James K. Gardner (Class of 1965) oral history and papers relating to the Vietnam War (AMS.1U.G8)

Biographical/Historical note

James Gardner (Class of 1965), studied engineering at Brown as an undergraduate and then stayed on for his MA in Engineering, earning his graduate degree in 1968. Having trained with Navy ROTC while at Brown, his first assignment as a Lieutenant was in Virginia, where he taught engineering and thermo dynamics for 2 years at the Annapolis Naval Academy. Then, he was assigned to Saigon and travelled throughout the region as part of the Studies and Observations Group (SOG), part of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV-SOG), a highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. This group, drawn from the Navy, Army, CIA, and civilians, implemented special operations. They gathered intelligence, administered leaflet or radio drops, and helped many projects find materials – to construct buildings, including an orphanage; waste treatment plants, roads, ports, and airstrips. He returned to the States in April 1972. He was accepted at the Tuck School of Business but he grew impatient waiting for the program to start so he started to look for a job, which he landed at Texas Instruments. He did not attend Tuck.

He claims he worked for both groups that started the Vietnam war. J.J. Herrick was in command during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and was he C.O. at St. Juliens Creek Naval Annex when Gardner attended. The other was the Studies and Observations Group (SOG) which was also involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.