Vietnam War: Our Lives--Chiến Tranh Việt Nam: Đời Chúng Tôi

Having watched the 15 hour documentary by Ken Burns, The Vietnamese American community was disappointed, distressed, heart-broken, horrified, and outraged. Mr. Burns, a well-known producer of historical documentaries, has admitted in many interviews that before he started working on this project, knew very little about the Vietnam War, and what he did know was wrong. Burns has done nothing but rehash a one-sided version that the War was unnecessary, immoral, illegal, unwinnable, and a waste of lives and money. Ken Burns' in his sole discretion not only selectively chose people to be interviewed but also selectively edited the interviews, highlighting North Vietnam’s heroic actions. South Vietnam’s struggle for freedom and independence from the North’s invasion, and the stories of the American soldiers who understood what was at stake for the Republic of Vietnam, were once again brushed aside. Ken Burns merely validated the Western myth. The voice of the Republic of Vietnam, an independent nation, and her 20 million citizens, has yet to be heard. Even Mr. Huy Duc, one of the movie’s advisers and a former North Vietnamese military officer and journalist, concluded that "This (movie) is still about the American War. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, have dug into the inner causes of America’s involvement and defeat, but have still only scratched the surface from the Vietnamese side, especially the Communist side of Vietnam; there still is another opportunity for another film, the real Vietnam War.”