We will focus on the history of Vietnam and its colonial period including involvement in World War II, the rise of Ho Chi Minh, and the French-Indochina War. Our next point of emphasis will be the division of Vietnam into North-South and U.S. involvement leading up to U.S. Marines landing in 1965. We will conclude with an extensive discussion of the Vietnam War, including strategy by U.S., South Vietnamese, Viet Cong, and North Vietnamese forces leading to the eventual collapse of South Vietnam in 1975.

Moderator: Ed Linz, a 1965 graduate of the Naval Academy, is the author of six books, including recent works on the Great Depression and the Vietnam War. He holds advanced degrees from Oxford Univ. and George Mason Univ. and lives in Maine and Virginia. He was the recipient of a heart transplant in 1994. He is a native of Northern Kentucky.