Conference - Vietnam: International Perspectives on a Long War

15–16 August 2013

In August, the Australian War Memorial, with the support of Boeing Australia and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), will host an international conference on the Vietnam War, to mark the 40th anniversary of the ceasefire in 1973 and the withdrawal of Australian and American forces.

Vietnam: international perspectives on a long war will gather leading historians, authors, former war correspondents, and veterans from Australia and overseas to bring together diverse perspectives on the often controversial issues raised by the war.
 
The keynote address will be delivered by Australian War Memorial Boeing Visiting Fellow, Dr John A. Nagl, Minerva Distinguished Research Professor at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. Dr Nagl is the author of Learning to eat soup with a knife: counterinsurgency lessons from Malaya and Vietnam (2002), and he was a member of the writing team that produced the US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual.
 
Throughout the two-day conference, participants and guest speakers will explore many of the questions that overshadow the Vietnam War: whether the strategic goals were relevant or attainable, whether the tactics employed were effective or appropriate, and whether the morality, cost and consequences of the long war could be justified by either side.
 
The Director of the Australian War Memorial, Dr Brendan Nelson, is delighted with Boeing’s continuing strong support of the Memorial, and in particular its support in the area of historical scholarship and the popular understanding of conflict. This conference follows the Memorial’s successful collaboration with Boeing and DVA last September on the Kokoda: beyond the legend conference.
 
“Boeing is enormously proud to support the Australian War Memorial in the vital role it plays in connecting the Australian community with the service and sacrifices of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force,” said Dr Ian Thomas, President of Boeing Australia and South Pacific. “This conference on the Vietnam War, and the perspective that Boeing Visiting Fellow Dr John Nagl brings, will help further the understanding of a conflict which remains a significant memory and influence in the lives of many veterans and the wider community.”
 
Vietnam: international perspectives on a long war will be held at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, on 15–16 August 2013.