Library to host Vietnam screening, author talk

COEUR d’ALENE — Educators and other interested adults are invited to a special screening of the Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library on Monday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.

Presented in partnership with Idaho Public Television, “A Vietnam Dialogue: Ken Burns for Educators” will include the screening followed by a discussion and a review of the free educational resources available for teachers from PBS.

Local Vietnam veterans will take part in the conversation at the library, 702 E. Front Ave.

The 63-minute compilation melds pieces of the longer 18-hour documentary into an intense and evocative overview of the entire series, which first began airing Sept. 17. The documentary, by Burns and Lynn Novick, took 10 years to complete and examines the Vietnam War conflict from all sides, including both the North and South Vietnamese viewpoints.

It utilizes graphic footage and photos from the war which may be disturbing to some viewers. In light of this, the free public event is not recommended for children.

Direct U.S. military involvement ended on Aug. 15, 1973. The fall of Saigon in April 1975 marked the end of the war.

The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240,000–300,000 Cambodians, 20,000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict, and a further 1,626 Americans remain missing in action.

Author Talk

Author Pete Fromm will be at Coeur d’Alene Public Library Friday, Oct.20 at 7 p.m. discussing his latest book, “The Names of the Stars.”

The evening with the Montana author, who also wrote “Indian Creek Chronicles,” is co-sponsored by The Well-Read Moose and the Friends of the Coeur d’Alene Public Library.

For information, call 208-769-2315 or send an email to [email protected].