About Determined to Persist: General Earle Wheeler, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Military’s Foiled Pursuit of Victory in Vietnam by Colonel Mark A. Viney
Acrimony and calls for resignations over the recent US defeat in Afghanistan evoke painful memories of the Vietnam War, the nadir of civilian-military relations when the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to resign en masse. Has history repeated itself?
Find out in “Determined to Persist,” which takes readers inside the White House, the Pentagon, and the U.S. military headquarters in Hawaii and South Vietnam while tracing the internal debates, tensions, and critical inflection points in the Vietnam War.
The longest serving Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle G. Wheeler was the senior military advisor to Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. In disgust with their administrations’ disastrous Vietnam War policies, Wheeler shredded his memoirs. He died three years later. In consequence, a gaping hole has existed in understanding the Vietnam War — until now.
Using exclusive documents from the Wheeler family and others recently declassified, “Determined to Persist” overturns long-held, inaccurate perceptions of civilian-military relations and provides a fuller, more accurate representation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s role in the Vietnam War.
Buy the book, and follow the author on social media:
Author Bio:
Colonel Mark A. Viney retired from the U.S. Army in 2021 after serving 35 years in uniform. He is the founder of Viney Development Solutions, LLC, which provides nonfiction books and public speaking on historical, national defense, and leadership development topics, plus executive and talent development coaching, leadership development instruction, and historical tours.
A former Director of the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, Mark earned a Bachelor of Science in History from the United States Military Academy and a dual Master of Arts in Human Resources Development and Public Administration from Webster University. He served five years on the U.S. Army War College staff and completed its Defense Strategy Course.
Mark offers unique perspective and the latest research on Vietnam War strategy in his groundbreaking second and third books, “Determined to Persist: General Earle Wheeler, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Military’s Foiled Pursuit of Victory in Vietnam,” and “General & Mrs. Earle Wheeler: Their Rise to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Amid America’s Descent Into Vietnam.” He has lectured on Vietnam War strategy at the U.S. Army War College, Texas Tech Vietnam Center & Archive, and elsewhere.
Mark is well-known for applying historical insights toward organizations’ current issues. His white paper, “Insights From the Vietnam Withdrawal For the Afghanistan Drawdown,” influenced senior Allied leaders in Kabul and informed a private discussion between the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Commander, International Security & Assistance Force.
Corporate and military executives hire Mark when they want to make the most effective use of experiential learning events at battlefields and historical sites in Europe and the United States. Eight U.S. Army general officers have lauded Mark’s uniquely interactive, customized format as the new standard and the best in which they have ever participated.
Possessing unique subject matter expertise on Balkan peacekeeping operations, Mark authored his first book, “United States Cavalry Peacekeepers in Bosnia: An Inside Account of Operation Joint Endeavor, 1996,” and later conceived, researched, and obtained the Secretary of the Army’s approval to add a campaign streamer to the U.S. Army flag for operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Mark received an Admiral George C. Dyer Award from “Officer Review” magazine for his World War I article, “Journey to the Front.”
Mark has lectured on current national security issues for the Center on the Future of War at Arizona State University, the U.S. Army Cadet Command, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, and elsewhere.
As an executive and talent development coach, Mark guides clients in high-impact conversations toward solutions to their most pressing issues.
Organizations that have benefited from Mark’s leadership development expertise include American Airlines, FINRA, the General George Patton Museum of Leadership, U.S. Army Europe, U.S. Army Cadet Command, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, the Clausewitz Gesellschaft, and the Bundeswehr Zentrum Innere Fuhrung.
Mark’s next book will be “If the Monkey Wants a Banana, Don’t Give Him an Orange: Lessons in Leadership for Success in the Military and Business.”