The River Styx (January 1964-December 1965)

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

In an immersive narrative, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never-before been told on film. THE VIETNAM WAR features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.