Will Latino Veterans Be Excluded From Vietnam War Documentary?

In case you never heard about Ken Burns, “The War,” and the resulting controversy, let me try to break it down quickly. Ken Burns created this massive documentary about World War II for PBS, worked on it for a long time, and it was set to launch until a group of Latino veterans cried out, “Hey, what about us?” You see, Ken Burns had created his documentary, finished and ready to air, without including Latinos at all.

For those not in the know, WWII was very important for Latinos in the U.S., partly because it helped give rise to service organizations like the American G.I. Forum, but mostly because the G.I. Bill allowed Latinos to pursue higher education in numbers not previously seen in the U.S. at the time. In other words, Latino participation in WWII fundamentally changed the way that Latinos were able to live in this country because of the opportunities it afforded them — not to mention the many that served, died, sacrificed.

Well, now Ken Burns is set to make another documentary about the Vietnam War and the fear is that the past will be repeated. A group called Defend The Honor is updating people about it, click here for more information, and they sent out a press release recently that said in part:

Unlike the 2007 Ken Burns/PBS WWII documentary debacle that left out the Latino and Latina experience, this time they might have a different interest in filming a documentary on the Vietnam War. Many of our Defenders of the Honor are rightfully outraged that Burns, who had a track record of excluding Latinos in his work long before the 2007 WWII documentary, is still being allowed to document an important event in American history. Many feel that he has failed repeatedly and that he should never again be trusted. (He still thinks the protests of 2007 were a “misunderstanding” on our part. And one high-placed public broadcasting official called it a “dust-up” – an indication that she still does not get it.) They also question the sincerity of PBS’ commitment to diversity, after the disastrous handling of The War.

Defend the Honor welcomes attempts to include stories of Latinos and Latinas in our nation’s historical narrative. However, DTH also believes that those who choose to collaborate with Florentine Films, Burns’ production company– or with any others– should proceed with caution.

The questions, concerns and reservations surrounding Ken Burns venture into the Vietnam War are many, especially when it comes to the “human stories” of Latino and Latina veterans who served during the Vietnam War era, as well as those involved in the Chicano movement who protested the war.

We must never forget that over 170,000 Latinos and Latinas served or fought in Vietnam, of which, more than 3,070 made the ultimate sacrifice. Thousands more were wounded, exposed to Agent Orange and/or suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The toll taken on our Vietnam veterans and their families continue to be felt to this day.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas where veterans have been demanding the building of a veteran hospital.  The absence of a veteran hospital forces veterans to travel 250 miles to San Antonio for medical treatment.

There’s a lot more information at the website, the group also issued warnings for those interested in collaborating with Burns on his new Vietnam documentary, which basically amounted to: do not give them any information that’s not copyrighted, do not enter into agreements with them, if you allow them access to your information make sure you both know exactly how it may be used.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD