Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's documentary "Vietnam War"

[whitewave]

Is anyone watching this on PBS? I am amazed at how much I didn't know. I wasn't born until the late 60s, but DH is a war buff and so I tend to watch stuff he is watching, so I felt I knew a lot about it. This 18 hour documentary is excellent with new information.

I highly recommend it and I'm going to make my milennials watch it also.

 

[ksinger]

Anything Ken Burns is worth watching. Thanks for the heads up, we'll be sure to watch it.

 

[kenny]

I'm looking forward to when this comes to Netflix, like his other docs.

I love Burns.
His docs on Prohibition and the Civil War were superb.

 

[whitewave]

I believe you can watch on Amazon prime.

 

[whitewave]

Excellent article on why this documentary took 10 years to make. The comments are also excellent. It is nice to see comments where people aren't mocking each other.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/op...took-10-years-to-make/?utm_term=.81500b4839df

 

[monarch64]

I'll end up watching it at some point, I'm sure. My dad was in Vietnam--with the Army in aerial intelligence. He has told me two things about Vietnam: anyone who talks about it wasn't really there, and "Cambodian red--it was free, and it was everywhere." I think my dad had/has a fair amount of PTSD, and it's too bad he was never treated for it. My mother used to tell us kids not to bother him if he was asleep because he might start swinging at us thinking he was still at war. How awful what humans do to each other.

 

[kenny]

Thanks for the heads up, but I don't have Amazon Prime, only Netflix.
We have one TV and my SO dominates it; haven't watched TV in decades.

Netflix will get it, or it may find its way to Youtube.

 

[whitewave]

So far, what I'm really getting out of it is that these soldiers were "cold war babies" (name taken from the memoir of a gold star mother). They were coming off of stories from their parents and families about the victory of WWII and believed in heroes and in asking what they could do for their country. They also believed their government would never lie to them.

Our goverment sent them in to a winless war for a variety of political reasons... the futility of these deaths is again disturbing...

 

[Tekate]

I've been watching it, it brings back really sad memories for me. I had a very sweet, nice, handsome, lovable marine friend who was born on 11/29/1949 and died 3/30/68, just a baby, a marine, E2, private 1st class. It was such a trauma to me, such a shock, such hatred instilled in my at 15. I hated that war before, but after he died, I hardened. I will never support war, never ever.

The series is very good, I hadn't realized the extent to which we were misinformed, uniformed or just lied to. I consider the Viet Nam war the start of our problems today. The war divided America.

Everyone should watch it in the same vein has Burn's Civil War series. Must see.

 

[whitewave]

I've been watching it, it brings back really sad memories for me. I had a very sweet, nice, handsome, lovable marine friend who was born on 11/29/1949 and died 3/30/68, just a baby, a marine, E2, private 1st class. It was such a trauma to me, such a shock, such hatred instilled in my at 15. I hated that war before, but after he died, I hardened. I will never support war, never ever.

The series is very good, I hadn't realized the extent to which we were misinformed, uniformed or just lied to. I consider the Viet Nam war the start of our problems today. The war divided America.

Everyone should watch it in the same vein has Burn's Civil War series. Must see.

19 is so young to experience war and then die. A tragedy indeed.

 

[whitewave]

Apparently you can also watch it on the pbs app: http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-vietnam-war/watch/

 

[ksinger]

About Vietnam, another great book to read is 'March of Folly' by Barbara Tuchman. It covers more than Vietnam war, but the section on Vietnam is a true eye opener. Written in 1984.

 

[kenny]

Apparently you can also watch it on the pbs app: http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-vietnam-war/watch/

Dang.
No apps.
No smartphone.

Dang.
Poverty's a bitch!

 

[stracci2000]

Yes, I am watching it. I am interested in history, have been looking forward to this documentary.
I appreciate that Ken Burns shows us the Vietnamese viewpoint. We need to hear both sides of the story.

 

[MollyMalone]

Dang.
No apps.
No smartphone.
Dang.
Poverty's a bitch!

Hi, Kenny you don't need a smartphone or other app-happy device. You can click on any one of these four options displayed on the page whitewave linked for everyone's convenience:

Episode mini-screens (with a brief description of the episode) will appear; then click on an episode screen to begin viewing, like YouTube videos

 

[tlfiore]

My husband and I have watched each episode since the series began (last Sunday???). I, too am amazed at how little I knew (and know) about the Vietnam War. What a sad tragic event. Over 58.000 Americans dead and for what?

Seems like Vietnam was another of these countries struggling with internal strife, civil/domestic conflicts and the strong need for independence FOREVER & EVER (from the French, the Japanese, the Chinese and many others before them). What made us think we could make a difference? Seems like there were so many turning points when we could have/should have withdrawn. But hindsight is 20/20, right?

Breaks my heart that these brave people were treated so poorly...thinking about the American Soldiers who returned (were spat upon), the villagers who remained, the loyalists who became more & more lost, confused.

I've had to back away from the television nearly every night and re-watch the next day...it's way too much for me to absorb...too sad...cannot do it sad

 

[whitewave]

My husband and I have watched each episode since the series began (last Sunday???). I, too am amazed at how little I knew (and know) about the Vietnam War. What a sad tragic event. Over 58.000 Americans dead and for what?

Seems like Vietnam was another of these countries struggling with internal strife, civil/domestic conflicts and the strong need for independence FOREVER & EVER (from the French, the Japanese, the Chinese and many others before them). What made us think we could make a difference? Seems like there were so many turning points when we could have/should have withdrawn. But hindsight is 20/20, right?

Breaks my heart that these brave people were treated so poorly...thinking about the American Soldiers who returned (were spat upon), the villagers who remained, the loyalists who became more & more lost, confused.

I've had to back away from the television nearly every night and re-watch the next day...it's way too much for me to absorb...too sad...cannot do it sad

Yes, you definitely can't bing on it. One episode a week is enough

 

[Arkteia]

Thank you all very much. I have not heard of Ken Burns. Will watch Civil War.
I heard a story how someone returning back from the war took off his uniform and left it in the bin in the airport...such was the mood at that time.
We have not calculated how many people came back from that war hopelessly addicted to heroin.

 

[whitewave]

Anyone still watching? Its depressing as hell and very heavy (I couldn't stop thinking of Mogie today..) but worthwhile and necessary...

 

[ksinger]

I've just started watching. The lead up, I'm actually familiar with, so no real surprises so far. I'm glad they've brought out that France threatened to go communist if we didn't help them get Vietnam back, which is most certainly not what Roosevelt had in mind. Truman might have done things differently without that threat.

I'm going to be interested in how much of the stuff I learned in "March of Folly" is put out there on the screen. Great book, but also a depressing account of how much willful stupid and ignorance had to do with how things progressed.

 

[kenny]

Hi, Kenny you don't need a smartphone or other app-happy device. You can click on any one of these four options displayed on the page whitewave linked for everyone's convenience:

Episode mini-screens (with a brief description of the episode) will appear; then click on an episode screen to begin viewing, like YouTube videos

Whow! Awesome! Thanks Molly, and Whitewave.

I had no idea this was possible, just going to a site and watching content like this.
I'm such a dinosaur.
I'll start it today.

... and you kids can play on my lawn any time you like.

 

[whitewave]

I've just started watching. The lead up, I'm actually familiar with, so no real surprises so far. I'm glad they've brought out that France threatened to go communist if we didn't help them get Vietnam back, which is most certainly not what Roosevelt had in mind. Truman might have done things differently without that threat.

I'm going to be interested in how much of the stuff I learned in "March of Folly" is put out there on the screen. Great book, but also a depressing account of how much willful stupid and ignorance had to do with how things progressed.

I don't know what episode we are on... we took several days break. It is engrossing and so well done, but it weighs heavily on my mind for days after...

 

[stracci2000]

Well, I watched the whole thing as it was aired on PBS.
Thank you Ken Burns for educating me. Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, uuuggh.
All made such bad decisions, all to save face.
58,000 American soldiers dead, 2 million Vietnamese dead. Horrifying.

 

[whitewave]

We are on episode 6 "when things fall apart"

I'm so mad I can hardly stand it. Westmoreland was so deceptive and out of it.

 

[stracci2000]

Nixon was so corrupt, it is hard to believe the stuff he got away with.
I was a little kid when this was happening, but I remember everyone calling him "Tricky Dick", and rightly so.
My dad still hates Jane Fonda.

 

[AdaBeta27]

The free streaming of all episodes ended Oct 15. But it appears they've left the first 3 episodes open at least for now. The later episodes have gone "Passport" now. You must donate a minimum of $60 to a PBS station to access them. I missed the original PBS TV broadcasts due to work schedule and family from out of town but managed to cram in all 10 episodes in a couple of days, by not sleeping much. I likes how the series stayed out of the more hackneyed and beaten-to-death topics and delved into how the war affected a cross section of people.

 

[whitewave]

The free streaming of all episodes ended Oct 15. But it appears they've left the first 3 episodes open at least for now. The later episodes have gone "Passport" now. You must donate a minimum of $60 to a PBS station to access them. I missed the original PBS TV broadcasts due to work schedule and family from out of town but managed to cram in all 10 episodes in a couple of days, by not sleeping much. I likes how the series stayed out of the more hackneyed and beaten-to-death topics and delved into how the war affected a cross section of people.

Oh no! We just finished episode 8 the other day.

 

[kenny]

Whow! Awesome! Thanks Molly, and Whitewave.

I had no idea this was possible, just going to a site and watching content like this.
I'm such a dinosaur.
I'll start it today.

... and you kids can play on my lawn any time you like.

The link posted above worked to watch episodes 1 - 4.
It stopped working at 5.

Guess I'll wait till it's on Netflix.

 

[stracci2000]

The episodes have already been repeating on weekday evenings and Sunday afternoons on PBS, and PBS World, a sister station that I get on DTV, which is what you have access to if you don't hook up to cable.

 

[msop04]

I believe you can watch on Amazon prime.

Thanks for letting us know, @whitewave - I'm adding this to my list!