Anecdote
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S “THE WALL”
Here’s an excellent video for Bruce Springsteen’s song about the Wall, which opened to the public on Nov. 13, 1982. Videos can be interesting additions to lessons.
Anecdote
THE GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENT
– On August 4, 1964, President Johnson went on national television to tell about an unprovoked attack on American warships off the coast of North Vietnam. He announced that the U.S. had already launched retaliatory air raids on North Vietnam. Three days later, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which Read more…
Anecdote
TRUTH IS THE FIRST CASUALTY
From November 14-16, 1965, the U.S. Army fought the first battle of the Vietnam War. A battalion was helicoptered into the Ia Drang valley to sneak up on a North Vietnamese regiment, but knocked over a hornet’s nest of three regiments. The three days of combat were intense and Read more…
Anecdote
THE FIRST VIETNAM BATTLE
In 1964, the U.S. sent its first combat troops to South Vietnamese to prop up the non-communist government. No significant contact with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army occurred until the following year. American forces were taking losses from surprise attacks, so payback was necessary. The idea was Read more…
Anecdote
FORTUNATE SON
Today is the 76th birthday of John Fogerty. Here is the history of his most famous hit. One day, John Fogerty was sitting in his bedroom and he was angry about the unfairness of the draft. He was specifically thinking of David Eisenhower (grandson of Pres. Eisenhower and Read more…
Anecdote
TUNNEL RATS
In Vietnam, it took a while for Americans to figure out how the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese avoided contact so well. Part of it was their ability to hide in the jungle, but they also had an intricate tunnel system. The most famous were the tunnels of Cu-Chi. Read more…