The Vietnam war BBC4
Discussion
Really enjoyed this series so far, a real eye opener.
I was in Vietnam three weeks ago and the tour guide talked about the war, giving an overview, but what I found particularly interesting was when he told us that Vietnamese people don’t dislike American people because it was politicians who started it all, both Vietnamese politicians and America politicians, and that ordinary people on both sides were victims of those politicians, not the people involved.
I thought that was quite inciteful!
I was in Vietnam three weeks ago and the tour guide talked about the war, giving an overview, but what I found particularly interesting was when he told us that Vietnamese people don’t dislike American people because it was politicians who started it all, both Vietnamese politicians and America politicians, and that ordinary people on both sides were victims of those politicians, not the people involved.
I thought that was quite inciteful!
Eric Mc said:
As ever, watching something like this inspires me to dig out a scale model to build. This is what I've settled on (I have a few Vietnam War themed kits in my unbuilt collection) -
Really interesting documentary on YouTube about the old Thud worth watching if you have never seen it. https://youtu.be/MR2F677wYm0I set my Tivo up yesterday as a result of reading this thread and when I got home it had all of them so far.
Really really good stuff. Fascinating.
It also makes me happy that people are still making quality TV programmes like this - they're like diamonds in among the dross of reality tv, strictly in the jungle etc etc.
Really really good stuff. Fascinating.
It also makes me happy that people are still making quality TV programmes like this - they're like diamonds in among the dross of reality tv, strictly in the jungle etc etc.
I only just round to seeing the first episode. Last week I only just started re-reading Vietnam - The Definitive Oral History https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vietnam-Definitive-Oral-H... which is a huge collection of interviews from all sides and all perspectives of the war which I'm guessing the documentary series will attempt to do and it was great to see the archive footage and photos without having to interrupt reading a book and google stuff.
Incredible to realise how short our memories are. And how quickly we forget the horrors of war and how easily we fall back into the savagery that seems intrinsic in our very fabric and being.
Incredible series on a truly pointless, horrific and ultimately futile war that played out a few years before i was born. Must watch TV imo.......
Incredible series on a truly pointless, horrific and ultimately futile war that played out a few years before i was born. Must watch TV imo.......
RepeatOffender said:
America was a f
king mess in the '60s.
I always think that 1968 in particular was a truly awful year for the US. Quite a few political pundits have drawn parallels between the situation there now and 1968. Personally, despite all the current issues, the US has not quite sunk to the despair of 1968 - although it could well get that bad.king mess in the '60s.Eric Mc said:
RepeatOffender said:
America was a fking mess in the '60s.
I always think that 1968 in particular was a truly awful year for the US. Quite a few political pundits have drawn parallels between the situation there now and 1968. Personally, despite all the current issues, the US has not quite sunk to the despair of 1968 - although it could well get that bad.king mess in the '60s.Just finished watching episode 5 and feel quite shook up.
I really like the interviews with the ordinary people from both sides.
The American Marine who was shot in the chest, wow,, he’s obviously carried a lot of demons inside him from the war. I’m glad he seems to have come to terms with them at last.
Should be compulsory viewing in schools if we’re to start to learn from our mistakes.
I really like the interviews with the ordinary people from both sides.
The American Marine who was shot in the chest, wow,, he’s obviously carried a lot of demons inside him from the war. I’m glad he seems to have come to terms with them at last.
Should be compulsory viewing in schools if we’re to start to learn from our mistakes.
RepeatOffender said:
The '60s in this country is remembered as the "swinging sixties" etc. Quite a contrast to what our American cousins were enduring.
The "Swinging Sixties" in Britain was, for many people, nothing they identified with. The 60s was still a poor time for the UK. The country was still coming to terms with loss of Empire and practically begging France to let them into the EEC. The economy was not great and Sterling suffered a large devaluation in 1967.If anyone wants to credit Harold Wilson with anything is that he resisted immense pressure from the US for Britain to become involved in the Vietnam War. I wonder if any future Prime Ministers would have had the guts to stand up to America in that way?
Eddie Strohacker said:
The quote from those two eps for me was the Marine saying Vietnam proved to him we're killing machines & the Army is just finishing school. That & the Huey pilot who didn't seem all there as a result of his experiences.
When I lived in the USA, my neighbour who I spent a lot of time with, had served in Vietnam as ground crew on the helicopters. What he had to deal with when cleaning up the equipment to get it back into service just doesn't bear thinking about.The war scared a generation of young men, what made matters worse was the way returning veterans were treated. The USA learned a lesson there and now returning veterans from wars are not treated like scum, but treated like patriots.
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