Friday, October 13, 2017

Be skeptical of Ken Burns’ ‘The Vietnam War’ - The Citizen

Be skeptical of Ken Burns’ ‘The Vietnam War’ - The Citizen
"Some months ago I and a dozen other local veterans attended a screening at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, a preview of a new documentary on the Vietnam war by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
The screening was a one-hour summation of this 10-part documentary, 18 hours long.
Image result for summary execution of a Viet Cong soldier in SaigonThe series began showing on PBS Sunday, Sept. 17, and with Burns’ renowned talent mixing photos, video clips and compelling mood music in documentary form, the series promises to be compelling to watch.
That doesn’t mean it tells the truth.
For many years I have been presenting to high school classes a 90-minute session titled “The Myths and Truths of the Vietnam War.”
One of my opening comments is, “The truth about Vietnam is bad enough without twisting it all out of shape with myths, half-truths and outright lies from the anti-war left.”
...One of those photos is the summary execution of a Viet Cong soldier in Saigon, capital city of South Vietnam, during the battles of the Tet Offensive in 1968.
Our dishonorable enemy negotiated a cease-fire for that holiday, then on that holiday attacked in about 100 places all over the country.
Here’s what I tell students about the execution in the photo..."
Well worth your time to read!

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