These are the long-awaited Proceedings of the 8th Secretary of Defense Conference on Vietnam, held in Honolulu on May 6, 1963. Military commanders had by this time responded to requests to draw up a plan for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces over the period of a few years. At this conference, Defense Secretary McNamara instructed them to speed up these withdrawal plans.

Plans were also laid down for an initial withdrawal of 1000 forces. Implementation of this plan commenced in October 1963, but was watered down and, in the aftermath of Kennedy's assassination, rendered an essentially meaningless accounting exercise.