MASSIVE ARCHIVE OF THOUSANDS OF ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND PHOTOGRAPHIC SLIDES, ALONG WITH NUMEROUS AUDIO RECORDINGS, COMPILED BY JACOB HARRIS, AN AMERICAN WHO SERVED AS A SENIOR POLICE ADVISOR IN VIETNAM AND THAILAND DURING THE VIETNAM WAR

HARRIS, JACOB

Published by Compiled by Jacob Harris, an American who served as a Senior Police Advisor in Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War, 1964 - 1974. 1964 - 1974, Vietnam, Thailand, and elsewhere in Asia as well as the United States, Europe, and the Middle East ca. 1964-1974, 1964

About this Item

A large and remarkable archive of images from Vietnam and Thailand, covering the decade from the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the beginning of the buildup of American forces in Vietnam to a year before the evacuation of the American embassy. Most notable are the many images showing the training of local security forces by American civil and military advisors. The collection was compiled by Jacob Harris, an employee of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Public Safety (OPS), whose task was to train Vietnamese and Thai police and counterinsurgency forces. Most of the images, in the form of photographs and photographic slides, were created by Harris, his wife, or his associates, and illustrate all aspects of life in those countries at the time. Harris traveled widely throughout the region, and the collection includes images from not only Vietnam and Thailand, but also from Laos, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, India, and elsewhere. The images also document Harris' lengthy career as a New Jersey State Trooper and his travels in other parts of the world. Jacob Joseph Harris (ca. 1910-2005), also known as "Jack" and "Jake," served for thirty-six years (1928-64) with the New Jersey State Police, eventually attaining the rank of major. Included herein is a printed card, dated Dec. 31, 1960, marking thirty years of Harris' service to the state of New Jersey. In 1964 he began what he called his "second career," taking a position with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and was stationed first in Vietnam and then in Thailand. As his postings permitted, he was joined by his wife of many years, Virginia, and she appears in a great number of the photographs. Harris was associated mostly with USAID's Office of Public Safety, which was established in 1957 to train the police forces of America's overseas allies. The OPS was often used by the Central Intelligence Agency as a cover for its agents abroad, and operated in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia until it was shut down by Congress in 1974. At other times Harris was a part of the State Department's Office of Missions. Whether or not Harris was directly employed by the CIA has not been ascertained, and it seems that his actual role in Vietnam and Thailand was in fact the training of local police and paramilitary forces. However, Harris' proximity to high ranking officials in the governments of South Vietnam and Thailand, as well as the nature of many of the photographs in this collection, show that he played an active and important role in training local forces to fight the Vietcong and Thai insurgents. And it is certainly true that the various departments and agencies of the U.S. government in southeast Asia at that time (those operating overtly or covertly) worked together toward their common goal. Jacob Harris ended his career at the State Department in Washington, and retired to Florida in 1975. A slide included as part of the collection explains the "Objective of U.S. Assistance to Civil Police Programs & Paramilitary Forces Overseas." Among these are "encourage humane responsible police administration; enforce the law & maintain public order with minimum use of force; counter subversion & terrorism; improve the character and image of civil police & paramilitary forces binding them more closely to the community." A large percentage of the photographs and slides in this collection show Jacob Harris with the Vietnamese and Thai officials and officers with whom he worked, trained, and advised during his decade of service. Included are images of military and political leaders, members of the Thai royal family, and members of military and police forces. A number of the photographs show police operations against members of the Vietcong or other subversive organizations, several of them showing dead bodies. One album is devoted to photographs showing a Thai operation against revolutionaries, with pictures of soldiers, dead and mang.

Seller Inventory # 44629

Bibliographic Details

• Title: MASSIVE ARCHIVE OF THOUSANDS OF ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND PHOTOGRAPHIC SLIDES, ALONG WITH NUMEROUS AUDIO RECORDINGS, COMPILED BY JACOB HARRIS, AN AMERICAN WHO SERVED AS A SENIOR POLICE ADVISOR IN VIETNAM AND THAILAND DURING THE VIETNAM WAR
• Publisher: Compiled by Jacob Harris, an American who served as a Senior Police Advisor in Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War, 1964 - 1974. 1964 - 1974, Vietnam, Thailand, and elsewhere in Asia as well as the United States, Europe, and the Middle East ca. 1964-1974
• Publication Date: 1964
• Edition: [VIETNAM WAR PHOTOGRAPHICA].