Download the HES-HAMLA hamlet evaluation dataset

Downloads and caches the Hamlet Evaluation System data collected under the HAMLA instrument, covering monthly hamlet-level security, political, and socioeconomic assessments from 1967 to 1969. For the 1969-1974 period, see get_hes70.

Usage

get_hes_hamla(cache = TRUE, force = FALSE)

Format

A data frame with 389,505 rows and 76 variables. Key variables include:

us_hamlet_id: U.S. hamlet identifier.
corps_region_code: Corps region code.
province_code: Province code.
district_code: District code.
village_code: Village code.
hamlet_code: Hamlet code.
date: Evaluation month.
record_type: Record type.

Source

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD (RG 472). Electronic records collected by the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). Source file: Hamlet Evaluation System (HAMLA). See Smith (2025) and its Online Appendix for full archival accession details.

Arguments

cache: Logical. If TRUE (default), the downloaded file is saved locally and reused on subsequent calls without re-downloading.
force: Logical. If TRUE, re-downloads the file even if a cached copy already exists. Default is FALSE.

Value

A data frame with 389,505 rows and 76 variables.

Details

Each row is a hamlet-month evaluation record.

References

Smith, Gregory L. (2025). "Beyond body counts: Vietnam war ground combat data." Conflict Management and Peace Science. doi:10.1177/07388942251391081

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
  hamla <- get_hes_hamla()
  head(hamla)
} # }