The Weight of Memory (Explicit Language Version)
While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.
Episodes
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The Weight of Memory (Explicit Language Version)
S1 E30 - 1h 51m
While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.
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The Weight of Memory (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 E20 - 1h 50m
While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.
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The Weight of Memory (March 1973-Onward)
S1 E10 - 1h 50m
While the Watergate scandal rivets Americans’ attention and forces President Nixon to resign, the Vietnamese continue to savage one another in a brutal civil war. When hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese troops pour into the south, Saigon descends rapidly into chaos and collapses. For the next 40 years, Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for healing and reconciliation.
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A Disrespectful Loyalty (Explicit Language Version)
S1 E29 - 1h 53m
South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home – to a bitterly divided country.
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A Disrespectful Loyalty (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 E19 - 1h 52m
South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home – to a bitterly divided country.
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A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973)
S1 E9 - 1h 52m
South Vietnamese forces fighting on their own in Laos suffer a terrible defeat. Massive U.S. airpower makes the difference in halting an unprecedented North Vietnamese offensive. After being re-elected in a landslide, Nixon announces Hanoi has agreed to a peace deal. American prisoners of war will finally come home – to a bitterly divided country.
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The History of the World (Explicit Language Version)
S1 E28 - 1h 52m
With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war, while an incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences.
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The History of the World (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 E18 - 1h 51m
With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war, while an incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences.
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The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)
S1 E8 - 1h 52m
With morale plummeting in Vietnam, President Nixon begins withdrawing American troops. As news breaks of an unthinkable massacre committed by American soldiers, the public debates the rectitude of the war, while an incursion into Cambodia reignites antiwar protests with tragic consequences.
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The Veneer of Civilization (Explicit Language Version)
S1 E27 - 1h 51m
Public support for the war declines, and American men of draft age face difficult decisions and wrenching moral choices. After police battle with demonstrators in the streets of Chicago, Richard Nixon wins the presidency, promising law and order at home and peace overseas. In Vietnam, the war goes on and soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.
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The Veneer of Civilization (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 E17 - 1h 50m
Public support for the war declines, and American men of draft age face difficult decisions and wrenching moral choices. After police battle with demonstrators in the streets of Chicago, Richard Nixon wins the presidency, promising law and order at home and peace overseas. In Vietnam, the war goes on and soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.
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The Veneer of Civilization (June 1968-May 1969)
S1 E7 - 1h 50m
Public support for the war declines, and American men of draft age face difficult decisions and wrenching moral choices. After police battle with demonstrators in the streets of Chicago, Richard Nixon wins the presidency, promising law and order at home and peace overseas. In Vietnam, the war goes on and soldiers on all sides witness terrible savagery and unflinching courage.
Extras + Features
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Fellow Warriors: Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam
S1 - 20m 46s
John Musgrave is a Marine veteran who served at Con Thien in Vietnam where he was wounded. After returning home, Musgrave struggled with survivor’s guilt and depression. Today, he counsels active-duty soldiers and other veterans who are having trouble adjusting to life after their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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The Reviews Are In
S1 - 30s
America's top critics are unanimous in their praise for The Vietnam War. Find out what they're saying about Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part, 18-hour documentary series. #VietnamWarPBS
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The Diaspora
S1 E10 - 50s
A Vietnamese-American comments on being displaced from his country, and his desire to go back there to live out the last years of his life.
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Some Peace
S1 E10 - 2m 33s
Seeking reconciliation and peace, veterans from Vietnam and the United States meet in Vietnam years after the war.
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Moratorium Protests, 1969
S1 E7 - 1m 44s
On November 15, 1969, half a million demonstrators turned out in Washington, D.C., to protest the war.
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Rolling Thunder
S1 E4 - 1m 10s
President Johnson and Defense Secretary McNamara discuss the bombing campaign and strategy by phone.
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JFK on the Diem Coup
S1 E2 - 1m
Days after President Diem and his brother were killed in Saigon, President Kennedy dictated his own rueful account of the coup and his concerns for Vietnam's future.
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The Nightlight
S1 E2 - 1m 37s
A Marine remembers being afraid when assigned a listening post at night near the DMZ and how that fear stays with him today.
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Combat is an Enormous High (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 - 1m 12s
A soldier describes the enormous high and enormous cost of being in combat. One of many perspectives in The Vietnam War.
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Everybody's Special (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 - 1m 2s
A Marine phones his mother when he doesn't think he'll make it out of Vietnam alive. One of many perspectives in The Vietnam War.
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A Mother's Worry (Vietnamese Subtitles)
S1 - 46s
A mother wonders how she'll be informed if her son is injured in combat. One of many perspectives in The Vietnam War.
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Living is the Difficult Thing
S1 E6 - 2m 10s
A captured Army doctor recounts his experience of being taken prisoner by the Viet Cong.
Schedule
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Image
The Vietnam War
Riding the Tiger
Saturday
Apr 5
1 Hour 30 Minutes
President John F. Kennedy and his advisers consider how deeply the U.S. should get involved in South Vietnam, as a communist insurgency and Buddhist protests intensify. -
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The Vietnam War
Riding the Tiger
Sunday
Apr 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
President John F. Kennedy and his advisers consider how deeply the U.S. should get involved in South Vietnam, as a communist insurgency and Buddhist protests intensify. -
Image
The Vietnam War
Riding the Tiger
Sunday
Apr 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
President John F. Kennedy and his advisers consider how deeply the U.S. should get involved in South Vietnam, as a communist insurgency and Buddhist protests intensify. -
Image
The Vietnam War
The River Styx
Saturday
Apr 12
2 Hours
Fearing Saigon's collapse, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the bombing of North Vietnam, and sends U.S. ground troops to the south. -
Image
The Vietnam War
The River Styx
Sunday
Apr 13
2 Hours
Fearing Saigon's collapse, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the bombing of North Vietnam, and sends U.S. ground troops to the south. -
Image
The Vietnam War
The River Styx
Sunday
Apr 13
2 Hours
Fearing Saigon's collapse, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the bombing of North Vietnam, and sends U.S. ground troops to the south.
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