Hagel, Panel Discuss Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive on January 25
Press Release · Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Washington, DC

Washington, DC —  The Honorable Chuck Hagel, 24th Secretary of Defense, will keynote a special National Archives’ program and discussion about the Tet Offensive on Thursday, January 25, at 7 p.m.  Held in conjunction with the National Archives’ first-ever Vietnam War exhibit, Remembering Vietnam, this program marks the 50th Anniversary of this historic turning point in the Vietnam War.  

Following Secretary Hagel’s remarks, Dr. Erik B. Villard and a panel will discuss the Tet Offensive and Villard’s book, Combat Operations: Staying the Course, September 1967–October 1968.  Moderated by Charles R. Bowery, Jr., Executive Director, U.S. Army Center of Military History, panelists include Villard;  Merle L. Pribbenow II, Author of Victory in Vietnam; and Gregory Daddis, Associate Professor of History, Chapman University. 

The panel will explore the twelve-month period when the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese allies embarked on a new and more aggressive strategy that shook the foundations of South Vietnam and forced the United States to reevaluate its military calculations in Southeast Asia. The allied situation at the end of this period appeared to be only marginally better than it had been in late 1967; the peace talks in Paris had stalled, and American public opinion had turned decisively against the war.  A book signing of Combat Operations will follow the program.  Reservations are recommended and can be made online. Presented in partnership with the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

This event is free and open to the public.  It will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater and stream live on YouTube. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.  The building is Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station. 

Remembering Vietnam is presented in part by the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family, Pritzker Military Museum & Library, AARP, FedEx Corporation, and the National Archives Foundation. Additional support provided by the Maris S. Cuneo Foundation, The Eliasberg Family Foundation, Inc., and HISTORYⓇ                                                      

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