Vietnam War Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Motorcycle Riders Cross West Virginia Headed For Vietnam Memorial

Approximately 50 motorcycle riders crossed West Virginia Thursday on their way to a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. for Memorial Day.

The cross-country motorcycle trek is called the Remember Our Fallen ride. The official Ride For The Wall was canceled for the second straight year due to COVID-19 concerns.

About 50 riders were determined to take the ride anyway. The sounds of their motorcycles could be heard by those at the state capitol as the bikers journeyed on a leg through Charleston.

This 10-day ride began in California and ends at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington.

For Jarrod Gerbitz from Jennings, Kansas said he has always “had a deep down feeling that we need some accountability for all of our prisoners of war and everyone who has not made it home.”

Riders leave the state capitol on their way to the Vietnam Memorial.

Michael Mulligan began his ride in Crested Butte, Colorado, but rode to Los Angeles to join up with other riders. He estimates by the time he gets home, it will be a 7,000 mile ride. He has been making this journey since 2014.

The ride continues this year, he said, even though the official ride has been canceled, because of the efforts of “a group of like minded people who continue the mission.” He noted that many of his fellow riders said they have made the trip a number of times and, like him, their mission is to ride for those who can’t.

“I ride for my dad. He’s a Vietnam vet,” Mulligan said.

He is not a veteran himself, but this is how Mulligan serves now. He will meet his father at the Vietnam Memorial, and together pay tribute.

“I will get to go to the candlelight vigil and to the Vietnam Memorial,” he said. “And it’s all about supporting my dad.”

February 11, 1969: Medal of Honor recipient Tom Bennett killed in action

On February 11, 1969, medic Tom Bennett was killed in action in Vietnam. As a conscientious objector, he was perhaps the Vietnam War’s most unlikely recipient of the nation’s Medal of Honor.

Growing up in Morgantown, Bennett had been active in the Boy Scouts and the Southern Baptist Church. While attending West Virginia University, he became a vocal opponent of the U.S. war in Vietnam. However, when his draft notice arrived, Bennett chose to serve his country, believing it was wrong to evade the draft while others had to fight. Although he enlisted as a noncombatant medic, he consistently found himself in the line of fire.

During one intense firefight, Bennett repeatedly rushed into the thick of action to help wounded soldiers. He was mortally wounded while dragging an injured soldier to safety. The following year, President Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Bennett’s mother and stepfather. Bennett was only the second conscientious objector to earn the medal in the nation’s history and the only recipient during the Vietnam War.

At WVU, the Bennett Tower residence hall is named in his memory.

"Vietnam: West Virginians Remember" Wins National Documentary Award

West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s film “Vietnam: West Virginians Remember” has won a top award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) for outstanding achievement in the documentary category.

The one-hour documentary, written and produced by award-winning executive producer, Suzanne Higgins, features the experiences of five West Virginia combat servicemen. It explores the reasons more than 36,000 West Virginians served during the Vietnam War and speculates on why the death rate was so high for West Virginians who served. The documentary is a companion film to Ken Burns’ PBS series, “The Vietnam War.”

Chuck Roberts, executive director and CEO of WVPB said it’s an honor to be among NETA award winners because there were only five documentaries nominated from PBS stations across the country.

“NETA Awards recognize public broadcasting’s finest work,” Roberts said. “We couldn’t agree more that ‘Vietnam: West Virginians Remember’ was an incredible production that told a complex and sensitive story that truly needed to be shared.

“Per capita, our state residents served the most and lost the most in Vietnam, a war that lives on as our country’s most controversial and, for the thousands of surviving West Virginia veterans, haunting memories remain. We were humbled to hear those stories and honored to share them.”

The award was presented during the 2019 NETA Conference and CPB Public Media Thought Leaders Forum at the Marriott Downtown at City Creek hotel in Salt Lake City.

The film also examines the conservatism and political environment of the time, both nationally and in the Mountain State. It traces public opinion of the war, from support of actions by the Kennedy administration through the U.S.’s ultimate pullout of Southeast Asia in 1973. Higgins said the films shows a variety of perspectives on the war.

“The process of making this film showed me there are as many perspectives on the Vietnam War as there are those who served, each one unique,” said Higgins, who met and talked with dozens of Vietnam veterans. “But I heard shared experiences as well: fear, horror, loss, rejection, disillusionment, detachment, anger – and perseverance.”

With an original musical score, “Vietnam: West Virginians Remember” threads intimate conversations with Vietnam veterans with background and analysis, using personal photos and home movies. Additional video and film was provided by the West Virginia State Archives, the James E. Morrow Library of Marshall University, and the West Virginia and Regional History Center at West Virginia University Libraries. Visual material was also obtained from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, veterans’ groups, the U.S. Defense Department, and various private and public domain collections.

“Vietnam: West Virginians Remember” received financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support was provided by AARP, the West Virginia Lottery, and Bowles Rice, Attorneys at Law.

RSVP for a Preview of 'Last Days in Vietnam'

Join a live online screening event featuring the Academy Award-nominated documentary Last Days in Vietnam. A special guest appearance by filmmaker Rory Kennedy kicks off a 50-minute preview of the PBS film.

Chat with a live panel of veterans and Vietnamese Americans from the film that escaped hours before the fall of Saigon 40 years ago this April.

Panelists include senior director Ron Pierce, South Vietnamese native and American immigrant Binh Pho and U.S.S. Kirk Commander Hugh Doyle (retired).

Follow this link to RSVP for the screening and a live chat with the panel.

Last Days in Vietnam, directed and produced by Rory Kennedy, recounts the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War and follows the unlikely heroes as they attempt to save as many South Vietnamese as possible.The program premieres on Tuesday, April 28 at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Listen to an interview with artist Maya Lin about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Listen today at 2 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial from Studio 360, part of the American Icons series

How do you build a monument to a war that was more tragic than triumphant? Maya Lin was practically a kid when she got the commission to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall. “The veterans were asking me, ‘What do you think people are going to do when they first come here?’” she remembers. “And I wanted to say, ‘They’re going to cry.’” Her minimalistic granite wall was derided by one vet as a “black gash of shame.” But inscribed with the name of every fallen soldier, it became a sacred place for veterans and their families, and it influenced later designs like the National September 11 Memorial. We’ll visit a replica of the wall that travels to veterans’ parades around the country, and hear from Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel how this singular work of architecture has influenced how we think about war.