This page is reserved for comments, observations, and analysis of the Ken Burns documentary, The Vietnam War, showing on PBS beginning on September 17, 2017.
VVFH members will be watching the series and commenting on Twitter. We will also be posting commentaries, which are linked below.
VVFH Commentary on Episode One
Burning History: Covering Up Original Sins
VVFH Commentary on Episode One and Two
VVFH Commentary on Episode Two
Burning History: Deceptions and a Teaspoon of Sand
Burning History: Understanding the Roots of Perversion
Burning History: Preparing the Battlefield, Preparing the Viewer's Mind
Burning History: Symbols, Symptoms, and the Derangement of Thought
Burning History: The Fallacy of Inevitability and The Truncation of History
Burning History: Slogging Through....
Blaming the Whole for the Sins of the Few
Colonel Finlayson's Recommended Reading List
Comments Made by Veterans
“Ken Burns is a pretty good picture researcher and an editor who can put continuity footage together pretty well.
He knows about as much about history as Howard Zinn….. And he is a die hard PC revisionist. He hasn’t a clue about the Vietnam War, and he didn’t have much of one about the Civil War.
I have no interest in wasting my time looking at Burns’ latest confection. But I will look at your send up.” [Name withheld]
Hi Steve-
Bank of America has a plug for Burns. The line they are using today is “There is no single truth in war.” That line alone sends shivers down my spine. I think the correct line should really be “There is no single truth in war except what Ken Burns decides is true.” Semper Fi-Rich Botkin
I went to a Gala Preview event sponsoered by the Richmond Historical Society and local PBS station last night. Ken gets it wrong from the git go when he doesn’t “explain” how the war really started with SOG PK “Nasty” boats bombing the two NV Islands, the miscommunication during the Maddox incident, but he does say that Pres. Johnson did know about the Nasty’s bombing the Islands. This is the first time I ever heard that he actually knew that and then proceeded with the bombings. There was nothing about the “Geneva Accords” and so much more. They are touting this more as bringing the community together in order to heal the deep wounds which I hope it does. Much of the footage has been used in other documentaries, “10,000 Days” comes to mind. Sorry to say that you may be sadly disappointed. - Danny Thompson
In conclusion, this is a one-sided, half-truth documentary unworthy of watching. My observation had been posted on Yahoo but was removed 15 minutes later. Let us hope that Mr. Burns and Ms. Novick would have a change of heart and be more factual in their next project about the Vietnam War. - Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sang
