This series did a very good job of helping us to remember the events of the early Seventies. As Nixon gloated at his victory over McGovern, he had foolishly set in motion his own destruction. As he brought the whole arsenal down on the North, he continued to receive the adulation of the populace. This man had only one thing in mind. To remain President for another four years. He had the world by the butt, but couldn't keeps his fingers out of the natural process. When Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers and we realized what a shady bunch the past Presidents and their staffs were, it was downhill from there on. No falling dominoes. Falling faith in those who govern us. So off we go to Watergate and a jaw dropping series of events. Most of all, the effects of our own wounded veterans demonstrating in front of the White House. All this death and destruction, all these young lives (58,000), for what?
The Vietnam War (TV Mini Series)
A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973) (2017)
User Reviews
Review this title3 Reviews
"I need to get this Army home to save it." - General Creighton Abrams
classicsoncall5 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Even as troop withdrawals continued during President Nixon's first term, the anti-war sentiment in this country continued to grow, and the gulf between Americans at home widened. Soldier morale by 1971 was quite possibly the lowest ever in the history of the country, with marijuana and heroin use among the troops at unprecedented levels. The Pentagon Papers, a cache of documents secretly held at the State Department, were stolen and copied by Daniel Ellsberg and released to the New York Times. They blew the lid off of the government lying to it's own people about the history and conduct of the war in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, South Vietnamese incursion into Laos to block movements along the Ho Chi Minh Trail was unsuccessful. Half of the seventeen thousand ARVN troops would be killed, wounded or captured. Without American support, the South Vietnamese Army would continue valiantly while floundering.
It's in this episode that we see the growing opposition to the war by returning veterans who served in Vietnam. Most prominent among these was future Senator and presidential hopeful John Kerry. Representing 'Vietnam Veterans Against The War', Kerry made an impassioned plea in Congress for getting all the troops out and putting an end to the conflict. By this time, Lieutenant William Calley was handed the only guilty verdict coming out of a trial of twenty five soldiers indicted for the My Lai Massacre. Due to my faulty recollection, I found it startling that at the time, a public opinion poll found seventy nine percent of the American people felt Calley was not guilty. Perhaps it was because I wasn't part of that seventy nine percent.
Before the next Presidential election in 1972, President Nixon and adviser Henry Kissinger wanted to get all American troops out of Vietnam. To apply pressure to South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, Nixon began a series of overtures to the Soviet Union and China, with a stunning announcement that he would visit China before the election.
Alarmed by the possible loss of support from China, North Vietnamese President Le Duan launched yet another massive assault across the Demilitarized Zone, into the Central Highlands and to the west of Saigon. 'The Easter Offensive' would become a severe test of the administration's 'Vietnamization' effort, and it did not go well for the South. With only sixty thousand American troops left in country, President Nixon tried offering support with massive air strikes, which included an escalated series of bombings in North Vietnam. This helped for the time being, as the North took heavy casualties during the bombing campaign.
The latter part of this episode provided conflicting emotions for this viewer. Though by this time I personally found myself against the war, it was hideous to see Jane Fonda on her visit to North Vietnam denouncing American soldiers as war criminals. It wasn't mentioned in this documentary, but one of the most underhanded things she did was pass a POW's note given to her, right back into the hands of his North Vietnamese captors. I find that unforgivable.
Taking the sting out of that segment however, was seeing the joyful reunions of soldiers returning home in the first wave of troop withdrawals and release of U.S. Prisoners of War. Finally, the conflicting emotions created by the War in Vietnam would find some relief in the heartwarming reunions of soldiers returning to their families.
Meanwhile, South Vietnamese incursion into Laos to block movements along the Ho Chi Minh Trail was unsuccessful. Half of the seventeen thousand ARVN troops would be killed, wounded or captured. Without American support, the South Vietnamese Army would continue valiantly while floundering.
It's in this episode that we see the growing opposition to the war by returning veterans who served in Vietnam. Most prominent among these was future Senator and presidential hopeful John Kerry. Representing 'Vietnam Veterans Against The War', Kerry made an impassioned plea in Congress for getting all the troops out and putting an end to the conflict. By this time, Lieutenant William Calley was handed the only guilty verdict coming out of a trial of twenty five soldiers indicted for the My Lai Massacre. Due to my faulty recollection, I found it startling that at the time, a public opinion poll found seventy nine percent of the American people felt Calley was not guilty. Perhaps it was because I wasn't part of that seventy nine percent.
Before the next Presidential election in 1972, President Nixon and adviser Henry Kissinger wanted to get all American troops out of Vietnam. To apply pressure to South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, Nixon began a series of overtures to the Soviet Union and China, with a stunning announcement that he would visit China before the election.
Alarmed by the possible loss of support from China, North Vietnamese President Le Duan launched yet another massive assault across the Demilitarized Zone, into the Central Highlands and to the west of Saigon. 'The Easter Offensive' would become a severe test of the administration's 'Vietnamization' effort, and it did not go well for the South. With only sixty thousand American troops left in country, President Nixon tried offering support with massive air strikes, which included an escalated series of bombings in North Vietnam. This helped for the time being, as the North took heavy casualties during the bombing campaign.
The latter part of this episode provided conflicting emotions for this viewer. Though by this time I personally found myself against the war, it was hideous to see Jane Fonda on her visit to North Vietnam denouncing American soldiers as war criminals. It wasn't mentioned in this documentary, but one of the most underhanded things she did was pass a POW's note given to her, right back into the hands of his North Vietnamese captors. I find that unforgivable.
Taking the sting out of that segment however, was seeing the joyful reunions of soldiers returning home in the first wave of troop withdrawals and release of U.S. Prisoners of War. Finally, the conflicting emotions created by the War in Vietnam would find some relief in the heartwarming reunions of soldiers returning to their families.
A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973)
Prismark1018 November 2017
The penultimate episode in some ways reflects the dual personalities of Richard Nixon.
On the one hand Nixon starts reducing support to the South Vietnamese. He wants to pursue a peaceful resolution, bring home the American prisoners of war and continue with the peace talks.
The South Vietnamese are fighting on their own and suffer terrible defeats. Nixon then resumes intense bombings on the North Vietnamese, we see the effects of Agent Orange being inflicted on civilians including of the now famous photograph of the naked Vietnamese girl running while her body is burning.
The children of Nixon's silent majority are now protesting against the war. America might be divided but Nixon is re-elected by a landslide. The silent majority were on his side helped because the Democrats tore themselves apart for starting the war in the first place.
Yet Nixon's paranoia has also started a chain of events that would later lead to his downfall. Yet let us not gloss over his political astuteness. Nixon goes to China, he talks to the Soviets, Nixon knows if there is to be a fruitful peace process and to get the South Vietnamese onside the American government needs to get the major powers on-board.
On the one hand Nixon starts reducing support to the South Vietnamese. He wants to pursue a peaceful resolution, bring home the American prisoners of war and continue with the peace talks.
The South Vietnamese are fighting on their own and suffer terrible defeats. Nixon then resumes intense bombings on the North Vietnamese, we see the effects of Agent Orange being inflicted on civilians including of the now famous photograph of the naked Vietnamese girl running while her body is burning.
The children of Nixon's silent majority are now protesting against the war. America might be divided but Nixon is re-elected by a landslide. The silent majority were on his side helped because the Democrats tore themselves apart for starting the war in the first place.
Yet Nixon's paranoia has also started a chain of events that would later lead to his downfall. Yet let us not gloss over his political astuteness. Nixon goes to China, he talks to the Soviets, Nixon knows if there is to be a fruitful peace process and to get the South Vietnamese onside the American government needs to get the major powers on-board.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
