Interesting series on The Vietnam War and a 1979 movie quote
Posted By RichC on May 6, 2025
Brenda and I are in the middle of watching a series that aired on PBS in 2017 (I can’t say enjoying) since it is now streaming on Netflix (I know, once upon a time in 2011 I was planning to stop paying for it). 😉
The well done program is a 10-part documentary on the Vietnam War produced and directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. I’ve watched and commented on segments of it before … and know I’ve seen many of the newsreel clips over the years … but never seriously focus on the presentation.
This documentary series is notable for featuring interviews with 79 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war or opposed it as Anti-war protesters, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians.
The series also triggered memories and phrases from years ago after watching movies, some light – some heavy on the Vietnam War: Good Morning Vietnam, Platoon and Apocalypse Now (phrase above) come 
to mind.
Of course growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, the war was pretty serious for boys growing up … but like some interviews years later, we were still naive and somewhat callous about war due to watching patriotic WW2 films, etc. Deep down though, we knew that the war in Korea (my father) and in southeast Asia was different. Fighting the spread of communism wasn’t quite the same as saving the world from Nazi and Japanese domination. Still, I was on the path to do my duty … but thankful the war ended 2 years before I could have been called up.
Let’s hope we can avoid another war … although there certainly is plenty of smoke requiring avoidance, cool heads and ratcheting down on the horizon.
Comments