Ken Burns' Vietnam

I recently submitted the following item to the PBS website regarding experiences during the Vietnam Era. The site is gathering statements to be presented in accordance with the new Ken Burns documentary. I am anxious to watch the program and see if Burns gives any time to those of us who were in favor of the war. From 1963-1967, I was an undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati. During that time, the vast majority of the student body was in favor of the government’s position in Vietnam and also in favor of the draft. I was a reporter, section editor, and later editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, the News Record during those years. We periodically polled and interviewed students regarding the Vietnam conflict. We covered speeches and printed draft information. One columnist, a political science major, showed excellent insight into the problems of Southeast Asia. The protest movement began in March of 1965. That spring, we received hundreds of letters to the editor—most in favor of the war and opposing the protesters who were denying us an education by blocking pathways to class and stuffing flyers in our faces. At one point, we had so many letters that the headline read, “Our Rabid Readers Rage On…” The protest movement at UC was a branch of Students for a Democratic Society. The local chapter (which was not a recognized campus organization) contained less than 10 individuals, and we were never certain if all ten were actually enrolled at the university. There were over 20,000 students at that time. Those of us in the News Record office were constantly harassed by that small group. They submitted letters and columns and bothered us during our deadline days. Because we wanted to show all sides to the issue, we printed many of their articles. One professor, the force behind the group, was particularly bothersome and sarcastic. The news editor and I were members of Guidon, the women’s auxiliary to Scabbard and Blade, the ROTC recognition society. We wore red jackets on event days. That professor once looked at us and shouted, “The Redcoats are coming!” The situation came to a head in the fall of 1966 when the University Student Government voted to support the US position in Vietnam. The statement said, “RESOLVED: Members of the Student Council of the University of Cincinnati do hereby express their support of the effort by American and allied forces to assist the people of South Vietnam to defend their country against armed aggression and to create a climate favorable to liberty and free choice.” Many more stories regarding the protest movement and the war are in my book, The Other UC and Me: Editing the Sixties.