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The Influence of the Vietnam War in Contemporary Memory

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The Influence of the Vietnam War in Contemporary Memory THE BATTLEGROUND FOR THE AMERICAN PAST: THE INFLUENCE OF THE VIETNAM WAR IN CONTEMPORARY MEMORY A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Chelsea Dawn Olmsted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major Program: History April 2020 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title The Battleground for the American Past: The Influence of the Vietnam War in Contemporary Memory By Chelsea Dawn Olmsted The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Angela J. Smith Chair Donald F. Johnson Kristin R. Fellows Approved: 4/22/2020 Mark Harvey Date Department Chair ABSTRACT Commemorative programming for historic anniversaries reveals an interpretive and narrative evolution between public memory and history. The divisiveness of the war and the public’s ambivalence about its meaning allowed for broader interpretive perspectives compared to earlier war commemorations. Research on the evolving narratives considers how public memory informs identity and affects historical interpretations. Recent museum exhibits, historic sites, and films about the Vietnam War bring into focus the changing narrative of the Vietnam War. Case studies for this research are the Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration Remembering Vietnam exhibit, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s plans for an education center, and Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s documentary The Vietnam War. The soldier’s experience narrative still dominates interpretations, but interpretations have expanded to include the Vietnamese and the protest perspective. The passage of time and the conflict’s complexity has opened the way for new perspectives in commemorative programming. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 7 Collective Memory ...................................................................................................................... 8 Memory and History ................................................................................................................. 10 Commemoration ........................................................................................................................ 16 Vietnam War ............................................................................................................................. 22 NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION-WASHINGTON, DC: REMEMBERING VIETNAM ........................................................................................................ 25 The Effort to Remember ........................................................................................................... 26 Remembering Vietnam ............................................................................................................. 32 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 38 MEMORIALIZATION ON THE NATIONAL MALL: THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL AND THE EDUCATION CENTER AT THE WALL .......................................... 40 Memorialization on the National Mall ...................................................................................... 41 Vietnam Veterans Memorial ..................................................................................................... 43 The Education Center at the Wall ............................................................................................. 47 The Education Center’s Collection ........................................................................................... 51 The Future of the Education Center at The Wall ...................................................................... 53 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 56 THE VIETNAM WAR ERA IN POPULAR CULTURE: THE VIETNAM WAR: A FILM BY KEN BURNS AND LYNN NOVICK .............................................................................................. 58 Vietnam War in Popular Culture ............................................................................................... 60 The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick ...................................................... 64 iv Public Reception of Documentary ............................................................................................ 66 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 72 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 80 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEW ON THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION’S REMEMBERING VIETNAM EXHIBIT ............................................. 86 APPENDIX B. LIST OF REMEMBERING VIETNAM EXHIBIT ADVISORS ...................... 92 APPENDIX C. SIXTEEN EPISODES SUGGESTED BY DAVID ELLIOTT........................... 93 APPENDIX D. INTERVIEW ON THE EDUCATION CENTER AT THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL .............................................................................................. 98 APPENDIX E. LIST OF THE EDUCATION CENTER AT THE WALL’S CONTENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ....................................................................................................... 112 APPENDIX F. EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE FROM MUSEUM CURATOR JANET FOLKERTS ................................................................................................................................ 119 APPENDIX G. LIST OF INTERVIEWEES FOR THE VIETNAM WAR: A FILM BY KEN BURNS AND LYNN NOVICK ................................................................................................. 121 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Two-Sided View of the NARA-DC Remembering Vietnam Exhibition Brochure ........... 33 2. Graphic of the Education Center at the Wall’s Design .......................................................... 49 vi INTRODUCTION Commemorative programming reveals the current development between memory and the public understanding of historic narratives. These moments of remembrance come with expectations that reveal the collective historical memory. U.S. wartime collective memory has largely focused on a specific narrative: being on the right side of history. Diverging from this narrative creates public dissonance. The complexity of the Vietnam War, however, has eased this transition of public memory and understanding to include varied perspectives. The fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War is currently being commemorated throughout the country.1 Contemporary interpretations reveal that the unclear reasoning for the conflict while it happened made the inclusion of newer perspectives during a commemorative time simpler to accomplish. Analysis presented in this thesis examines the evolving interpretations of the Vietnam War programming in a museum, at a historic site, and in a documentary and public reactions to each. Whereas past anniversaries of historic events received pushback for the inclusion of contradicting perspectives, current Vietnam War interpretations are less controversial. For example, the presence of the Vietnamese perspective in interpretations analyzed in this research considers whether the practice received resistance like that of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Enola Gay exhibit in 1995.2 The interpretive focal points in public history practices, an exhibit, a memorial space, and a documentary, and public reactions during the 1 President Barack Obama began the national commemorative effort for the fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War through a proclamation on May 25, 2012 that would take place from that day forward until November 11, 2025. 2 The planned interpretation of the Enola Gay exhibit was to include the Japanese experience of the atomic bombs dropped on their country by the United States. This effort taking place during the fiftieth anniversary commemorating World War II’s end received significant backlash from a public that perceived a critical portrayal of American soldiers. This thesis mentions this exhibit and its relationship with memory and history on pages eight and nine. 1 Vietnam War’s fiftieth anniversary programming reflect the primary interests of American public memory relative to their historical understanding. The evolution of the Vietnam War narrative during this commemoration also interacts with the collective understanding of American history influenced by American identity through public memory. The collective understanding of American identity forms the public interpretation
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