Examining the Myths of the Vietnam War
OPERATIONS ORDER

III. EXECUTION (D-Day)

AGENDA
(For a Session List summary, Click Here)

Day One -- Monday, July 26, 2004

1. 0830-1015 -- Session One: The Last Battle of the Vietnam War (Part I) – The last battle of any war is the writing of its history. Who has and who will write the history of that war and what are their qualifications, pre-conceptions. We answered John F Kennedy’s call. If we have held to our original views, why is our view of that history called “revisionist”? Why are we here in Boston today? Welcome to participants from Stephen Sherman
Keynote Address: [Admiral/Senator Jeremiah Denton (video presentation)]

2. 1030-1215 -- Session Two -- Post Celluloid Stress Disorder (PCSD): Media and Hollywood Myth-Making. Why and how has the veteran and the war been portrayed in popular culture and to what extent does this distort the historical record. [Michael Lee Lanning]

3. 1315-1500 -- Session Three -- Winter Soldier Investigation and the Myth of the Vietnam Veteran. To what extent is the image of the Vietnam veteran that exists today traceable to the Winter Soldier Investigation and subsequent anti-war related dogma. What was the Kerry testimony before Congress and how did it plant the seeds of stereotypes to be picked up by the creative community in Hollywood and by the general public? For the sake of time and emphasis, the session will be divided between the film (clips and rebuttal sequences) and an examination of the Kerry Testimony (from C-SPAN tape broadcast in March, 2004) [Scott Swett]

4.  1515-1700 -- Session Four -- The Best and the Brightest -- Who is the Veteran? Who went, who served, who are they? How are they perceived? Who didn’t go and how are they perceived. [B.G. Burkett]

5. 1800-2100 -- Session Five -- From Vietnam to Iraq -- How does Vietnam factor in the perceptions of today’s soldiers, military institutions, their missions and their enemies? [to be determined] Call in and live discussion with/from active duty soldiers. Free passes to be available to Gulf War, Iraq or Afghanistan veterans. See Press Release A

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