WWI Museum: The Vietnam War, 1945-1974 - Encore

today on k pr present we're visiting the national world war one museum and memorial in kansas city i'm j mcintyre in the first part of this hour we visited their newest exhibit one hundred years of collecting for the rest of this hour we'll revisit an ongoing exhibit what it may be a bit of a surprise to visitors it's the vietnam war nineteen forty five to nineteen seventy five this part of today's keep your present was originally broadcast on november tenth two thousand eighteen when you come to the world war one museum and memorial you expect to learn about world where one but the vietnam war dr matthew miller is president and ceo of the museum part of our work is to talk about the enduring impact of the war and it's interesting to learn that about one hundred thousand vietnamese served in france during world war one is a french colony so fiercely that begin to loan money to france and to help the french efforts in the french then that needed to reach out to many of the colony's the support about fifty thousand

french fifty thousand vietnamese served as laborers in france about fifty thousand us troops so in the process then by lynn label organizing they learn industrialized and their machinery they learn about and mechanical processing at the troops learn about the war strategy about more content create wolf in essence and also in the midst in at a mix of that is an achievement who was in france at the time and developed his eight points and then sought audience is that at the end of the war in an elsewhere but the windows workers came back most of those workers and came back to vietnam afterwards indochina afterwards and really then they began to push for a self determination it and to press against the look of the call isis and the independence movements were rippling right across the world including threat asia and so dave the linkage between world war one

in vietnam war is really quite clear what we seek to do is dig into just that story but the most important part of this exhibition is what happened that in vietnam itself but also what happened in the united states it's arguably one of the most contentious times in the twentieth century in the united states and so i think the pair of this exhibition is the way in which it tells the story of what happened in vietnam and then what was happening in the united states and how the us was changed as a result of this war i think a lot of us in america make them a state of really focusing on world for one that as a european war maybe it's just easier for us to wrap our heads around world war one being a european war although obviously it was a world war talked about trying to redirect some of that focus to the

eastern front so isn't it interesting that we often think of world war one as you say as i as a european ones century western front war that was fought in many places a globally metal concerts all over the world although the principle finding is in the trenches in a long way for underdog mile front that was ended up being thirty five thousand miles of trenches but at what most significant is you from pointed to is that if we can't have the countries did it in excess of a hundred and ten countries so countries from right across the world because of the the hair reaches the empire as it drew in iraq people from every inhabited continent across the globe into a conflict principally happening in europe and then of course a midway through the board the voice of what you know what's happening in russia with the revolution succeeded they are and have been that the impacts of that had that bleep the difficulties that that led to then around the peace treaties which emerged a whole series of peace treaties actually

which took longer to negotiate than the war itself and so you know this is a catastrophe for the world that really swept so many countries are into it but also then led to remarkable movements leading the independence movements or the self determination this throwing off the shackles of colonialism was that is experienced in major in vietnam it is an outgrowth of the ire of the attitudes in the ideals which are being expressed during the war and including during the retreat person says woodrow wilson one of his main points to one of his fourteen points includes self determination and done that which i'm in one of his eight points was a self determination this idea then took many many years for it to take root or at least be accepted i mean it the china vietnam and it was i resisted by iron but the

british by the french by the americans for many years and with and of course contributes to leads to this end of the vietnam war and that story's told you see an exhibition which is a compelling very evocative emotional experience an exhibition come to this museum our interest is to bring to kansas city and conversations around conflict and peace that would otherwise not be here and so part of our workers to look around the world to see you what one of these summer the exhibitions that we might get a breeder were very fortunate because of the support of the public to kansas city that we were able to build a new gallery space and open at the beginning of last year and which then gives us a new dedicated area for exhibition such as this so that two years ago we began conversation with the new york historical society who were the organizers of this exhibition and now with the third location most importantly the last and the only location west of the mississippi

about which is bringing this exhibition to the midwest and day and then with what we as the new historical society for to be interpreted for our spice i'm so often museums work with other museums that's what we've done it also includes some components of a particular to the region for example there is a town there sleeping or like a big you know about this and you know i wear a from a ship that would travel and take troops to vietnam and that one of those campuses is written on by the campy at kansas cowboy a local guy from kansas who traveled on that ship slipped on that on that the baby and i wrote on an island and we've got that as part of the exhibition with muslim culprits as well so it's come home so it's being invaded has petra mayer thank you so much thank you today and kbr presents a visit to the world war one museum in kansas city and j mcintyre

now is dr matt naylor president and ceo of the museum and memorial coming up we'll walk through the new vietnam or exhibit but first a conversation with doreen cart senior curator at the national world war one museum people come here expecting to learn about world war one people don't come here expecting to learn about vietnam why bring this exhibit here well i think because of the museum throughout we tried to show the lasting ramifications of world war ii lawn and then when we were going to get the exhibition i said wow i'd like to do an introductory area about the connections between or one in vietnam and so there were many many we had to eliminate a lot of things which are kind of the high points especially with the people that robot promos the most famous connection of course was a young man who later became home team in and he was so from french indochina which became vietnam and he was at the paris

peace talks and then in nineteen ninety he tried very hard to get audiences with the major leaguers were there creating this peace treaty can i interrupt in what capacity with he very well it actually was working in paris he has several jobs he saw there that the peace treaty conference was going to be there and he saw this as an actual opportunity to really get the information about his people out to the world and he really he really fall during president woodrow wilson's fourteen points that really do laid out the idea of self determination by by indigenous peoples him by people who were in the countries are being ruled by these colonial powers who makes the final one and so it worked or worked at a bakery he was a farmer we touch or

it have helped create the economy's antiques tours for opportunities but he'll create them yes and and he gathered some other and they record enemies of the paint primer amor mites and he gathered them together and they really started looking well you know we really need to be at the table because this war was fought for the idea of liberty and out but it was never going to happen because the french were not going to give up that territory they would gradually all the way until the fifties but he saw as an arbitrary but he was completely ignored sully other people connections there was artillery captain from this area called harry truman yes why why is he had nothing really to do with the peace treaty or anything like that alec he said many times that what he did in later life and his political life now was he learned to

hear what all the lessons he learned or for one he didn't make any decisions about were lightly because he'd been in or are and then there are other people connected instructed tankers heading overseas but he very good heat were the experiences and douglas macarthur had meetings with president kennedy are talking about you know that was trying not to get in southeast asia and then they're one of all those kind of and he's not in the news now but what he did after the war was of falling sam irvin and he was a distinguished service cross recipient or one by his actions his courage in action i and he later was say the senate have to listen to the impeachment proceedings of richard nixon and so you know the ending he was also he was not against the war but he also advised

on different aspects of the story is again his experience in the war and over one helped him in his later career in or the nameless people aren't the only enemies over fifty thousand of whom came to europe and salonga art to fight both in in military and also they came as laborers and water that they were a lot about how society that society worked that warn how how what weapons reduced they were guerrilla warfare and so these were all the things that they tip back to french indochina with them and so while we don't know their names i'll we do know that they report on in this aspect of the war and it occurs to me that that point about self determination that was such an important part of the

treaty oversight and and would later become part of her achievements points as well that perhaps come out of world war one that idea that the days of colonization were over was really meant more for the losers of world war one the band the victors and so why should self determination matter to france when france had one had won the war and that there's some there's some tension there well it's good to know that you go through new zealand got me got a nice point by visiting us but that's exactly right that the vicars always get the spoils and while i don't think there was really any director victor in her one there were that allows it fully on piracy does just disintegrated assault the ottoman

empire the austro hungarian empire of course the russians didn't quickly in nineteen seventeen year before the treaty are ending course they were allowed to come to the treaty signing but yeah it was it was really a who was who is in charge i can't always like to talk about for one as being a time when you you had the the top hats and they knew it to the tune hats and the new rackets top hats and the team has had to do all the work with the top hats were the beginning india and nothing really got solved and kirsten that refers to the steel helped that war and you know and then they said ok you'll go home now and a silk outsourced top hats really charging in so you're exactly right it was it was not really it did not accomplish what wilson had dictated by he was kind of loaded and lit they'll be at the french and the british really in

charge at the paris peace conference so on you know he really didn't change all let's go back to some more those connections between world war one and the vietnam war one of this commission some of the people what are some of the other connections between the two wars well if he goes to the exhibition the vietnam war exhibition and have a lot of the agreement that the american soldiers carried odd the canteen it's on exhibit is almost identical to the cantina were terry moore wanted except its made out of plastic but the carriers the same size hooked on the belt same way on terror the city was heavier a more modern but it was the same type of same layout of their equipment they carried on their backs and one abilities like talk about the weapons but there

was one weapon that american jews during a rifle colorado model nineteen oh three springfield rifle it was so accurate that it was still being used in vietnam are primarily by snipers even though that they are there are like weapons had advance greatly the time that the people who needed to have really good side and look at their targets they were using what had been develop before wobble is used extensively so i kind of see those connections because of the material culture less spicy that and so i know that the helmet that they were wearing tomorrow they'll one helmet came directly because that was used or one didn't really satisfy what was needed and so it even though it was used until nineteen forty two it really changed how protection of individual soldiers occurred and then you know this whole idea of camouflage and fitting

into the environment really came in and started in her one and continued greatly into vietnam war so i am you're the real use the tools at hand and the tools in some places some things have not really changed that much particulate could exhibit sure but we're walking up to the entrance of the exhibit and there is a site that looks to me like it's straight out of the mash tv show tell me what that says you got it exactly right these were a signpost that have been put up overseas since world war one and i asked one of our volunteers here is a vietnam veteran i said did as sipos vietnamese is of course they get and so our designer of the exhibition here to build their season and he's an artist and wood workers well and he built or

signposts for him and i just sort of want to put on all the different posts and down so it's kind of the college entrance peace and also it's our sunday and a great opportunity for selfies people could they could say well the universe there's a saigon eight thousand miles away or you know whatever and but curators i get right i got the idea from age from what's in the live shows because they have the sign posts that you take me back a few years that i want to thank you first seem them are asking about it because you know sometimes people just walk by things and don't pay attention we liked always so people were things are geographically so we have the period maps all of the people we were talking about poaching man and harry truman are franklin roosevelt who was assistant secretary of the navy during world war one and core still

present in nineteen forty five and it would just to show that people everything is always about the people and that's what we deal with us about the humanity are in the wars and so so when you do get here was the great introduction for you to see what were these documents of historical things are happening at that time and then looked at how much that's douglas macarthur you know using more water carried tremendous harry truman a particular position in this area downtown it's very popular still and down and we're we like to really show the people that are here and what they did so what we see here and come into the vietnam war nineteen forty five nineteen seventy five exhibition you see visual will be civilized and this was a private collection there was a similarly donated to the new york historical society our and so the

very much you know very graphic way to see it even seasoned your minute long had designs decorations on that so darren how many how many letters do you have here i think for over at least over to italy i can take out one and described for me also what on radio but there's some colorful language as you hear vietnam seventy one seventy two and darwin stephen and so with that it was the heart of the eurozone and all have a peace sign on name carved on and so you know or just that is they are there's helicopters and see helicopters and so much had their insignia of their unit like as a paratrooper insignia and some have attachments of different city on the analysis is really

telling here the one that has a bullet hole through it oh my cats and so person survived are you one says pray for peace in their life around the jaw and there's a lot of girls which was you know of the time period in you know we just as you could stand here at this animal monikers in the exhibition are but you know it's really it was really one interesting way to doing its mission to include this kind of are documents that were created by the solutions else there so personnel yes you know it's something that its personnel to the person a caring and it's also something that they were very close and their bodies were yes it was in the charts and it was so humiliating it's amazing on the back of one of these i can see reflected on america's the map of vietnam the us has been the entire of severe disability

we didn't in fact just stay there and look of the zippo lighters today on tv are present at the look at the new vietnam war exhibit that opened last week at the national world war one museum in kansas city i'm j mcintyre senior curator door in car gave me a behind the scenes tore the exhibit and directed my attention to a display case they contained a denim jacket as we get away with buttons and was a bordering on years of government easy on there and theres a pinup girl embroidered on the back and it catches you know this was a well worn piece of clothing and then how it subjectively judged sides with the the actual american uniform all that was worn in the early part of the war and so i like that i like that how the things like that and how their very

dissimilar and then i mean when i was going to college in an early seventies i had eyeballs of these types of things with a jean jacket and the genes that were decorated and then the army surplus so this is really kind of personal to me as well and then kind of this side of the room is is the largest soggy really in the exhibition is called a berlin unit and this is what was on ships in this is an actual unit those on shipping because he examined what lay those basically debunks bayonne and that's what they have to sleep or so just to describe this it's four bunks that are really really close to get together on a metal structure held by chains and didn't even see how one sided shows you how look the us base in the mattress was on there and how they retain their uniforms and the white jackets and things

on the birthing unit and then on the other side when you see the actual parts of the earth in the little forward up and you see what guys would be lying on their bunk and they would draw some graffiti a little graffiti and they're like a tourist here course that came about really was used for more one that the guy with the big nose looking over the wall show or was he and here to a riot on his way to vietnam war was in vietnam are any sci fi router their nicknames honor one day i was seasick ah and then there's a religious intolerance the cheesecake drawing a lot of vietnam vietnam susie oh gee i am it's a strike two female except her face is the same as leukemia it's our oh you're racist so you know so that was housing a man in a bikini yes and i'm sure you would not of like to

see that but unable to see fellows guitar they took with him and i wanted a duffel bags and all these things are really is so the idea the humanity of what the people were doing in the war we have this kind of interesting hands on activity where people can try and lift a typical what's that was carried on the backpack and when he weighs was seventy pounds he said this is basically what facts there sort of on us what they carry on the rack to carry or equipment they're reindeer their food containers a canteen and a metal frame around it and so people can come and try to lift the tests are given to travel to the microphone for a second and it just a disclaimer i have and infamously known week upper body strength is falling going to not work

yeah i didn't get it right so that's it that's why we do you think there's another experience to people who are coming in through the exhibition and this is the typical wave a rock fan as emily vessels or a military burial though christie's you know with vietnam veterans that i've talked to out and because there's a sort of a bare minimum of bs and if you need to carry extra water or you or your weapons artillery mortar team during the world war two the rockets for that so you'll be hearing a lot more than that he was a lot of movies as the civil war movies and then the course of doing the question now but move from vietnam and probably one of the best scenes of showing them carry equipment is in forrest gump and they're going around the check in the tiny holes in the

dollar couldn't carry the rocket launchers and everything and it really shows and movies is you don't get it right it's very short scene but it's who really you know shows without a lot of drama to it what these guys had to carry around you can have that one where adam baron ok will let's go holly this hospital's emergency medicine katrina casualties shows without really being too graphic about what it was like in a field hospital very quickly and this has a helmet there would show is that it was just wonder what's and so we were telling our visitors that you know that there are

some graphic pieces that i think probably that helmet are really tells the story more than anything the graphic nature of the soul we try and they did a very good job at the new york historical society putting this gathering explaining we're not doing this just for sensational as we were doing this to really give you an idea of what they had to go through and then i'm going to begin we have a time on there's a really a setting of a shrine from local vietnamese home and shows a different kind of things that they would probably shrines and then throw in the most poignant aspects of the show the exhibition are objects that had been left by family members and friends at the vietnam wall in washington dc and her mother left

her goal her son was killed in vietnam left his old baby sweater and somebody else left in a baseball glove and the ball that war use by that so drew escort when he was growing up and that he was also lost during that time in the sprawling willow things a bit really i think we need to discuss in the future is that the author is no vietnam war museum in the united states their museum collections that have things but there's no national park service and these were truthful all from the united states national park service and they gathered to get them in storage but there's no place really to people to see them so it's a very tiny percentage of the kind of objects that are left at the wall you swear readied exodus exhibit what is it that you hope that visitors to the world war one museum and did this exhibit in particular we hope that they draw from that well i hope that well several things but

one helped they will see this simply raise that that was a horrible thing you know being should never be in a war it's really accomplishes nothing but having done people die and civilians die in the season and in our the museum exhibition home or want and they can see it in here and we don't really solve anything by well now i'm not a pacifist really thing like that i know things occur that you have to defend your country but you know recently the prices paid i don't think has ever really worth it what you hope to be accomplished and what's actually accomplished are two different things and i don't really like to tell people what to think i like for them to acknowledge their feelings as they've gone through the exhibition an and tell us if they have an ordinary thing and i don't think anybody's ever tortoise at our

museum that they have a border he think so so we want them to come and see this exhibition palaces this will be the last place of this exhibit will be shown to the public but also we want them to appreciate the memorial it's here and the incredible world class collection that we have from every country it was a baltimore won and down will want to really you know take something regardless of what it is a born that was thank you so much lauren your door and cart is senior curator at the world war one museum and memorial in kansas city we visited their exhibit the vietnam war nineteen forty five to nineteen seventy five which runs through july twenty six earlier this hour we also walk through their newest exhibit one hundred years of collecting the national world war one museum and memorial reopened this month on a limited basis check their website the world war dot org

for information on tickets and availability you can also find many of the items on exhibit online at their website again that's the world war dot org and j mak entire cake to represent is a production of kansas public radio at the university of kansas