At 9pm, over the past few Monday nights, I have sat riveted to my TV screen, taking in the wonderful 10 part documentary series ‘The Vietnam War ‘ made by the incomparable documentary genius that is Ken Burns.

I am a massive fan of other docs. made by Burns, including ‘The American Civil War’ from 1990, ‘Baseball’ from 1994 and ‘Jazz’ from 2001 – more on the civil war in a minute – so I knew without seeing a frame, that I would be captivated with this new one.

But even I had no idea just how engaged I would become.  After seeing the first two episodes, it was no surprise to me to read that that the series had been sold to nearly 50 countries. It really is a very fine piece of work.

The genius for me in the programmes are the capturing of human stories involved the conflict from all the sides.  The perspective given by both of those from the North and South of Vietnam, in contemporary interviews, is the key ingredient here.

Too many other docs on this subject have only examined it from the US point of view. The tales of all those who fought for whichever side are after all, very similar and make for sobering viewing.

The examination of the then on-going civil rights battles in the US at the same time, from the viewpoint of those serving Afro American soldiers, along with the stories the continual racism they suffered on the front line, is another food for thought moment.

Put all that in the mix with the frankly diabolical political shenanigans going on from all parties and the true extent of the horror at that time is really something to observe.

Sadly, it also reflects in many ways more recent wars we have all seen, and I sat there a few times thinking how close the story was to that of say the Afghan war of recent times.

Obviously the old maxim of it being easy to get into a war, but rather more difficult to get out of one, is never truer than here.

It had all began in 1945, so had been going on for many years, before the Americans became embroiled. By the late 60s, the true horror of the war was being beamed directly back into the homes of those who had sons and daughters serving there, but also around the world. Add to that the testimony of those veterans returning home, and it all added up for an overwhelming call for the war to end.  Which it did finally, in 1975.

30 years of conflict.

For me, three key scenes captured the heartbreak perfectly. The throwing away of the service medals by the US ‘Vets’ outside the White House and under the nose of disgraced president Nixon, the testimony of the returning North Vietnam soldier to his mother, who for 6 long years had no idea if he was dead or alive. It is estimated that two million Vietnamese died during the war.

Finally, the sight of the black memorable wall in Washington DC. containing the names of 58, 220 American dead. The open grief of those attending various wreath-laying services was there for all to see.

Ken Burns and his co director Lynn Novick, took ten years to complete this mammoth task of a series and through the use of hours and hours of film and news footage, sobering stills photography, undercover tape recordings and the evocative music of the time, they have delivered, for me, a master piece of filmmaking.

If you have enjoyed this series, then another key piece of work for me by Burns for you to check out, as mentioned earlier is his study of the American Civil War.  Over five nights at the time of the original broadcast, it is said 40 million people watched it on the US PBS channel. A record audience of that time.

I bought the VHS and then the DVD a few years ago now and have watched many times. It is again, a magnificent and sobering piece of work.

The voice that stayed with me from the civil war doc was that of one of the interviewees, namely historian and novelist Shelby Foote.  His segments in the programmes are beautifully told and I genuinely felt a real sadness when I learned of his death in 2005.

In truth, what I knew of that civil conflict could have been written on the back of a postage stamp, along with the national anthem, but of course this is the point of the programmes.

Watch and learn. Open your mind, watch and educate yourself.

The Mumper of SE5