Echoes of the Vietnam War

By Vietnam Veterans Memorial FundSociety & Culture History

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Echoes of the Vietnam War episodes

September 28 The War Within a War (Part 1)
In the 1960s, America was fighting two wars at once: one in Vietnam and another at home over civil rights.
Acclaimed journalist and author Wil Haygood grew up watching both unfold. Young men from his Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood disappeared into the war in Vietnam while, at home, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the unrest that followed brought the struggle for racial equality directly to his streets.
In Part 1 of this three-part series, Wil joins us to explore the story behind his book, The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home — and why the histories of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement cannot truly be understood separately.
We also meet two Black veterans whose lives illustrate that intersection.
George Forrest grew up in segregated Maryland, attended Morgan State University and became an Army officer at a time when Black officers were still routinely confronted with discrimination. In 1963, while stationed with the Old Guard at Fort Myer, he found himself on alert for possible civil unrest during the March on Washington — unaware that his own parents were among the marchers.
Dorothy “Dottie” Harris knew from childhood that she wanted to become a nurse. After serving in the Navy and completing nursing school, she joined the Army and volunteered for Vietnam, where she would eventually care for some of the war’s most severely wounded.
Their stories reveal the complicated meaning of military service for Black Americans during this era — a source of opportunity, responsibility and belonging, but also an institution that reflected many of the inequalities of the country they were serving.
Wil also examines the draft, Project 100,000, and the disproportionate burden placed on Black and poor Americans as the United States searched for more men to send to Vietnam.
This is Part 1 of The War Within a War. In Part 2, George Forrest goes into combat in one of the war’s deadliest battles, Dottie Harris confronts the human cost of the war from a field hospital, and Wil Haygood explores how Black and white service members depended on one another for survival in Vietnam.
Featured in this episode:
Wil Haygood — journalist and author of The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home
George Forrest — U.S. Army veteran
Dorothy “Dottie” Harris — U.S. Army nurse and Vietnam veteran
Learn more:
Visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at vvmf.org
Connect with VVMF:
Facebook: facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
Instagram: instagram.com/vnveteransmemorial
YouTube: youtube.com/@VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
38 min
September 11 Taking Requests, Taking Fire (Part 2)
For five days, nine Americans waited inside a house in Huế for a rescue that never came.
Then the enemy came through the door.
In the second and final part of Taking Requests, Taking Fire, John Bagwell’s story moves from siege to survival as the position occupied by AFVN Detachment 5 is finally overrun during the Tet Offensive.
Three men would be killed.
Five would be captured and spend years as prisoners of war.
John Bagwell escaped alone.
Shot through the foot and separated from friendly forces, John found himself moving through enemy-held Huế with no clear path back to American lines. The Army had already reported him dead.
But “The Scrawny Thing” was still alive.
John recounts the chaos of the attack, the men he was forced to leave behind, and his desperate attempt to survive while wounded and alone in a city consumed by fighting.
His escape would take him through the streets and rice paddies around Huế as he searched for a way back to American forces.
Taking Requests, Taking Fire, Part 2 is the conclusion of John Bagwell’s remarkable story — from radio disc jockey to survivor of one of the most dramatic episodes of the Tet Offensive.
It is also the story of the men of AFVN Detachment 5: those who died, those who were captured, and the one man who made it out.
Featured in this episode:
John Bagwell — Armed Forces Vietnam Network disc jockey and Vietnam veteran
Learn more:
Visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at vvmf.org
Connect with VVMF:
Facebook: facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
Instagram: instagram.com/vnveteransmemorial
YouTube: youtube.com/@VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
40 min
August 27 Taking Requests, Taking Fire (Part 1)
Before Vietnam became a fight for survival, John Bagwell had what he considered one of the best jobs in the Army: playing music on the radio.
Bagwell was a disc jockey with the Armed Forces Vietnam Network, broadcasting for the First Cavalry Division in An Khê. Known on the air as “The Scrawny Thing,” he played records, took requests and helped give American troops a connection to home.
Then, on January 29, 1968, John was sent to Huế.
The next night, the Tet Offensive began.
In Part 1 of Taking Requests, Taking Fire, John recounts the unlikely path that took him from radio broadcasting to one of the most dangerous places in Vietnam. What initially seemed like another AFVN assignment quickly changed as fighting erupted across Huế and the city became one of the major battlegrounds of Tet.
John and eight other Americans at AFVN Detachment 5 found themselves cut off and trapped inside a rented house as enemy forces moved through the city.
For five days, they waited.
They stayed in contact when they could, listened for signs that help was coming and watched the war move steadily closer to their position.
But the rescue they were hoping for never arrived.
This is the story of Armed Forces Radio in Vietnam, the men who brought music and a piece of home to American troops, and the moment when one young disc jockey’s war changed forever.
Featured in this episode:
John Bagwell — Armed Forces Vietnam Network disc jockey and Vietnam veteran
John Bagwell returned home from Vietnam with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with “V” for valor.
Learn more:
Visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at vvmf.org
Connect with VVMF:
Facebook: facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
Instagram: instagram.com/vnveteransmemorial
YouTube: youtube.com/@VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
35 min
August 10 The Time Bomb
Sixty-five years ago today, a test aircraft sprayed herbicide over Bien Hoa province. The operation that grew from that test lasted a decade and dumped roughly 20 million gallons of herbicide on South Vietnam. In this episode we’ll explore how Operation Ranch Hand affected the people who served in Vietnam — and their descendants — and how the U.S. government has responded since.
41 min
July 24 The Plastic Range
In July 1969, Job Gonzalez was lowered into a tunnel where his enemy was waiting. When he resurfaced minutes later, he was out of the frying pan and into the fire. His valor that day earned him a Silver Star recommendation that lost its way in the chaos. A mechanical engineer, Job describes trauma in the only language that fits: the point where a material bends and can't spring back.
38 min
July 10 The Long Night
In EP118, "The Void," we joined Mark Coonrad on a road trip to visit the graves of three men who died serving with the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division — the "Braves." Heavily engaged in the Central Highlands, this unit earned high commendations for its bravery and combat effectiveness, and enduring legendary battles like Dak To. In this conclusion, we hear from Jim Wytko, one of the surviving Braves who's still around to tell their story.
37 min
June 24 The Void
The Braves of the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment fought a hard, largely unsung war in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Nearly 300 never came home, and most of their families received little more than a telegram — hardly enough to understand what happened. A veteran of the Iraq War has set out to fill that void: to visit every one of their graves and remember each as "more than just a name on The Wall."
41 min
June 12 Eight Bells
The United States Coast Guard is the service that has to go out but doesn't have to come back. By July of 1965, the first 82-foot patrol boats were arriving at Da Nang. Most people don't even know the Coast Guard was in Vietnam, and the people who do know tend to picture them somewhere in the background, keeping the shipping lanes clear. During his one-year tour, Woody Barley was definitely not in the background.
37 min
May 26 Diane Carlson Evans
Diane Carlson Evans passed away last week at the age of 79, following a battle with cancer. An Army nurse who served 18 months in Vietnam, she became a tireless advocate for the women who served there, ensuring their courage, sacrifice and service were recognized alongside their fellow Vietnam veterans. As we continue to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day, we’re honored to bring you her story.
53 min
April 27 A Bad Day
On January 14, 1969, Army Specialist Gary Guggenberger was ambushed, shot four times, and captured. He spent the next four years in chains, being moved from one prison camp to another -- all in South Vietnam. In this episode, Brad Dunham of the Brady Oberg Legacy Podcast shares Part 1 of his interview with Gary.
54 min

About Echoes of the Vietnam War

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Even after 50 years, the impact of the Vietnam War echoes across generations. Hear the stories of service and sacrifice from people who are affected — veterans, their families, and others who add…