Beyond The Wild Blue is an accurate rendition of the history of the United States Air Force. Using a combination of archival film research and personal interviews with many of the important figures in the history of the Air Force, Beyond The Wild Blue provides a vivid and fast moving portrait of a service which went from the ruins of World War II demobilization to become the principal weapon of the U.S. Armed Forces. Beyond The Wild Blue presents a comprehensive survey of all of the great aircraft and missiles of the United States, along with the crews and commanders that made the U.S. Air Force what it is today. Beyond The Wild Blue would be useful for classes on American History, Military History, and Cultural History and Civics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

Vietnam, the Endless Abyss

Even as the U.S. and the USSR competed for military dominance in bombers and ICBMs, minor wars broke out all over the world. The most tragic of these wars was in Southeast Asia, where mistaken U.S. foreign policy dragged the country into an Asian ground war. The USAF fought brilliantly with its F-4s, F-105s, B-52s and other aircraft, despite rules of engagement which handicapped it. Beyond the Wild Blue tells all the stories, from the dog-fights to the breath-taking rescues, that gave a war nobody wanted the saving grace of heroism.

Vocabulary

• abyss
• protocol
• mutated
• deployment
• rigors
• monotonous
• martyr
• quantitative
• simulating
• reputedly
• procured
• reviled
• conscripted
• sorties
• disengage
• rejuvenated
• guerrillas
• sanctuary
• incandescent
• obsolete

Discussion Questions

1. During the Vietnam conflict, control of the military effort rested with politicians, not generals, a new development in American warfare. What were the ramifications of this change? How did it influence the nature of the conflict?
2. The conflict in Vietnam did not directly involve the United States, it was a conflict between the Vietnamese and the French. How and why did the United States get involved in this conflict? Should the U.S. have remained neutral?
3. Belief in the "domino theory" of Communist advancement influenced the decision for U.S. involvement in Vietnam. What is the "domino theory," and how did it influence the United State's involvement in Vietnam?
4. Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defense of the United States during the Vietnam War. He brought a different type of thinking to the war, one of corporate and mathematical analysis. How did McNamara's analysis and assessment of the war in Vietnam differ from that of the generals?
5. The President and Washington had more direct involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Vietnam War than any other war in American history up until that time. How did the advances in communication and technology enable the President and Washington to have more direct involvement?
6. By the late 1960s, President Nixon opted for the "Vietnamization" of the Vietnam War. What did he mean by "Vietnamization?"
7. The Vietnam War, like any other war, is filled with "unsung heroes." What is meant by the term "unsung heroes," and who were some of the "unsung heroes" of the Vietnam War?

Extended Activities

1. Research the protest music of the 1960s and the early 1970s. Choose an example of this type of music, and write an essay or discuss how the young people of the United States used music to convey their anti-war sentiments.
2. Using a topographical map of Southeast Asia, discuss how the physical and climatic features of a country such as Vietnam play a role in warfare.