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VIETNAM: A TELEVISION HISTORY, NO. 7: TET (1968) (TV)

Summary

The seventh in this 13-part documentary series about the Vietnam War. Linked from its conception to the book by Stanley Karnow, this series presents a historical overview of Vietnam and provides an understanding of the country and its people at war, from the period of French colonial rule through U.S. involvement in the conflict. Interspersed throughout with news footage and archival film, and drawing on exclusive interviews with French, American, and Vietnamese diplomats, military and government officials, soldiers, and civilians who provide critical analysis of the war, this documentary chronologically portrays the Vietnam War equally as a political, social, and tragic national experience for the United States. With the extensive television coverage of the Tet offensive reaching the homes of millions of Americans nightly, the Vietnam War soon became known as the first television war. This installment takes a critical look at how television coverage of the Tet offensive helped to effect changes in U.S. policy about Vietnam and to expose the many contradictions in Washington's official reports on the war's progress, marking the beginning of a division in the White House and the gradual change of public opinion towards the war. Carried out by the North Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong on the eve of Tet (the Vietnamese New Year), the massive offensive targeted cities and towns throughout South Vietnam for the first time. In this part, Vietnamese military officials discuss the objectives of specific Tet attacks, and Americans comment on Tet as a military loss for the North Vietnamese and an impetus for the idea of de-escalation of troops from Vietnam. This part also examines Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson's conduct of the war, which eventually led a group of his closest advisors to develop an alliance dedicated to changing his policies towards Vietnam. Additional topics discussed include the battle at Khe Sanh; the destruction and massacre at Hue, the old imperial capital; Congress's growing opposition to the war; and the war as a major issue of the1968 presidential election. Interviewed in this program are American officials who served in the Johnson administration: Gen. William C. Westmoreland, commander in Vietnam; national security advisors Walt W. Rostow and McGeorge Bundy; Harry McPherson, counsel to the president; Capt. Myron Harrington; Sec. of State Dean Rusk; presidential aide George Christian; and Sec. of Defense Clark Clifford. Vietnamese officials and civilians interviewed include Dang Xuan Teo, the soldier assigned to bomb the Saigon radio station, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, Capt. Tran Dinh Thong, Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong, Vietcong member Pham Thi Xuan Que, Nguyen Thi Hoa, Maj. Gen. Tran Do, and a female refugee from Hue. Clips shown include Jack Perkins giving a news report; Gen. Earl Wheeler, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff; Pres. Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam; Ellsworth Bunker, American ambassador to South Vietnam; Sens. Wayne Morse and Mike Mansfield; former Sec. of State Dean Acheson; Ambassador Maxwell Taylor; and 1968 presidential candidates Sen. Eugene McCarthy, Gov. George Wallace of Alabama, and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Acquisition and cataloging of this program was made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Details

  • NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
  • DATE: November 8, 1983
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:59:03
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T91:0135
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Tet Offensive, 1968; U S - Elections - 1968; U S - Officials - Talk/Interviews; Vietnam War -1968; Vietnam - Officials - Talk/Interviews
  • SERIES RUN: N/A
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Richard Ellison … Executive Producer
  • Austin Hoyt … Producer, Writer
  • Marilyn Hornbeck … Associate Producer
  • Eric Neudel … Film Editor
  • Will Lyman … Narrator
  • Jack Laurence … Reporter, Correspondent in London
  • Chris Pullman … Production Design, Titles and graphic design
  • Ngo Vinh Long … Translator
  • Mickey Hart … Music by, Composed and performed by
  • Billy Kreutzman … Music by, Composed and performed by
  • Vic Firth … Music (Misc. Credits), Performed by
  • Zakir Hussain … Music (Misc. Credits), Performed by
  • Airto Moreira … Music (Misc. Credits), Performed by
  • Merl Saunders … Music (Misc. Credits), Performed by
  • Bobby Vega … Music (Misc. Credits), Performed by
  • Phil Kaffel … Music (Misc. Credits), Recorded by
  • Lawrence Lichty … Direction (Misc.), Director of Media Research
  • Stanley Karnow … Reporter, Chief Correspondent
  • Dean Acheson
  • McGeorge Bundy
  • Ellsworth Bunker
  • George Christian
  • Clark Clifford
  • Dang Xuan Teo
  • Myron Harrington
  • Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong
  • Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Robert F. Kennedy
  • Mike Mansfield
  • Eugene McCarthy
  • Harry McPherson
  • Wayne Morse
  • Nguyen Thi Hoa
  • Nguyen Van Thieu
  • Jack Perkins
  • Pham Thi Xuan Que
  • Walt W. Rostow
  • Dean Rusk
  • Maxwell Taylor
  • Tran Dinh Thong
  • Tran Do
  • Vo Nguyen Giap
  • George Wallace
  • William C. Westmoreland
  • Earl Wheeler