Agenda
Third Triennial Vietnam Symposium
15 - 17 April 1999

Wednesday, 14 April 1999
Noon (to 4:30) Registration Desk open at Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza
Mrs. Mary Ann Harrison
P.M. Symposium participants arrive. To be met at Lubbock International Airport by Vietnam Center Staff, and taken to Lubbock Plaza Hotel
4:30 p.m. Bus departs from Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza for Texas Tech University for opening ceremonies of Wall visit
5:00 p.m. Opening Ceremonies for Vietnam Wall Visit
6:00 p.m. (Approx) Public Reception at University Center. For all participants, general public
7:00 p.m. Bus runs from University Center to International Cultural Center (for those attending fund raising dinner), then continues on to Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza
7:00 p.m. Reception at International Cultural Center for those participating in fund-raising dinner
7:20 p.m. Bus departs from Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza for International Cultural Center
8:00 p.m. Fund raising dinner at International Cultural Center
8:45 p.m. After-Dinner Program:
Recognition of distinguished guests
Introduction of Texas Tech University Chancellor John T. Montford
Unveiling of Vietnam Center Building
Speaker: Dennis G. Harter, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, Hanoi
10:00 p.m. (Approximately) Bus will depart International Cultural Center for Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza
Thursday, April 15, 1999
8:00 a.m. (Until 4:45 p.m.) Registration Desk open at Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza
9:00 a.m. Official opening of the symposium
Chancellor John T. Montford
9:30 a.m. Panel 1: Differing Perceptions of the War (Roundtable Discussion)
Moderator:  Vice Admiral Emmett H. Tidd, USN (Ret)
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., USN (Ret)
General William B. Rosson, USA (Ret)
Lieutenant General Nguyen Dinh Uoc, PAVN
11:00 a.m. Coffee Break
11:15 a.m. Panel 2: We Also Served: Military Wives’ Experiences
(Roundtable Discussion)
Moderator: Mrs. Mary Ann Harrison
Mrs. Katherine Westmoreland
Mrs. Mouza Zumwalt
Mrs. Margaret Tidd
Mrs. Norma Donlon
Noon Lunch. In the Atrium at the Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza
Luncheon Speaker: Dennis G. Harter, DCM, AmEmb Hanoi
1:30 p.m. Vans depart hotel for tour of Ranching Heritage Center and the Museum of Texas Tech University
1:30 p.m. Panel 3a: US Military Support of the Lon Nol Government
Brigadier General (Ret) Theo. C. Mataxis, USA, American Military University, "The Activation and Operations of the US Military Equipment Delivery Team Cambodia (MEDTC)."
Major General (Ret) John Cleland, USA, "Operations of MEDTC Before and After Cut Off of USAF Air Support (15 Aug. 1973)."
Major General Ken Bowra, USA, CG US Army Special Warfare Center & School, "Operations and Withdrawal of MEDTC (Operation Eagle Pull)."
1:30 p.m. Panel 3b: The Vietnam War on Campus: Other Voices, More Distant Drums
Chairman: Marc J. Gilbert, North Georgia College & State University
Paul Lyons, Stockton State University, "The Sounds of Silence: Silent Boomers in an Age of Protest."
Anthony O. Edmonds, Ball State University, "The Anti-War Movement at Ball State University."
Marc Jason Gilbert, North Georgia C&SU, "Lock and Load Revisited: Protest, Memory and the Internet."
Steve Wheeler, Northeast State Technical CC [TN], "Hell No We Won’t Go -- Y’All: Southern Opposition to the War in Vietnam."
Discussant: Ellen Pinzur, Independent Scholar
1:30 p.m. Panel 3c: The Viet Kieu Experience
Chair/Commentator: The Hon. Bui Diem, former Ambassador to the US
Brigadier General Tran Van Nhut, "The Aftermath of the Viet Nam War: A Soldier’s Perspective."
Jeff Brody, California State University, Fullerton, "The Reporter from Little Saigon."
Major Quang X. Pham, USMCR, "Vietnamese-Americans 2000: Beyond the War and Its Aftermath."
Henry Nguyen, Texas Tech University, "From the Mekong Delta to America."
3:00 p.m. Coffee Break
3:15 p.m. Panel 4a: Peace Operations in Cambodia
Chairman: Brigadier General Theo. C. Mataxis
Gregory A. Olson, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, "Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Senator Mike Mansfield: The Nixon Administration’s Missed Opportunity to Avoid the Killing Fields."
James G. Zumwalt, "The 1998 Elections in Cambodia."
Shari Villarosa, US State Department, "Current Status and Future Trends in Cambodia."
3:15 p.m. Panel 4b: Vietnam in Art and Photography
Joan Seeman Robinson, University of Cincinnati, "Fire and Light: An Anti-war Mural at Syracuse University
Antonia Neubauer, Slide presentation on Vietnamese Culture, Religions, etc.
3:15 p.m. Panel 4c: America’s Allies in Vietnam
Chair/Commentator, Douglas Pike, Texas Tech University
Curtis Peoples, Texas Tech, "American Allies: The Role of Third Country Forces in Vietnam."
Ronald B. Frankum, Texas Tech, "Another Vietnam War: Australia and the United States in Southeast Asia, 1963-65."
Douglas Pike, "America’s NATO Allies and Vietnam."
4:45 p.m. Panels finish for the day
4:50 p.m. Buses leave for American State Bank for Civic Reception
5:00 p.m. Civic Reception at American State Bank
7:00 p.m. (Approximately) Buses return to Holiday Inn Civic Center
7:40 p.m. Buses leave for Wall site
8:00 p.m. Candle light ceremony at Vietnam Wall
9:00 p.m. (Approx) Buses return to Holiday Inn Civic Center
Friday, 16 April 1999
8:00 a.m. (Until 4:00 p.m.) Registration/Information Desk open at Holiday Inn
8:45 a.m. Panel 5a: Early Vietnam War
Chair/Commentator: Colonel Roger Donlon, USA (Ret), M.H.
Major Dave Toczek, USA, USMA West Point, "’A Miserable Damn Performance’: The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam, 1963."
Anne Blair, Monash University [Australia], "The Battle of Nam Dong, July 1964: Three Turning Points in the War."
John Coleman, UC Santa Barbara, "Advisors to Fighters: America’s First Combat Soldiers of the Vietnam War."
8:45 a.m. Panel 5b: The Secret War in Laos (1)
Chair/Commentator: Earl H. Tilford, US Army War College
Jane Hamilton-Merritt, "Advantages of a Guerrilla Force: The Hmong Contribution in the Secret War in Laos."
Gayle Morrison, Independent Scholar, "Sky is Falling: The CIA’s Evacuation of the Hmong from Laos."
Richard Verrone, Texas Tech, "The 1962 Geneva Accords on Laos and Debunking the ‘Cold War Rhetoric’."
8:45 a.m. Panel 5c: Operation Ranch Hand, Vietnam, 1961-1971
Lt.Col. Paul Cecil, USAF (Ret), "Target Nomination, Approval, and Mission Planning for Spray Targets."
Colonel Ralph Dresser, USAF (Ret), "Flying Techniques Developed, and Tactics Used by Aircrew Flying the Spray Mission."
Major Jack Spey, USAF (Ret), "The Association of Combat Crop Dusters, and the Myths about ‘Agent Orange’."
10:15 a.m. Coffee Break
10:30 TTU van departs for Vietnam Archive tour [return in time for lunch]
10:30 a.m. Panel 6a: Vietnam Battles, 1968-1973
Mark Moyar, Independent Scholar, "Deception and Conspiracy During the Tet Offensive.
James McLeroy, Independent Scholar, "The Battle of Kham Duc Special Forces Camp, May 10-12, 1968
Howard Feng, US National Archives, "The Path to the Ben Hai: Vietnamization, Force Structuring, and the Activation of the 3rd ARVN Infantry Division, October, 1971."
10:30 a.m. Panel 6b: The Secret War in Laos (2)
Chair/Commentator: William Head, Warner-Robins ALC
John Prados, Independent Scholar, "International Aspects of the War in Laos."
Earl H. Tilford, US Army War College, "Operation Commando Hunt: The Air War Against the Ho Chi Minh Trail."
Tim Castle, Air Command and Staff College, "Bombing Through the Clouds: The Establishment and Operation of Site 85."
10:30 a.m. Panel 6c: Dioxins and Health
Chair: Dr. Arnold Schecter, MD, MPH, Univ. of Texas Houston School of Public Health
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.
Dr. Anne Sweeney, Epidemiologist, UTH SPH
Dr. Robert Haley, Gulf War Syndrome Specialist, UTH SPH
George Claxton, VVA National Agent Orange Chairman
12:00 Lunch. Luncheon Speaker: Former South Vietnamese Prime Minister General Nguyen Khanh
1:30 p.m. Panels 7a: Crises and Turning Points
Chair/Commentator, Jim Harper, Texas Tech University
Fred Logevall, UC, Santa Barbara, "Window of Opportunity: Lyndon Johnson and Disengagement from Vietnam, "November 1964 - February 1965."
Major General (Ret) Edward B. Atkeson, USA, Institute of Land Warfare, AUSA, "Vietnam War Strategy: A Prosecutor’s Brief."
David Fuhrmann, Independent Scholar, "America’s First Indochina Crisis, 1940-41."
1:30 p.m. Panel 7b: The Vietnamese Revolution: Retrospect & Prospect
Chairman: Nguyen Manh Hung, George Mason University
Do Quy Toan, The Ky 21 (21st Century) Magazine, "Civic Culture in Vietnam’s Tradition."
Nguyen Manh Hung, George Mason University, "Debates on the Nature and Director of the Vietnamese Revolution."
Le Van Tien, Westminster, CA, "From the Second to the Eighth Party Congress: Comparison of Two Generations of Communist Leadership."
1:30 p.m.
Col. Jack Broughton, USAF (Ret), "Rolling Thunder: Attacking Hanoi from the Air -- With Hands Tied Behind Your Back."
Jay Veith, Independent Scholar, "The Real ‘Tailwind’: The First POW Raids and the Tear Gas Controversy of 1965."
1:30 p.m. TTU vans depart for City of Lubbock tour and visit to Llano Estacado Winery
3:00 p.m. Coffee Break
3:15 p.m. Panel 8a: Key Figures and Organizations:
Chair/Commentator, Patricia Pelley, Texas Tech University
Samuel B. Hoff, Delaware State University, and Randy Bush, Butler CC, Wichita, KS, "Colby versus McNamara: Vietnam Performance and Postscript."
Geoffrey D.T. Shaw, University of Manitoba, "The Counterinsurgency Legacy of William Colby and Frederick (Fritz) Nolting during the Diem Period."
John D. Root, Illinois Institute of Technology, "’Arsenal for Ideas’: The Rand Corporation and the Vietnam War."
3:15 p.m. Panel 8b: Vietnam and China
Nguyen Hong Thach, Ph.D. Candidate, ADFA, "Vietnam between China and the United States: A Comparative Study of the Geneva Conference of 1954 and the Paris Conference, 1968-73."
Lynn Sholtis, Texas Tech, "China’s Impact on US Policy in Vietnam."
3:15 p.m. Panel 8c: Rescue Operations
Gerald Nicosia, Independent Scholar, "'Operation RAW (Rapid American Withdrawal)':  One of the First Major Actions Staged by Vietnam Veterans Against the War."
4:45 p.m. Last panel ends
5:00 p.m. Ceremony at Wall. Speaker: Colonel Roger Donlon, Medal of Honor
6:45 p.m. Buses depart Holiday Inn for Conference Banquet
7:00 p.m. Reception at International Cultural Center
8:00 p.m. Conference Banquet
8:45 p.m. After Dinner Program
Recognition of Distinguished Guests
Introduction of Speaker: Hon. Larry Combest
Speaker: US Representative Sam Johnson [Former POW
10:00 p.m. (Approx) Buses return to Holiday Inn Civic Center
Saturday, 17 April 1999
8:00 a.m. (Until 4:00 p.m.) Registration/Information Desk open at Holiday Inn
8:45 a.m. Panel 9a: End of the War in Vietnam, 1973-1975
Chair/Commentator: Larry Berman, University of California at Davis
James Willbanks, Army Command & General Staff College, "The Fall of South Vietnam."
James E. Parker, Jr., Independent Scholar, "The Evacuation of South Vietnam, 1975."
Captain Kiem Do, VNN, "The Role of the Vietnamese Navy in the Evacuation of South Vietnam."
8:45 a.m. Panel 9b: Vietnam and the US National Archives
Richard L. Boylan, Cliff L. Snyder, Jeannine S. Swift, National Archives
1. Background of Vietnam Records and Vietnam Records Processing
2. Records Access
3. Nature of Vietnam Research at NARA, Past, Present, Future Possibilities
4. Present Use of Technology and the Records
8:45 a.m. Panel 9c: Legal and Human Rights
Gary D. Solis, US Military Academy, "General Courts-Martial in Vietnam: Heavy Handed or Sentencing Sweethearts?"
James F. Lewis, Wheaton College, "Reversal is the Movement of the Tao: Human Rights and the Policies and Practices of the SRV toward the Religion of the Highland Minorities: The Case of the Hmong: 1989-1998."
10:15 a.m. Coffee Break
10:30 a.m. Vans depart for tour of Vietnam Archive [return in time for lunch]
10:30 a.m. Panel 10a: Naval Topics
William A. Mitchell, David Sarabia, Daniel Faraci, James Kurtz, Baylor University, "The Combined American, Republic of Vietnam, and Khmer Republic Effort to Protect Vital Transnational Mekong River Convoys in 1971."
Les Cullen, Texas Tech, "’A Damascus Road Experience’: Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., and ACTOV’s Human Dimension."
10:30 a.m. Panel 10b: Archives and Research
Arthur J. Dommen, George Mason University, "Searching for Vietnam History Through the US National Archives."
Stephen Denney, UC Berkeley, "Watching Hanoi: The Changing Conditions for Following Contemporary Developments in Vietnam."
John Newman, Colorado State, "Vietnam War Literature at Colorado State."
Ron Frankum, Texas Tech, "The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University."
10:30 a.m. Panel 10C: The Media and the War
Neal Ulevich, Associated Press, "In Vietnam We Looked Like This: Portraits of the Press --and Others-- in the War."
David Morokoff, Texas Tech, "The Media’s Coverage of the Vietnam War."
Noon Lunch. Luncheon speaker: TBA
1:30 p.m. Panel 11: Teaching the Vietnam War (Plenary Session)
Chair/Discussant: William W. Cobb, Jr., Utah Valley State College
Joe Dunn, Converse College, "Day One of a Vietnam War Course."
Marc J. Gilbert, North Georgia College & State University, "Day Two of a Vietnam War Course."
Randy Fertel, Tulane University, "Teaching the Vietnam War as an
Interdisciplinary Text."
1:30 p.m. Vans depart for tour of Lubbock Lakesite
3:00 p.m. Plenary Session: Final Summing Up and Recommendations for the Future
4:00 p.m. Symposium closes
5:00 p.m. Buses departs for V-8 Ranch
Schedule of evening yet to be arranged.
Mariachi music
Mounted maneuvers by 4th US Cavalry
Dancing by Mexican Ballet Folklorico Atzlan
Western Music by "Blue Prairie" musical group
Authentic West Texas Barbecue Dinner
9:00 p.m. (Approx): Buses return to Holiday Inn Lubbock Plaza
9:30 p.m. (Till ?) Comradeship at Lubbock Plaza bar
Sunday, 18 April 1999
5:00 a.m. (Until complete) Vietnam Center staff at Holiday Inn to bid guests farewell and transport them to airport
7:40 a.m. Bus departs Holiday Inn Civic Center for Wall site
8:00 a.m. Nondenominational Memorial Service at the Moving Wall
9:00 a.m. (Approx.) Bus returns to Holiday Inn Civic Center
5:00 p.m. Closing ceremonies at Wall site

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