam Information Notes, Number 5, April 1967 - Vietnam Information Notes: Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, - Department of State, Vietnam Information Notes, Number 6, June 1967 - Vietnam Information Notes: Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, - Department of State, Vietnam Information Notes, Number 7, July 1967 - Vietnam Information Notes: Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, - Department of State, Vietnam Information Notes, Number 8, July 1967 - Vietnam Information Notes: Office of Media Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, - Department of State, Vietnam Information Notes, Number 9-10, August 1967
  • Folder 34
  • A Concept of Pacification
  • Folder 35
  • How the U.S. Got Involved in Vietnam by Jeff Drake
  • Folder 36
  • Life magazine article The Lowdown From the Tope U.S. Command in Saigon
  • Folder 37
  • Draft: Outline of New Policies for South East Asia
  • Folder 38
  • Memorandum: Plans and Preparation for Peace and Order in Vietnam (20 July 1964)
  • Folder 39
  • Politics and National Development in VIetnam 1954-1960 by Jerome T. French
  • Folder 40
  • The New Yorker magazine article A Reporter at Large: The Village of Ben Suc by Jonathan Schell
  • Folder 41
  • Stability in Rural Vietnam by Earl J. Young
  • Folder 42
  • Human Organization article The Structure of District Administration, Anti-administration Activity and Political Instability by George N. Appell
  • Folder 43
  • newspaper and magazine clippings
  • Box 2
  • Series: Photocopies of books or book sections
  • Folder 1
  • Studies in International Security 10: Defeating Communist Insurgency: The Lessons of Malaya and Vietnam by Sir Robert Thompson
  • Folder 2
  • Hoi Chianh Group Motivation and Possible Use of Group Dynamic as an Instrument of Government Reform
  • Folder 3
  • Important Dates in the History of Vietnam from Its Origins to French Conquest
  • Folder 4
  • Mao Tse-Tung New Democray (1940)
  • Folder 5
  • Partial translation of A Solution ot the Problem of Vietnam by Colonel Hoang Van Lac
  • Folder 6
  • War Without Guns: American Civilians in Rural Vietnam by George K. Tanham
  • Folder 7
  • Pages from Why Vietnam?
  • Folder 8
  • A Summary History of Vietnam
  • Folder 9
  • Bibliographies - Vietnam: A Bibliography by Judith Heaney - A Short Select Bibliography of Books on Vietnam and the War - University of California Library Holdings on Vietnam
  • Sub-Series - Assorted Papers
  • Folder 10
  • Envelopes - Mailing envelopes from The Times of Vietnam - Photo envelopes
  • Folder 11
  • Recommended Reading LIst for Psycholological Operations Course 3A-9305
  • Folder 12
  • Course material for Anthropolgy 144
  • Folder 13
  • Correspondence
  • Folder 14
  • Assorted papers
  • Folder 15
  • Hawaii Governor George Burns Innaugral Addresses 1962, 1966
  • Folder 16
  • Travel Vouchers and related material
  • Folder 17
  • Personal matters of John B. O'Donnell
  • Folder 18
  • Citations from the South Vietnamese government to John B. O'Donnell
  • Box 1000
  • Folder 1
  • Oversize material
  • Newspaper clippings
Perma Link
https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=13510000000
Citation
John B. O'Donnell Collection (1351) Finding Aid, John B. O'Donnell Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=13510000000, Accessed 09 May 2026.
Pub Credit Line
13510000000, John B. O'Donnell Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University
Added: 11 Aug 2004 [Updated: 05 Aug 2022]

Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive

© 2026  Texas Tech University© 2026  Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive May 4 2026