Key Battles of American History

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1988 film BAT-21, which is based on the true story of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Iceal “Ham” Hambleton, portrayed by Gene Hackman. After his aircraft is shot down behind enemy lines, Hambleton—an expert in electronic warfare with top-secret knowledge—must evade capture by North Vietnamese forces. The film centers on the intense rescue effort led by Capt. Bartholomew &...

This week, Sean and James review the classic 1978 film The Deer Hunter, a powerful war drama that explores the impact of the Vietnam War on a group of working-class friends from a small steel town in Pennsylvania. The story follows three friends—Michael, Nick, and Steven—who are sent to fight in Vietnam, where they endure horrific experiences, including being captured and forced to play Russian roulette by their captors...

In the 1972 presidential election, Richard Nixon defeated antiwar Democrat George McGovern in a landslide, aided by the announcement of a tentative peace deal. However, South Vietnamese President Thieu rejected the agreement, fearing it would lead to Communist domination. Talks broke down, prompting Nixon to launch the intense “Christmas Bombings” (Operation Linebacker II) in December 1972. The bombings pressured North ...

In this episode Sean and James review the classic 1979 film Apocalypse Now, a surreal and haunting war film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. Set during the Vietnam War, the story follows U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard, who is sent on a secret mission to travel up the Nung River into Cambodia and assassinate Colonel Walter Kurtz, a once-respected officer who has gone ...

In 1971 and 1972, American troop withdrawals accelerated under President Nixon’s Vietnamization policy. The South Vietnamese Army faced its first major test during Operation Lam Son 719 in Laos, which ended in a costly failure and revealed the ARVN’s limitations. Domestically, antiwar sentiment intensified, fueled by the Winter Soldier Investigation, rising drug use and fragging within the military, and the explosive re...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1987 film Gardens of Stone, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Gardens of Stone is a Vietnam War-era drama set far from the battlefield, focusing on the ceremonial soldiers of the U.S. Army’s Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. Rather than depicting combat, Gardens of Stone offers a somber, character-driven meditation on the cost of war and the quiet heroism of those who serve ...

In this episode, Sean and James explore President Nixon’s escalating struggle to achieve “peace with honor” through further Vietnamization, secret diplomacy, and expanded military operations. Key topics include the exposure of the My Lai Massacre, the improving yet strained condition of South Vietnam’s military, Henry Kissinger’s failed secret talks, and the controversial U.S. and ARVN invasion of Camb...

In this episode, James interviews Dr. Craig Symonds, one of the world's leading naval historians and a Professor Emeritus of History at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Symonds has also taught at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England and the U. S. Naval War College. He is the author of 17 books, including The Battle of Midway, World War II at Sea, and Nimitz At War, the book under discussion...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1987 film Hamburger Hill, a war drama based on the real-life Battle of Hamburger Hill during the Vietnam War in May 1969. The film follows a platoon of young American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division as they endure brutal combat, physical exhaustion, and emotional trauma while attempting to seize a heavily fortified hill (Hill 937) from entrenched North Vietnamese forces. Known f...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss President Richard Nixon’s early approach to the Vietnam War, highlighting his policy of Vietnamization—gradually shifting combat responsibility to South Vietnamese forces while withdrawing U.S. troops. It examines the fractured 1968 presidential election, Nixon’s political maneuvering, and key military developments like the failed Communist Tet ’69 Offensive and the co...

In late January 1968, the NVA and the Viet Cong launched a massive campaign of well-planned and coordinated attacks, hitting targets all up and down South Vietnam. Although the Allied forces fought off the attacks and inflicted thousands of casualties on the attackers, the offensive showed the American public that the war was far from over, and it ultimately led to the end of the Johnson presidency. Join Sean and James as they disc...

In 1966 and 1967, the U. S. forces in Vietnam increased their activity, launching many search and destroy missions, including Operation Masher/Whitewing and Operation Junction City. But as the US casualty count and the economic cost of the war rapidly increased, opposition to the war within the U. S. also grew. Meanwhile, in late 1967, the North Vietnamese Army began planning a major offensive that would consist of attacks all over...

In 1965, the ground war in South Vietnam intensified. In June, the ARVN suffered a disaster at the hands of the Viet Cong in the Battle of Dong Xoai. That same year, U. S. President Lyndon Johnson made the fateful decision to greatly expand American involvement in the war, ordering 150,000 new soldiers and Marines to Vietnam right away and another 150,000 to follow them soon afterward.

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