BACKGROUND
While we might have made it our war, the Vietnam War was about one group of people, the Vietnamese. Look at the sources bellow and create an interpretation of the Vietnamese perspective of the Vietnam War.
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER:
The photographs bellow are often excluded from our textbooks.
Is the Vietnam perspective accurately portrayed in the American History textbook?
Why might these images be excluded?
Vietnamese Soldier Interview
1. What was the purpose of interviewing the Vietnamese soldier?
2. Why did South Vietnam support the US?
3. What does Mr. Nguyen say was the key factor to losing the war?
Vietnamese refugees run for a rescue helicopter to evacuate them to safety. (Bettmann/ Corbis)
1. What sticks out about the people in this photograph?
2. Who might they be running from?
The children from left to right are: Phan Thanh Tam, younger brother of Kim Phuc, who lost an eye, Phan Thanh Phouc, youngest brother of Kim Phuc, Kim Phuc, and Kim’s cousins Ho Van Bon, and Ho Thi Ting. Behind them are soldiers of the Vietnam Army 25th Division, June 8, 1972. (Nick Ut/AP Photo)
1. Describe what is happening in this picture.
2. Why might this image not be presented in your U.S. history textbook?
3. How is this perspective different than the U.S. perspective?
NBC cameraman Vo Suu and reporter Eddie Adams filmed the famous shooting of Viet Cong suspects by a South Vietnamese police chief during the Tet Offensive.
1.Who is the man holding the gun and who is being executed?
2. Of the two men in the photograph, which one is considered an allie of the American people?
3. How do you think the Vietnamese perspective was shifted after this photograph was published?