Ken Burns and Lynn Novick directed the 10-episode event — The Vietnam War (airing Sundays-Thursdays on PBS beginning on Sept. 17) — which chronicles the human tragedy of the Vietnam War, one of the most politically and socially divisive events in American history.
Burns and Novick not only tell the story of the conflict on a geopolitical scale, but also through the personal recollections of soldiers and civilians who took part in it.
“We really wanted to tell the human story of the war from all sides, and that we would talk to both the Vietnamese who won and the Vietnamese who lost, and Americans who were for and against the war,” Novick says. “We’re really trying to present as many perspectives as possible on the human level.”
Burns believes that the film will offer a courageous conversation about a painful time in American history that many try to forget.
“A lot of it has to do with the sense that we lost, that it was a failure, and Americans don’t do that,” Burns says. “Our exceptionalism kind of got in our psychological way, and it was OK to bury it.”
More than 40 years after the fall of Saigon, Burns sees a need to remember the lessons of Vietnam in our politically polarized times.
“The divisions that exhibited themselves in Vietnam have only grown, and have only seeped into our national life now,” Burns says. “We feel a funny connection to Vietnam, that so much of what happened then is happening now.”
EPISODE GUIDE
Sunday, Sept. 17
The Vietnam War
PBS, 8 p.m.
The premiere episode, “Déja Vu,” traces the history of foreign occupation in Vietnam and the origins of conflict. It also reveals how the violent end to French colonialism in Vietnam in the 1950s set the stage for American intervention in the 1960s.
Monday, Sept. 18
The Vietnam War: “Riding the Tiger”
PBS, 8 p.m.
President Kennedy and his advisers 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.
Tuesday, Sept. 19
The Vietnam War: “The River Styx”
PBS, 8 p.m.
With South Vietnam in chaos, Hanoi accelerates the insurgency, sending combat troops to the South. Fearing Saigon’s collapse, President Johnson escalates, authorizing sustained bombing of the North and deploying ground troops in the South.
Wednesday, Sept. 20
The Vietnam War: “Resolve”
PBS, 8 p.m.
Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, while Saigon struggles to pacify the countryside. As an antiwar movement builds at home, GIs discover that this war is nothing like their fathers’ war.
Thursday, Sept. 21
The Vietnam War: “This Is What We Do”
PBS, 8 p.m.
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.
Sunday, Sept. 24
The Vietnam War: “Things Fall Apart”
PBS, 8 p.m.
Seeing the violence and brutality of the Tet Offensive unfold on television, Americans begin to doubt President Johnson’s promise of “light at the end of the tunnel.” LBJ decides not to run again. The country is staggered by assassinations and unrest.
Monday, Sept. 25
The Vietnam War: “The Veneer of Civilization”
PBS, 8 p.m.
With the country at odds over the war, draft-age Americans face wrenching choices. After chaos roils the Democratic Convention, Richard Nixon narrowly wins the presidency. In Vietnam, soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.
Tuesday, Sept. 26
The Vietnam War: “The History of the World”
PBS, 8 p.m.
When troop withdrawals begin, soldiers left in Vietnam ask what they are fighting for. News breaks of a shocking massacre at My Lai, and questions grow about the war’s rectitude. The Cambodia invasion sparks large protests, with tragic consequences.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
The Vietnam War: “A Disrespectful Loyalty”
PBS, 8 p.m.
South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own suffer a terrible defeat in Laos. After being re-elected in a landslide, President Nixon strikes a peace deal with Hanoi that allows American prisoners of war finally to come home — where they find a bitterly divided country.
Thursday, Sept. 28
The Vietnam War: “The Weight of Memory”
PBS, 8 p.m.
President Nixon resigns amid Watergate, while a brutal civil war continues in Vietnam. North Vietnamese troops overtake Saigon with overwhelming force. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.
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