Narrator quotes from The Vietnam War

America's involvement in Vietnam began in secrecy. It ended, thirty years later, in failure, witnessed by the entire world. It was begun in good faith by decent people out of fateful misunderstandings, American over-confidence, and Cold War miscalculation. And it was prolonged because it seemed easier to muddle through than to admit that it had been caused by tragic decisions, made by five American presidents, belonging to both political parties.

Vietnam seemed to call everything into question: The value of honor and gallantry; the qualities of cruelty and mercy; the candor of the American government, and what it means to be a patriot. And those who lived through it have never been able to erase its memory, have never stopped arguing about what really happened, and who was to blame, why everything went so badly wrong-and whether it was all worth it.

More than four decades after the war ended, the divisions it created between Americans have not yet wholly helped. Lessons were learned-and then forgotten. Divides were bridged-and then widened. Old secrets were revealed-and new secrets were locked away. The Vietnam War was a tragedy, immeasurable and irredeemable. But meaning can be found in the individual stories of those who lived through it, stories of courage and comradeship and perseverance, of understanding and forgiveness and, ultimately, reconciliation.