The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive and the Institute for Peace & Conflict at Texas Tech University are pleased to announce our annual Vietnam War conference entitled, 1970-1971: Nixon, Discord, and the US Withdrawal from Vietnam
This day and a half event will approach a wide range of historical topics with presentations that examine diplomatic, military, international, regional, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War, as well as the policies, strategies, and decisions of President Richard Nixon, General Creighton Abrams, and their advisors and deputies as they sought to bring about a successful conclusion to the conflict. 1970 and 1971 were also years of major domestic discord inside the United States, including the shootings at Kent State University, the Hard Hat Riot in New York City, the Mayday Action in 1971, along with various antiwar and anti-draft protests. Additional areas of interest will include major combat operations as well as the political, strategic, and tactical decision-making to expand the war into Cambodia (Cambodian Incursion) and into Laos (Operation Lam Son 719).
Conference presentations will examine social and religious aspects of the war, the effects of journalism and reporting on wartime perceptions, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy. Presentations will also reflect the varied perspectives of many participant nations including those of the US, RVN, DRV, NLF, and others. The conference includes thirty-four presentations by scholars and wartime participants from Vietnam, Canada, UK, Poland, and throughout the US.
This conference is free, open to the public, and is an online only event using Zoom Webinar. Audience participants must register separately for each conference webinar session and may do so using the registration links available through our online Conference Agenda:
https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2021_Conference/agenda.php
Friday, April 9
8:30 AM: WELCOMING REMARKS
Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University
Michael San Francisco, Ph.D., Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Texas Tech University
Zoom Webinar Registration: https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JweCiMdIQ6WHNR929-y_hw
9:00 AM: Plenary Session
Introduction: Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict and Associate Professor of History, Texas Tech University
“Victory, Defeat, or Stalemate? Doubt and Uncertainty in America’s Withdrawal from Vietnam”
Greg Daddis, Ph.D., San Diego State University
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GpV7FEtdT9OkcSNpAQ69OA
10:00 AM: Break
10:30 AM: Sessions 2
Session 2A: Beyond the Quagmire: New Interpretations of the Vietnam War
Introduction: Justin Hart, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Academic Programs, Institute for Peace & Conflict and Associate Professor of History, Texas Tech University
A Discussion Featuring:
Geoffrey Jensen, Ph.D., College of Security and Intelligence
Ron Milam, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Doug Bradley, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin at Madison
Martin Clemis, Ph.D., U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Bill Allison, Ph.D., Georgia Southern University
Matthew Stith, University of Texas at Tyler
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FRHhrjPPR0WQIoI6CPKOTg
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Session 2B: The Impact of Peace Movements and Religion in Vietnam
Commentator/Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
The Peoples Peace Treaty
Doug Hostetter, Pax Christi International NGO Advocacy Team at the UN in New York
Vietnamese Nationalism: The Case of Peace Movements During 1970-1971 in South Vietnam
Ha Trieu Huy, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Our Ladys Immaculate Heart Will Prevail: Marian Devotionalism, Anticommunism, and the Vietnam Conflict
Tuan Hoang, Pepperdine University
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6B7qLx_5QtG8tnqOnaSYXw
12:15 PM: Lunchtime Presentation
Introduction: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University
Lam Son 719
James H. Willbanks, PhD, Lieutenant Colonel (USA, Ret), Professor Emeritus of Military History, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PvhZmHvdSwC9T7MKLtN7Xw
1:30 PM: Sessions 3
Session 3A: Cultures of War
Commentator/Moderator: Justin Hart, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Los Yanquis quieren fuego 1: Exploring the Cultural Rhetoric of 1970s Music Lyrics
Erin McCoy, Ph.D., University of South Carolina
No Means No: Sexual Assault of American Women in Vietnam
Rebecca McGee, Texas Tech University
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hbFMyifUSqKYDPSvqsm9Fw
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Session 3B: Vietnamization: Economic, Military, Socio-political, and Diplomatic Consequences
Commentator/Moderator: Anhlan Nguyen, DBA, Development and Marketing Director of the Institute for Civic Education in Vietnam
Deficit Financing in Wartime South Vietnam: The Major Reform of 1970-1971
Pham Do Chi, Ph.D. Independent Scholar
Vietnamization: The Precondition to Peace Without Honor
Truong Duy Nong, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Institute for Civic Education in Vietnam
A Diplomatic Observation of U.S.-Vietnam Relations during the Vietnam War
Alex-Thai D. Vo, Ph.D., Research Fellow, US-Vietnam Research Center, University of Oregon
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EfssBuanQNuBkVKSM6Ua2Q
3:00 PM: Break
3:30 PM: Sessions 4
Session 4A: The War on the Ground in South Vietnam
Commentator/Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
PSYOPS in Vietnam: Another Story of Lost Opportunity
Kyle Rable, Bowling Green University
Halting Hanoi: Godleys Clandestine Coalition and the Defense of Military Region II, 1970
Jeff Schultz, Luzerne County Community College
The Fate of Agent Blue, the Arsenic Based Herbicide, Used in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War
Ken Olson, Ph.D., University of Illinois
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kLQJOsAgQ-iJReSUqYTCOA
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Session 4B: Vietnam War Authors Panel
Commentator/Moderator: Justin Simundson, Ph.D., US Air Force Academy
Lyndon Johnson, Vietnam, and the Presidency: The Speech of March 31, 1968
David Zarefsky, Owen L. Coon Professor Emeritus, Communication Studies, Northwestern University
War in the Villages, U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons in the Vietnam War
Ted N. Easterling, PhD., Independent Scholar, Vietnam Veteran
Storms over the Mekong: Major Battles of the Vietnam War
William Head, Ph.D., Warner Robins Air Logistics Center
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6fsKl9Y3TfGQRBOZN1OQtw
5:00 PM: Break
5:30 PM: Keynote Speaker
Introduction: Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict, Texas Tech University
Differing Realities for Negotiating Peace in Vietnam: 1970 and 1971 in Washington, Saigon, and Hanoi
Larry Berman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yDpA6_7pRRS4ws4nyCDyCg
Saturday, April 10
8:30 AM: Sessions 5
Session 5A: The Son Tay Raid: The Greatest Thing that Happened in the Vietnam War
Commentator/Moderator: Cliff Westbrook, Captain, USAF (inactive)
A Discussion Featuring:
John Gargus, Colonel, USAF (retired)
Terry Buckler, Sergeant, USA (inactive)
Patrick St.Clair, Command Sgt Major, USA (retired)
Lee Ellis, Colonel, USAF (retired)
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Nyx8iVuuQA-ZJIPBSBYffQ
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Session 5B: Direct and Indirect Protest Against the War
Commentator/Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
MAYDAY 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America’s Biggest Mass Arrest
Lawrence Roberts, Journalist and Author
Masters of War: Daniel Ellsbergs Decision to Leak the Pentagon Papers
Danielle McLennan, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6AZrul0ySO6_2CYuRA-jrw
10:00 AM: Break
10:30 AM: Sessions 6
Session 6A: The War in Cambodia
Commentator/Moderator: Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Tightening the Purse Strings: Congress, Cambodia, and the Vietnam War
David Prentice, Ph.D. Oklahoma State University
American presence in Cambodia from the Cambodian Incursion to Chenla II: The Question of Sources, Archive, and Local Viewpoints
Stephanie Benzaquen-Gautier Ph.D., University of Nottingham (UK)
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mUc44ocUQK–7YhT4k9Xsg
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Session 6B: The Soldier and the Diplomat: Human Engagement in the Vietnam War in 1970-71
Commentator/Moderator: Uyen Nguyen, Ph.D. Candidate, Texas Tech University
1970: A Conscientious Objectors Personal History in a Pivotal Year
Philip Szmedra, Ph.D., Gannon University
A Society Much Buffeted by Change: Planning the All-Volunteer Force in 1970
William Taylor, Ph.D. Angelo State University
Americans were wrong in all of their calculations. Meeting of First Secretaries Le Duan and Władysław Gomułka on May 5, 1970
Jarema Slowiak, Ph.D., Jagiellonian University
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RxirXZw5Tneuceo_7Ca_Bg
12:15 PM: Lunchtime Presentation
Introduction: Laura Calkins, Ph.D., Academic Programs, Institute for Peace & Conflict and Associate Professor of History, Texas Tech University
The Cambodian Incursion
Inette Miller, Author of Girls Dont! A Womans War in Vietnam; War Correspondent, Time Magazine
Zoom Webinar Registration:
https://texastech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-NzpwVkcT32RIN-6TPK0AA
Immediately following Lunch Presentation (Same Webinar)
Conference Closing Remarks
Ron Milam, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Conflict,
Texas Tech University
Stephen Maxner, Ph.D., Director, Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson
Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University
End of Conference
Please note: Attendees must register for each session. Due to Zoom licensing restrictions, some of our webinar sessions might be limited to 100 attendees. If you are prevented from attending any sessions due to those restrictions, we will be recording all sessions and will post them online shortly after the event. We apologize for any inconvenience.