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Lessons learned from My Lai/Caregivers to wounded vets

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What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, March 16, 2018:

Fifty years ago, the United States was embroiled in a protected military conflcit in Vietnam — with no clear end in sight.

The Tet Offensive began in early 1968 and American and South Vietnamese forces were engaged in near constant warfare for several months.

On March 16, 1968 — 50 years ago Friday — a U.S. Army infantry company was on a search and destroy mission to eliminate pockets of resistance near the village of My Lai.  Even though there were reports that enemy Viet Cong guerillas were in the village, the soldiers encountered only women, children and older men.  They shot and killed between 347 and 504 of them.

The world didn’t find out about My Lai for another 18 months, but what happened there would affect the strategic direction of the war and divide the nation.

We discuss the My Lai Massacre and the lessons learned from it on Friday’s Smart Talk with Dr. Conrad Crane from the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle and Lt. Col. Gary Law from the U.S. Army War College.

Fo an in-depth look at how the Vietnam War impacted the people of South Central Pennsylvania visit The Vietnam War: WITF Stories.

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Also on Friday’s Smart Talk, the U.S. Army Heritage Center Foundation is showing the Pennsylvania premier of the documentary film, The Weight of Honor next Thursday, March 22.  AHEC says It is the first comprehensive documentary to chronicle the lives of caregivers and families of veterans who have been catastrophically wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The film’s subjects are the spouses, parents, and children who give a rare glimpse into their lives, as everyone grapples with finding a ‘new normal’ after the devastating effects of war time injuries. .

The film will be moderated by LTC (P) David and Mrs. Kim Rozelle. Lt. Col. Rozelle is the author of Back in Action, an autobiography of his being wounded, losing a leg and the lengthy rehabilitation struggles. David did his rehabilitation at Walter Reed then returned to command in Iraq.  He appears on Friday’s Smart Talk along with the film’s Director and Producer Stephenie Seldin Howard.

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