See these casahistoria sites for further background:
In recent years, there has been an enormous growth in US sites
dedicated to the Vietnam conflict. Most are linked to military
aspects of the war, however many examine the documentary background
to events. There are a number reasons for this: the recent Iraq
conflict & occupation (see casahistoria Iraq & the West
site for links), and a greater US military self confidence, release
of official archive material, less inhibitions by veterans to
write about their war and not least the opening up of Vietnam
itself to tourism. Welcome as this is, it has served to overwhelm
users of the web and cloud key issues. The aim of this page is to
focus on those sites of most interest and value to the student of
the period and to place them within a (hopefully) clear structure.
In addition gamer sites are proliferating - not all are as
academically valuable as the French
Indochine site.
-
Vietnamese History: Centuries of Struggling for Independence
A general outline history, currently a work in progress but is
well worth using for background biographies to the pre European
imperial period.
-
Vietnam Not a history site, but one that gives you a
tourist insight into a country opening more and more to tourism.
This includes sections on: 'The History of Vietnam', 'Location,
Geography and Climate', 'Vietnamese Culture' and 'Vietnamese
People'. A full account of current Vietnam can be found at the
CIA World Factbook site.
-
Vietnam: A Television History PBS Transcripts from the US TV
series is a 13-part documentary film series produced for
public television by WGBH Boston, in cooperation with Central
Independent Television/United Kingdom, and Antenne-2/France.
Useful especially for first hand interviews, but also:
-
Lessons of the Vietnam War -- A Curriculum from the Center
for Social Studies Education. US curriculum guide and materials
for High School teachers (and students).
2.
Protest & Opposition
-
"By Reason of Religious Training and Belief..." A History of
Conscientious Objection and Religion during the Vietnam War By
Karl D. Nelson. Very thorough account of an often ignored area
written as an Honors Senior Project at Western Washington
University. §
-
The Draft Lottery by Date of Birth: Would You Been Drafted in
1969? Interesting article to read today....
§
-
 May 4, 1970 A basic overview of
the events that led to the killing of four students by the
National Guard at Kent State University.
- Country Joe
McDonald Country Joe McDonald was a leading figure in
the Anti-Vietnam War movement. This tells his story.
-
The Vietnam Generation Part of the 60´s project. Not
the easiest site to use but gives an insight into the
'Anti-Vietnam War' protest movement.
- Vietnam Veterans Against the
War The Vietnam Veterans Against the War website
contains articles from past editions of The Veteran newspaper
and includes a 'History of the Vietnam War' with a large
collection of photographs. See also this
Statement by John Kerry to the Senate Committee of Foreign
Relations April 23, 1971
-
Radical
Times: The Antiwar Movement of the 1960s A fantastic
and thorough resource about the anti-war movement. Includes
Woodstock, counterculture, violence & unrest, and more.
-
The Rise and Fall of the Anti-Vietnam War Movement in the U.S.
This essay was written in 1990-1, at the time of the Gulf War,
by a veteran of the Anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960, of
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the main campus-based
anti-war organization, of the Worker-Student Alliance Caucus of
SDS, which stood for urging students to ally with the American
working class to oppose capitalist and imperialist exploitation
both at home and abroad -- exploitation which they saw as the
root cause of the war in Vietnam.
-
Homefront USA PBS Transcripts from the US TV series
Vietnam: A Television History. Useful especially for first
hand interviews
3. US Withdrawal
Vietnamization
Peace
Fall of Saigon and the South
The Missing, and Dead...
-
MIA Issue The history of the continuing and
serious MIA (Missing In Action) issue between the U.S. and
Vietnam.
-
Search the Wall Search for names on the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial.
Some analysis
-
Lessons of Vietnam A fascinating interview with the
author of Dereliction of Duty, Army Major H.R. McMaster, who
blames the politicians and the president for the war.
-
The Lessons of the Vietnam War An interview with Noam
Chomsky, reprinted from Indochina Newsletter, November -
December, 1982.
-
How Could Vietnam Happen - An Autopsy
This 1968 article from the Atlantic Monthly examines the
politics of the war and how America's leaders were simply
ineffective. You will need to register now to access this.
-
Gen. William C. Westmoreland Was Right History net by Dale
Andrad , senior historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military
History, adapted from a 2008 article in the June 2008
Small Wars and Insurgencies.
-
As I Saw It And Now See It An Analysis Of America's Unique
Experience In V'nam By General W. C. Westmoreland, USA,
February, 1989. Not an impartial account...... Posted by the
American War
Library
-
The War Makers Interesting article arguing that the
Vietnam was actually the bastard child of five presidents:
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. He looks at how
they and their advisers shared responsibility for the policy of
war in Vietnam By John Dellinger. §
(be patient - slow to load!)
-
Recalling the Vietnam War Audio interviews with 16
influential decision-makers and thinkers from University of
California, Berkeley research gallery. The interviews
highlight the complex environment in which decisions were made
that resulted in American involvement in Vietnam.
and if you are looking for more, try here:
-
The Vietnam Conflict An academic information portal for
research on the Vietnam War. Includes articles that assess the
impact of the Vietnam War and compare it to other conflicts.
4.
Contagion & the Neighbours: Laos & Cambodia ...
Cambodia
- President
Nixon's Speech to the American Public, April 30, 1970
Nixon's justification of the offensive in Cambodia.
-
Losing Ground to the Khmer Rouge As the war in Vietnam wound
down with the signing of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the war
in neighbouring Cambodia was going from bad to worse. By Wilfred
P. Deac from Vietnam magazine
-
Last Days of Cambodia As America's involvement in Indochina
came to an end in the spring of 1975, the Khmer Rouge closed in
on Phnom Penh for the kill. By Wil Deac. Article originally from
HistoryNet
-
Facing Death: Portraits from Cambodia's Killing Fields (Be
patient to let the images load - this is a cached version as the
site is no longer available otherwise §)
The Khmer Rouge regime held power in Cambodia for three years,
eight months, and twenty days between 1975 and 1979. During that
time, as many as 200,000 individuals were designated enemies of
the state. Over 14,000 men, women, and children were taken to
Tuol Sleng, Prison S-21, where all but seven were executed or
died from the effects of torture and maltreatment. This site
catalogues the victims. From UCR California Museum.
-
The Friends of Pol Pot by John Pilger in The Nation
magazine, May 11, 1998 looks at the western support for Pol Pot
-
The
Legacy of Pol Pot A Time photo essay
- Cambodian Genocide
Program The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979, in which
approximately 1.7 million people lost their lives (21% of the
country's population), was one of the worst human tragedies of
the last century. Yale University's Cambodian Genocide Program
provides a massive collection of primary source documents, all
of which is searchable.
Laos
- Air America
Association Air America was a CIA - owned and - operated
"air proprietary" during the Cold War against communism. This is
a site intended to "tell their story".
-
  The
War in Northern Laos, 1954-1973. Prepared by Air Force
historians, Victor B. Anthony and Richard R. Sexton, the
400-page article Shows how the Joint Chiefs of Staff created a
plan for U.S. military intervention in Laos as early as 1959.
(initially released 2006, but with much heavier excisions; as a
result of a successful Freedom of Information Appeal by the
National Security Archive, much more information is available.)
For an annotated survey of this document see item below:
-
Air Force Histories Reveal CIA Role in Laos, CIA Air Strike
Missions from US National Security Archive Electronic
Briefing Book No. 248. Links to documents, articles 1959-73
-
Supporting the "Secret War": CIA Air Operations in Laos,
1955-1974 (CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence)
Article by William M. Leary, Professor of History at the
University of Georgia, looking at covert role in Laos of CIA &
air America in wider Vietnam context.
5.
Photojournalism, Literature, Film, & Television
Images
-
Two sites with valuable images but unfortunately uncredited.
(The best site until recently, "Under Fire: Images from Vietnam"
by Pieceunique is no longer available)
-
 Vietnam Interactive A site for the photographs of E.
Kenneth Hoffman. Hoffman took photographs for the US government.
However, he also took over 1500 pictures of Vietnamese
civilians. Eighty of Hoffman's Vietnam photographs can be found
under the following categories: 'Military', 'Children',
'Vietnamese People', 'Protest' and 'Shrines'.
- Another
Vietnam: Pictures of the War from the other side. An
excellent exhibition of photographs of the Vietnam War, as seen
through the lens of North Vietnamese photographers, several of
which are included on this site page.
- Vietnam's Most
Harrowing Photo An article about the famous photograph of
Phan Thi Kin Phuc after a napalm attack.
-
Photo That Haunted the World BBC article on Kim Phuc,
subject of the famous photograph.
-
Propaganda posters of the war from Vietnam, USSR, China.
From the Dutch International Institute of Social History
-
"The Vietnam Experience": an Online Art Exhibition Navy
combat artists recorded many of the navy wartime activities,
typically sharing the same dangers as the sailors and Marines
they accompanied. This is a comprehensive and interesting look
at their work.
Cinema
Television
6. General sites on the period
-
Spartacus Vietnam War site: an excellent educational site
with witness accounts, lists to other sites (many mentioned
here) and timelines. Clearly laid out
-
 The Wars
for Vietnam: 1945 to 1975 Includes sections on 'The Geneva
Peace Accord', 'South Vietnam Under Ngo Dinh Diem', 'The
National Liberation Front', 'December 1961', 'Military Coup',
'Gulf of Tonkin Resolution', 'The War in America', 'The Nixon
Years' and 'The Paris Peace Agreement'. The website also has a
document section ranging from NLF secret papers to Richard
Nixon's speech to the USA public on 30th April, 1970 justifying
the offensive in Cambodia.
-
About The War Vietnam Veterans of America's Electronic
Library: A very extensive set of links and resources to the
Vietnam War and Vietnam Era Resources. The French period is
included as background to the US conflict. This is a cached
version (The original site is no longer available), not all
links are live and there are no descriptors, but the scope of
coverage is so monumental to mean it is still worth a look!
§
- Vietnam: Yesterday
and Today Recently updated, this is a very full range
of materials that provides insights into the Vietnam War under
the categories: 'Vietnam War: Fiction', 'Vietnam War:
Non-Fiction', 'Vietnam War: Fiction', 'Vietnam War: Films',
'Vietnam War: The Women's Experience' and 'The Vietnam War: The
Vietnamese Perspective'. There is also a guide to teaching the
topic, a chronology of the Vietnam War and links to E-Journals
and Discussion Lists on the Vietnam War.
7. 30 Years
On
-
 America lost, capitalism won: Vietnam 30 years on Thirty
years after Saigon fell, the south has prospered while the north
has lagged. A concise, clear article from the Economist (April
2005) about the divergent development of north and south. No
longer free access but can be read on a free trial.
-
Thirty years after the fall of Saigon, the celebrations can
finally begin With economy rising, Vietnam is at last
enjoying the fruits of peace. Jonathan Watts in Ho Chi Minh
City, April 30, 2005, The
Guardian
-
Viet Nam celebrates 1975 Spring Victory How the official
Vietnam News,
the state news agency, reported the 2005 anniversary
§
See this casahistoria site for further links to the Vietnam War:
other casahistoria post 1945 conflict core sites:
Indochina: the French experience
in Indochina
Vietnam War, Part One: US Involvement
and campaigns
Vietnam War, Part Two: opposition,
contagion & US withdrawal
Decolonisation
in Africa, British southeast Asia & India, Dutch East Indies
The
Malvinas/Falklands War 1982 UK-Argentina conflict in
the South Atlantic
Arab-Israeli Conflict 1947-79
The British in
Mesopotamia/Iraq for links to 20th century events
before independence
Iraq, Hussein, the West & War for links
to the history of Iraq up to and including the Gulf Wars
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