Vietnam War

Johnson pressed his ear to this humble cup to hear the tap code messages of his friend Bob Shumaker in the next cell over.

The Indomitable Spirit of American POWs Lives On in These Vietnam Prison Keepsakes

For seven years an internee at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," Congressman Sam Johnson entrusts his story to the Smithsonian

A North American F-100D Super Sabre drops a napalm bomb near Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, 1967.

This Fighter Jet Turned the Tide During Vietnam's Decisive Tet Offensive

More than five decades ago, America won this huge battle, but lost the war

Locals cross a small wooden foot bridge in Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam, just downriver from the My Lai Massacre in 1968.

The Ghosts of My Lai

In the hamlet where U.S. troops killed hundreds of men, women and children, survivors are ready to forgive the most infamous American soldier of the war

A Timeline of 1968: The Year That Shattered America

The nation is still reckoning with the changes that came in that fateful year

A new dragon statue guards the Citadel in Hue, seized by northern forces during the 1968 Tet Offensive but then recaptured in some of the fiercest combat of the Vietnam War.

Revisiting Vietnam 50 Years After the Tet Offensive

The battles of 1968 are long over. But the struggle to confront the truth goes on

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in "The Post."

What <em>The Post</em> Gets Right (and Wrong) About Katharine Graham and the Pentagon Papers

A Smithsonian historian reminds us how Graham, a Washington socialite-turned-publisher, transformed the paper into what it is today

The October 21, 1967 March on the Pentagon is remembered as one of the most significant political demonstrations of the era.

Fifty Years Ago, a Rag-Tag Group of Acid-Dropping Activists Tried to "Levitate" the Pentagon

The March on the Pentagon to end the Vietnam War began a turning point in public opinion, but some in the crowd were hoping for a miracle

An engraving from later in the 1880s shows rioters burning an orphanage for black children.

The Civil War Draft Riots Brought Terror to New York’s Streets

This dark event remains the largest civil insurrection—the Civil War itself aside—in American history

A Panel from the Marvel Comics series ‘The 'Nam.’

How Comics Captured America’s Opinions About the Vietnam War

More than any other medium, comics closely followed the narrative arc of the conflict, from support to growing ambivalence

The Homefront During the Vietnam War, As Told By One Captivating Photo

In an indelible picture taken 50 years ago, one family faces a loss in Vietnam

The National Portrait Gallery commissioned a poem from the Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa for the museum's new exhibition, "The Face of Battle."

A New Poem is Commissioned to Honor the Soldiers Who Fight America’s Wars

Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa writes “After the Burn Pits” for the National Portrait Gallery

Marilyn Leistner, who was the last mayor of Times Beach, stands next to a caution sign erected in front of the town in 1991, not long before the town was bulldozed and buried.

How Agent Orange Turned This American Small Town Into a Toxic Waste-Ridden Deathtrap

“Walking into the houses, many of them were like people had just simply stood up, walked out and never come back”

Nixon campaigning during the 1968 election

Notes Indicate Nixon Interfered With 1968 Peace Talks

Documents from aide seem to confirm long-time speculation that Nixon tried to scuttle a Vietnam peace deal to help his presidential campaign

A foundry in Phonsavan, Xieng Khouang province in Laos has processed over 85,000 live bombs to date. The country is still riddled with unexploded ordnance—a legacy of the United States' nine-year secret war.

Why the U.S. Is Pledging Millions to Clean Up Bombs in Laos

Decades later, a once-secret war still threatens Laotians

Researchers Crack Open the Mysterious Plain of Jars

After 80 years, archeologists get the chance to explore the Laotian plateau dotted with giant stone jars

Elvis Jigsaw (2011) Elvis makes an appearance in several images in Short Stories.

Photographer Matt Henry's Obsession With the 1960s Led to These Amazing Images

Inspired by the movies of the era, he brings together elaborate sets and casts to make his scenes

A girl in Vietnam puts flowers on her father’s grave in 1972

Vietnam Turns to DNA to Identify the Remains of Those Lost in the War

Technological advances in DNA analysis will make this massive effort possible

Explore Laos' Plain of Jars with Drone Footage

Many parts of the 2,000-year-old-site are off-limits because of Vetnam-era cluster bombs

Microdots: The CIA's Tiny Secret-Message Holders

In 1971, the CIA sent coded messages to the Hanoi Hilton's prisoners of war through powdered-drink packages

Sears sweater models...or government agents?

In Vietnam, the C.I.A. Paid Spies With Stuff From Sears

Nothing says "clandestine espionage" like a mail-order catalog

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