Ken Burns and Lynn Novick: The Vietnam War Is the Key to Understanding America

Nick Gillespie interviews Ken Burns and Lynn Novick about their new documentary series: The Vietnam War.
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The Vietnam War led to more than 1.3 million deaths and it's one of the most divisive, painful, and poorly understood episodes in American history.
Documentarians Ken Burns and Lynn Novick have spent the past decade making a film that aims to exhume the war's buried history. Their 10-part series, which premieres on PBS next week, is a comprehensive look at the secrecy, disinformation, and spin surrounding Vietnam, and its lasting impact on two nations. The 18-hour film combines never-before-seen historical footage, with testimonies from nearly 80 witnesses, including soldiers on both sides of the conflict, leaders of the protest movement, and civilians from North and South Vietnam.
A two-time Academy Award winner, Burns is among the most celebrated documentary filmmakers of our time, best-known for the 1990 PBS miniseries The Civil War, which drew a television viewership of 40 million. He and Novick are longtime collaborators, and in 2011 she co-directed and produced with Prohibition with Burns. In 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie interviewed Burns that film and the role of public television in underwriting his work.
With the release of The Vietnam War, Gillespie sat down with Burns and Novick to talk about the decade-long process of making their new film, and why understanding what happened in Vietnam is essential to interpreting American life today.
Produced by Todd Krainin. Cameras by Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, Mark McDaniel, and Krainin.
Full interview transcript available at bit.ly/2x0e5U4

[@w.herschelljamisonii9127]

As a Vietnam veteran I agree with the fellow who said that we would be the last generation that would believe that the government would never lie to us. We were wrong.

[@pudgyloafer9793]

The media must not have done a very good job covering government during that time.

[@johnjackson9767]

@@pudgyloafer9793 The media is complicit.

[@Mimashrimp]

@@pudgyloafer9793 What, unlike when the media was doing the leg work for the Iraq war? The Gulf war? What about every time the media tries a new angle to start a war with Iran?

[@Conn30Mtenor]

@@pudgyloafer9793 actually, they did a VERY good job. Woodward and Bernstein weren't exactly reality TV participants.

[@thomascolburn3361]

Yeah, my brother and myself were both drafted while I recall the cowardly college protesters getting high on LSD and having drunken orgies - something Burns never talks about.

[@dennyt7475]

I was 17 years old when I got to Vietnam-1966 through 1969 (My mom had to sign a waiver for me), I grew up fast and learned a lot, good and bad. (I am now 73 and still learning). I was stationed on the USS Providence and also stationed in Country at a place called "Monkey Mountain" close to DaNang,. I spent 3 tours of duty in and around Vietnam. 3 of my high school friends were killed in Vietnam, I was spared. I participated in the TET Offensive in Feb 1968, that was bad. Somewhere along the way I was exposed to Agent Orange (Nasty Stuff) I am now on disability for the effects of agent orange. When I was discharged and came home to the States we arrived in San Francisco, and there were a lot of protesters spitting on us and throwing rocks and eggs and called us baby killers. That was our welcome home. I tell you this to say to you, that whatever your position is or was on the Vietnam war, it was not the veteran who got us into the war, most of us went because we were patriots and loved our country. Blame the politicians, yes, but not the veteran. To all Vietnam Vets out there, you are not forgotten. As a previous combat Vet myself, I salute you my friend.

[@SandfordSmythe]

I don't buy into this Vietnam vet myth of being spat on.

[@donovanprice95]

​@@SandfordSmythe My dad went through it as well. Don't discredit what you didn't experience.

[@osomnm431]

It’s not a myth fuggface if you look it up you’ll find plenty of evidence.

[@eaw6590]

Okay, Rambo! 🤣👌🏻 The spitting on viet-vet myth has been debunked. You brainwashed clowns regurgitate that lie for sympathy because you know deep down that you actually should have been pissed on for the crimes against humanity you committed for a rogue nation instead of being told you were a good boy for following orders.

[@amandagarcia2848]

Thank you! This was a great interview on a subject that needs much more coverage!

[@RickSaffery]

That was a truly enjoyable interview to watch. Well done for all parties involved.

[@elifoust7664]

Joined the Army in 1974,worked closely with men who fought the war, they were hurt ,lost friends, but chose to stay in the army and serve their country,they were my mentors,I love everyone of them,if you meet a Veteran of VN ,Welcome him home,he did not get that,we were serving in an era in which wearing a uniform wasn't cool.. I am proud to have served with these heros. Honor those who died by never forgetting.

[@eaw6590]

The US military is for losers. Welfare warriors who can't cope without a government handout. None of you clowns 'served' your country. America, Inc. (US military contractors) makes trillions of war dollars while destroying the lives of the poor and the gullible.

[@amadeosilva6085]

I luv the entire Vietnam war presentation. I’ve seen it several times. Watching it once isn’t hardly enuff ! And Mr Burns is so Interesting .. I cud listen to the man all day about things of this magnitude Thank you for bringing this to us !!!

[@millerbiz]

Watching the series for the 3rd time. Absolutely brilliant Makes sense of so much today

[@blockraven22]

I think I watched about 5 times now lol. What a masterpiece. Coming from someone who was never interested in the subject.

[@josholdham1033]

Can't wait to see it. Great interview as always Nick

[@jblattnernyc]

Interviews like this are the reason I subscribe to Reason. I can't find objective civil conversations from the mainstream media, let alone my family table. Nick Gillespie is a class act and Ken Burns is national treasure. I really can't wait to catch this documentary!

[@thekeywitness]

Great documentary, thoroughly researched. Really informative and illuminating while thoroughly riveting to watch. Best of all are the personal stories contained within it. The final half hour of the entire series is more emotionally moving than most movies, IMO.

[@DJ-bj8ku]

Couldn’t agree more with your post. Glad too that they included North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese perspectives which gave it that much more credibility.

[@GezzaGee]

What a wonderful fluent speaker, Ken Burns, is. Can listen to him with ease.

[@JoeCiliberto]

Thanks Nick - Great piece.

[@billcow3455]

This is a very important movie. Honestly it took a lot of effort to quit trying to figure out Kens hair situation and focus on the subject.

[@eaw6590]

😂

[@chip9649]

I wonder in 20 years time they will do a documentary on Iraq.

[@samiam3750]

They're already doing documentary films on Iraq, in fact they have been working on several of them

[@erwin643]

Yeah, and maybe they'll think they can lie about the actual nature of direct U.S. military involvement, just like they did with this one.

[@ElimGarakSpoonHead]

Documentaries are usually biased by the people making them. There’s no possible way to bring every perspective to light.

[@Farah4life]

Or Afghanistan

[@Dad_Brad]

It still won’t be over in 20 years

[@GSXK4]

The best documentary that will ever by made on the war and surrounding circumstances. Peter Coyotes' narration is mesmerizing.

[@wcropp1]

This was a great interview. Whether you agree with Ken's side or Nick's, we can all agree that Vietnam was a cluster fuck. And we're not going to make any progress if we can't have a civil conversation and cooperate a little. I, for one, am pleased to see a PBS documentary discussed on Reason, and hope to see more like this.

[@klnine]

A CF, I agree , but everything that the USA has done since 1945 has been one !

[@ZootyZoFo]

Rossclairborne - No offense but I don’t think you know that much about the war. First 3.1 million Vietnamese died, not 2 million, and it had nothing to do with racism. We did underestimate North Vietnam’s willingness to absorb great casualties, we did use WWII tactics in a guerrilla war; nations have always fought “the last war” and it never fails to fail. We were arrogant in thinking it would be easily won with our vastly superior firepower. America never fully committed to the war, they fought it half-assed and tied the hands of our military. We never went into N Vietnam, not once. We didn’t go into Laos and only had a brief incursion into Cambodia and then stopped 12 miles from the NVA headquarters. We were not even allowed to shoot MiG fighters on the ground for fuck sakes, they had to be airborne! We constantly paused the bombing of the North hoping for peace talks which never came, allowing the North to repair damage, resupply & recover. We didn’t mind the North’s harbors until the end of our time there. Johnson and his cabinet fucked up royally, they were scared shitless of Nixon and for good reason, and we had a lot of gutless pussies back home rioting & raising hell. Once Nixon got involved with Watergate after we pulled out the war was forgotten. I have just touched on a few of the reasons, there are many more, and it’s a war we should never have gotten involved in and they knew it could not be won by early 1966. But make no mistake, we did NOT lose the Vietnam War, we gave up on it and left, it fell 3 years after we left. Our military never lost a single battle, not one. Our kill ratio over there was greater than 10:1, we just couldn’t kill them faster then they could be replaced with the tactics we were using. We could have bombed the dikes and starved the North into submission but that would not have played out well with the rest of the world. The best lesson we learned was that you don’t fight a war half-assed, if your going to commit troops you go in to win and you let the military commanders make the decision, the president does not select the bombing targets like they did in Vietnam; that’s the militaries job. Regardless we did contain communism to that area, I lived in Asia for years and all the educated people I talked to in the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore all agreed on one thing - had the US not fought in Vietnam they would be living under communism today. That may not sound so bad until you realize what communism entails, there has never been a communist government that did not commit genocide against its people, never. The Cold War and stopping communism from 45 - 91 was not an option, it had to be done and our survival and way of life depended on it.

[@ZootyZoFo]

ja maguire - I agree on Operation Linebacker II in 1972, Nixon bombed the shit out of them and we found out after the war that bombing campaign had N Vietnam within a day of giving up, it was that intense. We had bombed the North for years during Linebacker I but Johnson always paused and it was nothing like 1972, if not for Watergate occupying his attention right after that who knows what the outcome would have been, he promised S Vietnam air support after we pulled out in 72’ but didn’t deliver, if he had done a Linebacker III who knows what the outcome would have been? As far as the Gulf War that was the example of letting our military run the show after Vietnam and they completely decimated Iraq in just 4 days of ground combat, 100 hours to be exact. It would have been a wise choice to go into Baghdad, and it could have very easily done it, but it would have stirred up all kinds of shit & instability in the Middle East, not like it’s a stable place! Our reason for being there, and what the US Congress had authorized, was expelling Iraq from Kuwait and nothing more. Remember we had built a huge coalition of Middle Eastern militaries that were fighting along side us, hell even Syria was fighting with us. If we had deviated from our stated reason for being there, for what was approved by Congress, it would have caused a shit-storm in the Middle East and around the world and accusations of “Imperialism” and “stealing oil”. Politically it was just not possible, but it retrospect it would have been the right thing to do and would have saved thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives not to mention billions and billions of dollars. Everyone was accusing the US of being there just to “steal their oil”, an argument many distractors continue to use today which is hilarious because the US now out produces every Middle Eastern nation in oil, combined, and has done so for the last 10 years due to massive oilfield discoveries in Texas and N Dakota along with new drilling technologies - fracking.

[@litoneup]

All this brat did was splice the old stuff. lazy and ignorant.

[@user-bo8eq7ki5w]

@@ZootyZoFo That's a great fascist speech !. (in the American far-right view ) the Usual accusations of genocide of its people "by the Communist government."(and there are no more fried "facts"?!) ))) However, such propaganda why is that ? Didn't work on the North Vietnamese ? Their "Communist government" constantly subjected the people to "genocide"!? Strange things come out, don't they ? The more "genocide" The more Vietnamese love for " uncle Ho !"Since 1945 ! And the more "democracy" of the American way of life for "natives" The stronger the resistance to "democratizers". Isn't it ?! Amazing ! You have discovered something new for people . By the way, it didn't HELP Hitler either ! :))) Isn't it ?! God, how long can you ride this stupid thing ?! Soon these tires will be bald . :))) Next about the Philippines. This is nonsense like the whole Domino theory. Revolution in the Philippines ? How, how ? :))))) That, and there all were "Communists"?! Horror ! Ahaha ha.

[@stephenabm7779]

I was trained by Vietnam veterans when I entered the Army in 1983. I always had much respect for them.

[@eaw6590]

Why? All of the good ones fragged their officers or unalived themselves.

[@ronrow3]

I was employed by an electrical equipment manufacturer in the late 60's to early 70's. When the U.S. was pulling out of Vietnam my manager was lamenting about the coming loss of lucrative sales to the military. This told me more about the main reason for promoting and prolonging the war than anything else.

[@DJ-bj8ku]

While I agree that obviously was an influence, the primary one was that neither Kennedy, Johnson or Nixon wanted to be blamed for losing the war.

[@spenbw]

These two are the best at making documentaries

[@TechnikMeister2]

At last, an encyclopaetic analysis of the whole Vietnam war, I can't wait to watch it. I was in Vietnam from 1969 to 1973. I started as a National Service infantryman with the 8th Battalian RAR. I came out a Major in Military Intelligence. We worked closely with many US units including the 1st Marines. Our first role was to be the recon unit and our biggest challenge was to get US soldiers to be silent and stealthy. A lot of US casualties were incurred because of this. We also had a lot of trouble finding Marines who did not smoke to come with us. They stank of cigarettes and they stank of soap. It takes a full week to sanitize yourself for a recon patrol. For we Australians we were professional soldiers. We didn't do tours. We were there for a job. We did get home for 10 days at Christmas...only twice. By 1969. the US was a defeated force and the average soldier just wanted to survive to get home, so they were totally demotivated. That made them ineffective and targets. Drug addiction and alcohol abuse was rife. We insisted that only fulltime NCOs could come with us. It was their job too.

[@barsoom43]

I flew helicopters in III Corps from 1968-1969. The Aussie troops we encountered were first rate. One company in my battalion was the 135th AHC which was mixed US and Aussie. We would often provide DCS missions for Aussie units in other parts of III Corps. Part of the problem with US troops is that many were conscripts. You are right- they didn't want to be there in the first place and their only thought was to survive and get home in one piece. I was a volunteer.. I went there to do a job too but my tour was cut short when my engine quit and I autorotated into triple canopy jungle. We chopped wood all the way down to the ground; we hit hard. They only hang up in the trees in Hollywood movies.

[@litoneup]

Americans stuck out no matter what . Special Forces regularly were caught or disappeared, Even the old hags ran the green berets out of villages. Their height and gait and body language gave em away. Plus helicopters are very loud give them up.The natives did not have a noisy environment so they could hear and feel a pin drop.

[@TechnikMeister2]

Thats correct. It was also a misguided idiology of "reds under the bed" and the "hordes from the north" political bullshit that dominated US politics from WW2 till the 1980s and Glasnost. If you go to Vietnam now its a beautiful country run by a good government, populated by people who could not give a rats about the war. They got their country back, Thats all that matters to them. None of it would have happened if the French after WW2 tried to get it back, and they were slaughtered for trying. That sort of allowed the US which was in a J. Edgar Hoover storm about communists. We went over in 1964 and put a toe in the water with the famous (Aust Army Training Team Vietnam) AATV. Seventeen blokes from our SAS. They won a total of 4 Victoria Crosses amongt them. You don't get a VC for "training".

[@lightningdriver81]

Stephen A I don't remember much soap during my tour with 3/5, Ist Mar. Div. in '67. I take it with a grain of salt when someone says he was in Vietnam much longer than, say, a six months extension. Being in the rear with the gear will usually assure survival.

[@josephtobin5937]

Stephen A We never lost even one battle battalion size or above

[@kornofulgur]

9 out of the 18 episodes were broacasted in my country, saw all of them. No 'side' taken, just facts. Quality material here.

[@Resenbrink]

Totally fantastic documentary - just brilliant.

[@michaeloneill1360]

I loved this series

[@michaeloneill1360]

This Series was the ABSOLUTE BEST THING I've ever watched about the Vietnam War!!!

[@JurijFedorov]

Amazing interviews. Wow. Very surpriced by all parts here. Deep thoughts and interesting ideas.

[@Hortonfarms1]

I agree. I am a Documentary Filmmaker of 30 years and I watch all Ken Burns films. He started his films to help educate his children and went on to educate the world. I look forward to watching Vietnam. Always love his work.

[@thomascolburn3361]

You mean miseducate children - Burns is a loyal Democrat who is unable to be fair and accurate.

[@gloriosatierra]

I respect Ken Burns for trying to bring to light the errors of men.

[@litoneup]

He is doing it for a buck and ego.

[@GoSocialEnvergy]

You are so wrong, it was the error of politicians based upon lies. I was there.

[@teddmented]

Gary Piont I'm sure you work at charities for free and hate being recognized for it. Moran

[@thomasleary2814]

@@litoneup 1. Didn't know you had such keen insight into Burns' motivations. 2. Anything wrong with making a buck? 3. The lucky person is someone who can make a buck by doing something he loves.

[@litoneup]

To each their own. It my opinion to have one, he picked a few softy type of vet and tainted. The war with his pathetic views ,

[@maryfarmer5205]

John, this is Mary Scrogin from Van Horn. I don't know if you remember me, but I have never forgotten you. I remember how devoted you were to fight for your country, and to be a Marine. Over all these years, I have wondered if you survived, and feared you hadn't. I live in Texas now, and visited Independence last week, and saw you in the Examiner! I am so very grateful to know you are still here, and still fighting. Mary S Farmer 3705 windsong lane, Bedford Tx

[@ruggedtechie5867]

Def the king of documentarians.

[@angusdog22]

This documentary is an American treasure . One of the best ever . Non biased , from all angles . I’ve watched it multiple times and will watch again. I wish our media was that honest and objective

[@thomascolburn3361]

Burns never even mentions that MEN bore the brunt of the war while feminists griped about not getting enough abortions. Burns doesn't ever get to the point that the VN war was a war on American men.

[@vhufeosqap]

@@thomascolburn3361triggered men’s rights bot? It’s baffling to think that’s someone genuine take on the entire vietnam war

[@markgossett3709]

I went to Viet Nam to protect the Vietnamese. I have always loved these people. One day I started having doubts about whether they wanted us there, and I expressed my doubts to a South Vietnamese. I was immediately corrected with: "We do too want you here!" That was the first of a long line of friendlies who expressed something similar. If the South Vietnamese did not want us there, why did millions flee the South after Saigon fell?

[@luvsilly60]

Mark Gossett They were killed

[@VNExperience]

Some did, some didn't. Most didn't care but just wanted one side to win so the war would be over. Having been living in Saigon for a decade, I've been trying to understand how the locals felt about the warring sides and there is no one answer. My mother-in-law is from Saigon, not political at all, and she was delighted the north won. It felt like a victory for all Vietnamese to her, and that was the common sentiment in her part of town (District 8). The South Vietnamese government was seen as corrupt and incompetent, so afraid of its own citizens that anyone who protested against the president was arrested and tortured. Neither side was perfect, the whole conflict was a mess. The north was seen as competent and, importantly, Vietnamese. The south was seen as continuation of colonial France and American foreign policy. Both the north and the south were dictatorships but only one of them was perceived to be legitimate.

[@andersonmichael11]

Thank you.

[@keithwelch2137]

One hair in Ken burns wig has more knowledge about Vietnam than most people.

[@shoelessb4515]

What? He wasn't there. Neither were the protesters.

[@misakayy1911]

@@shoelessb4515 so?

[@sartainja]

I doubt that. He is a damn hippie. Nixon was the expert.

[@michaelmcconnell5431]

@@shoelessb4515 Neither was the wig

[@numberstation]

Shoeless b But the people in the film were

[@sheldonnadler338]

I was in this war for 3 tours as a combat Navy Hospital Corpsman with the 1st Marine Division and there is no movie can ever tell the story 50 years latter.

[@KizoneKaprow]

Since all history is told after the fact, all history is invalid?

[@sheldonnadler338]

History may be after the fact, but the fact of war is never left in the past. You believing that history is invalid, just means that you are either very stupid or ignorant of the fact that history teaches us never to make the same mistake twice you dip wad!

[@eaw6590]

Okay, bozo! 🤡👌🏻

[@sheldonnadler338]

Calling me a bozo is the least of my issues you moron!

[@MarkDeKruyter]

Great interview

[@1xsol]

Thanks for posting this. The comments are interesting. There is a Great Deal that can be Learned here.

[@badguy1481]

I talked to a South Vietnamese who was a young lieutenant when Saigon fell. He was interred in a prison camp for ex-South Vietnamese Army officers. He said many (hundreds of thousands) died of sickness and hunger in those camps. Americans don't realize the price of abandoning South Vietnam when we cut their funding and let South Vietnam fall. It is a disgrace that will not be fully appreciated until future generations find out the truth.

[@lloydb4469]

BADGUY 1 I remember listening to Japanese-American, George Takei, talking about being thrown into a concentration camp by his own country during WWII

[@markgossett3709]

Yes, this was extremely sad. We had communists in our government back then-- we still do, only they don't call themselves that.

[@badguy1481]

Hey...One can debate the value of locking up Japanese Americans at the start of WWII...all day. But... there is ABSOLUTELY no comparison between the "prison camps" in the United States and what the North Vietnamese did to the South Vietnamese internees after the United States abandoned them to their fate. People did NOT die of starvation, Malaria, etc in those Japanese American concentration camps.

[@angus7278]

The disgrace was invading a country that did nothing to the USA and killing millions of its people. Vietnam is owed reparations from the criminals that nearly destroyed it. If the US politicians had been tried under the Nuremberg rules, some of them would have been dangling from a noose.

[@gethomas02]

Angus Mac The United States did not invade South Vietnam they were asked their North Vietnam invaded south Vietnam

[@gheldmann]

I truly believe the current divisions in America can be traced back to the Vietnam era.

[@OldDesertRacer]

This video motivated me to rewatch the Vietnam War documentary on PBS. I'm back after 2 episodes and about 3 hours. Umm, watch it!

[@kieronmckay4276]

Fantastic discussion

[@rayysnhelll]

I'm proud to say my father is one of the two recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor in this documentary

[@jerrysmiddlefinger930]

My hats off to him. Thank him for his service today, Father’s Day.

[@south1328]

War criminal

[@eaw6590]

Shiny trinkets for good slaves of the empire.

[@MrNamdang2011]

US was supposed to stop communist spreading through out Asia . Only few years , they left Vietnam. Without supplies, south Vietnam fought to their last bullets and failed to the communist. The Vietnam war showed how reliable US was in helping a nation defending against communist.

[@chickenofthecave1406]

Nam Dang I am an American patriot and I think it’s disgraceful too. But we didn’t really have a choice. We had terrible politicians screwing us over. And then the geography of Vietnam was terrible. Unlike Korea, the North Vietnamese had Laos and Cambodia to hide in and to use for supply routes. It’s the main reason they won

[@luvsilly60]

Nam Dang And Vietnam showed how you can not fight for others freedom when they don’t have enough desire to be free. Our allies the South were worthless.

[@angus7278]

The South Vietnam army crumbled soon after the Americans ran off, even sooner than everyone expected. The North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong knew what they were fighting for. And it wasn’t just a pay cheque or some US puppet.

[@marksunder]

@@chickenofthecave1406 with all due respect, America abandoned once upon a time South Vietnam because it caved in as a country Completely. Period. President Nixon was inches away from winning the war but secret meetings behind the scenes between le duc tho and Kissinger who both shared a noble peace prize which duc tho rejected climaxing with Watergate completely threw the war win away. April 30th 1975 with the Fall of Saigon marked the beginning of d end of American dominance post world war 2. Coming to yo live from Singapore

[@marksunder]

@@luvsilly60 with all due respect, America not only abandoned once upon a time South Vietnam but broke a promise to help support it defensively to d end. Former South Vietnam was left in the river circled by crocodiles with practically zero chance of survival. Imagine building a life with someone wholeheartedly trusted to the death only to end up in such a situation? Betrayed. That’s exactly what happened to former South Vietnam, wiped off the map, exterminated for all of eternity. Not just history but fact. April 30th 1975 with the Fall of Saigon was the beginning of the end of American dominance post world war 2. Period. It started the real domino theory, with Red China taking that dominance from seed to date. My late Vietnamese father in law was one of the many Southerners left behind. He tried 3 times to leave only to give up his last chance to his young brother. About to board the boat only to be told that there was only room for 1. Never again hearing from his young brother who ended up very well in Australia since. True the South was useless when compared to the North but when I look at what my late father in law did for his younger brother, it showed me the potential of a people. So, so sad. Coming to yo live from Singapore

[@stephenblues7182]

I was able to watch up to episode 7 with Vietnamese sub titles on here but its now been taken down . I just realised after watching this interview how new this documentary is and only released this month on PBS . I was frustrated not hearing the Vietnamese side so will wait to watch the whole series again with English subtitles , hopefully someone will upload on youtube soon

[@Ronbo710]

There was a PBS (KBHK Boston) Series called Vietnam - A Television History from the 70's that told essentially the same story.

[@gpiano88]

It should be noted that Ho Chi Minh was a great ally of the U.S. in the fight against imperialist Japanese invasion and aggression. There was a victory parade in Hanoi with American and Viet Minh marching together. Ho wanted to draft a constitution for the Republic of Viet Nam and asked the U.S. to endorse it. Ho also asked the U.S. to intercede on his behalf to get the French who were devastated economically after the 2nd WW to leave their so called "colony". The officers in G-2 the intelligence division of the U.S. Army later to be morphed into the CIA advised Washington to embrace Ho Chi Minh and encourage Vietnamese independence. Instead, the U.S government propped up the French colony by infusing cash into it and in turn stabbed Ho Chi Minh in the back. Things then naturally gravitated toward its' predictable result. I didn't even mention the British conscripting Japanese POW's into a national police force to fill a manpower void. No one can blame Ho Chi Minh for wanting to have a peaceful and prosperous nation based on democratic principles. These facts have been omitted by this so called documentary.

[@litoneup]

an ally yes great no. Remember castro said the same thing. Pay attention.

[@gpiano88]

You're splitting hairs. The Viet Minh were supplied by the U.S. to fight the Japanese invaders. The Castro reference is apples and oranges. Two totally different dynamics at work there. I am paying attention. My attention span is obviously longer than yours.

[@litoneup]

Paying attention to what ? long Attention spans need attention if you know what i mean. Stay away from the tennis court and stick with checkers.

[@gpiano88]

Why don't you go troll someone on your own level? That reply is quite incoherent. Did anyone ever advise you not to bring a knife to a gunfight?

[@rogerwhittemore9950]

Give it another watch. Post WW2 is discussed. Perhaps not in the detail you would prefer.

[@StonedSoup]

My uncle served in nam .He was my inspiration for joining the army myself but He is fucked up till death mentally . Ken Burns is the shit for doing this .His documentary on the civil war and prohibition should be in history classes .

[@soapbxprod]

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick are both Statist parasites. I've met them both and they are FRAUDS. Rude and dismissive. Google my name: Luke Sacher. Also, I believe that I am related to Nancy Biberman, as my biological grandfather was Abner Biberman and my Great uncle was Herbert Biberman- one of the Hollywood 10 and director of "Salt of the Earth". Herbert Biberman was a traitor and in league with Stalin.

[@AKlover]

Government schools are compelled to control the narrative in matters of war and it's causes, they don't want the future tax cattle taking a dim view of the "Farmers".

[@EchoLeague2]

I watched his civil war in my 8th grade US History class. and it was amazing

[@GitFiddler]

No Young Tang, Burns et al are propagandists. The history that Burns et al rely on today involves a lot of 3rd or more part removed witnesses (history scholars who never left the library), which is more about opinion than fact.

[@thomaspick4123]

Good for you, Young Tang. A very sad history for your country. A very beautiful country that is rich in culture. I wish the best for you and the Vietnamese people. So many people suffered. My neighbor on the next block was drafted and killed in Vietnam. What a waste of human life and resources.

[@plasticdadaii8225]

WONDERFUL!

[@workingshlub8861]

ken burns always does a great job.

[@Troph2]

God damn i love ken burns. Gonna have to check out lynns work now.

[@soapbxprod]

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick are both Statist parasites. I've met them both and they are FRAUDS. Rude and dismissive. Google my name: Luke Sacher. Also, I believe that I am related to Nancy Biberman, as my biological grandfather was Abner Biberman and my Great uncle was Herbert Biberman- one of the Hollywood 10 and director of "Salt of the Earth". Herbert Biberman was a traitor and in league with Stalin.

[@moseyburns1614]

You seem like a jealous person. And a bit crazy.

[@editorjuno]

Somebody pissed into your gene pool, sonny.

[@GoSocialEnvergy]

Are you part of the FAKE NEWS also?

[@thomasleary2814]

@@soapbxprod I think it's time for another MAGA hat.

[@pho3nix-]

Mr. Gillespie needs to learn not to interrupt his guests.

[@Mascherina1964]

Especially Ms. Novick!

[@Conn30Mtenor]

agreed. If you're interrupting, you're not listening.

[@Joe-li3zj]

This aired on Netflix after it came out. Rly enlightening. It definitely left an impression.

[@michaelnitsch4431]

I love touring Vietnam especially ho chi Minh city and Hanoi!

[@purelica]

My biggest mistake... is reading the comments first. I need to watch the documentary series to do my own assessment. I have been hearing praises from both the left AND the right radio shows, so this comment section confuses me.

[@liloleist5133]

Confusing is a prerequisite to new found clarity.

[@thomasleary2814]

My biggest mistake was reading the comments at all. I'm just a glutton for punishment I guess.

[@michaelsteele9475]

Is that the best some of you can come up with is commenting on Ken Burns hair

[@hectornegron9155]

I was too young to go to Vietnam but I've spoken to a few vets and asked them whether they knew what were they there for and most answers were in the neighborhood of: "I don't know, I was only following orders". What caught my attention in their answer was their body language and the tone of their voice. Almost as if implying that I was asking a dumb question to which I should know the answer to. They didn't say it was a dumb question but that's how it sounded to me. I've often wondered how many other vets felt like them. Like they didn't really understand their purpose there other than killing what they were told was the enemy not knowing what made them their enemy.

[@tim65s]

Looking forward to seeing this....

[@lloydclement2152]

This senseless war changed America, but we did not take in its lesson.

[@chickenofthecave1406]

Lloyd Clement It wasn’t senseless. We were trying to keep Communism out of other countries, trying to keep NVN from being too aggressive, and reinstating our power

[@chickenofthecave1406]

federalreserve Brown It wasn’t though. We sincerely wanted to keep Communism out of countries. Remember the Truman doctrine?

[@PrinceChaloner]

Democrats lost the war and Nixon got us out of it.

[@bilshaw8116]

Lloyd Clement problem with US is they go into war without knowing the details, history and culture, recent example of ISIS who are former saddam soldiers & BBC has done a 3 part iraq war series and clearly showed how americans had no idea how to go about the war & then they leave with loss of american lives, billions of $ wasted and a cluster fuck for others to handle. may be war is not america's forte.

[@blacquesjacques7239]

Lloyd Clement That is very evident at this moment

[@plasticdadaii8225]

Gen Smedley Butler recognized the power out there long before Eisenhower.

[@plasticdadaii8225]

Yes, but it won't be because it is too inconvenient. teachers would have to be wise and explain things using critical thinking that they were not trained for. When I hear someone wanting to go into journalism or teaching, I always ask them if they have an affinity for parrots.

[@fordssucklol5058]

As soon as the documentary was finished the station came back on ,

[@bryantwoodard4302]

5 Star Documentary. Loved every episode.

[@captainfind4366]

The best tv series i ever saw.the Vietnam war it was a fraud.good men died for no reason.

[@grayman7208]

false. there was very good reason we went to vietnam.

[@Berbs73]

"We sort of, faught the Vietnam War." Ok....

[@juliocesarfabro9742]

Very good !!!

[@1969cmp]

Great series, as is The Civil War. A mastercraft is documentary making.

[@chocoboleg]

Quite a good interview, but without the other point of view...the point of view from vietnamese historian or veterans.

[@espojespo5]

Watch the full documentary. It's brilliant and has PLENTY of the other side. You gotta be objective about this. There's sooooo much material involved in this topic.

[@Industrialitis]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4SvloejaN-to7M

[@Industrialitis]

@@espojespo5 kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4SvloejaN-to7M

[@SeanobLulz]

I think Reason misspelled "World War I".

[@colinhastings6638]

I look forward to watching this documentary. And I hope Burns and Novick cover the role of the military lobbyists in extending the war as long as possible to continue making huge profits.

[@dannyboy1779]

The learning that takes place after such events, never extends to those responsible because those responsible never seem to learn.. WHY?

[@sebholding]

those who were against war in the 60's aren't those in power today, to answer Nick's question...

[@liloleist5133]

Wrong. The man that used avoidance tactics to flinch from this conflict and instead bankrupt himself to show business superficiality, is the current President.

[@robgoren8628]

"So here the only law Is men killing men For someone else's cause It's all just psychotic devotion Manipulated with no discretion" -Slayer

[@tysonssg3040]

I'm an Iraq Afghanistan veteran I joined the army in 1999 when I was 17 and I served in my infantry battalion with Vietnam and gulf war 1 veterans, and then we along with many of them experience 9/11 and went and fought in the campaigns that we fought. Do anyone think that Ken Burns will ultimately do a similar miniseries on the war on terror generation do we still need more time to ruminate and reminisce on how that film would be made or could that be done before he's too old to do it? The interconnectedness that Iraq Afghan veterans feel to the Vietnam generation is very real and I think they feel that way too whether it's advocating for veterans rights or the conflicts they saw us fight the sorrow they seem to have for us repeating lessons they had already learned all of that's there along with the upheaval in American society. Back to the documentary aspect of his work it seems like civil war, world War II Vietnam 9/11 and associated conflicts makes a lot of sense linearly for him to complete with that story. I would like to hear a filmmaker of that caliber explain to me what I was involved in because as a teenager or a young 20 year old fighting in the streets we didn't always know and now the narrative is being changed like it always is to fit someone's agenda but I don't even know the facts.

[@DJ-bj8ku]

The Iraq folly was a result of the arrogance and hubris of neocons, like Cheney and Rumsfeld, who thought the first George Bush should’ve gone to Baghdad in the first Gulf war and who thought foolishly that Vietnam was winnable. Invading Afghanistan was another fool’s errand. We didn’t learn from the Soviets who had gotten bogged down in Afghanistan.

[@chrisking3849]

needed

[@KendallMoore722]

This Documentary is going to change the way we look at the Vietnam War.

[@soapbxprod]

This is nothing but total BS. PBS produced "Vietnam: A Television History" in the early 1980s. Also I recommend "Vietnam: The 10,000 Day War", produced in the 1970s and narrated by Richard Basehart. As for Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, they are both Statist parasites. I've met them both and they are FRAUDS. Rude and dismissive. Google my name: Luke Sacher. Also, I believe that I am related to Nancy Biberman, as my biological grandfather was Abner Biberman and my Great uncle was Herbert Biberman- one of the Hollywood 10 and director of "Salt of the Earth". Herbert Biberman was a traitor and in league with Stalin.

[@KendallMoore722]

soapbxprod I do not know Lynn Novicks work, but I have watched much of Ken Burns's work. Can you point me to some specific sources that discredit his work?

[@quintessenceSL]

It may help with how future generations look at the war, but unfortunately the ghost of Viet Nam still lingers. We are still too close to look soberly at it. Hopefully it will change how we look at our current wars.

[@soapbxprod]

It's called Google. Do your own research.

[@KendallMoore722]

Alright, Will do. Taking quite the hard line here, aren't we? Not sure where all the hostility is coming from- Ken Burns isn't my Dad. Calling someone a "statist parasite" is quite the charge, and I was just curious to get some specific recommendations.

[@campingjoe5377]

The sparse gray five o'clock shadow worn by Ken Burns is not helping that 1940's football helmet he is wearing....:)

[@SuperEmylina]

I agree. A really wonderful conversation. Can't wait to see this series, over here in Italy!

[@markgossett3709]

Why??? It is a pack of lies!

[@Vorpal_Wit]

I look forward to the follow-up interview...the one with Ms. Novick. /s

[@susanray4059]

Everything we should have learned about illegal wars we should have learned in Vietnam. Welcome home for all the men and women that served.

[@zenman5910]

The Americans war profiteers must be confronted at all costs. It is an absolute disgrace how, even still, an anti-war stance in America is denigrated and regarded as being anti-American value, and the fact that war in America is a multi-billion dollar for-profit industry is the key to understanding why this is a fact. Anti-war is regarded as an unpatriotic stance, but in fact, it is entirely patriotic, as America can never survive into the future if this continues, and rightly so. I say this as a veteran myself.

[@tigerclaw8454]

We need to talk about The Korean War too, many people have forgotten that war.

[@markgossett3709]

...not for long, if rocketman keeps it up.

[@mazzarouni5608]

I just finished watching this outstanding series. I hope the BBC keep it available for to all watch as long as possible. So after all that, after all that pain and suffering, all the money wasted, how did the Iraq war occur?

[@thomasleary2814]

Excuse my paraphrasing. Those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it.

[@AdamSPARTAN76]

Ken Burns: "We work in public broadcasting, which is the only place where something like this, this enterprise could have taken place. The marketplace does not support an enterprise like this" 30 seconds later...."money we raised from public and private sources, our corporate underwriter" Sounds like the marketplace DOES support an enterprise like this....

[@occasional_doomer]

How much of it was public and how was private? Something tells me the former greatly outshown the latter. In addition, his point was that getting this huge project off the ground in the first place with only private backing would have been way harder, if not impossible. Decade+ long projects of this scale don't happen in the private sector.

[@AdamSPARTAN76]

Mataeus The Apostate. According to PBS's website, 2/3 of PBS's revenue comes from royalties and licensing... Doesn't even include viewer donations... Again, the market

[@crimsonsamuraiftw]

Yeah I don't know what he's talking about. Everyone I know loves Ken Burn's documentary series'.

[@mozzer90032]

This has been The Communist Homosexual Show With Tom Jackson. Next week's guest is his dead great-grandfather, who was also a Communist homosexual. Tune in next week.

[@mozzer90032]

Tom Jackson Congratulations on your own acknowledgement for not only being a communist and a proud gay male but also your affinity to beastiality. I take it you know very well from your own experiences what you enjoy being on the receiving end with both french poodles and your great-grandfather, who was also an avid communist and a proud gay male as well. Send my regards to your husband.

[@glenn6448]

Vietnam veteran 68 - 69. I firmly believe we lost the war because of the news media and loss of support in the USA. This motivated North Vietnam. We actualy won the Tet offensive but it caused negative feelings at home. Having said that I dont see Vietnam living miserable lives today but all i can see is whats on utube. We lost the war at home. Many lives lost for nothing. War is a terrible solution.

[@lloydb4469]

gln rose is full of shit. About the closest you got to Vietnam was a bowl of Pho

[@glenn6448]

Lloyd B Im sorry but i was there at Pleiku and PhanRang. Dont tell me i wasnt there

[@lloydb4469]

gln rose OK but I will still tell you you're full of shit. Blaming the failure on the people back home and not the people in charge.

[@lloydb4469]

gln rose oh I have an idea all right. I said it in my previous post re your misplaced blame

[@glenn6448]

Lloyd B I dont recall saying our leaders wernt at fault. What i said was after Tet North Vietnam knew they failed.. They were motivated to keep pushing by you guys protesting at home. Thats a fact. All i wanted to do was get home. I did not appreciate the protests. Our leaders made a lot of mistakes i agree.

[@marioriospinot]

Nice.

[@FrankHudsonbass]

Just waiting to hear my jam: Aint to Proud to beg by theTemptations

[@MsMultiFran]

Jar jar is the key to all this

[@soapbxprod]

Pew Die Pie is better than Jar Jar.

[@alexcarter8807]

Pewdiepie is a Nazi, and Nazis are cool these days so ...

[@Commander800]

The Amazing Islamist It broke mew ground!

[@joeysn7hvn]

Gollum Gollum

[@mygenderisapache3147]

The Amazing Islamist SUPREME DARKLORD SITH MASTER OF THE FORCE

[@kevinsysyn4487]

I am surprised the discussion barely mentioned Eisenhower and the War on Communism; which is what the Vietnam War was. This ridiculous fictitious war was created for Wall Street by the Dulles brothers who served under and dominated the hapless ignorant Eisenhower. Everyone who ran for office after 1952 ran on the anti-communist ticket. LBJ believed his "great society" was going to win the war on communism once and for all in Vietnam. That's what drove him. Meanwhile the Vietnamese were fighting a civil war for national unity (sort of like Lincoln did in 1860s); against the remnants of the former French colonials (who had been defeated by Giap Ho Chi Min's main general). The USA involvement began in 1954 with the Dulles brothers nurturing and amping up their War on Communism while the dullard Eisenhower nodded. Vietnam was a huge win for the Wall Street Pentagon Cartel capitalists. Vietnam too, as they won their independence though a couple million of them died. The people who lost, and gained nothing, were the American people; chiefly the soldiers, those who died, and all the others who didn't quite ever make it home again.

[@Gerkinstock]

Truman supported the French in Indochina back in the 1940s. It didn't start with Eisenhower. And it was Kennedy who was responsible for the massive escalation of the U.S. presence in Vietnam. The American footprint was very small before 1961.

[@konberner170]

Excellent!

[@MichaelDiPrima03201994]

I love Ken Burns

[@soapbxprod]

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick are both Statist parasites. I've met them both and they are FRAUDS. Rude and dismissive. Google my name: Luke Sacher. Also, I believe that I am related to Nancy Biberman, as my biological grandfather was Abner Biberman and my Great uncle was Herbert Biberman- one of the Hollywood 10 and director of "Salt of the Earth". Herbert Biberman was a traitor and in league with Stalin.

[@velzygirl1]

I watched the Vietnam veterans homecoming on T.V and it was one of the saddest things I have see. All the protesters yelling spitting throwing stuff at them, I will never forget what those people did to them.

[@mysticbigmac8782]

If young draft age Americans knew the history, they never would have gone. The Vietnamese fought the Chinese, the French, the Japanese, and French again. At the end of WWII, they sought permission from western powers for their independence. They were denied. The UN authorized elections for the northern and southern zones of Vietnam so the country could be united in 1956 under the government of the people's choice. The CIA polled the population and saw it would vote 80-20% for Ho Chi Minh. Since the US believed in the domino theory, the decided to train and arm the southern zone while advising them to boycott the election. There was no election and so there was war. LBJ spoke at Johns Hopkins in April 1965 stating "we fight because we must fight if nations are to be able to determine their own future." Hello? Isn't that what elections are for? This, coming from the same LBJ who conspired and successfully assassinated President JFK, and issued NSAM 273 two days after JFK's burial. That memorandum cancelled JFK's pullout of advisors from Vietnam. In 1968, Nixon and Kissinger advised the south Vietnamese to boycott peace talks to give Nixon a political edge over Hubert Humphrey. It worked. Nixon got elected and Kissinger was made Secretary of State. 20,000 more KIAs and 120,000 WIAs later, and Kissinger would receive a Nobel Peace Prize for finally agreeing to end the war. In April 1975, the North Vietnamese rolled into Saigon. In 1979, China invaded Vietnam with a division size force. Casualties were heavy on both sides. The Domino theory was a farce. Vietnam has been at peace ever since. Today, many American veterans refuse to see the lessons of Vietnam. It is too painful for them to know they were betrayed by their political leaders and their suffering and death were in vain.

[@alexcarter8807]

Ken Burns it trying to look like Charles Bronson "lite".

[@cflo1386]

Lmao, he has a Death Wish, sorry I couldn't help myself;)

[@vietnamjungle]

Not at all. He wears a wig

[@larrynones3353]

20 years in Afghanistan. The lessons from Vietnam were never learned.

[@glenbarnier]

zizaran's mum:) good video, great series so far

[@2Uahoj]

The claim by Burns and Novick here that the Vietnam War story has been repressed in American public memory is ridiculous. In fact the opposite is true. The plethora of documentaries, movies, talk show conversations, etc. about the war since its end has been astounding. One of the best was the 1980s "Vietnam: A History," the PBS series by Stanley Karnow. The authors here are simply revisiting the story to put their own spin on it. No problem there. But please don't tell us it's not been well covered previously and that you are going to rectify the problem.

[@TrevorLindgren]

"The market would not support this kind of enterprise" then he says 10 seconds later "through private donations and corporate underwriters' whitch is it then? Good, worthwhile endevors and media can be supported without forced taxpayer/government spending. If your project can only be done through involuntary taxation then that is proof it is terrible.. public tv and radio can and should still exist without government spending. If enough people like it then they will donate.

[@TrevorLindgren]

He is basically admitting that without government funding this propaganda documentary could have never been created. I hope he really seriously avoids the bias that this funding creates but it is nearly impossible to do so. We shall see.

[@18roselover]

PBS panhandle broadcasting Service

[@robertschultz7108]

It is very hard to say if this series is good or bad as you will hear pros and cons either way.I myself missed it by inches,but I knew friends and family that did serve. My next door neighbor went, did 2 tours,wounded 3 times,came back fucked up on drugs,ended up blowing his brains out because instead of helping him his wife was screwing anyone she could and his Father in law condemned him for not being a tough grunt like he was in ww2.To the brave kids that did go to fight for something they did not understand I salute you and commend you for your courage.It will never be a good time for them to bring back this nightmare of lies, deception,and sending young men into this mess to cover mistakes made by our politicians.Instead of being rewarded for serving they were spit on and treated like animals by the stupid Lsd drug fueled Hippies and I hope these people that shit on the vets can come to terms with this and blame our government not the messengers we sent there.

[@ArticWolfv]

he said the price, and all i could think is the war on terror is saying "hold my beer and watch this"

[@LONGDIENLongien]

Where is the South Vietnamese side? Reading the many reviews about Ken Burns’ “The Vietnam War” PBS series, including Mark Atwood Lawrence’ s Sept. 17 Outlook essay, “Vietnam War through the lives of those profoundly shaped by it,” I came to the conclusion that Americans care only about their side and their enemy, the communist regime of Hanoi. The innocent South Vietnamese civilian casualties are only a bystander story. The My Lai massacre of a few hundred Vietnamese civilians was elevated to a national disgrace, while the Hue massacre (about 6,000 South Vietnamese civilians killed, some buried alive, including three German medical professors and ones wife) was barely mentioned. Is that fair? Where is the South Vietnamese side? Duong Nguyen, McLean

[@markgossett3709]

Unfortunately, these American communists have taken over our media, universities, entertainment industry, and much of our government. They lie or withhold information, because, if the majority of people knew what they truly stood for, they would no longer be in any position of power.

[@thomasleary2814]

@@markgossett3709 Thank you Joe McCarthy. Have you no shame sir.

[@la1769]

Is that a wig on ken burns...

[@soapbxprod]

COMMUNISM caused ALL of this HELL. Ken Burns presses FLOWERS. That is a fact, not a metaphor. "We haven't learned how to do limited wars"? LMAO! WAR by definition is unlimited until the opponent SURRENDERS.

[@x2f01mick]

soapbxprod A little learning is a dangerous thing, drink deep or taste not the Perian Spring.

[@pedzsan]

Sacratease Star Trek explored that concept. Gene's conclusion is you want just the opposite.

[@Pleasurechest985]

la1769 Flak helmet

[@erwin643]

No. Just his bowl-cut.

[@Eric-rm4uu]

Hi there, love these movies, is this the first episode or whatever?

[@thomasleary2814]

It's whatever.

[@rafa3468]

As a pilot in Iraq I have never seen ground fights and it’s much worse than being in a dogfight

[@jibbi4one]

The last war Americans ever won on its own was the Spanish-American war. Since WWII foreign war allied ventures by the USA have been a total disaster.

[@iamchillydogg]

Brucie Bee Uh, Grenada.

[@jibbi4one]

LOL!! Are you serious?? Grenada illegal invasion was NOT a war. It was Reagan fear mongering about US nationals who might be in harms way. It was more a Hollywood photo op for US Marines recruiting.

[@callum123100]

Grenada lol as laughable as panama