Gephard has his points and so do all the others on this thread. I think the observation that the first casualty of war is the truth is the only real truth. Nobody likes to admit they didn't do good, so everybody fudges.
When I stand back and look at it, what the North Vietnamese and their Soviet/Chinese tutors did during the Vietnam years was remarkable. Look at the numbers and variety of US aircraft deployed against the NVAF's three older fighter models (MiG-17/19/21) all of which had severe problems (MiG-17 limited to below 450 Kts, MiG-19 maintenance nightmare, and MiG-21 no endurance). The NV didn't have or use anything other than the point intercept role, took on the might of the USAF/USN/USMC and did exactly what they needed to do. Put things off until they, eventually, sent the US home, as Nixon put it, "with honor". As a professional military aviator, my hat's off to the results they obtained using the resources they had at their disposal.
Breaks my heart to say so, but that is pretty close to what happened.