Scope and Contents

The collection consists of slides documenting R. Michael Pearce's experience as a Rand Corporation defense analyst conducting research as a member of the Research and Development Field Unit of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in Duc Lap, Hau Nghia Province from 1964 to 1967. The images were to accompany his research memorandum Evolution of a Vietnamese Village, which was prepared in response to a request from the Commander of MACV to study the evolution of a rural village as it passed from insurgent control through pacification to government control. The images document Pearce's travels across Vietnam (including Duc Lap, Saigon, and the Central Highlands), official events featuring U.S. Ambassador Maxwell D. Taylor, the U.S. Embassy building, and a Viet Cong car bombing in front of the embassy in March 1965.