Vietnam War (2017)

I have just watched all 10 Parts of "The Vietnam War" by Ken Burns. I saw some when they aired on TV and the rest on DVD. I was never directly affected by the Vietnam War, but have heard about it from those that were and also studied a lot about it over the years. With that said, I honestly don't know what I would have done had I been alive during the War (would I volunteer to serve, would I stay in college to get a deferment, would I flee to Canada, would I get Drafted or would I be in the anti-war protests.) I know what I think I would do, but thinking and actually doing are two different things  - especially when you are talking about an event in the past and not one you lived through/are living through. 

I was a little skeptical when I first heard of Ken Burns making this series because I know he is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party and wasn't sure if this would be tilted to the anti-war side or very pro-North Vietnamese side as I have seen done in the past. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised (I know that sounds odd when talking about a War) that it wasn't tilted to any one side over the other. 

The countries included and explained in this program were from:

1)      US (2,709,918 soldiers sent, 58,318 soldiers killed -  17,671 of those were Draftees) , 153,303 wounded, 1,604 still missing) South Vietnam (254,256 soldiers killed), Australia (61,000 soldiers sent with 521 killed), New Zealand (3,890 soldiers sent with 37 killed), South Korea (320,000 soldiers sent with 5,099 killed), Thailand (351 soldiers killed), the Philippines (10,450 soldiers sent with 9 killed) , Khmer Republic, Kingdom of Laos, Taiwan (25 soldiers killed)

2)      North Vietnam, Viet Cong,  (849,018 soldiers killed between the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong) China (1,446 soldiers killed), the Soviet Union (15 soldiers killed), North Korea, Pathet Lao, Khmer Rouge

This program dealt with a wide range of issues, groups, battles, policies, etc. how and did a good job in separating the different events in an easy-to-understand way. 

1.  French Colonization of Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos)

2. Japanese Occupation of Vietnam (OSS Involvement)

3. French-Vietnamese War (Dien Bien Phu, Creation of Communist North Vietnam and Democratic South Vietnam)

4. North Vietnamese- South Vietnamese War (Diem Coup, Corruption, Instability, Lack of Support from Saigon on the South Vietnamese countryside)

5. US Involvement In Vietnam: (Advisors, Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution, Body Count Ratio, Bombing of the North, The Draft, US POWs, LZs, Search and Destroy, Anti-War Protests - 1968 DNC Protests, Weather Underground, Black Panthers, Jane Fonda, Hippies, Vietnam Veterans Against The War , US' My Lai Massacre - 508 people killed, the Media portrayal, Tet Offensive, North Vietnamese's Hue Massacre - 2,800-6,000 people killed, the Chu Chi Tunnels, Fragging, US Nurses, the Silent Majority, the Phoenix Program,  Vietnamization, the Pentagon Papers,  Peace With Honor, Communist China Visit,  Paris Peace Accord, War Powers Resolution, Operation Homecoming, Vietnam Veterans Memorial)

6. US Involvement In Cambodia (Ho Chi Minh Trail, Kent State Killings, Jackson State Killings, 450 Student Strikes across the US)

7. US Involvement In Laos (Ho Chi Minh Train, Most Bombed Place on Earth)

8. Reunification of Vietnam (Evacuation, Fall Of Saigon, Re-Education Camps, Vietnamese-Cambodian War, the Boat People, World Isolation, Normalization of Relations)

The program had a wide range of people from almost every side (they didn't include: the French, Khmer Rouge Cambodians, anti-Communist Cambodians, Pathet Lao Laotians, anti- Communist Laotians, Communist Chinese, Soviets, Australians, New Zealanders, Filipinos, South Koreans, Thais or Taiwanese.) They did include: the Americans (volunteer soldiers, politicians, journalists, anti-war peaceful protesters, anti-war violent protesters, deserters, Draftee soldiers, POWs, students, Blacks, Hispanics, Indians, Whites, Asians, Men and Women), the South Vietnamese (politicians, soldiers, those that worked with the Americans, those that had fled the Communists, those that fought with the Communists, Men and Women) and the North Vietnamese (politicians, soldiers, Men and Women.)

To sum this program up. I was impressed by the wealth of information included in the 10 parts, how easy it was to follow and understand everything and the variety of people from every major side involved.