Unit 3: Vietnam War Return to Vietnam: Healing on the Hill

Author/Filmmaker: Kevin Wallevand, 1999

MBC Tape Number: TV-7633

Learning objective:
• Students will observe a historic episode in the aftermath of a war without closure.
• Students will understand the importance of closure for the men and women who fought the Vietnam War.
• Students will gain insight into pain and loss -- the results of war.
• Students will see the healing effects of peace and time.

Background information: On June 2, 1969, American soldiers in B-Troop, Vietnam were dropped on Hill 376, also known as Hamburger Hill. Surprising the American forces, 2000 Viet Cong were waiting in the brush of the hill, where they ambushed and killed American soldiers. It was a bloody, vicious conflict with few survivors.

Bibliographies:
Encyclopedia of Television, Museum of Broadcast Communications, Editor: Horace Newcomb, Fitzroy Dearborn, l987, ISBN 1884964265
   A comprehensive resource tracing the history of a communications medium that changed the world.
   Education-friendly, engaging, and informative.

The Vietnam Reader, Editor Stuart Nonan, Anchor Books, ISBN 0140265473
   A definitive collection of American fiction and nonfiction about the war.

Vietnam: A History, by Stanley Karnow, Penguin Books, ISBN 0140265473
   Interesting companion to the PBS American Experience Series.

Vietnam: Four American Perspectives, Editor: Patrick Hearden, Purdue University, ISBN 1557530033
   Series of lectures by Sen. George McGovern, General William Westmoreland, Edward Luittwak and Thomas McKormick
   presented at Purdue University.

Documentary summary: The 27-minute documentary chronicles the return of 18 American veterans to Hill 376 in Vietnam 30 years after they were ambushed by the Viet Cong in a deadly conflict. The veterans, along with families of hill casualties, retrace the climb and eventually reach the top of the hill, where they return to remembrance of the tragedy. Kevin Wallevand introduces his poignant work as a journey of promises, forgiveness, renewal, and healing. The camera records that journey and aftermath which includes a reunion of Vietnam veterans and their past enemies, the Viet Cong.

Standards: Standards met according to Chicago Public School academic standards, located at http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/Standards/CAS/cas.html:

• CPS - CASD, DFS
• State Goal 16: Social studies: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements, shaping history of Illinois, US, and other nations.
• Learning Standard: apply skills of historical analysis and interpretation.
• State Goal 17: Understand geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on society with and emphasis on United States.
• Standard a: Locate, describe and explain places, regions, and features of the earth.
• Standard d. Understand historical significance of geography.
• State Goal 3: English language arts: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
• Learning Standard c:Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes.
• State Goal 5: Use language arts to acquire, assess, and communicate information.
• Learning Standard b:Analyze and evaluate information acquired from various sources.

Pre- and Post-Discussion Questions

Pre-Discussion Question

1. Was there a time in your life that you walked away from a place and left a part of you there? When and where? How did you feel? Did you ever want to go back and try to recapture the way it made you feel, think, or act?
   
2. On September 11, 2001, a group of terrorists attacked America and destroyed the World Trade Center in New York. Everyday, thousands of people go to the site and remember. Why do you think people have the need to visit a place where so many people died?

Post-discussion Questions

1. People have different ways of reconciling their pasts. Do you think going back to Vietnam helped the soldiers and their families make peace with the part they played in the war?
2. What stage of the journey do you think was the most significant in helping the 18 American veterans understand and forgive?

Suggested Projects/Activities

1. Invite a Vietnam veteran to class, preferably a relative of student.
   
2. Watch other DocuFest documentaries on Vietnam. Compare and contrast the point of view.
   
3. Research print news articles on the Vietnam War on June 2, 1969.
4. Have students write a description of a place they have left behind in their lives. It could be a home, church, school, amusement park, neighborhood, etc. Then, allow students to read their entry aloud. After students have shared their thoughts, discuss the possibilities of making a return trip to the place. Visual: Students may draw or paint their place as they remember it.
5. Create a journal for one of the speakers in the documentary. Write it as though he were writing it during the ambush.
   
6. Write a description of Doc. Though you did not meet him in the documentary, describe the impression you have of him.
   
7. Write an entry in the imaginary journal of Joseph LaPointe at the age of 17.

Feedback: Have suggestions or comments regarding this lesson plan? E-mail us at education@museum.tv.