Former CGSC professor delivers presentation on the fall of South Vietnam

The CGSC Foundation and its Simons Center hosted the second lecture of the 2025 Distinguished Speaker Series at the Riverfront Community Center in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas on May 8, 2025. In this installment of the series, Dr. James H. Willbanks, Professor Emeritus and former General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, conducted a presentation and discussion entitled “1975 – The Fall of South Vietnam.”

The evening began with a reception, followed by Simons Center Director John Nelson welcoming the attendees and recognizing sponsors. Toward the end of the dinner period Nelson introduced Willbanks to the gathered audience, many of whom were Willbanks’ old friends and associates from Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth and the Kansas City metro.

Willbanks’ presentation examined the events of 1974-75 that led to Hanoi’s ultimate victory. His presentation began with describing how in 1973, the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam signed “The Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam.” All U.S. forces departed South Vietnam by the end of March per the peace agreement. Almost immediately after the cease-fire went into effect, the fighting broke out anew into what was essentially a third Indochina War. The South Vietnamese forces fought on alone and acquitted themselves very well until mid-1974. By that time, however, the North Vietnamese forces had fully reconstituted in the South and subsequently launched a new round of offensives. The weakened South Vietnamese forces were unable to turn back the onslaught. On April 30, 1975, after 55 days of bitter fighting, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon and the Republic of Vietnam ceased to exist.

After the presentation and a Q&A period, Nelson presented Willbanks and his wife, Diana, with gifts in appreciation for their participation in the Distinguished Speaker Series.

For more photos see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

 Dr. James H. Willbanks retired from the faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 2018, after 26 years of service following more than 23 years of active-duty service as an infantry officer in various assignments, to include a tour as an advisor with a South Vietnamese infantry regiment during the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Offensive. While a member of the CGSC faculty, Willbanks served as the Director of the Department of Military History, the General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair of Military History, and also taught national security policy and counterinsurgency.

Dr. Willbanks is an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and a graduate of the inaugural class of the School of Advanced Military Studies. He holds a B.A. in History from Texas A&M University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Kansas. He is the author or editor of 22 books on the Vietnam War and other topics in military history and serves on several editorial boards. Dr. Willbanks also served as a consultant to Ken Burns in the preparation of his 10-part documentary on the Vietnam War which aired on PBS in 2017.

His military awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with “V” and Oak Leaf Cluster, two Purple Hearts, and Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with two Silver Stars. He and his wife Diana now reside in Georgetown, Texas.

The CGSC Foundation through its Simons Center conducts the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) program to offer extracurricular, educational lectures intended to help enrich the Command and General Staff School curriculum and provide opportunities for outreach to the public. Topics covered in the Distinguished Speaker Series of lectures span the gamut of leadership and ethics, organizational effectiveness, collaboration, as well as current events and issues in business, government and the military. Programs are made possible in part by sponsors.

~ Thank you to our 2025 DSS Sponsors ~

~Five Stars~

Pritzker Military Foundation
The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation

~Four Stars~

Julius Kaaz Construction

~Three Stars~

Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
First Command
Robert and Clare Powell

~Two Stars~

Armada Corporate Intelligence
Demaranville & Associate, CPAs
University of Kansas
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Bill West

~One Star~

Advantage Printing
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Art Fillmore
Geiger Ready Mix
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin