[speaker001:] uh it was about the Vietnam right
[speaker002:] the Vietnam War
[speaker001:] yeah well uh guess uh I'm twenty three are you older than I am
[speaker002:] yeah I'm forty one so I would uh
[speaker001:] so you probably have a better opinion of of what
[speaker002:] well I uh was in college when the war escalated to it's height and uh
[speaker001:] huh
[speaker002:] I guess my feeling is consistent with that of uh the general public that it was unfortunate event uh it's real interesting to think about it in the context of this new movie JFK which is
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] apparently linking the Kennedy assassination to his decision to his uh uh the apparently people uh who worked for Kennedy say he didn't decide that he was gonna
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] pull out of Vietnam was not going to commit more troops that that had nothing to do with the assassination of those people say but they that he had come to that conclusion
[speaker001:] um yeah
[speaker002:] I think it was uh particularly in light of recent events a really unfortunate mistake Communism was self destructing even then and uh the history of Vietnam which has been uh represented in a number of different commentaries and documentaries one on the public broadcasting system uh it seems that it just didn't have to happen and I think uh its a valuable uh if painful lesson for this country
[speaker001:] yeah I mean looking back now know what we know now I mean it was just a complete disaster
[speaker002:] right at the time I wasn't that uh wasn't that sure I I I really didn't know enough about it and wasn't that politically active uh but it was um apparently something that could've been avoided and I you know I I look at wars generally as falling into that category um people are beginning to wonder whether or not the uh the Gulf War could've been avoided even though that was a remarkably painless war and as wars go
[speaker001:] um-hum yeah I just think that the Gulf War was just something that was really um I know it's I kind of look at it as a little bit of propaganda in a way because I mean we basically went in and spent I don't know how many billions of dollars and
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] just beat up on a
[speaker002:] third world country really
[speaker001:] inferior yeah inferior army that was just wanting wanting to quit and didn't have any food and I mean it's just I don't know how much pride one can really take in that and
[speaker002:] well I think what what's uh I I guess I'd use the word relevant to the Vietnam War question is that the Vietnam War was apparently avoidable too it was a time when Ho Chi Minh apparently came to the United States and said look if you're willing to provide me with support all I wanna do is unify Vietnam
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh he was turned away by Truman um so it's hum a painful lesson I guess one that we're beginning to learn I'm really impressed by how much effect some of these movies have had on public consciousness the JFK movie's cause causing one person after another to call for the release of the documents that have been sealed
[speaker001:] oh yeah that's just um
[speaker002:] did you see any of the Vietnam Wars um any of the Vietnam war movies
[speaker001:] I've seen uh you know Apocalypse Now and um uh what was the one with um Christopher Waken and um
[speaker002:] oh the Deer Hunter
[speaker001:] The Deer Hunter yeah I've you know and the just a lot of other I guess inferior ones made but I mean as far I think Apocalypse Now and um Deer Hunter were just
[speaker002:] yeah those two yep
[speaker001:] just incredible movies you know Deer Hunter's a little bit more of a incident but
[speaker002:] yeah they were they've yeah well they were both remarkable films as a matter of fact there's a new film out about the Vietnam War about the making of Apocalypse Now which itself is suppose to be a great yeah have you is it good
[speaker001:] yeah Heart of Darkness yeah I've seen that that was uh it's great they had it on Showtime um before they released it to theaters fact around the summer and uh it's really something it's almost it it's just as entertaining if not more entertaining than a film is because it's
[speaker002:] that's what people say I'm really looking forward to seeing his wife apparently made it from documentary
[speaker001:] right she just shot documentary you know had like a little hand held camera and you know the whole thing's been edited together but when Martin Sheen had his heart attack it's just amazing what you know Frances is just
[speaker002:] oh is is that on film did that that get captured on film
[speaker001:] it it doesn't capture the actual event it captures him getting uh some treatment after it happened but she had a tape reporter running when he was talking on the phone about it and he's just literally freaking out I mean about he's more concerned about the you know how because he's as the whole time I guess when it was being made um I was just a kid back then but I guess it's just the people back in America just were hearing about it how it was just such a disaster during this is like the last thing he need is is for Marty to have a heart attack I mean you'll you'll love it I mean it's it's really great um
[speaker002:] right right right yeah well I the thing I think is really neat about