Southeast Asian Studies

The Legacy of War: Vietnam (42mins). During the PBS Newshour broadcast on the 25th anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, renowned historians and correspondents addressed some the lingering issues associated with that war.

The Vietnam War: From start to finish (28 mins). The program covers the war with the French, the division of Indochina, the defeat of the French, the partitioning of Vietnam, the unraveling of the South Vietnamese government and the arrival of increasing numbers of American advisors.

Declassified: Viet Cong (90 mins). Piecing together disclosed stories from allied and enemy sournces, this program analyzes why U.S. commanders in Vietnam made the mistake of fighting the Battle of Hamburger Hill as they had fought the battles of WW II 

LBJ and Vietnam: In the eye of the storm (140 mins). This A&E Special offers an inside view of a presidency in crisis and the personal torment of a man torn between completing the task at and the unbearable cost of doing so. Much of the materials comes from formally secret audiotapes Johnson made of phone converstions, discussions and cabinet meetings. 

Vietnam: Ringing down the Down the Curtain (45 mins). Using archival footage and interviews with historians and veterans, this A&E Special tracks the story of American involvment in the Vietnam War from the Cambodian incursion of 1970 to the Easter Offensive of 1972.

The Ghosts of My Lai (53 mins). On March 16, 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, American soldiers killed 504 unarmed civilians in the village of My Lai. After a brief overview of the war and the home front backlash agianst it, this program seeks to understand the massacre and its aftermath through the interwoven narratives of three U.S. soldiers who were present on that horrific day.

My Lai (90 mins) from PBS's American Experience this boardcast focuses on the 1968 My Lai massacre, its subsequent cover-up, and the heroic efforts of the soldiers who broke ranks to try to halt the atrocities, and then bring them to light.

The Fall of Siagon: April 29 and 30, 1975 (54 mins). The end of the Vietnam War came abruptly on April 30, 1975, the day the American-supported government of South Vietnam collapsed and the capital fell to communist forces. This program presents those dramatic events as captured by an NBC News team on the scene.

The fall of Siagon and the South Vietnamese Exodus to America (37 mins). As communism tightened its grip on what was once South Vietnam, a stream of refugees poured into America. This program used interviews and archival footage of this escape following the fall of Saigon.

The Fog of War (DVD): eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara/ produced and directed by Errol Morris. Available Hayden 4 hour reserve at E840.4 .F68 2004 DVD and at Fetcher Library (West Valley campus) at E840.4 .F68 2004 DVD two copies available.

Vietnam: a television history. This 11 hour series analyzes the costs and consequences of the war that changed a generation. Available (in 13 DVDs) at Hayden Library DS558 .V285x 1993 video: Hayden Lower Level. Also there is a PBS website that accompanies this series. It has some primary sources such as President Eisenhower's letter to Ngo Dinh Diem in 1954 or  Aggression from the North a 1965 State Department paper.

Vietnam War. This site does not try to document the entire history of the war but is intended as a picture essay illustrating some of the incredible conditions under which soldiers from both sides lived, fought, played and ultimately died.

Normally you need to be careful about using subject searches in the ASU Library Catalog; however, here are a few you might use to find primary print resources held by the library. You will note that we collect in Vietnamese so there are quite a few books in Vietnamese on topics that might interest you. If the call number indicates Hayden Southeast Asia collection it will most likely be in Vietnamese.

• Indochinese War 1946-1954
• United States--Foreign relations--Vietnam(Democratic Republic)
• Vietnam (Democratic Republic)--Foreign relations--United States
• United States--Foreign relations--Vietnam

National Archives

• The Pentagon Papers (2011 edition). This edition officially known as "Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force" was first published in 1967 with portions of the report leaked to the press in 1971. The 2011 edition is the first complete report available with no redactions. It consists of 46 downloadable pdfs.
• National Declassification Center Blog
• Vietnam War research at the National Archives

Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the offical documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. 

Various Presidential Libraries (you can search all the presidential libraries at the National Archives:

• John F. Kenedy Presidential Library and Museum
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
• Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

The Pentagon Papers: Secrets, Lies and Audiotapes (The Nixon Tapes and the Supreme Court Tape) from George Washington  University ( part of their National Security Archive).

The Vietnam Center and Archive from Texas Tech University which collects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War.