Remembering Our Vets

Maryland Public Television to Air A Documentary About the Vietnam War

By Robert R. Bernstein

Maryland Public Television (MPT) will be airing a new documentary about the Vietnam War focusing on the veterans that served in theatre. The film will be shown on MPT over three nights during the week leading to the Memorial Day Holiday (May 24-25-26).

Entitled “Maryland Vietnam War Stories”, the documentary is part of the MPT Salutes Vietnam Veterans initiative. The film will also prepare Marylanders for the upcoming event “LZ MARYLAND” to be held on June 18 and 19, 2016 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. “LZ MARYLAND’ will be a two-day series of ceremonies and experiences to honor Vietnam Veterans. MPT has prepared a set of excellent web pages on their site to highlight both the documentary and the event at: http://vietnam.mpt.org/home/.

In commemoration of both productions, we have prepared a photo essay and interview with two veterans who are also residents of Prince George’s County. This item will appear in our next print edition. Additionally, we will provide full coverage of the event in June.

“The Vietnam War is a painful chapter in our country’s history during which hundreds of thousands of young men and women answered the call to serve yet received little in the way of recognition of their service,” explains Larry Unger, MPT president and CEO. “Our Vietnam initiative enables us to use documentary filmmaking to tell the compelling stories of our region’s Vietnam veterans and, on an even more direct level, provide the means – with our LZ Maryland event – for all of us to finally salute them for their service and offer the ‘welcome home’ they richly deserve.” 

The Vietnam War was a seminal event in modern United States History and the significance of both the documentary and the two – day follow-up event cannot be minimized. The significance will not be lost on the viewer as these productions were painstakingly created and produced. Stay tuned.