2. Events
  3. 2024 Conference
  4. Video Sessions

1974: Shattered Peace, Continued Conflict, and Preparing for the Final Battle for Vietnam

11 April - 13 April 2024
- Irving, 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, April 11th

Video

[Reception Area]
6:00 PM : Welcome Reception

Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

Special Welcome Remarks

The Final Mission
Rear Admiral Huan Nguyen, U.S. Navy, Retired

    Friday, April 12th

    Video

    [Conference Center]
    8:00 AM : WELCOMING REMARKS

    Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

    Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech
    University
    Tosha Dupras, Ph.D., Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, Texas Tech University
    Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive,
    Texas Tech University
      Video

      [Conference Center]
      8:30 AM Session 1: The Long 1974: After the Americans Leave, South Vietnam Stands Alone

      Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

      Introductions: Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict,
      Texas Tech University
      • The Long 1974: South Vietnam’s Ongoing Challenges, June 1973-December 1974
        Jay Veith, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

      • The 92nd ARVN Rangers and the Battle of Ton Le Chan, March-April 1974
        Hieu D. Vu, Ph.D., Fort Hays State University, ARVN Veteran

      • Vietnam War, Misunderstanding from the American Perspective
        Mr. Michael Do, ARVN Veteran, Independent Researcher

      Video

      [1]
      10:30 AM 2A: 1974 - The Beginning of the End – A Roundtable Discussion

      Moderator: Stephen Sherman, Independent Researcher, Vietnam Veteran

      • 1974 – Events in Washington
        Professor Robert Turner, Distinguished Fellow, Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia School of Law (Retired), Vietnam Veteran

      • 1974 – Events in Saigon, Hanoi and Paris
        Stephen Young, Independent Researcher, MACV/CORDS Advisor; author Kissinger's Betrayal: How America Lost the Vietnam War; Dean and Professor, Hamline University School of Law

      • 1974 - Events in the Indo-Pacific region, (CINCPAC, Thailand and others)
        Stephen Sherman, Independent Researcher, Vietnam Veteran

      Video

      [2]
      10:30 AM 2B: South Vietnam during the War

      Moderator: Son Mai, MBA, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Organizational Management Division of Social/Behavioral Sciences & Business, Midland College Midland, Texas

      • Economic Survival in a Wartime Country: South Vietnam before 1974
        Pham Do Chi, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

      • A Predictive Study of the Society in Viet-Nam According to the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory
        Nguyen Le Hieu, Ph.D., Oklahoma City Literary Club

      Video

      [3 & 4]
      10:30 AM 2C: The POW Myth and Other Misrepresentations of the Vietnam War in American Popular Culture

      Moderator: Dr. Erin McCoy, University of South Carolina Beaufort

      • The (Literally) Invisible Vietnam Veteran: POW/MIA Mythology in The X-Files
        Kerstin A. Tuttle, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Minnesota

      • Olof Palme, Sweden and the American Prisoners-of-War in North Vietnam
        Lubna Qureshi, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

      • The Trouble with Laos: Henry Kissinger's Missteps and the Birth of The MIA Controversy
        Taylor Kiland and Judy Gray, coauthors of Unwavering: The Wives Who Fought to Ensure No Man is Left Behind

      Video

      [Conference Center]
      12:30 PM Lunch: H. Ross Perot, Sr., and the Vietnam War: A Conversation

      Moderator: Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University

      Jeffrey Engel, Ph.D., Director, Center for Presidential History,
      Southern Methodist University
      Kali Mercy, Curator, Perot Family Collections
        Video

        [1]
        1:30 PM 3A: South Vietnamese Responses to 1974

        Moderator: Trong Phan, Ph.D., President, Board of Directors, Vietnamese American Community of the USA

        • The Paris Accords and Its Consequence
          Hieu D. Vu, Ph.D., Fort Hays State University

        • Public Relations Campaign Conducted by the RVN Information Ministry in 1974
          Walter Nguyen, MSW, Ph.D., Founder & First Executive Director of Mosaic Family Services, Dallas, Texas

        Video

        [2]
        1:30 PM 3B: Official and Unofficial Responses to Wartime Trauma

        Moderator: Justin Hart, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Academic Programs, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University

        • 1974: The War at Home and the Vets House Model
          Doug Bradley, Distinguished Lecturer Emeritus, UW-Madison

        • Healing Shame: What Does Humor and Feminism Offer to Veterans Coping with Trauma?
          Hope Bentley, McGovern Medical School Julie Willett, Texas Tech University

        • The Cases of Children of Vinh Linh Special Zone during the Vietnam War
          Le Nam Trung Hieu, Ph.D., Lecturer in Diplomatic History and International Relations, Duy Tan University

        Video

        [3 & 4]
        1:30 PM 3C: Vietnamese Missing-in-Action: Recovering Martyr Remains in Vietnam

        Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Director, Ph.D., Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

        • Collaborative Efforts in Finding Mass Graves of Vietnamese Martyrs
          Richard Magner, Vietnam Veteran, Independent Researcher Bob March, Vietnam Veteran, Independent Researcher Lam Hong Tien, Independent Researcher Nguyen Xuan Thang, Independent Researcher

        Video

        [2]
        3:30 PM 4B: Reporting War: War Correspondents in Vietnam

        Moderator: Alan Pogue, Vietnam Veteran, Photojournalist/Documentary Photographer, President of Veterans for Peace Chapter 66

        • The Ultimate Protest: Malcolm W. Browne, Thich Quang Duc, and the News Photograph That Stunned the World
          Ray E. Boomhower, Senior Editor, Indiana Historical Society Press

        • A Reporter’s Perspective from Vietnam, 1974
          Don Kirk, Vietnam War Correspondent

        Video

        [3 & 4]
        3:30 PM 4C: Vietnam War Legacies

        Moderator: Roy Vu, Ph.D., Professor of History, Dallas College – North Lake Campus

        • Continued Conflict: De-Mining the Past in 21st Century Viet Nam & Cambodia
          Erin R. McCoy, Ph.D., University of SC – Beaufort

        • An Online Mapping and Visualization Tool of Physical War Legacies in Vietnam
          Andrew Wells-Dang and Jenny Nguyen, United States Institute of Peace

        • Ken Burns’ Vietnam War Documentary
          Jeremy Kuzmarov, Tulsa Community College, Managing editor, Covert Action Magazine

        Video

        [Reception Area]
        6:30 PM : Special Vietnam Veteran Recognition Program

        Moderator: Hosted by the Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

          Video

          7:30 PM : Banquet Keynote Address

          Moderator: Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University

          Major General Viet Luong, U.S. Army, Retired

            Saturday, April 13th

            Video

            [Conference Center]
            8:30 AM Session 5: Second Generation Vietnamese Scholars of the Vietnam War

            Moderator: Justin Hart, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Academic Programs, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University

            Introductions: Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict,
            Texas Tech University

            Roundtable Discussion Featuring:
            Alex-Thai D. Vo, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Vietnam Cetner & Sam
            Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University
            Uyen “Carie” Nguyen, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Peace &
            Conflict, Texas Tech University
            Roy Vu, Ph.D., Professor of History, Dallas College – North Lake Campus
              Video

              [1]
              10:30 AM 6A: Conscientious Objectors

              Moderator: Dr. Erin McCoy, University of South Carolina Beaufort

              • Duty to Serve; Duty to Conscience: The Story of two Conscientious Objector Combat Medics in Vietnam
                James C. Kearney and William Clamurro

              Video

              [2]
              10:30 AM 6B: Communication during War

              Moderator: Samantha Storey

              • Just a Few Lines to Let You Know: Writing Letters during the Vietnam War
                Paloma Guerra, Texas Tech University


              • Rebecca McGee, Texas Tech University, “Extra, Extra! Read All About It:” The Media and Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military

              Video

              [3 & 4]
              10:30 AM 6C: The Vietnam Tribunal Judgment of the 1958 Diplomatic Note: A Precursor of the Vietnam War and the 1974 Chinese Invasion of the Paracel Islands

              Moderator: Mr. Hai Cao, Independent Researcher

              • Tribunals, Jurisdictions of Tribunals and Authority to Act
                Linh Nguyen

              • The Proceedings: The Evidence Before the Tribunal and Deliberations of the Evidence
                Nha Nguyen, M.A., LPC

              • Evidence
                David Tran, MD

              Video

              [Conference Center]
              12:00 PM : Lunch Presentation :A Paneled Retrospective: The Vietnam Wars & American Comic Books

              Moderator: Justin Hart, Ph.D., Texas Tech University

              James A. Sandy, Ph.D.
              Assistant Professor
              University of Texas, Arlington
                Video

                [2]
                1:30 PM 7B: The American Antiwar Movement - Then and Now

                Moderator: Stephen Sherman, Independent Researcher, Vietnam Veteran

                • Political Influence Operations by Hanoi and Beijing, and their Relative Success Among the American People
                  Roger B. Canfield, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Navy Veteran, ATN2, USN, 1959-1964

                • Discussion: Comparing the Anti-Vietnam War Movement with the Pro-Hamas Elements Protesting Today
                  Roger B. Canfield, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Navy Veteran, ATN2, USN, 1959-1964 Professor Robert Turner, Distinguished Fellow, Center for National Security Law, University of Virginia School of Law (Retired), Vietnam Veteran Stephen Young, Independent Researcher, MACV/CORDS Advisor; author Kissinger's Betrayal: How American Lost the Vietnam War; Dean and Professor, Hamline University School of Law

                Video

                [3 & 4]
                1:30 PM 7C: The Republic of Vietnam as Represented in Film, The Sino-Vietnamese Battle for the Paracel Islands, 1974, and Polish Military Intelligence and the ICCS

                Moderator: Geoffrey Wawro, Ph.D., Military History Center, University of North Texas

                • Re-presenting the Republic: Revealing the Self-Image of Vietnam through Film Footage
                  Alex-Thai D. Vo, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Vietnam Cetner & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

                • Paracels ‘74: Vietnamization, Maritime Hybrid Warfare and the Ongoing Struggle for the South China Sea
                  Jeff Schultz, Professor of History, Luzerne County Community College

                • Clandestine Operations of Polish Military Intelligence in the International Commission for Control and Supervision
                  Jarema Slowiak, Ph.D., Jagiellonian University

                Video

                [2]
                3:30 PM 8B: FILM PRESENTATION Truths and Myths About the Vietnam War

                Moderator: Stephen Sherman, Independent Researcher, Vietnam Veteran

                Film produced by the Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association Foundation and
                Emmy Award winning film producer David Naglieri. The film features an introduction
                by Sam Elliott, and by Medal of Honor recipient Patrick H. Brady, as well as other
                veterans and historians presenting their perspectives on the portrayal of the Vietnam War.
                Discussion will follow.
                  Video

                  [3 & 4]
                  3:30 PM 8C: The Postwar Vietnamese Diaspora

                  Moderator: Trong Phan, Ph.D., President, Board of Directors, Vietnamese American Community of the USA

                  • Vietnamese Immigration to Texas
                    Son Mai, MBA, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Organizational Management Division of Social/Behavioral Sciences & Business, Midland College Midland, Texas

                  • Vietnamese American Dispersions, Auto-mobilities and Re-assemblages
                    Ivan V. Small, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Houston

                  • Vietnamese Americans and Their Food Gardens
                    Roy Vu, Ph.D., Professor of History, Dallas College – North Lake Campus

                  [3 & 4]
                  5:00 PM : Closing Remarks

                  Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech University