Guide to the General John Ruggles Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam photographs, 1960-1961

General John Ruggles Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam photographs C0332

Biographical and Historical Note

Prior to its direct military involvement in the conflict between North and South Vietnam beginning the mid-1960s, the United States sent military advisors to assist the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) as part of its broader foreign policy of containing communism around the world. The US government first sent a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG)to Vietnam (then known as Indochina) to assist the French in maintaining colonial rule against the Viet Minh in the early 1950s. Once the French left Vietnam, US MAAG-Vietnam continued to advise the new South Vietnamese military. MAAG Vietnam was succeeded by Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) in 1964 (Gale, "U.S. Military Advisory Effort in Vietnam: Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, 1950-1964").

Major General John F. Ruggles (1908-1999), a graduate of West Point and a career military officer who served with the 22nd Infantry Regiment in Europe during the Second World War, was the Deputy Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Vietnam from 1959-1961 (1-22infantry.org, "John F. Ruggles").

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Scope and Content note

Two photo albums and several loose photos pertaining to the career of General John Ruggles in Vietnam in 1960-1961. The first scrapbook commemorates General Ruggles' farewell visit to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam's II Corps headquarters in Pleiku, Vietnam and contains photos of Ruggles interacting with Vietnamese officers and soldiers. The second scrapbook, presented to General Ruggles by Colonel Dang-Van-Son, the Commanding Officer of the Vietnam NCO Academy at Nha Trang, largely contains photos of Vietnamese Non-Comissioned Officers in training, as well as a visit by General Ruggles. There are also two folders of loose photographs of General Ruggles interacting with Vietnamese officers and soldiers as well as photos of Vietnamese civilians, MAAG officers, and South Vietnames President Ngo Dinh Diem and Lieutenant General Samuel Williams.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged by format.

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Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the General John Ruggles Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam photographs must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

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Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Team 58 photograph collection

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Index Terms

Corporate Names:

Geographical Names:

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Document Types:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

General John Ruggles Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam photographs, C0332, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by John and Marilyn Ruggles in September 2020.

Processing Information

Processed by Elizabeth Beckman in January 2021. EAD markup by Elizabeth Beckman in January 2021.

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Bibliography

1-22infantry.org, 'John Frank Ruggles,' https://1-22infantry.org/commanders/rugglespers.htm, accessed January 14, 2021.

Gale, 'U.S. Military Advisory Effort in Vietnam: Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, 1950-1964', Archives Unbound, https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/archives-unbound/primary-sources_archives-unbound_u.s.-military-advisory-effort-in-vietnam_military-assistance-advisory-group-vietnam-1950-1964.pdf (accessed January 14, 2021).

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Contents List