A Vietnam Dialogue for Educators at the Library

Posted: 10/6/2017 11:26:13 AM
Educators and other interested adults are invited to a special screening of The Ken Burns’ documentary on the Vietnam War at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library on Monday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. with staff from Idaho Public Television.

“A Vietnam Dialogue: Ken Burns for Educators” will include the screening followed by a discussion and a review of the free educational resources available for teachers from PBS.

Local Vietnam veterans will take part in the conversation.

The 63-minute compilation melds pieces of the longer 18-hour documentary into an intense and evocative overview of the entire series, which first began airing Sept. 17. The documentary, by Burns and Lynn Novick, took 10 years to complete and examines the Vietnam War conflict from all sides, including both the North and South Vietnamese viewpoints.

It utilizes graphic footage and photos from the war which may be disturbing to some viewers. In light of this, the free public event is not recommended for children.

Direct U.S. military involvement ended on Aug. 15, 1973. The fall of Saigon in April 1975 marked the end of the war.

The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240,000–300,000 Cambodians, 20,000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict, and a further 1,626 Americans remain missing in action.

Patrons who need accommodation to participate in library programs or services are asked to contact the staff prior to the activity by calling 208-769-2315. For more library information visit www.cdalibrary.org or www.lcplibrary.org. The library is a department of the City of Coeur d’Alene and a member of the Cooperative Information Network, www.cinlibraries.org. The library news blog is available at www.cdalibrary.org/newsletter. Library Director, Bette Ammon. Main Library hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m./Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m./Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Lake City Branch Hours: Monday through Thursday, 3-6:30 p.m. For regular updates follow our libraries on Facebook and Twitter.