The American War

“The Vietnam War” begins with Henry Kissinger’s call to put Vietnam behind us. It ends with the Beatles’ “Let It Be.” Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explain the difference, and how the painful lessons of the Vietnam era can help us today.

Some soldiers in Vietnam fought bravely, and then came home to oppose the war they’d served in. Their experiences are a reminder that Vietnam mixed up American notions of patriotism. As Ken and Lynn explain, we’re still trying to piece it back together.

The Kent State massacre was one of the most searing domestic moments of the antiwar movement. Alyssa talks to Ken and Lynn about their memories of the shooting, and about finding new ways to tell the Kent State story.

In America, the My Lai massacre helped turn Americans against the war, while in Vietnam, atrocities such as the massacre at Hue are still taboo subjects. Alyssa asks Ken and Lynn about telling stories of brutality and survival.

The Vietnam War produced indelible wartime photography. “The Vietnam War” takes a closer look at the stories behind the photos, including Eddie Adams’s famous picture of a street-corner execution in Saigon during the Tet Offensive.