ARVN: Reflections and Reassessments After 30 Years (March 17-18, 2006)
The Vietnam Center's 2006 annual conference will be held
at the Holiday Inn Park Plaza in Lubbock (the same hotel as this
year's symposium), Friday and Saturday, 17-18 March. The
theme for the conference is, “ARVN: Reflections and
Reassessments after Thirty Years.” While we have used the
term ARVN, as it is most widely known, we encourage proposals
for papers dealing with any of the branches of the Armed Forces
of the Republic of Vietnam (RVNAF): Army, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Navy, Rangers, etc. Such papers might be from an
American point of view, as, for example, the views/experiences
of advisors who served with Vietnamese units, or purely
academic papers produced by a younger generation who are
studying this topic, or from Vietnamese veterans. Papers are
also invited that deal with the fate of RVNAF veterans after the
fall of Saigon, including papers relating to the so-called “reeducation”
camps, and resettlement experiences in foreign
countries.
We anticipate and encourage papers that deal with the
ARVN's successes and strengths, such as their performance at
An Loc and Xuan Loc; however, we also urge the submission
of papers that critically analyze those areas in which RVNAF
were less successful. It is not enough simply to blame the
failure of the RVNAF on the withdrawal of US support, though
that, of course, was one contributing factor. What, for example,
was the impact of politicization of the senior officers of the
RVNAF? How did corruption in some Province Chiefs, District
Chiefs, etc., affect efforts to win the loyalty of the peasants for
the South Vietnamese government?
This conference will offer academics, advisors, former
leaders and members of the RVNAF an opportunity to reflect
and reassess; however, it is exceedingly important that such
reassessments be balanced by presenting weaknesses and their
implications as well as strengths.
Deputy Director Steve Maxner will serve as conference
organizer for the 2006 conference. Please address paper
proposals to him at steve.maxner@ttu.edu or (806) 742-9010.
