Office of the Historian

132. Memorandum From Secretary of Defense Laird to President Nixon1

Washington, February 22, 1971.

SUBJECT

  • Operations Against North Vietnam

Two types of operations during the past few days have resulted in ordnance being expended against North Vietnamese targets.2 An outline of the operation is as follows:

1.
Air Strikes
•
Conducted by US aircraft, against NVN air defenses threatening US air operations over Laos.
•
Separate strikes on 20 February and 21 February. (Strike scheduled for 22 February diverted due to bad weather over North Vietnam.)
•
24 aircraft in first strike and 32 aircraft in second strike.
•
First strike was in Mu Gia pass area (approx. 6 mi north in Route 15 area). Second strike was in 25 miles west-southwest of Dong Hoi, as well as in general area of first strike near Mu Gia pass.
•
Preliminary results indicate a composite result of 4 SAMs destroyed, 4 transporters destroyed, 2 SAMs damaged, 10 prime movers/trucks destroyed, 35 fires, and 43 secondary explosions. All US aircraft returned safely.
2.
Maritime Operations
•
Conducted by South Vietnamese against NVN coastal maritime activities.
•
Activity was on 19–20 February.
•
4 Patrol Torpedo Fast (PTF) boats used.
•
General area of operations was off the coast of Vinh, off the coast of Dong Hoi, and in the coastal waters between those two locations.
•
Preliminary results reported by the South Vietnamese indicate (a) 1 steel hulled cargo ship sunk, (b) enemy escort craft sunk, (c) 2 enemy escort craft heavily damaged, and (d) 1 enemy patrol craft heavily damaged. The South Vietnamese had 1 gunner killed and 1 PTF damaged.

I felt you might be interested in the results of the recent operations involving expenditure of ordnance against North Vietnam. I shall keep you informed of any other operations of significance.

Melvin R. Laird
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 153, Vietnam Country Files, Vietnam, 11 Feb 1971–28 March 1971. Top Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Kissinger forwarded the memorandum to Nixon under a covering memorandum, February 22. A stamped notation on Laird’s memorandum reads, “The President has seen.”↩
  2. In a memorandum for the record, March 1, reporting on a meeting among Laird, Kissinger, Haig, and Pursley on February 18, the Secretary of Defense informed Kissinger about the operations and noted that Rogers strongly opposed the operations because he believed they violated the bombing halt understanding. (Ibid., Box 1026, Haig Special File, Memcons, Presidential/HAK Jan–April 1971)↩