Texas Tech University

7th Triennial Vietnam Symposium

10 March - 12 March 2011
Overton Hotel and Conference Center - Lubbock, Texas

The views and opinions expressed in these papers, presentations, and videos are strictly those of the presenters and authors and do not represent The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, or the State of Texas.

Thursday, March 10th

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8:30 AM-9:00 AM Welcoming Remarks: Reception/Break/Other


  • Dr. Stephen Maxner , Director, Vietnam Center and Archive


  • Dr. Bob Smith , Provost, Texas Tech University

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9:00 AM-10:30 AM Session 1: Dr. Gerald Hickey Memorial Session: Understanding the Ethnic Minorities of Vietnam

Moderator: Dr. Jeff Williams, Texas Tech University


  • Dr. Jeff Williams , Texas Tech University

  • Edap Enang: Some thoughts on the forced relocation of Vietnamese highlanders during the American War in Vietnam
    Mr. Neil Olsen , University of Utah

  • Life in a New Land: Montagnard Cultural Identity and Adaptation in the United States
    Mr. Lap Siu , Texas Tech University

  • Language Documentation in Vietnam: a Case Study with Bih
    Ms. Tam Nguyen , University of Oregon

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11:00 AM-12:30 PM Session 2: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War


  • Col. Michael Towns, Richard Williams, Jamie Holmes, Cathy Sullivan, and Lt. Col. Hunter Holiday , Department of Defense Vietnam War Commemoration Program Office

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12:30 PM-1:30 PM Lunch: Reception/Break/Other

  • The New Education Center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC
    Geoffrey Wiles , Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

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2:30 PM-4:00 PM 3a: Graduate Student Research on the Vietnam War

Moderator: Dr. Ron Milam, Texas Tech University

  • The Case of Peter Dewey: A Revisit
    Chau Huy Ngoc , National University of Singapore

  • Official Attitudes toward Vietnam War Reporters
    Justin Simundson , Texas Tech University

  • To Engage or not to Engage: The LRRPs in Vietnam
    James Sandy , Texas Tech University

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2:30 PM-4:00 PM 3b: War and Politics as Depicted on Postage Stamps in French Indochina

Moderator: Dr. Kelly Crager, Vietnam Center and Archive

  • Events Leading up to the French Indochina War as Indicated by the Production and Materials used in Stamp Printing, 1944-1949
    Ron Matteri , Philatelist, San Anselmo, CA

  • Postage Stamps as Political Statements in Indochina, 1888-present
    Nat Ward , Philatelist, San Diego, CA

Friday, March 11th

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8:30 AM-10:00 AM 4a: Diplomacy and the Vietnam War

Moderator: Curtis Peoples, Southwest Collection, Texas Tech University

  • A Failure to Communicate: How Elbridge Durbrow Changed America's Vietnam Experience
    Dr. Ronald B. Frankum Jr. , Millersville University of Pennsylvania

  • The Paris Agreement: Nixon's Critical Reappraisal, Reconciling American Credibility, and the Missed Opportunity with Thieu
    Alex Gagnon , University of Illinois-Chicago

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8:30 AM-10:00 AM 4b: US Marine Corps in Vietnam: Civic Action and Pacification

Moderator: Dr. Ron Milam, Texas Tech University

  • Becoming a CAP Marine: The Selection and Training Process for Americans entering the Combined Action Program
    John Southard , Texas Tech University

  • The Year of Progress: United States Marine Corps Combat and Pacification Efforts in I Corps of South Vietnam, 1966
    Jason M. Sokiera , University of Southern Mississippi

  • Combining Vietnamese Popular Forces (PFs) and U.S. Marines: The Marine Corps Combined Action Program (CAP) in Vietnam
    Jim Donovan , Independent Researcher

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8:30 AM-10:00 AM 4c: Veteran Perspectives on the Vietnam War

Moderator: Dr. Kelly Crager, Vietnam Center and Archive

  • The Strategic Importance of the Vietnam War
    Larry Chambers , Independent Researcher

  • Coming to Grips with SAM Sites
    W. Howard Plunkett , Independent Researcher

  • Colonel James Kasler: Fighter Pilot
    Charles L. Byler , Independent Researcher

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10:30 AM-12:00 PM 5a: Australian Combat Operations in Vietnam

Moderator: Curtis Peoples, Southwest Collection, Texas Tech University

  • A New Operational Analysis of the 1st Australian Task Force in Vietnam, 1966-1971
    Dr. Bob Hall , University of New South Wales, Australian Defense Force Academy

  • Australian Implementation of 'One War' in Phuc Tuy Province, 1969-1972
    Jeff Schultz , Luzerne County Community College

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10:30 AM-12:00 PM 5b: US Military Doctrine, Organization, and Strategy in Vietnam

Moderator: Dr. Edward Miller, Dartmouth College

  • An Invalid Assumption: The 'New Look' Strategy of Containment and US Failure in Laos
    James J. Reynolds , Fordham University

  • A Foot in the Door: General Earle Wheeler's Plan to Invade North Vietnam
    Mark A. Vieny , Director, US Army Heritage & Education Center, Carlisle Barracks, PA

  • The Role of Inland Sea Power in I Corps, Vietnam 1967-1968
    Jonathan B. Chavanne , Texas A&M University

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10:30 AM-12:00 PM 5c: Online Resources and Representations of the Vietnam War

Moderator: Dr. Steve Maxner, Vietnam Center and Archive

  • An Update on the Virtual Vietnam Archive and other online resources at Texas Tech University
    Amy Mondt , Vietnam Center and Archive

  • The Vietnam War/American War: Stories from All Sides: An online interactive documentary project
    Ron Osgood , Indiana University

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12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch: Reception/Break/Other

  • Brothers in War and Peace: Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. and Admiral Tran Van Chon
    Dr. Larry Berman , University of California, Davis

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1:30 PM-3:00 PM 6a: Reexamining Major Military Campaigns of the Vietnam War

Moderator: Mark A. Viney, US Army

  • The Formation of OPLAN 34A: The Evolution of the Pentagon's Role in Covert Operations
    Nicholas Arandia , Texas Tech University

  • What Historians Failed to Tell About the Battle at LZ X-Ray
    Tin Nguyen , Independent Researcher

  • Nixon's 1971 Spring Campaign
    Dr. Steve Randolph , National Defense University

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1:30 PM-3:00 PM 6b: Domestic Reactions and Challenges to US Policy in Vietnam

Moderator: Dr. John Barnett, Emporia State University

  • 'The US Cannot Be Impotent:' Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Struggle to Formulate America's Vietnam Policy
    Dr. Nicole L. Anslover , Indiana University Northwest

  • The Vietnam War: The Price for Black Civil Rights
    Sal DePasquale , Independent Researcher

  • William Warren Scranton and the Vietnam War
    Adam Richards , Millersville University of Pennsylvania

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1:30 PM-3:00 PM 6c: Film Screening: My Vietnam, Your Iraq

Moderator: Ron Osgood, Professor, Indiana University & Documentary Filmmaker

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    3:30 PM-5:00 PM 7a: Political, Military, and Economic Assistance from China, Korea, and Japan

    Moderator: Dr. Justin Hart, Texas Tech University

    • Priority of Perception: The USS Pueblo Crisis and the Vietnam War
      Theresa Monserrat , Millersville University of Pennsylvania

    • Chinese Military Advisors in Vietnam in the early 1950s
      Nguyen T. Trung , University of Virginia

    • Modest Risks for Tidy Profits: Japan's Strategic Role in the Vietnam War
      Dr. Donovan C. Chau , California State University, San Bernardino

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    3:30 PM-5:00 PM 7b: Red Cross Volunteers in Vietnam: Donut Dolly Memories - Viet Nam 1969-1970


    • Sherry Connaway


    • Rachel Torrance

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    3:30 PM-5:00 PM 7c: Film Screening: Vietnam the Memory

    Moderator: Remy Vlek, Director and Producer, Filmwerk Remy Vlek, Amsterdam, Netherlands




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    8:00 PM Banquet: Reception/Break/Other

    • Keynote Address
      Mr. Adrian Cronauer

    Saturday, March 12th

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    8:30 AM-10:00 AM 8a: Why the Vietnam War is Relevant Today

    Moderator: Stephen Sherman, Independent Researcher

    • Vietnam Lessons on Strategy and Politics: ...Are Afghanistan, Iraq and China, the Sequels?
      Dr. Roger Canfield

    • Viet Nam: Their Lies, Our (Leftist) Lies, and the Legacy They Perpetuated
      Phil Jennings

    • Unicorns and Dragons, American Perceptions of Viet Nam
      Bill Laurie

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    8:30 AM-10:00 AM 8b: Remembering the Sacrifices and Accounting for the Missing

    Moderator: Dr. Steve Maxner, Vietnam Center and Archive

    • Accounting for America's Heroes - from WWII to Afghanistan
      Adrian Cronauer , former spokesman for DPMO

    • The Role of Circumstantial Evidence in the Overall Accounting and Identification Process of US Servicemen Missing/Unaccounted for in South East Asia/Vietnam War
      Alejandro P. Villalva , USAF Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory (LSEL), Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

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    10:30 AM-12:00 AM 9a: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan

    Moderator: Dr. Steve Randolph, National Defense University

    • Post Traumatic Shame Disorder: The Interaction of Political, Social, and Cultural Factors with Combat Trauma in Vietnam Veterans
      Dr. Darrell D. Turner , Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas

    • A Brief Comparison of 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder' between American Soldiers in Viet Nam, Iraq, and Afghanistan
      Ted Engelmann , Independent Researcher

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    10:30 AM-12:00 PM 9b: Postwar Reeducation and Resettlement

    Moderator: Dr. Donovan Chau, California State University

    • Fate of Our Allies Sentenced to Reeducation: Forgiveness by Blood
      Ann Mallett , Vietnam Center and Archive

    • From Hell to Home: One Vietnamese Family's Journey from Vietnam to America
      Jason Stewart , Vietnam Center and Archive

    • Cong Dong Thanh Nien: Vietnamese Youth Along the Texas Gulf Coast
      Son Mai , McNeese State University

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    12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch: Reception/Break/Other


    • Dr. Jim Reckner , Texas Tech University

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    1:30 PM-3:00 PM 10a: Remembering the Vietnam War: U.S. Policy and Historiography

    Moderator: Dr. Ron Frankum, Millersville University

    • Vietnam and 'the Sixities': Tropes and Hegemony in History and Policy
      Brendan McQuade , Binghamton University (SUNY)

    • Truth Forsaken: The Vietnamese View of American Revisionism
      Kyle Horst , Independent Researcher

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    1:30 PM-3:00 PM 10b: Atrocities in Vietnam: Genocide in Cambodia

    Moderator: Dr. Kelly Crager, Vietnam Center and Archive

    • Propaganda or Revelation? The United States Response to Atrocity Accusations Levied Against South Korean Troops
      Brett Reilly , University of Wisconsin-Madison

    • False Atrocity Stories from the Vietnam War, and Why They Matter
      Gary Kulik , Independent Researcher

    • One Year Later - Atrocities and Genocidal Reports from Cambodia
      Nikki Davis , Texas Tech University

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    3:30 PM-5:00 PM 11a: Post-War Policies, Perceptions, and Normalized Relations

    Moderator: Dr. Ron Milam, Texas Tech University

    • After Doi Moi: Vietnamese Agricultural Policies, 2003-2010
      Dr. John Barnett , Emporia State University

    • America through the Eyes of International Relations Students of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
      Hoang Cam Thanh , Texas A&M Commerce

    • Overcoming the Shadow of War: Vietnam-U.S. Normalization of Relations, 1975-2006
      Thi Diem Dao , Heidelberg Center for American Studies, University of Heidelberg

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    3:30 PM-5:00 PM 11b: Sexual Exploitation and Human Rights: Literature and Law as Cultural and Political Discourse

    Moderator: Dr. Steve Maxner, Vietnam Center and Archive

    • Gender as Colonial Exploitation in French Indochina: Concubines in Selected Pre-1965 Novels Published or Translated to English
      Walter Jones , J. Willard Marriott Library, Special Collections Department, University of Utah

    • The Battered Body & Human Rights Discourse in Vietnamese American Non-Fiction
      Quan Manh Ha , Texas Tech University

    • The Legal Basis for Repression and Dissent in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
      Stephen Denney , Independent Researcher


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