"The Vietnam War" on PBS

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Old 09-27-2017, 06:21 PM
villagerjack villagerjack is offline
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Another view which needs to be considered.


NEW YORK POST
Missing from Ken Burns’ ‘Vietnam’: the patriotism and pride of those who fought

By Bing West September 19, 2017

To understand Ken Burns’ 18-hour Vietnam documentary, listen to the music. The haunting score tells you this will be a tale of misery. Burns and his co-author Geoffrey C. Ward conclude their script by writing, “The Vietnam War was a tragedy, immeasurable and irredeemable. But meaning can be found in the individual stories . . .”

The film is meticulous in the veracity of the hundreds of factoids/stories that were selected. Everything depicted on the American side actually happened. But that the chosen facts are accurate doesn’t mean the film gets everything right. Instead, the brave American veterans who are portrayed speak with a keen sense of regret and embarrassment about the war, a distortion that must not go unanswered. The film implies an unearned moral equivalence between antiwar protesters and those who fought.

Burns’ theme is clear: A resolute North Vietnam was predestined to defeat a delusional America that heedlessly sacrificed its soldiers. The film follows a chronological progression, beginning in the ’40s. Right from the start, harrowing combat footage from the ’60s is inserted to remind the audience that a blinkered America is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the French colonialists.

The main focus of the documentary is the period of fierce fighting from late 1965 to 1972. Against a gripping assortment of close-up photos and combat video, dozens of American and Vietnamese voices offer snippets of personal insights about history, geopolitics, families, ideologies, politics, battles, casualties and, above all, frustrations.

Most of the interviewees talk in the lugubrious tones of the defeated. We all know the story ends badly. But when it’s over, we aren’t told why we lost. The music is more memorable than the pictures, and the pictures are more compelling than the narration. Indeed, the North Vietnamese agree in 1972 to negotiate only because our B-52s have shattered their defenses and are pummeling them at will. We are deluged by sights and sounds but not enlightened as to cause and effect.

An American lieutenant who fought there in 1965 is quoted at the end of the film saying, “We have learned a lesson . . . that we just can’t impose our will on others.” While that summarizes the documentary, the opposite is true. Wars are fought to impose your will upon the enemy. If you don’t intend to win, don’t fight.

Our civilian and military leaders were grossly irresponsible. At the height of the war in 1968, Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford is quoted as telling President Lyndon Johnson, “We’re not out to win the war. We’re out to win the peace.” That is giving up. Our senior leadership granted the enemy ground sanctuaries in Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam and bombing was severely restricted.

The North Vietnamese were superb light infantry. The film points out that we grunts called the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) the ‘Dead Marine Zone’ because we were pounded from North Vietnam and forbidden to attack. The real lesson: Never fight on the enemy’s terms.

The documentary includes a modicum of footage about the South Vietnamese military. The South Vietnamese soldiers I fought alongside were brave and determined. Yet in 1973, sick of the war, Congress forbade any further bombing in Southeast Asia. Military aid to South Vietnam was slashed, while Soviet-built tanks and Chinese-made artillery poured into North Vietnam. It is moot whether South Vietnam could have survived had our aid continued. But the video of our panicked final pull-out in 1975 is flat-out depressing.

The film casts the antiwar movement in a moderately favorable light. Air Force pilot Merrill McPeak (who retired as a four-star general) is quoted as saying, “the antiwar movement itself, the whole movement towards racial equality, the environment, the role of women . . . produced the America we have today, and we are better for it.” Why are the protesters the real heroes here? What about the valiant US soldiers, 75 percent of whom were volunteers?

This documentary succeeds in vividly evoking sadness and frustration. But that is not all there was to the story. “The Vietnam War” strives for a moral equivalence where there is none. The veterans selected to speak are sad and detached for their experience, yet 90 percent of Vietnam War veterans are proud to have served. So there’s a large gap between what we see and the attitude of the vast majority of veterans.

Their sense of pride — so vital for national unity — is absent from the documentary. And that’s a glaring omission.

Bing West served in Marine infantry in Vietnam. He is the author of “The Village,” which has been on the Marine Commandant’s reading list for 45 years.

Missing from Ken Burns’ ‘Vietnam’: The patriotism and pride of those who fought | New York Post
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Old 09-27-2017, 09:50 PM
tagjr1 tagjr1 is offline
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"patriotism and pride of those who fought" ???? We fought for each other! Many of us were confused as to why our leaders got involved in this mess in the first place. The only Vietnamese who wanted the war were the rich. Our "leaders" were out of touch with reality and continuously trying to appease the "peaceniks" with bullcrap tactics and command decisions that were not going to win the war. When I returned from the Southeast War Games and went right back to work I was asked by a senior co-worker, who was a WW2 vet, "how does it feel to lose the only war in US history?", to which I replied, " people of my generation were not the ones making the command decisions, it was your generation!" To which he quickly shut up. If We are not going to fight a war to win, and win as quickly as possible in order to limit American casualties, we shouldn't get involved. Go in with overwhelming force, get the job done and get out, World Opinion be dammed! "Gunships, GOD bless 'em"!
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Old 09-28-2017, 03:44 AM
CowBubba CowBubba is offline
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As a decorated Vietnam combat veteran in my opinion we should not have been there.. Bad political decision that killed 58000 Americans.
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Old 10-20-2017, 09:11 PM
Miles42 Miles42 is offline
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too many sacrificed for LBJs ego. He knew this was failing didnt have the guts to stop the killing
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Old 10-20-2017, 10:00 PM
manaboutown manaboutown is offline
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too many sacrificed for LBJs ego. He knew this was failing didnt have the guts to stop the killing
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  #21  
Old 10-20-2017, 10:07 PM
manaboutown manaboutown is offline
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Another view which needs to be considered.


NEW YORK POST
Missing from Ken Burns’ ‘Vietnam’: the patriotism and pride of those who fought

By Bing West September 19, 2017

To understand Ken Burns’ 18-hour Vietnam documentary, listen to the music. The haunting score tells you this will be a tale of misery. Burns and his co-author Geoffrey C. Ward conclude their script by writing, “The Vietnam War was a tragedy, immeasurable and irredeemable. But meaning can be found in the individual stories . . .”

The film is meticulous in the veracity of the hundreds of factoids/stories that were selected. Everything depicted on the American side actually happened. But that the chosen facts are accurate doesn’t mean the film gets everything right. Instead, the brave American veterans who are portrayed speak with a keen sense of regret and embarrassment about the war, a distortion that must not go unanswered. The film implies an unearned moral equivalence between antiwar protesters and those who fought.

Burns’ theme is clear: A resolute North Vietnam was predestined to defeat a delusional America that heedlessly sacrificed its soldiers. The film follows a chronological progression, beginning in the ’40s. Right from the start, harrowing combat footage from the ’60s is inserted to remind the audience that a blinkered America is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the French colonialists.

The main focus of the documentary is the period of fierce fighting from late 1965 to 1972. Against a gripping assortment of close-up photos and combat video, dozens of American and Vietnamese voices offer snippets of personal insights about history, geopolitics, families, ideologies, politics, battles, casualties and, above all, frustrations.

Most of the interviewees talk in the lugubrious tones of the defeated. We all know the story ends badly. But when it’s over, we aren’t told why we lost. The music is more memorable than the pictures, and the pictures are more compelling than the narration. Indeed, the North Vietnamese agree in 1972 to negotiate only because our B-52s have shattered their defenses and are pummeling them at will. We are deluged by sights and sounds but not enlightened as to cause and effect.

An American lieutenant who fought there in 1965 is quoted at the end of the film saying, “We have learned a lesson . . . that we just can’t impose our will on others.” While that summarizes the documentary, the opposite is true. Wars are fought to impose your will upon the enemy. If you don’t intend to win, don’t fight.

Our civilian and military leaders were grossly irresponsible. At the height of the war in 1968, Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford is quoted as telling President Lyndon Johnson, “We’re not out to win the war. We’re out to win the peace.” That is giving up. Our senior leadership granted the enemy ground sanctuaries in Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam and bombing was severely restricted.

The North Vietnamese were superb light infantry. The film points out that we grunts called the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) the ‘Dead Marine Zone’ because we were pounded from North Vietnam and forbidden to attack. The real lesson: Never fight on the enemy’s terms.

The documentary includes a modicum of footage about the South Vietnamese military. The South Vietnamese soldiers I fought alongside were brave and determined. Yet in 1973, sick of the war, Congress forbade any further bombing in Southeast Asia. Military aid to South Vietnam was slashed, while Soviet-built tanks and Chinese-made artillery poured into North Vietnam. It is moot whether South Vietnam could have survived had our aid continued. But the video of our panicked final pull-out in 1975 is flat-out depressing.

The film casts the antiwar movement in a moderately favorable light. Air Force pilot Merrill McPeak (who retired as a four-star general) is quoted as saying, “the antiwar movement itself, the whole movement towards racial equality, the environment, the role of women . . . produced the America we have today, and we are better for it.” Why are the protesters the real heroes here? What about the valiant US soldiers, 75 percent of whom were volunteers?

This documentary succeeds in vividly evoking sadness and frustration. But that is not all there was to the story. “The Vietnam War” strives for a moral equivalence where there is none. The veterans selected to speak are sad and detached for their experience, yet 90 percent of Vietnam War veterans are proud to have served. So there’s a large gap between what we see and the attitude of the vast majority of veterans.

Their sense of pride — so vital for national unity — is absent from the documentary. And that’s a glaring omission.

Bing West served in Marine infantry in Vietnam. He is the author of “The Village,” which has been on the Marine Commandant’s reading list for 45 years.

Missing from Ken Burns’ ‘Vietnam’: The patriotism and pride of those who fought | New York Post
This sums this series up succinctly. Thank you.
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  #22  
Old 10-21-2017, 01:05 PM
tagjr1 tagjr1 is offline
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What a disappointment ! I was away during the initial presentation of this series and upon return forced myself to patiently watch from the first episode. I was particularly interested in the episode that dealt with the timeframe when i was there. I saw no mention of the largest air assault in Army Aviation history, Lam Son 719! All that was mentioned were the ineptness of the ARVN, their casualties, and the egos of their leaders. So many Americans were affected by this operation that I can not understand why it was not mentioned. Did I fall asleep and miss it? Darn! I hate when that happens! "Gunships, God Bless 'em!".
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