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Vietnam: In Their Own Words

An oral history honoring six Vietnam Veterans and their experiences during the war. This program is dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans.

  • Suzanne Colette Ryan
    Director
    The Battle of Iron Hill
  • Z Saenz
    Director
    The Battle of Iron Hill, Howard & Loki
  • Suzanne Colette Ryan
    Producer
    The Battle of Iron Hill
  • Brian Wilson
    Key Cast
  • Jim Barnhart
    Key Cast
  • Melvin "Butch" Morgan
    Key Cast
  • Larry Leis
    Key Cast
  • George Snyder
    Key Cast
  • Dale Dye
    Key Cast
  • Paul Damschen
    Key Cast
    "Opening Narration"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Oral History, Documentary, Vietnam, Veterans, War, Vietnam War
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 2 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Private Screening for the Interviewees Portrayed
    Tucson
    United States
    January 16, 2024
    Private Screening
Director Biography - Suzanne Colette Ryan, Z Saenz

Suzanne Ryan is a historian of American military interventions. She is the Editor of several pictorial histories of American paratroopers and glider infantrymen in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II, published by D-Day Publishing. She leads tours to the ETO for Veterans and civilians on a volunteer basis, paying her own expenses. Suzanne produced and directed a short documentary video on Revolutionary War Patriot Thomas Cooch and the Battle of Iron Hill which was awarded the Daughters of the American Revolution America 250! Committee’s National First Place for Outstanding Activity – Honoring Our Patriots.

Z is a web developer and multimedia hobbyist who works on indie films, music and games. Z worked on a short with his Mom, Suzanne Ryan, which won a national award from the DAR. Z also worked on an indie film with David Lewis (director of Weird Al's UHF), directed the cameras and effects for the main stadium jumbotron screens for livestreamed events with thousands in attendance, and assisted in other smaller editing tasks with a focus on structure and tech.

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Director Statement

Throughout the history of the United States, when the country sent its soldiers and citizen soldiers into battle, Americans have wholeheartedly supported them... until the Vietnam War. Soldiers going off to and returning from war in Vietnam, whether they enlisted or were drafted, received a much different reaction. The country was changing, and its social construct was shifting to a more power-challenging dynamic. By as early as 1967, polls showed close to half of Americans were against the war, The October 1967 Pentagon Riot - the first large public protest against the war - exemplified this divisive debate.

Soldiers returning from war were often treated as traitors to their country, particularly by the younger generations, many of whom were very vocal in their opposition. Veterans were treated with hostility, spat on, called "baby killers," and were blamed for how the war was prosecuted. They struggled to find work, and many had become addicted to drugs while in Vietnam. They turned to drinking to cope with the stress from the traumas they experienced. Many soldiers struggled to adjust back into civilian life and became isolated from their family and friends. As the war wound down, most Americans wanted to move on, not only from the disastrous war, but also from the political and social turmoil of the late 60s and early 70s. Vietnam Veterans were seen as a reminder of that time and were unfairly targeted as scapegoats for the government’s wartime policies and decisions.

The last American troops departed from Vietnam on March 29, 1973, ending direct U.S. military involvement in the war. In 1979, a decorated Vietnam Veteran named Jan Scruggs led the effort to create a memorial to the Veterans in an attempt to help heal the nation’s painful psyche from the war. It wasn’t until more than 40 years after the war that the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 was signed into law by President Trump, designating every March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

During the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, considered to be the period between July 8, 2015, and March 29, 2023, Americans collective conscience turned once again to Vietnam, this time to honor and thank its Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. In 2012, the United States of America Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration Commission was established, authorized by Congress and housed under the Secretary of Defense, and included several objectives to honor the 7 million Vietnam Veterans and their families, including a Community Partner program tasked with committing to planning and conducting events or activities that would recognize their service, sacrifice, and valor. Americans can also honor our Vietnam Veterans by a simple act of acknowledgement and support. When you see a Vietnam Veteran, give him or her the long overdue "Welcome Home" that they never received.

To read more about the United States of America Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration and its Community Partner program, visit this website:

https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/commemorative_partners/commemorative_partner_program/

Contact details:
Suzanne Ryan, Producer / Director /Co-Editor
520-310-4239
suzcleoz@aol.com

Z Saenz, Editor / Videographer
520-955-4271
zsaenz19@gmail.com