Vietnam – 2 Centuries of Conflict

Purchase tickets HERE. 

Six U.S. Presidents, from Truman to Ford, supervised the military during the Vietnam Era that spanned from November, 1955 to May 1975.The Executives supported the colonization of the Vietnamese people by the French, later backed the illegitimate leaders of the Republic of South Vietnam, and finally declared war against North Vietnam.  The costs to America for the Vietnam War from the buildup in 1965 to the withdrawal in 1975 were staggering. They included 58,281 names of the dead on the Vietnam War Memorial; 1,582 service members still unaccounted for and 180,000 wounded and disabled. In addition, the conflict cost at least one trillion dollars in today’s money as we are still counting the costs from Agent Orange disabilities and the traumas of PTSD.

The first hour will feature a presentation of the factors that made North Vietnam a formidable combatant and the resulting decisions that kept the US involved. Following will be a recounting of the reasoning for our withdrawal without achieving victory.

The second hour will be an opportunity for the audience members to ask questions of a panel of veterans from the local VVA Chapter.

July 23- 1 to 3 at the SLO Veteran’s Museum

Dennis Hennessy has been retired from business management since 2000. He received his original orders as a Combat Engineer, 65th Combat Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division,  to be deployed in Vietnam.  Dennis served in that conflict from July 1967-68.  His three-year enlistment ended with the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1970.

Purchase tickets HERE.