I just finished watching all 10 episodes of “The Vietnam War” documentary produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Personally, I found it painful to watch. The accuracy and impact of this series will be a subject of debate for some time to come.
I firmly believe that the seeds of acrimony, division and mistrust that were planted during this sordid chapter of our nation’s history have had a negative effect on our country ever since. It is worse now than at any time since the turbulent 1960s.
I was stationed for 26 months at Fort Rucker, Ala., during the time when the U.S. Army trained the helicopter pilots who flew the Hueys, CH47s, OH 13s and other helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft that were used used extensively in Vietnam.
I consider myself to be one of the fortunate ones. I did not serve in Vietnam.
Lawrence E. Sourbeer, Arvada
Re: “,” Sept. 28 letter to the editor.
I read letter-writer Bill Powell’s comments on the Ken Burns documentary, and am deeply grieved by the feelings that were reignited in him about the war. Powell wrote that many people who were protesting the war at the time “were more concerned with their own personal safety than any high moral ground.”
I spent time in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 as a registered nurse with Vietnam Christian Service, a voluntary agency that included many individuals who were serving three-year assignments as conscientious objectors. We studied the culture, and we learned the language, and had close friendships with Vietnamese and Montagnards (tribal) people, upon whom we depended to fulfill our assignments as nurses, doctors, physical therapists, community development and agricultural workers, throughout all of South Vietnam.
Many of us did indeed protest the U.S. involvement in the war, not for concern for our personal well-being, but because our heartfelt beliefs and values prompted us to seek ways that we hoped would bring caring and healing to a deeply troubled land.
Jean C. Lindsey, Denver
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