For Immediate Release Contact: Carol Sisco [email protected] (860) 275-7212 cpbn.org, cptv.org, wnpr.org

Special Programming on the Vietnam War and the 40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon to Air on CPTV This April

• My Lai: American Experience airs on Tuesday, April 21 at 9 p.m. • The Draft premieres Monday, April 27 at 9 p.m., followed by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam at 10 p.m. • The Day the 60s Died premieres Tuesday, April 28 at 8 p.m., followed by Last Days in Vietnam: American Experience at 9 p.m. and Lost Child: Sayon’s Journey at 11 p.m.

HARTFORD, Conn. (April 3, 2015) – CPTV/Connecticut Public Television will present special programming in April focusing on the fall of Saigon and the Vietnam War. The programming begins with an encore airing of My Lai: American Experience on Tuesday, April 21 at 9 p.m. This film focuses on the 1968 My Lai massacre – known as one of the worst atrocities in American military history – and its subsequent cover-up, as well as the heroic efforts of the soldiers who broke ranks to try to halt the massacre and bring it to light.

Other programs airing in April include The Draft, premiering Monday, April 27 at 9 p.m., exploring the history of the selective service system in America; and Dick Cavett’s Vietnam, premiering April 27 at 10 p.m., featuring a look back at conversations the talk show host had about the war with a number of public figures.

Additional programming includes The Day the 60s Died, airing Tuesday, April 28 at 8 p.m., preceding the premiere of Last Days in Vietnam: American Experience at 9 p.m. The Day the 60s Died chronicles the nation’s upheaval during May 1970, when four students were shot dead at Kent State University during a protest against the Vietnam War.

Last Days in Vietnam, presented as part of the PBS American Experience series, is an Academy Award- nominated documentary from award-winning independent documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy. The film captures the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War in April of 1975, as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon with South Vietnamese resistance crumbling.

-more- Special Programming on the Vietnam War and the 40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon to Air on CPTV This April / Page Two

The United States had only a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives still in the country. With a communist victory inevitable and the U.S. readying to withdraw, many Americans on the ground worried their South Vietnamese allies and friends faced imprisonment or death at the hands of the approaching North Vietnamese. With the clock ticking and the city under fire, a number of heroic Americans took matters into their own hands, engaging in unsanctioned and often makeshift operations in a desperate effort to save as many South Vietnamese as possible. Last Days in Vietnam follows their courageous efforts.

Then, on April 28 at 11 p.m., following Last Days in Vietnam, CPTV premieres Lost Child: Sayon’s Journey. Former Cambodian child soldier Sayon Soeun was witness to unspeakable atrocities before he was adopted and brought to America, where he grew up in Middletown, Conn. This award-winning documentary tells Sayon’s story of recovery and redemption.

About Connecticut Public Television CPTV is a media service of the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). It is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming, including original documentaries, public affairs shows and educational programming.CPTV has built a reputation as a leader in children’s programming, including playing an historic role in bringing Barney & Friends™, Bob the Builder™ and Thomas & Friends™ to public television. The station offers 11.5 hours of positive, nurturing children’s programs each weekday, reaching 450,000 households each week. The Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network also includes WNPR, an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media. WNPR serves 276,000 listeners weekly in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island with news and information. Its award-winning local programming includes The Faith Middleton Show, The Colin McEnroe Show and Where We Live. CPBN also includes two affiliate channels: CPTV4U, a 24/7 television channel featuring award-winning drama, news and talk programming, concert performances, independent films, nature shows, British comedy and more; and CPTV Sports, Connecticut’s only 24-hour local sports network, covering statewide high school, college, semi-professional and professional sports. CPBN also houses the Learning Lab, home to the Journalism & Media Academy Magnet School satellite campus and the Institute for Advanced Media, which includes the Veterans Vocational Training Program. For more information, visit CPTV.org.

###