I disagree with Don Newell’s critique of Ken Burns’ “The Vietnam War” (“Don’t believe ‘Vietnam’ propaganda,” Sept. 28).
The problem with his letter is he does not give any facts or arguments concerning the content of Burns’ work other than his disagreement. He does not state what he disagrees, does not state relevant facts or arguments that refute the film and further calls the film “fiction.”
He goes on to give his r?sum? during the time of the Vietnam War and after. He further states that, from 1974 until 1977, he researched all aspects of the war from “every possible perspective” while on the faculty at the Air Command and Staff College, while still in the military. He calls the film “revisionist” and “propaganda-laden” and likens it to Harry Potter. Later he calls the film “a fabrication.”
This film is a documentary and, as such, has news broadcast and first-person experiences in it. It points out events of the war, and the message is clear. The war was a series of mistakes from beginning to end. Perhaps his letter is merely his polemic, influenced by his career. He gives no argument for us to disbelieve the content of the film.
