The Vietnam War: Louisiana Remembers (2017)
Details
Collection:LPB
Genre: Documentary
Place Covered: Louisiana, Vietnam
Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority
Date Issued: 2017-09-17
Duration: 00:28:42
Subjects: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 | Military | Veterans | Fort Polk (La.) | Prisoner of war | My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968 | Barksdale Air Force Base (La.) | B-52 bomber | Vietnamese Americans
Contributors:
- Moreau, Andre Narrator
- Gautreaux, Kevin Producer
- Laudun, Tika Producer
- Melton, Christina Producer
- Spires, Kelly Producer
- Leslie, Mark Interviewee
- Horn, Marc Interviewee
- Washington, Paul Interviewee
- Applewhite, Ron Interviewee
- Hargrave, Lyn Interviewee
- Franklin, Ben Interviewee
- Engelsman, John Interviewee
- Jones, Murphy Neal Interviewee
- Angers, Trent Interviewee
- Bohannon, Shawn Interviewee
- Dewolf, Ernest Interviewee
- Blaufuss, Phil Interviewee
- Henry, Clifford Interviewee
- Tran, Anthony Interviewee
- Weber, Skip Interviewee
- Alexander, Vincent Interviewee
Description
This documentary from September 17, 2017, focuses on Louisiana’s role in the Vietnam War. It includes segments on: the role of the Fort Polk Army Base in Vernon Parish as a basic training site for more than 1 million soldiers; the combat experiences of Louisianans; Louisiana prisoners of war (POWs) and missing in action (MIA); the Louisiana connections to the My Lai Massacre; the role of Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport and the B-52 bomber in Operation Linebacker II; the Vietnamese refugees who settled in Louisiana; and the Vietnam veterans’ painful experience of returning home to an ungrateful nation. This documentary includes interviews with: Mark Leslie, the Chief of Plans and Operations at Fort Polk; Marc Horn and Paul Washington, Vietnam veterans who trained at Fort Polk; Ron Applewhite, Fort Polk drill sergeant; Lyn Hargrave, Ben Franklin, and John Engelsman, Vietnam veterans; Murphy Neal Jones, a POW for over 6 years; Trent Angers, the author of “The Forgotten Hero of My Lai”; Shawn Bohannon, a staff historian with the United States Air Force’s Global Strike Command; Ernest DeWolf, Phil Blaufuss, and Clifford Henry, Vietnam veterans; Anthony Tran, Vietnamese refugee who settled in New Orleans; and Skip Weber and Vincent Alexander, Vietnam veterans. Narrator: Andre Moreau