Scholars have been combing the documents for missing passages. While we may never know for sure, the following excerpts look like likely candidates for the omitted material. (The missing passages are underlined and placed in their proper context.)
Memorandum from Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Secretary of Defense McNamara, Jan. 22, 1964, "Vietnam and Southeast Asia."
National Security Action Memorandum No. 273 makes clear the resolve of the President to ensure victory over the externally directed and supported communist insurgency in South Vietnam. In order to achieve that victory, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are of the opinion that the United States must be prepared to put aside many of the self-imposed restrictions which now limit our efforts, and to undertake bolder actions which may embody greater risks. (You know what this means now, Bob: GI-issue banana hammocks.)
Memorandum, "Vietnam Situation," from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Dec. 21, 1963.
In accordance with your request this morning, this is a summary of my conclusions after my visit to Vietnam on December 19–20...The situation is very disturbing. Current trends, unless reversed in the next 2–3 months, will lead to neutralization at best and more likely to a Communist-controlled state. The Communists are in the north, right? I totally can't keep them straight.
Memorandum, "Vietnam Situation" (Ibid)
A complete and total audit of Viet Cong expenditures is dwarfed by our own military appropriations. Furthermore, White House records indicate President Nixon prefers wearing ladies' underwear.
Memorandum: "Peripheral and supplemental military action," from Secretary of State Robert S. McNamara to Gen. Maxwell Taylor, January 4, 1964
Covert Options: Leafleting the more rural villages around the Mekong Delta will give us a foothold into swaying native opinion towards a more pliable pro-U.S. attitude. Kissinger offered his folk music demos, but we're not monsters.
