I never thought I could learn more about the Vietnam war until the PBS documentary

[wasupaloopa]

this week.

I was drafted in 1966 and spent most of 67 and part of 68 in the war. I knew we were being lied to but I thought that was to keep us from questioning.
But watching the PBS Vietnam special I now know they didn't know how they were ever going to get out of the war even before I got there and the escalation or why I went to war was for Johnson and his administration to save face.

I didn't die but what a fucked up reason to make me fight for survival for a year.

This documentary is going to bring back a lot of shit we stuffed way back in our minds.

[LeftInTX]

1. I know... learned how F'd up South Vietnam was from the get-go

The Diem regime reminded me of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.

[True Dough]

2. My dad did a peacekeeping tour there in the early 70s

He said the same thing about the documentary series. He felt like he knew a great deal, but he has learned a lot!

[jaysunb]

3. There's not enough space here for me to add to your

post. I was not quite as naive as some, but didn't realize how deep the deception went.

And, in case no ones told you lately, "welcome back to the world, Brother."

[uponit7771]

5. +1, and it all looks like it was to save face ... that's it, save face with someone else kids life!!

[jaysunb]

6. +1000 n/t

[wasupaloopa]

7. Thanks and same to you

[uponit7771]

4. IT IS AMAZING !! "... China sent 320,000 'support' troops before end of Nam war ... " we should've

... ran then !!

Story telling by Burns is top notch, the time scenes are eye opening, real account cutaways lead into the action and some reveals.

If you think you know Nam then check your knowledge with Burns documentary.

[Blue_true]

8. The government lied to troops when they returned home.

A lot of them got Agent Orange dumped on them regularly and it took the government years to take care of them.

[The Blue Flower]

9. The series is superlative

Burns and Novick have done the greatest possible service to this country at this moment in history. I became a USMC spouse in 1970, right after my fiancé came home from a year's tour. None of us military spouses understood the reason why our marriages were so difficult. Ours didn't make it. This series has answered so many questions for me. The war was a crime against humanity, our troops, and the American people. Thank God the full story is being told to the nation at last.

[mahina]

10. Pinboy39er would have loved to connect with you.

He was a great DUer and a Vietnam vet too.

Nixon saving face is why my Dad fought for his life and the lives of his men in the tri-border region for a year. And why he lost the brother we were supposed to adopt, a Montegnard kid.

Seconded.

[catchnrelease]

13. My favorite DUer

I loved Pinboy. My husband is a Vietnam vet and we exchanged some pms on the topic of relationships. I miss him and his wonderful, painful puns.

[mahina]

17. Mine too.

[msongs]

11. my dad's job there was to analyze aerial photos of bombing of Hanoi. He came home and said son

the war is a fraud, dont' go. his group reported their analysis and when it hit the news media all the numbers
and outcomes were totally fabricated and jacked up to look way more successful according to him

[Best_man23]

12. Very Rarely do I recommend any TV program

I've been recommending this series to everyone. I'm going to buy it when it comes out on DVD.

[jalan48]

14. We were sold the need for the war because of the Gulf of Tonkin incident-it was a lie.

Why did our government do this?

[imanamerican63]

15. I watch and learn a lot about also.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice. It was a good series, but also very disturbing. No real plans going in, during and getting out. No leadership in Washington.

[Yavin4]

16. A lot of it was good old fashion racism.

We could not fathom that a colonized people simply did not want to be colonized and wanted to control their own fate. If we had worked with the nationalists from the beginning, we could have achieved the goal of stopping communism in Vietnam.

[uponit7771]

19. Yep, they never respected the Vietnamese

[BannonsLiver]

18. The LBJ phone call with Eisenhower was illuminating

Basically LBJ thought all the anti war demonstrators were either communist infiltrators or mentally impaired. I've never been as enanamored with LBJ as some are and that bit affirmed my belief.