The Vietnam War Oral History Project (VNWOHP) gathers, documents, preserves, and disseminates recorded interviews, written records, and historical artifacts pertaining to the history and consequences of the Vietnam War. The project solicits the memories and viewpoints of those who participated in, contributed to, or experienced the effects of the Vietnam War, regardless of socio-political status, beliefs, and affiliation. Interviewees include influential policymakers, veterans, activists, and civilians around the world whose experiences have been overlooked in standard depictions of the Vietnam War.
The VNWOHP does not claim to represent the totality of the Vietnam War, nor does it respond to any single hypothesis or offer any definitive theoretical conclusions. Instead, by gathering diverse experiences of the war and its consequences, the project captures and documents the sentiments, fervor, and uncertainties of those years. In so doing, the project reveals how people’s experiences, memories, and reflections about the war affected their lives and their understanding of issues such as violence, fear, trauma, displacement, as well as social-political concepts like race, ethnicity, gender, identity or nationalism, Communism, and democracy. In capturing these diverse and complex lived experiences and perspectives and making them widely available, the project presents different and sometimes conflicting historical viewpoints to assist in creating a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of the Vietnam War and its consequences. Finally, the project will be an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and the public.
Vietnam War Oral History Project 