Document Type
Article
Abstract
When America began to send U.S Army Special Forces to South Vietnam as advisors in the late 1950s, they needed allies that were familiar with the lush jungles of Indochina. In the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the Montagnard people partnered with the U.S. Army Special Forces in an attempt to keep their homelands safe from the Communists. As an ethnic minority, the Montagnards had been through years of abuse and cultural suppression by their ruling government; kept down by a Vietnamese dominated regime which viewed them as backwards and rebellious tribesmen. For the Green Berets that worked alongside them, the Montagnards represented sources of immense local intelligence and fierce combatants in the heat of battle. After years of being taken advantage of and killed, the Montagnards saw their relationship with Special Forces a way to fight back.
Recommended Citation
Brooks, Jake L.
(2026)
"Free in the Forest: Montagnards and U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam’s Central Highlands,"
Madison Historical Review: Vol. 23, Article 5.
Available at:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/mhr/vol23/iss1/5
Included in
Asian History Commons, Military History Commons, Political History Commons, United States History Commons
