David Glover and Caroline Marsden
Changing What We Know About Vietnam
By Jay S. Jacobs
All of these decades later, Americans still have strongly conflicting views on the war in Vietnam. The conflict has been the subject of films, TV shows, books, documentaries, even songs. Yet, other than certain iconic images, many people do not have a clue what it was like to be there. Particularly people of a certain age, for whom the war has been passed by fresher atrocities.
A new docuseries on Apple TV+ called Vietnam: The War That Changed America is working to put faces and names to the fighting. The creators of the series mixed archival news footage, personal home movies and new interviews with the participants of the war – not just soldiers but also the Vietnamese who lived through it all. Together, they put together a full and diverse look at what life was like during the conflict.
The day before the Apple TV+ series Vietnam: The War That Changed America was set to premiere, we chatted with producer Caroline Marsden and executive producer David Glover about the project and the war.
The series calls Vietnam the war that changed America. In what ways do you think those changes occurred at the time and how do you feel they reverberate until the present day?
David Glover: I suppose what we felt was really interesting from making a documentary series about it was that it's a 10-year period. Just in the simplest terms, looking at the footage of the start of the Vietnam War and the end of the Vietnam War, America feels like a very different place in a very different world. There have been all these seismic changes in society. For example, the civil rights movement, but also just changes in music and culture and everything. I think that the Vietnam War was very much part of that. It also divided America profoundly. One of the fascinating things about working on this documentary was that people who had fought in the war together had diametrically opposed views of the war as a result of it. Still, when we reunited them, [they] were hugging and sobbing in each other's arms, because the camaraderie of being through those experiences together was more powerful than any division.
I assume you were pretty young, if you were alive at all, when the Vietnam war ended. What did you learn about the Vietnam War from making the series?
Caroline Marsden: Oh, that's a tough question. What did I learn about the war? What did we learn?
David Glover: To jump in, I suppose I feel that one thing that surprised us was just how it still burns very brightly in the minds of the people that experienced it. Even 50 years later, one can sense the enormous intensity of the experiences. All we try and do is do justice to those experiences. Try and give viewers – like ourselves who don't remember it – some insight into what the lived experience of that war was. So, we're not trying to tell the history of what happened. We're trying to, in a way, make real war movies using the real footage and the real people involved. Trying to somehow give a glimpse of what it was like to be involved in it.
So many soldiers do not like to discuss their experiences in war. How were so many people found who were willing to go into such detail about their experiences?
Caroline Marsden: I think that that has to do with the time, right? The amount of time that's elapsed. I think a lot of people felt ready to tell their story. And maybe felt also that there would be a slightly more receptive audience to it than there was in the immediate aftermath of the war. A lot of them felt that talking about such a controversial war wasn't going to go down that well, I suppose. A lot of them now, I think, felt ready and really wanted to share their experiences.
It was also fascinating that the series looks at the war from both sides, not just the American soldiers, but also speaking with the Vietnamese civilians and the Viet Cong. What do you think these differing perspectives add to the story?
David Glover: I suppose that one sees that across all aspects, there are shared human experiences that actually often mirror each other. One gets a sense of a common humanity. It was extremely intense experiences on both sides, and often rather similar experiences and a similar sense of camaraderie from all different perspectives. But I suppose our series isn't trying to be polemic. It's not trying to tell people how to feel about it. We give you the experience and let viewers make up their own minds about those questions, in a way.
There are so many documentaries which explore the war in Vietnam. What were you looking to do with this series to stand out and be different?
Caroline Marsden: We wanted to tell it through the people who were there. A lot of other documentaries have explored the politics of it and the political decisions made in different battles. We wanted to give people the experience of personal stories. We wanted personal stories to be at the forefront of this.
David Glover: It's interesting, we were also we were, in a way, trying to make the real Vietnam War movies. We actually got some advice from Walter Murch, who was involved in the making of Apocalypse Now. He came into our edit suites and talked to us about the footage and recommended stuff we should look at. It was fascinating to get his perspective. But I suppose what we're trying to do is to apply some of the things that narrative drama has, so you're involved in a human story through it. Everything you see in our series, of course, is real, and hopefully, that makes it stand out.
Speaking of the real stories. Each episode reunites two individuals half a century later. How do you feel these reunions added to the tapestry of the history being shared? What was it like to see the people getting back together after all this life experience afterwards?
Caroline Marsden: It was so nice. It was one of the highlights of making this. It came about sort of organically. It wasn't something that we'd set out to do from the beginning. As we were talking to people, mostly what came up were relationships, right? They would often have someone that they were really, really tight with in Vietnam, and then they'd put us in touch with them. Then the idea came about of getting them together. These things can… if a camera is there, they can go a bit wrong. But it was like we weren't there. They were so happy, and they would write to us afterwards and say how amazing it was. They didn't think they'd ever see that person again in their life. So it was wonderful, and a total highlight.
David Glover: Yeah, the reasons I find it incredibly moving, there's a lot of darkness in the war and in the series. Seeing the love of people that went through this experience together, and how 50 years later they're often sobbing in each other's arms, is one of the most profound [feelings]. It's an amazing contrast with the intensity of the war itself.
Bill Broyles has written so many well-known films. How did he get involved in the docuseries?
Caroline Marsden: I had read this wonderful piece he wrote for Esquire, I think it's called “Why Men Love War.” Then I noticed he'd written a book about his experiences in Vietnam, so I read that. Then I called him. He also wrote China Beach, which was a long-running television series, also about Vietnam. A lot of his work – Castaway and stuff – was about his time in Vietnam. So I just called him up, and then he started telling me about Jeff [Hiers], who's also in the story with him. Actually, I don't know if you've watched episode four, but anyway, that's the friend he makes out there. I got in touch with him, and then they agreed to tell the story. They end up in one of the most moving reunions of the series.
Ethan Hawke does narration for the series. How did he get involved and what do you think that he adds to the project?
David Glover: He was absolutely our first choice. We were thrilled when he agreed to do it. We feel he's perfect for it, because he brings a kind of humanity to everything he does. His voice, to us, exudes a moral depth and a humanity. He's just a perfect fit for it. It was amazing hearing him bring this series to life. In fact, as he was recording the voiceover, sometimes he'd stop to take a moment, because he was moved and responding so much to the stories he was helping us to tell. So we're thrilled that that he got involved, and yeah, we just think he's perfect for it.
You have also done series about World War II and 9/11. What is it about these huge world-changing events attract you as a producer. How do you decide on your projects?
David Glover: We're interested in humanity in the most intense situations, I suppose. It's often you only really find out who you are or who people are in the most difficult or intense predicaments. Often, what we find is that people show unbelievable heroism or altruism or compassion or incredible depth that they maybe didn't even expect of themselves. We look for that. That’s a big interest. Then I suppose we also want to do these films which are almost like movies but are real. We're looking for things which have extraordinary footage and where we can find the people inside the footage and bring the event to life. Not in a way like a history lesson, but more like an experience. Those are two key things that drive us towards subject areas. Now, the Vietnam War was just fascinating because it takes place over 10 years. It's like an epic novel. The world changes while it's going on, and the people inside the war are changed by it. That's a very interesting canvas to work with.
Okay, just one last question. You're doing a screening and speaking about the series at the American History Museum tonight. As someone who's normally behind the scenes on this type of show, what is it like to go to do something like that? Are you looking forward to it?
Caroline Marsden: Yeah, we're looking forward to it. It's cool to see it also on a big screen. Hopefully, it'll go well, and it'll be much like this.
David Glover: It's really nice for us, because it's like the culmination of a number of years of work. But all these things often, again, [are] more intense and moving than one might expect. I'm hoping I don't have to do too much of the talking, because I want to hear from some of the veterans and people that actually lived it. It'll be more interesting to hear from [them] than me.
Copyright ©2025 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: February 2, 2025.
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