Scope and Contents

The collection consists of approximately 58 linear feet of research materials used by Philip Gutzman to write three reference books on the Vietnam War: Vietnam: a Visual Encyclopedia; Vietnam: Naval and Riverine Weapons; and the Dictionary of Military Acronyms. The materials include documents, books, microforms, photographs, slides, moving images, periodicals, and artifacts. The collection contains excellent reference material on all topics and time periods of the Vietnam War and would be useful for scholars as well as military veterans looking for official military documentation and battle accounts.

The materials include the book Dusterman Vietnam: Story of the Last Great Gunfighters: Transcripts from My Vietnam Diary and Memoirs by Joseph M. Belardo. Joseph Belardo was the United States Army 1st Field Force, Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery, Mobile Combat Team, Body Recovery Combat Attachment to the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force, 3rd Marine Division from August 1967 to August 1968.

The books in the collection contain many useful reference manuals on military weapons and equipment. The documents in the collection cover a wide variety of formats including military reports (e.g. Operation Reports – Lessons Learned, After Action Reports); study and analysis papers written by scholars and research institutions like the RAND Corporation; military training documents; special reports; bibliographies; and Department of the Army field manuals. These materials originated from a variety of institutions including the Army War College, the National Archives, the U.S. military, the RAND Corporation, the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), and Gutzman’s own service in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

These materials cover the time period from the Viet Minh and the First Indochina War through the end of the Vietnam War with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960 through 1975. Major subjects covered by these materials include insurgency/counterinsurgency; Special Forces; prisoners of war; herbicides/defoliation; psychological warfare; tactical air support; tank warfare; Thailand; Laos; Cambodia; Montagnards and Vietnam’s ethnic minorities; naval and riverine operations; military slang and terminology; Vietnamization; terrorism; the Viet Cong; guerilla warfare; refugees; military weapons and weapons systems; nuclear weaponry; pacification; military medicine and first aid; logistics and support; and reports and analyses of various battles of the Vietnam War.

Biographical / Historical

Born in Salmon, Idaho in 1938, Phillip Gutzman volunteered for the United States Army in 1955 and served for over twenty-seven (27) years. After training, he served in the 16th Corps, 4th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division with an MOS of Armored Tank Commander while holding the rank of Captain. In Vietnam, he was stationed at Cu-Chi, Pleiku, Da Nang, and Dong Da while participating in multiple combat operations. Phillip Gutzman earned multiple medals, ribbons and commendations before retiring in 1982 with the rank of major. After the military, he worked as an International Operations Manager for General Dynamics and a consultant for Defense, Aerospace and Energy companies. He also taught at Boise State University. Phillip Gutzman is a member of the 25th Division Association, the 1st Cavalry Division Association and the Order of the Purple Heart.

Series

• Series 1 – Bibliographic and reference materials
• Series 2 – Reports, studies, and publications
• Series 3 - Training Materials
• Series 4 - Military documents
• Series 5 – Academic materials
• Series 6 – Pamphlets, articles, and clippings
• Series 7 – Oversize materials