Tag Archives: Vietnam War

The Vietnam War on PBS and Other Things to Check Out on the Web

This is excerpted from the October Eagle Peak Quarterly.  In each issue the Quarterly suggests items it thinks are worth checking out on the web. In October 2017, first and foremost is the one below, on the recently aired film about the Vietnam War and its effects on both America and that country.

Here’s what PBS says about it on their site.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part, 18-hour documentary series, THE VIETNAM WAR, tells the epic story of one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history as it has never before been told on film. Visceral and immersive, the series explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides—Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as combatants and civilians from North and South Vietnam. Ten years in the making, the series includes rarely seen and digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th Century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and secret audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. THE VIETNAM WAR features more than 100 iconic musical recordings from greatest artists of the era and haunting original music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as well as the Silk Road Ensemble featuring Yo-Yo Ma.

On a less politically and emotionally charged topic, you can also check out two beautiful photo montages on Nat Geo. Fall foliage and a trip to Norway.

Sunset over Senja Island, Norway. PHOTOGRAPH BY TOMÁŠ HAVEL, YOUR SHOT
View of Heart Lake and the Algonquin and Wright peaks in Adirondack Park, New York. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MELFORD, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

Vietnam and Waiting for Westmoreland–Two Anniversaries

This an extended excerpt from an article by John Maberry that appeared in the October Eagle Peak Quarterly.

Most people, I suspect, celebrate anniversaries as special occasions. They exchange cards or gifts and perhaps go out to dinner. These anniversaries aren’t like that. They are reference points in the tapestry of life. They’re signposts of events that have significantly affected the trajectory of my existence or describe it.

My arrival in South Vietnam came fifty years ago, in September 1967. Ten years ago in September, I published the memoir, Waiting for Westmoreland. (WFW)

This special feature in the Quarterly is more of an observance of those two anniversaries than a celebration of them. It’s also an announcement of a special tenth anniversary edition of WFW coming later this fall. It will feature a new cover, a foreword by an accomplished friend who’s known me for forty years, a brief preface and an expanded epilogue. Those ending words will include a few paragraphs from an update to WFW. My human revolution (a profound change in one’s character—a fundamental benefit of practicing Buddhism) continues so I must share it. The current plan calls for that book to be out two years from now but perhaps it will come sooner. I have a sci-fi novel to get out next year and another novel in 2020. This is my Third Age and I cannot relax too much.

The memories of Vietnam are as vivid as though it were last year—or even last month. Memories of sweating in the shade of tropical heat. Taking turns awake on the berm surrounding the base camp at Bear Cat, sleeping atop rock hard sandbags. Listening to the brothers talking about the two Mister Charlies they were fighting—the Viet Cong and Whitey. Watching how the drinkers and the dopers responded to nighttime alerts—the former in a daze, slowly, and the latter with no impediment. So a few months in, I joined the smokers—buying the shredded salad sized bags of marijuana that went for five dollars. Eventually I gave into the illicit sex too, in shacks with walls made of ammo crates from American munitions.

In WFW, I recounted my loss of innocence and the shattering of illusions about America’s virtue. We weren’t really there to fight for and protect those people. We were there fighting the Cold War by proxy. Fearing that the “domino effect” could mean the loss of all of Southeast Asia to Communism. Many soldiers and their superiors called the Vietnamese by racist epithets such as Gooks or slope-heads. Five American Presidents, I later learned, could have avoided the deaths of more than 58,000 Americans. But at every decision point, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon took the wrong turn. Then they lied incessantly about what was happening and why were there.

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The October Edition of the Eagle Peak Quarterly is Online

It’s here–in living color! The October Eagle Peak Quarterly. Read it all at once or a little at a time.

We’ll try something new in this promo. Today, the list of articles with short excerpts. Then, for the next two weeks, we’ll post more of each article every other day. If we don’t get to your comment, it’s because we’ll be offline for a few days.

 

Vietnam and Waiting for Westmoreland–two anniversaries

Most people, I suspect, celebrate anniversaries as special occasions. These are different. They’re reference points in the tapestry of life. Signposts of events that have significantly affected the trajectory of my existence or describe it. Arriving in Vietnam 50 years ago. Writing a book about what transpired and how it changed me for the better.

 

The Global Solidarity of Youth: Ushering in a New Era of Hope

Franco-American writer and professor Michele de Gastyne offers her views and agreement on SGI leader Ikeda’s proposal to put youth in the forefront of dealing with the problems of nuclear proliferation, refugees, xenophobia and more. It’s a long and densely worded article, reflecting both the thoughts of Daisaku Ikeda and de Gastyne’s consideration of them.

 

An Interview with Tony Goodlette

Tony Goodlette spent eight years in Vietnam from 1967-1975. He still suffers health effects from that time. But the Buddhism he began practicing a few years later has enabled him to make even more valuable contributions to America and the world, with humanism and compassion. Read the interview for details of this man’s interesting life.

 

Let’s Go to Walt Disney World

It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it. Be advised: this is not a “wing it” vacation. Planning is essential if you’re to make the most of your family’s time and money. Juanita explains it all–well much of it anyway.  But she tells you where you can find out more.

 

Worth Noting (8) Things We Think You Should Check Out on the Web

Did you watch the PBS series on the Vietnam War? This 10-part, 18-hour film is among the best and most comprehensive feature on that war–with interviews from both sides and more. Stream it from the web and much more on the PBS site. Or take a peek at some beautiful travel photos from Nat Geo.

 

Previews of Articles Coming in January

More on financial planning (boring or droll–it’s important). Weight-loss techniques that actually WORK–the publisher can prove it! You won’t believe how much he’s lost. Building that dream home–realizing a boomer fantasy; another true-life experience. We’ll explain some alternatives and offer tips on buying a house. Plus the usual: Like an interview and items worth noting.

 

Smorgasbord, Variety is the Spice of Life–the fifth of our links to writer sites

Sally Cronin’s fabulous site is indeed a smorgasbord, with a potpourri of posts across a broad topical spectrum. There’s health, nutrition medical news. She freely promotes fellow authors. Most importantly, Sally tells readers about her own books–providing reviews and telling us where to get them. She’s been a storyteller most of her life, she says.

 

How to Separate Peaceful and Violent Protesters

Law enforcement officials in Ferguson, Missouri are having a difficult time separating peaceful from violent protesters. As a result, the peaceful ones suffer from teargas and other unpleasantries.  From someone who has been there and done that as an antiwar protester during the Vietnam War, let me offer this advice–it’s not the responsibility of law enforcement, it’s the the task of the protesters themselves. Continue reading How to Separate Peaceful and Violent Protesters