The Vietnam War

This is overwhelming. This documentary had me riveted through all 10 episodes.

I recorded it, but could never proceed directly to the next episode because so much emotion was packed into each one. I had to give at least a day between each viewing. After viewing an episode I would shut the TV off. Watching anything after would have been anti-climatic compared to the intensity of what I had just absorbed.

Among many excellent passages from the documentary, this is one of my favourite commentaries: "It is very, very difficult to dispel ignorance if you retain arrogance".

We are provided with the full panoply of the Vietnam War, with many different viewpoints and opinions. From start to finish this is visually engrossing. Full congratulations go to the makers of this unforgettable documentary.

Every episode is an extraordinary lesson and the teachers are not trying to convert us but enlighten us. One side, both sides, all sides.To me, personally, the most shocking aspect of it all is its absurdity. As more troops are sent back to Afghanistan by the Trump administration, one wonders. Haven't we learned anything? Watching and listening to American vets, listening to Vietcong veterans saying, "We saw the American crying for their deaths and I though, they are just like us" The fact that something like that can be a revelation is part of the mystery of it all. Don't we know from day one that we're all the same? Humans. To Ken Burns and all of his partners and collaborators, thank you, thank you very much.

Well, I thought that was an amazing documentary. I think Ken Burns does an epic and moving job covering the events from a big picture political perspective. You really get a sense of the weight of history, and the scale of tragedy, particularly how decisions made by presidents and governments set in motion forces that led to catastrophic suffering. Millions of deaths and unhealed emotional wounds. I also thought the documentary was very good at the military level, describing battles and engagements that I had never heard of, in a reasonable detail. And the music and photography was epic. Seeing those pictures of old-time American life juxtaposed with the chaos of Vietnam was so moving. I also thought the reconciliation part at the end was really beautiful.

There were three things about the documentary that I did think were weaknesses.

1. There was such a focus on the protests, and starting so early on in the series, it kind of overwhelmed the narrative in some ways. I have read that the vast majority of veterans were proud of their service in Vietnam, and did not have this tortured sense of regret and shame that you see with those interviewed in the series. Some did but not most.

(for evidence see this article - https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/ken- burnss-vietnam-is-fair-to-the-troops-but-not-the-cause-1507324058)

2. I wonder about the conspiratorial angle of things. This documentary portrays the North Vietnamese as almost magically destined to win, as if it was inevitable, as if nothing the Americans could have done would have made any ultimate difference. I just wonder if part of the reason the Americans lost is because they weren't allowed to win. I mean, had the Americans occupied Hanoi and Haiphong Harbour, would not the North Vietnamese have been unable to prosecute the war? Surely if the Ho Chi Minh trail was permanently occupied in several places there wouldn't be the communist resupply into South Vietnam? But perhaps none of this would have been possible without China directly entering the conflict. Who knows.

3.Because the documentary is so long, and also attempts to cover the bigger historical events, I don't think it captures the day to day experience of the Vietnamese villagers that well. I mean, what made someone turn to the VietCong? What was daily life like? There is another, Vietnamese documentary "the face of the enemy" which I think does a better job of this.

Overall, a fascinating time spent watching this, and I recommend it to all with caveats.

First a disclaimer of sorts.

My dad (now deceased) served with the Australian Army from 1953 through to 1983, and did 3 Tours in Vietnam as a regular soldier. His first was with the AATTV (Australian Army Training Team Vietnam), as an Military Adviser to Vietnamese Forces, and his other two Tours took place after Australia Committed Regular Army units to Vietnam, with SASR.

He died of cancer at 65.

With this in mind My review of this excellent start to what looks like being an informative and educational program now follows.

My chief gripe in the introduction to the main body of the work was the lack of mention of any effort by their Allies such as Australia or New Zealand, also the bit on Korea made it sound wholly a US War which it wasn't - it was a UN operation, involving everyone from Turkey and Greece through to British Commenwealth Forces.

Australia for example deployed everything from an Aircraft Carrier (HMAS Sydney),Naval Frigates and Fighter Squadrons through to Ground Forces, with all 3 services (RAN,RAAF and RAR) seeing extensive service and being involved in large scale battles such as Kapyong.

Now to the good bits.

Seeing it from the viewpoint of the Vietnamese was brilliant, both north and south. Talking about the French and American efforts early in the build up to the war was also great.

The musical score, be it the opening by Bob Dylan, or the instrumental work done by Yo Yo Ma and Atticus Ross And Trent Reznor is as usual spot on and not overpowering or taking away from the story its backgrounding.

All in all a great start which I look forward to seeing more of.

I'm honestly shocked at some of the negative reviews. This is quite comprehensive and almost seems appropriate that there are so many personal accounts intertwined. It's actually a blessing to have so many people from that generation (I was a baby and young child over those years) able to share their insight.

From the beginning, we get the history of France's involvement in the region starting in the mid 19th century and it leads through the political history of Vietnam along with some of their key leaders.

I think for many who think Vietnam was a mistake, its true but perhaps not for the reasons many assume. But there is a lot of overlap over administrations from Truman to Nixon back then to what's happening now starting with Iraq and likely even before then. We never learned the lessons of Vietnam and to this day over both democratic and republican controlled leadership, we have made the same mistakes in the Middle East.

This's should be must TV for people today to see how much we and our leaders haven't learned.