History

THE VIETNAM WAR
The River Styx

Posted on October 4, 2017October 12, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

THE VIETNAM WAR is a 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. An immersive, 360-degree narrative, the series tells the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film.

The River Styx
With South Vietnam in chaos, Hanoi accelerates the insurgency, sending combat troops to the South. Fearing Saigon’s collapse, President Lyndon B. Johnson escalates, authorizing sustained bombing of the North and deploying ground troops in the South.

THE VIETNAM WAR features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

Ten years in the making, the series brings the war and the chaotic epoch it encompassed viscerally to life. It includes rarely seen, 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 revelatory audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations. The series features more than 100 iconic musical recordings from many of the greatest artists of the era, and original music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as well as the Silk Road Ensemble featuring Yo-Yo Ma.

THE VIETNAM WAR
Resolve

Posted on October 4, 2017October 17, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

Resolve
Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops and materiel stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Saigon struggles to pacify the countryside. As an antiwar movement builds at home, GIs discover that this war is nothing like their fathers’ war.

PBS HAWAI‘I PRESENTS
War for Guam

Posted on October 4, 2017October 5, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

War for Guam traces the enduring legacy from World War II in Guam, a U.S. territory since 1898, and how the native people of Guam, the Chamorros, remained loyal to the U.S. under Japanese occupation, only to be later stripped of much of their ancestral lands by the American military. Through rare archival footage, contemporary film, and testimonies of survivors and their descendants, the story is told from various points of view, including from war survivors like Antonio Artero, Jr., whose father was awarded one of the first Medals of Freedom for his heroic deeds in protecting American lives; and two key historical figures, Radioman George Tweed and Father Jesus Baza Duenas.

THE VIETNAM WAR
This Is What We Do

Posted on October 4, 2017October 5, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

This Is What We Do
Enemy body-counts and American casualties mount as GIs chase an elusive foe and face deadly ambushes and artillery. While Hanoi lays plans for a massive surprise offensive, the Johnson Administration reassures the public that victory is in sight.

Dick Cavett’s Vietnam

Posted on October 4, 2017October 4, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

On the 40th anniversary of the official end of the Vietnam War, this program examines the war and its impact on America through the prism of interviews conducted by the iconic host of The Dick Cavett Show, which featured conversation and debate from all sides of the political spectrum. The program combines interviews from Cavett’s shows with archival footage, network news broadcasts and audio/visual material from the National Archives to provide insight and perspective on this controversial chapter of American history.

USS Indianapolis Live – From the Deep

Posted on September 28, 2017October 3, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

Take a tour of the wreckage from the USS Indianapolis, the WWII vessel lying at the bottom of the Pacific since its sinking in 1945. Video of the vessel, which was found in August, will be transmitted from a remotely operated vehicle.

THE VIETNAM WAR
Déjà Vu

Posted on September 28, 2017October 5, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

Déjà Vu
After a long and brutal war, revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial rule. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided: communists hold the North, while America supports an untested regime in the South.

THE VIETNAM WAR
Riding the Tiger

Posted on September 28, 2017October 5, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

Riding the Tiger
President Kennedy and his advisors wrestle with how deeply to get involved in South Vietnam. As the increasingly autocratic Diem regime faces a growing communist insurgency and widespread Buddhist protests, a grave political crisis unfolds.

NOVA
Secrets of the Shining Knight

Posted on September 28, 2017October 6, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

Discover what it was like to be a knight in shining armor and follow the historic armor manufacturing process. Join master armorers as they re-engineer Greenwich armor – considered some of the greatest armor ever made – and then put it to the test.

The Vietnam War

Posted on September 28, 2017October 17, 2017 by PBS Hawai‘i

Feature Story | Hawai‘i’s Own and Their Stories | Airdates | Tell Your Story

About the Film

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s new 10-part, 18-hour documentary series 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. 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. Learn More

The Vietnam War

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By Emily Bodfish

Remember Gabriel died on Asian shores,
To a wife and child he will return no more,
They heard that brave man say,
I would give my life for the Green Beret.

These were the original closing lines of “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” a song written in honor of James Gabriel Jr., the first Special Forces officer, and the first soldier from Hawaiʻi, killed during the Vietnam conflict. The song would later be revised and popularized, hitting number one on the Billboard charts for five weeks in 1966. It was one of the few songs of the era that shed a positive light on the military, as support for the war drastically declined over the years that followed.

“The Vietnam War was a decade of agony that took the lives of more than 58,000 Americans,” said Ken Burns, whose newest epic documentary, The Vietnam War, begins Sunday, September 17 at 8:00 pm. “Not since the Civil War have we as a country been so torn apart.”

The Vietnam War is a 10-part, 18-hour documentary that provides a 360-degree perspective on the war’s events. It delves deep into the experiences of Americans who fought in and fought against the war, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

In addition to the nearly 80 witnesses featured in Burns’ film, PBS Hawaiʻi will bring you intimate interviews with local Vietnam veterans and the families of service members killed in battle. Excerpts from these local interviews will be shown preceding each episode of the Kens Burns series.

The local veterans related their memories of duty, uncertainty, loss and recovery representing Hawaiʻi, the newly minted 50th star on the U.S. flag.

Download the complete list of the Hawai‘i veterans lost in the Vietnam War

Green Beret veteran Roy Ogasawara described moments of bonding with Vietnamese counterparts, eating together with chopsticks and seeing how similar their skin tones were. Yet, he was advised to be wary of Viet Cong spies. “In the fierce firefights, an American adviser would be killed, and when they examined the bullet hole, the bullet came from the back, not from the front,” Ogasawara said. Even before landing in Vietnam, Ogasawara knew he was entering uncertain territory. “Even as a well-trained paratrooper, a Green Beret, a ranger…I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.

Hawai‘iʻs Own and Their Stories

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Ron Schaedel, a retired Marine, touched on his struggle with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and his concern for his own sons in the military. “I’ve got PTSD to the max, I’m trying to deal with my own issues, and I’m worried about my two boys, but who’s the rock? My wife,” he said. “I owe my health and my life to my wife.” To this day, he said, “I take it a day at a time, and life goes on.”

This film is not an answer to what was left unresolved after the war. Rather, it’s an effort to weave together opposing perspectives, pose questions and open up dialogue that may lead to healing, and eventually, closure.

The Vietnam War, begins Sunday, September 17 at 8:00 pm

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Episode 1:
Déjà Vu (1858-1961) | Tues., Oct. 3, 9:00 pm

Episode 2:
Riding the Tiger (1961-1963) | Tues., Oct. 3, 10:30 pm

Episode 3:
The River Styx (January 1964-December 1965) | Tues., Oct. 10, 9:00 pm

Episode 4:
Resolve (January 1966-June 1967) | Tues., Oct. 17, 9:00 pm

Episode 5:
This Is What We Do (July 1967-December 1967) | Tues., Oct. 24, 9:00 pm

Episode 6:
Things Fall Apart (January 1968-July 1968) | Sun., Sept. 24, 8:00 pm

Episode 7:
The Veneer of Civilization (June 1968-May 1969) | Mon., Sept. 25, 8:00 pm

Episode 8:
The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970) | Tues., Sept. 26, 8:00 pm

Episode 9:
A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973) | Wed., Sept. 27, 8:00 pm

Episode 10:
The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward) | Thurs., Sept. 28, 8:00 pm

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