8:00 AM : Welcoming Remarks

8:30 AM Session 1: Abandoning Vietnam: Reflections on US and RVN Decision-Making at the End of the Vietnam War

A Discussion Featuring:
• Andrew Wiest, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi
• George “Jay” Veith, Ph.D., Independent Scholar
• James Willbanks, Ph.D., LTC, USA Ret, Professor Emeritus of Military History,
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Vietnam Veteran

8:30 AM 2A: Southeast Asian Soldier Experiences

Kok Ksor: From Rhade Warrior to Human Rights Activist and the Postwar Plight of
the Montagnards of the Central Highlands
Joe P. Dunn, Ph.D., Converse University

“Bảo Quốc - An Dân” - Defending Till The End: Territorial Forces as the Last Layer
of Defense of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces in 1975
Uyen Nguyen, Ph.D., Texas Tech University

A Soldier’s Things: Bộ Đội of the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Things They
Carried during the American War
Oscar Coles, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Southern Mississippi

8:30 AM 2B: The Repercussions from the Fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia from 1975 to 2025

This panel discussion will provide a brief look at the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam
War in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It will then engage in a broader discussion of
longer-term repercussions of the Vietnam War to include the Vietnamese diaspora in the
U.S., American self-perceptions and education, the perception of the U.S. as a “paper
tiger” and unreliable ally, and “where we go from here.”

Discussants:
Professor Robert F. Turner, Distinguished Fellow, Center for National Security
Law, University of Virginia School of Law (Retired), Vietnam Veteran

Stephen Young, Independent Researcher, MACV/CORDS Advisor; Dean and
Professor, Hamline University School of Law

Richard Armitage, Riverine/Naval Advisor, Defense Attache Office, later State
and Defense Official, Vietnam Veteran

Nghia Vo, Vietnam Veteran, Independent Researcher

8:30 AM 2C: Music and Literature of War

South Vietnamese Music Before and After 1975: Building a Comprehensive Analytical
Framework
Jason Nguyen, Ph.D., Cerritos College

Musical Reflections of 1975: A Comparative Analysis of North and South Vietnamese
Songs
Phu Vu, St. Peter Claver Regional Catholic School

Love Triangles, Stepfamilies, and Adoption: The Reunification of 1975 in Postwar
Vietnamese Literature
Nu-Anh Tran, Ph.D., University of Connecticut

8:30 AM 2E: Kent State, Military Punishment, and Counterfactual Dreams

A Theological Understanding of the May 4, 1970 Ohio National Guard Shootings at
Kent State University
Jim Schnell, Ph.D., USAFR

Captain's Mast and Nonjudicial Punishment in the US Navy
Samantha Storey, Graduate Student, Texas Tech University

Northern Threat and Southern Exceptionalism: Existential Fears and Counterfactual
Dreams About Race and Victorious Destiny in The Southern-Centric Historiography
on Nguyễn Huệ in Wartime Republic of Vietnam
Vinh Quoc Nguyen, Ph.D., Columbia University

12:00 PM : National Interests, 1975/2025

Andrew Wells-Dang, Ph.D.
Senior Expert, Southeast Asia, United States Institute of Peace (Former)

1:30 PM 3A: Fulbright University, Vietnam

Internal Refugee Crisis and Nation-Building in Quang Tri, 1965-1975:
A Mobile History of the Vietnam War
Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, Fulbright University, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Understanding Vietnam's Prolonged Approach to Normalizing Relations with the
United States (1975-1995)
Mã Y Vân, Fulbright University, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Memory, Reconciliation, and Change: The Story of Bình An Cemetery
Tran Nguyen Phuong Thao, Fulbright University, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Ta Bao Long, Fulbright University

1:30 PM 3B: War and Society in Wartime and Postwar Vietnam

War and Society in North Vietnam, 1967-1975: Glimpses of Ordinary Lives
Tuong Vu, Ph.D., University of Oregon

Continuing the Revolution: the Vietnam Workers Party’s Re-evaluation of Political and Military Strategy in the Aftermath of Tet 1968 and its Significance for Late War and Post-War Ideology
Marc Gilbert, Ph.D., Hawaii Pacific University

American Libraries in the Republic of Vietnam
Casey Scarpati, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

1:30 PM 3C: Vietnam’s Path to Becoming a High-Income Country

The Vietnam’s Geopolitical, Social-Economic: Strength, Weaknesses, and Position in the Coming Years
Chu V. Nguyen, Ph.D., Retired Associate Professor of Economics, University of Houston Downtown and Chairman of Tropical Star Enterprise, Inc.

Lawfare – Key to Vietnamese Communist Party’s Survival and Ascendant of a Police State
Nhatthien “Nathan” Nguyen, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, University of HoustonDowntown

Mekong River – China Needs to be Taken to International Court
Mai Thanh Truyet, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

1:30 PM 3E: American Soldier Experiences

Conflict Among Comrades: The Experience of American POWs in South Vietnam and the Memory of Operation Homecoming
Brian Washam, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Southern Mississippi

“I Only Defend What I Defend” - Bill Giles Writing Home from Cu Chi, 1967 - 1968
Paloma Guerra, Ph.D., Student Texas Tech University

3:30 PM 4A: Operation Frequent Wind and the End of the Vietnam War

The Fall of South Vietnam: How Hanoi’s Final Military Campaign Won the War,
March-April 1975
George “Jay” Veith, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

Aerial Dunkirk: Operation Frequent Wind and the End of the Vietnam War
John F. Burns, Vietnam Veteran, History Educator

Following the presentations, audience members who were rescued or who have
family members who were rescued at the end of the war will be invited to share
their experiences

3:30 PM 4B: The Untold Truth About the Vietnam War and the Ensuing 50 Years

The Naked Truth About the Vietnam War
Vũ Quý Kỳ, M.S. Independent Researcher

Concentration Camps in Vietnam – The Wound Never Healed
Michael Peavey Do, M.S., Independent Researcher

The Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (Uỷ Ban Đoàn Kết Công Giáo) is a State-Run religious Organization to Infiltrate and Control the Vietnamese Catholic Church
Trong Phan, Ph.D., Retired Chief Engineer, Personnel Systems Division, USAF

3:30 PM 4C: Civil Society and Humanitarian Activism in South Vietnam up to and in 1975: The Roles of Domestic and Overseas Actors

The Ford Foundation and South Vietnam: An Eye-Level View (March-April 1975)
Jerry Mark Silverman, Ph.D., Ford Foundation Project Specialist in the Social Sciences, Saigon 1974-1975

The Second Republic of Vietnam’s Policies Towards Indigenous Groups: A Complex Interplay of National Identity, Political Legitimacy, and Republican Ideals
Hoang Thanh, Ph.D., University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The Vietnam War: Ethnic Minority, Conflicts, and Legitimacy
Khang Do, Ph.D., Candidate, University of Leeds, United Kingdon

3:30 PM 4E: Wargames, Court Battles, and South Vietnam’s Strange Defeat

Refighting the Vietnam War in the Federal Courts: Race, Collegiate Admissions, Presidential Power, and Unscholarly Advocacy
Josh Kastenberg J.D. University of New Mexico

How Does This End? How the Sigma Wargames of 1966 and 1967 Forecast the End of the Vietnam War
Jacob Ganz MA/MS Hoover Institution

1975: South Vietnam’s Strange Defeat
Geoffrey Wawro, Ph.D., University of North Texas

6:45 PM : Conference Banquet

Introduction
Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace and Conflict, Texas Tech University

Welcome Remarks
Lawrence Schovanec, Ph.D., President, Texas Tech University

Keynote Conversation Between
Ms. Le Ly Hayslip
Founder and Chairwoman, Global Village Foundation, Founder, East Meets West
Author & Humanitarian
&
Nguyễn Hồng Uyên, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University

8:30 AM 5A: Children of the Vietnam War

Roundtable Members:

Robert McKelvey, MD., Emeritus Professor, Psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University, Vietnam Veteran (USMC)

Lan Cao, Professor, Ph.D., Betty Hutton Williams Professor of International Economic Law, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University

Uyen Nguyen, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University

8:30 AM 5B: Vietnam-Centric Approaches to Vietnamese Reunification After the Vietnam War

Vietnam: Navigating the Aftermath of War
Alex-Thái Đình Võ, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University

Huế After Reunification
Cody J. Billock, Ph.D. Candidate, Ohio University

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s 1980 Constitution: Putting Unified Vietnam Under Constitutional Rule?
Alec Holcombe, Associate Professor, Ohio University

8:30 AM 5C: The Secret War in Laos and Its Legacies: Lao, Hmong and American Perspectives

Lao Bombing Lao, with US Help, 1964-1965: Souvanna Phouma’s Reluctance to Work with Lyndon B. Johnson’s Administration
Michael Rattanasengchanh, Ph.D., Midwestern State University

USAID/CIA Police Training Programs in Laos and the Origins of the Secret War
Jeremy Kuzmarov, Ph.D., Tulsa Community College, CovertAction Magazine

Politics, Migration, and Identity: The Hmong and the Secret War after 1975
Dr. Nengher Vang, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

8:30 AM 5D: Stories of the Evacuation

Freedom’s Ferry: USS Kirk and the Fall of Saigon, 1975
Jeff Schultz M.A. Luzerne County Community College

Americans Left Behind
Daniel Ward, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Southern Mississippi

“At Great Risk:” War and Loyalty in End Game Evacuations in America’s Longest Wars
Trevor Yates, Ph.D., Candidate Texas Tech University

8:30 AM 5E: International Dimensions and Concerns Regarding the Fall of South Vietnam

When Does the War End? Canada and the Vietnam War
Walter Brouwer, University of New Brunswick, Canada

Inside but Beside: The Fall of South Vietnam in the Reports of Polish Delegation in the ICCS
Jarema Slowiak, Ph.D., Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland

The Decommissioning of the Nuclear Research Reactor at Dalat: The US Technical Mission’s Removal of Enriched Uranium Fuel, April 1975
Laura Calkins, Ph.D., Texas Tech University

10:30 AM 6A: Vietnam War Legacies

Vietnam War Legacies
Susan Hammond, Founder, Legacies of War

Living with Agent Orange: Conversations in postwar Viet Nam
Diane Fox, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

The Ongoing Legacies of War and the Power of Reconciliation
Danae Hendrickson, Chief of Mission Advancement and Communications, Legacies of War

10:30 AM 6B: The Meaning of 1975 Fifty Years Later: Reflections on New Scholarly Trends on Politics and Society in the Two Vietnams

Tuong Vu, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Tuan Hoang, Ph.D., Pepperdine University
Trinh Luu, Ph.D., Independent Scholar
George (Jay) Veith, Ph.D.

10:30 AM 6C: Vietnamese American Diaspora: Anticommunism, Transnationalism, and Placemaking

Diasporic Legacies: The Making (and Remaking) of Vietnamese Anticommunism
Y Nguyen, Ph.D., University of California, Dominguez Hills

Building Little Saigon: Refugee Urbanism in American Cities and Suburbs
Erica Allen-Kim, Ph.D., University of Toronto

The Right to Home: Vietnamese Community Mobilization
Jennifer Huynh, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

10:30 AM 6D: Technology in Archives and Historical Research

Desktop Access to the Vietnam War: Search and Navigation Tools in the Virtual Vietnam Archive
Sheon Montgomery, CA, MSI, Reference Archivist, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University

The Airqiv Archival Explorer: Vietnam Center Oral Histories as a Test Case
Paul Bjerk, Ph.D., Texas Tech University, and Gaurav Karwa, MS (May 2025), Texas Tech University

10:30 AM 6E: Fall of Saigon: Our Story

Operation Babylift: From Tragedy to Success
Miguel Lechuga, Chief Master Sergeant, United States Air Force, Retired, Vietnam Veteran, Independent Researcher

A New Life: A Personal Story of Finding Home
Kim Delevett, Independent Researcher, Community Leader, Public Speaker, Author

Escape from Vietnam: A Family's Journey
Chuong Do and Chu Do, Independent Researchers

12:00 PM : After Saigon’s Fall: A 50-Year Retrospective

Amanda C. Demmer
Associate Professor, Virginia Tech

1:30 PM 7A: Healthcare, Education and Women Rights: The Last 50 Years

Healthcare System in Vietnam
Nguyen Nhu Phuc, M.D., Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy, Vice President of the Vietnam Democracy Center

Educational System in Vietnam
Hung Phan, MED, Chairman, Board of Directors, Vietnam Human Rights Day, Founder and Advisor of the Republic of Vietnam Next Generations

Women Rights in Vietnam
Nha Nguyen, M.A., LPC, The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD

1:30 PM 7B: SVN Legacies: ARVN Soldiers and the Politics of Vietnamese Diasporic Cultural Memory

Colonel Hồ Ngọc Cẩn
Evyn Espiritu Gandhi, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (Tovaangar)

Lieutenant General Lâm Quang Thi
Andrew Lam, Freelance Journalist, Essayist, and Fiction Writer

General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan
Zora Mai Quỳnh, Civil Rights Activist, Writer

1:30 PM 7C: The Stories We Tell: Historic Non-Fiction and the “End” of the Vietnam War

Christina Vo, Independent Researcher
Nghia Vo, Vietnam Veteran, Independent Researcher
Vinh Phu Pham, Ph.D., Bard High School Early College (Queens)

1:30 PM 7D: War and Memory After 1975

Black April Remembered: ARVN Memory of the Fall of South Vietnam
Justin Major, M.A., University of Southern Mississippi

Sculpting the Homeland: Memorializing the Việt Nam War and Refugee Spaces
Roy Vu, Ph.D., Dallas College - North Lake Campus

The Vietnam War and its Post-War Aftershocks - From Daily Life to Literature
Nguyễn Hoàng Thuy Kha, Fulbright University, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

1:30 PM 7E: Vietnamese Refugees in the United States

Success of the Vietnamese Refugees in America 50 Years After the Fall of Saigon
Hai Cao, Independent Researcher

From Paddies to Prairies: The War’s End and Refugee Resettlement in a Minnesota Community
Steve Potts, Minnesota North College

3:30 pm 8A: 20 Years Later: Reflections from Participants of the 2004 Vietnam Center Study Abroad in Southeast Asia

Sam Pfiester
Jenny Hoover
Son Mai
Robert Tidwell

3:30 PM 8B: Music and Media as Voices for Freedom, Human Rights, and Democracy in Post-War Vietnam

Echoes of Repression: A 50-Year Struggle for Human Rights in Vietnam
Philip Phu Bui, College Instructor, Freelance Journalist, and Human Rights Advocate

Echoes of Freedom: Music and Art in Vietnam's Struggle for Justice
Huy Nguyen, Independent Researcher, Educator, Human Rights Advocate, Music Composer

Echoes in the Dark: Media’s Fight for Freedom and Human Rights in Repressive Vietnam
Thien Huynh, Journalist, Human Rights Activist and Chi-Hue Diem Le, Educator, Performing Artist

3:30 PM 8C: Nói & Nối: Speaking, Listening, Connecting, and Healing Fifty Years after War

Intergenerational Dialogue in the Vietnamese Diaspora

Jason Nguyen, Ph.D., Cerritos College
Chistina Vo, Independent Researcher, Stanford University

3:30 PM 8D: Multimedia Presentation on the End of the Vietnam War

Last Men Out: ARVN Veterans Reflect on the Final Days of South Vietnam

This multimedia presentation by Ms. Thanh Tan will feature recorded snippets from
ARVN veterans and explore what they have taught her about the last battle of the
Vietnam War and the legacy she and other descendants of South Vietnam inherit.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with Ms. Tan, Dr. Jay Veith,
and RVN veterans in attendance.

5:00 PM : Closing Remarks