The Vietnam War

In a taped conversation between President Johnson and National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy, the president expresses concern about the possibility of success in Vietnam.

Watch an official trailer for The Vietnam War.

Marines arrive in South Vietnam expecting to have to fight their way ashore. Instead they are greeted by young women offering flowers. A Marine discusses his surprise in discovering the beauty of the Vietnamese landscape.

While many Americans know little of the conflict in Vietnam, an antiwar movement begins to grow. Faculty at the University of Michigan organize an all-night discussion, dubbed a "teach-in," to promote debate on the subject.

Despite the dangers, reporters flock to cover the conflict in Vietnam. One journalist discovers that it is not always possible to remain neutral reporting on war.

In Hanoi, two North Vietnamese factions disagree about how best to proceed in the war. China and the Soviet Union offer conflicting advice.

Soldiers discuss the psychological shock of witnessing death on the battlefield. Journalist Neil Sheehan talks about the courage he observed during the fighting in the Ia Drang Valley.

After North Vietnamese forces shoot down a U.S. helicopter, South Vietnamese Marines are sent in to retrieve the bodies of four American military advisors. En route to the crash site, they are attacked.

Students across South Vietnam protest the government's treatment of Buddhist monks. President Diem arrests thousands of students in response.

On September 2, 1945, Vietnamese civilians gather to hear Ho Chi Minh declare the country's independence.

In 1919, a young Vietnamese man, who would eventually be known by the pseudonym Ho Chi Minh, delivers a letter to the American delegation to the peace talks in Paris, in the hopes that it will reach President Woodrow Wilson.

Gen. Merrill McPeak and Mai Elliott talk about their experience consulting with the filmmakers on The Vietnam War.