During this project, I learned about the political vs public perceptions of how the war started, the way the war was carried out, and the emotional impact that the war had on Vietnam veterans. I also learned about the differences between communism and capitalism, and where they have clashed in the past. We learned about how the war started through reading a series of primary documents that were leaked from the Pentagon during the Vietnam war. These documents included first-hand accounts of what actually happened on the USS Destroyer Maddox, as well as what the Whitehouse was telling the US happened. It also contained letters written by president Johnson to Ho Chi Minh. These were really eye-opening to me because they showed how much the government hid from its citizens, as well as the fact that the war was not started simply because of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, but that in fact the US had had army strategists in Vietnam for many years already, and the Gulf of Tonkin incident was staged and blown out of proportion in order to Justify sending troops into Vietnam. I was really intrigued by this topic and went in depth, studying many Primary sources so that I could get a full picture of what all the different views were. One of these documents that I read was a letter from Ho Chi Minh responding to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It said that the US had purposely provoked the North Vietnamese, then blown the incident out of proportion.
We got to learn about the way the war was carried out from through different mediums. The first was by reading the book called The Things They Carried, a partially fictional account of the Vietnam War by a Vietnam veteran. This gave us both the technical and the emotional side of the war. It talked about how the soldiers had to carry almost there body weight in ammunition and supplies. It talked about that the US soldiers were not prepared for the type of combat zone they were about to go into. Another way that we learned about the technical side of the war was through watching the Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam war. This documentary showed an overview of the war, including a timeline of the goings-on in both North and South Vietnam, The media coverage of the war back home, and how veterans were received when they got back. The Ken Burns documentary talked about how the US-backed Ngo Dinh Diem because he was the only person in power that was opposing communism at a time. Then when the United States saw what a terrible leader he was, they gave permission for the people of South Vietnam to have a coup. The documentary showed how with the United States had to deal with a series of problems that were largely self-created. The Ken Burns documentary also covered instances like the Buddhist self-immolations that occurred during the war, as well as the Mai Lai massacre. This technical overview of the war was a great way for us to put our knowledge into context. After learning about all this, we had a solid timeline in our head of how the Vietnam War unfolded.
One of the most impactful things that we learned about in this unit was how soldiers were emotionally affected by the war. The Things They Carried, as well as interviews with Vietnam veterans from our community really put into perspective the amount of emotional stress that soldiers were under in the battlefield. The Things They Carried also showed me how hard it was for Vietnam soldiers to readapt to their old lives once they got back home. The interviews that we conducted with Veterans were super powerful for me, as they were an authentic demonstration of how emotionally devastating it can be to take a life.
I helped interview Calixto Cabrera, and this interview will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. He talked about his first kill, and how he in the moment of his first kill, he realized that he had betrayed all of the fundamental moral values that he had been raised with, and how that had made him feel like he didn’t deserve to keep living.
I found it really interesting to learn about communism versus capitalism, and how they complement each other, but how neither of them works if they are pure. We looked at several instances of capitalism being tried out in the real world, and how they usually ended up in bloodshed. We also read the book Animal Farm, which is based on communist Russia, with Stalin and Lenin being the two head pigs. This was not only very entertaining but also very informational, as it gave a picture of how quickly things can deteriorate.
With all of this new insight on to the Vietnam War, we had to come with a way to display this to the public. The exhibition that we came up with was the product of design thinking and ended up being an immersive experience where you were guided through the Vietnam War. It would take you step-by-step first through the American perspective on the war, with the media and the draft. Next, you would go straight into Vietnam Battlefield with the soldier's perspectives and their experiences on the battlefield. This included things like agent orange and guerrilla warfare, as well as Vietnamese booby traps. The next step was soldiers emotions. This room showed how soldiers had to leave behind their families in order to function on the battlefield, and how they work under such great constant stress, that they were almost to the breaking point. The next room down the line was the Vietnamese perspective room. This room showed what it was like for the Vietnamese people, both from North Vietnam and from to the South. It showed how the war uprooted their lives. The next room was America divided. This was a room depicting the protests that were going on in America, as well as the music and culture that came from this time. The last room in this tour was the retrospective room. This was symbolizing Vietnam veterans looking back at their experiences in Vietnam, as well as being a place where the audience could reflect on their experience going through this exhibition.
This exhibition was unique because it sought to completely immerse the viewer in the experience. This ranged from acting that you were standing not five feet away from, to you being given a dog tag as you're recruited to fight for America in the Vietnam War. I was a project manager for this project, which meant that I was helping the big picture exhibition come together, as well as supervising the individual room groups and coordinating the execution of the exhibition. This also meant that I was a tour guide for the exhibition, and was in charge of building props and proofreading the text that went into this exhibition. I chose to be a project manager because I wanted to become a better leader, as well as learn how to work with people to help them be more productive. This role was a good challenge for me because it gave me a lot more freedom, and at the same time put a lot more responsibility on my shoulders.
This project gave me a good opportunity to grow my leadership skills, as well as in my analysis of primary sources. I grew my leadership skills because I was a project manager, and this meant that I was constantly in a position where I had to make decisions quickly and concisely and that these decisions had real consequences. During the exhibition, I begin to really feel the pressure of having to make quick decisions that sometimes had a large impact. Though this role did have its moments of stress, it was really good for me because leadership rolls or something that I find myself in more and more these days, and getting experience in this role is one of the best things I could be doing.
Academically I grew with my analyzation of primary sources. Prior to this year, I had no real ability to analyze primary sources then use them to back up my arguments. This changed by the end of this project, and I am now better at using primary documents in a compelling argument. I also grew in my understanding of the Vietnam War. Going into this project I didn't really know anything about the Vietnam War at all. All I knew was that it was a war that happened in Vietnam. Coming out of this I have an in-depth view of how the war started, how the war affected the people of Vietnam, how the war affected the people back home in America, and more.
What I took away from this project was some skills in terms of looking at conflicting evidence and determining what to trust, and what biases may be present. I also took away knowledge about how the war emotionally impacted the soldiers. The thing from this project that I'll probably remember for the longest is my interview with Calixto Cabrera. He is a Vietnam veteran, and his story about his experience in Vietnam was so emotionally devastating that I will never be able to forget it. He talked about how he was so deeply affected by the war when he got back, it took him three years to teach himself how to cry again. He talked about morality, and how he had grown up with a certain moral code and that war broke every bit of it. He talked about near-death experiences on the battlefield, and how it felt to be close to death and then hear a friendly voice.
Some skills that I took away from this exhibition and project include the ability to look at several different sources that have conflicting messages and analyze them to try and find a common thread, or what the agendas of each of the different sources may have been. Another skill that I came away with was the skill to manage a group to work a common goal.
We got to learn about the way the war was carried out from through different mediums. The first was by reading the book called The Things They Carried, a partially fictional account of the Vietnam War by a Vietnam veteran. This gave us both the technical and the emotional side of the war. It talked about how the soldiers had to carry almost there body weight in ammunition and supplies. It talked about that the US soldiers were not prepared for the type of combat zone they were about to go into. Another way that we learned about the technical side of the war was through watching the Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam war. This documentary showed an overview of the war, including a timeline of the goings-on in both North and South Vietnam, The media coverage of the war back home, and how veterans were received when they got back. The Ken Burns documentary talked about how the US-backed Ngo Dinh Diem because he was the only person in power that was opposing communism at a time. Then when the United States saw what a terrible leader he was, they gave permission for the people of South Vietnam to have a coup. The documentary showed how with the United States had to deal with a series of problems that were largely self-created. The Ken Burns documentary also covered instances like the Buddhist self-immolations that occurred during the war, as well as the Mai Lai massacre. This technical overview of the war was a great way for us to put our knowledge into context. After learning about all this, we had a solid timeline in our head of how the Vietnam War unfolded.
One of the most impactful things that we learned about in this unit was how soldiers were emotionally affected by the war. The Things They Carried, as well as interviews with Vietnam veterans from our community really put into perspective the amount of emotional stress that soldiers were under in the battlefield. The Things They Carried also showed me how hard it was for Vietnam soldiers to readapt to their old lives once they got back home. The interviews that we conducted with Veterans were super powerful for me, as they were an authentic demonstration of how emotionally devastating it can be to take a life.
I helped interview Calixto Cabrera, and this interview will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. He talked about his first kill, and how he in the moment of his first kill, he realized that he had betrayed all of the fundamental moral values that he had been raised with, and how that had made him feel like he didn’t deserve to keep living.
I found it really interesting to learn about communism versus capitalism, and how they complement each other, but how neither of them works if they are pure. We looked at several instances of capitalism being tried out in the real world, and how they usually ended up in bloodshed. We also read the book Animal Farm, which is based on communist Russia, with Stalin and Lenin being the two head pigs. This was not only very entertaining but also very informational, as it gave a picture of how quickly things can deteriorate.
With all of this new insight on to the Vietnam War, we had to come with a way to display this to the public. The exhibition that we came up with was the product of design thinking and ended up being an immersive experience where you were guided through the Vietnam War. It would take you step-by-step first through the American perspective on the war, with the media and the draft. Next, you would go straight into Vietnam Battlefield with the soldier's perspectives and their experiences on the battlefield. This included things like agent orange and guerrilla warfare, as well as Vietnamese booby traps. The next step was soldiers emotions. This room showed how soldiers had to leave behind their families in order to function on the battlefield, and how they work under such great constant stress, that they were almost to the breaking point. The next room down the line was the Vietnamese perspective room. This room showed what it was like for the Vietnamese people, both from North Vietnam and from to the South. It showed how the war uprooted their lives. The next room was America divided. This was a room depicting the protests that were going on in America, as well as the music and culture that came from this time. The last room in this tour was the retrospective room. This was symbolizing Vietnam veterans looking back at their experiences in Vietnam, as well as being a place where the audience could reflect on their experience going through this exhibition.
This exhibition was unique because it sought to completely immerse the viewer in the experience. This ranged from acting that you were standing not five feet away from, to you being given a dog tag as you're recruited to fight for America in the Vietnam War. I was a project manager for this project, which meant that I was helping the big picture exhibition come together, as well as supervising the individual room groups and coordinating the execution of the exhibition. This also meant that I was a tour guide for the exhibition, and was in charge of building props and proofreading the text that went into this exhibition. I chose to be a project manager because I wanted to become a better leader, as well as learn how to work with people to help them be more productive. This role was a good challenge for me because it gave me a lot more freedom, and at the same time put a lot more responsibility on my shoulders.
This project gave me a good opportunity to grow my leadership skills, as well as in my analysis of primary sources. I grew my leadership skills because I was a project manager, and this meant that I was constantly in a position where I had to make decisions quickly and concisely and that these decisions had real consequences. During the exhibition, I begin to really feel the pressure of having to make quick decisions that sometimes had a large impact. Though this role did have its moments of stress, it was really good for me because leadership rolls or something that I find myself in more and more these days, and getting experience in this role is one of the best things I could be doing.
Academically I grew with my analyzation of primary sources. Prior to this year, I had no real ability to analyze primary sources then use them to back up my arguments. This changed by the end of this project, and I am now better at using primary documents in a compelling argument. I also grew in my understanding of the Vietnam War. Going into this project I didn't really know anything about the Vietnam War at all. All I knew was that it was a war that happened in Vietnam. Coming out of this I have an in-depth view of how the war started, how the war affected the people of Vietnam, how the war affected the people back home in America, and more.
What I took away from this project was some skills in terms of looking at conflicting evidence and determining what to trust, and what biases may be present. I also took away knowledge about how the war emotionally impacted the soldiers. The thing from this project that I'll probably remember for the longest is my interview with Calixto Cabrera. He is a Vietnam veteran, and his story about his experience in Vietnam was so emotionally devastating that I will never be able to forget it. He talked about how he was so deeply affected by the war when he got back, it took him three years to teach himself how to cry again. He talked about morality, and how he had grown up with a certain moral code and that war broke every bit of it. He talked about near-death experiences on the battlefield, and how it felt to be close to death and then hear a friendly voice.
Some skills that I took away from this exhibition and project include the ability to look at several different sources that have conflicting messages and analyze them to try and find a common thread, or what the agendas of each of the different sources may have been. Another skill that I came away with was the skill to manage a group to work a common goal.