The Military History Center at the University of North Texas will host the 38th Seminar on Saturday, 6 November 2021 at the main UNT campus in Denton. We are extremely fortunate to have two great speakers. Colonel Ramon “Tony” Nadal (US Army, ret.), will reflect on his experience of the war as a decorated combat soldier in one of the war’s fiercest battles. Historian Andrew Wiest, author of several books on Vietnam, will consider the question of the war’s strategic direction and whether or not the conflict was winnable.

As a young captain, Colonel Nadal commanded a company in Lt.-Colonel Hal Moore’s 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Ia Drang, which was the first major clash between the U.S. and North Vietnamese armies in November 1965, and the first great test of the “airmobile” tactics that the U.S. Army hoped would prove decisive in defeating the stealthy communists, who had run circles around the French. Colonel Moore and Joseph Galloway later documented the horrors of Ia Drang in their book We Were Soldiers Once … And Young, which was the basis for the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson.

Andrew Wiest, author of The Boys of ’67 and Vietnam’s Forgotten Army, among many other works, is a Vietnam expert, who will assess the various views about the wisdom and the strategy of the war. Was it winnable? Were the strategies correct or flawed? Do join us for what will certainly be a fascinating discussion of the war from multiple perspectives: from that of the troops on the ground to the view from Saigon, Hanoi, and Washington. Please share the attachment with anyone and everyone you think will be interested in attending.

The preliminary program is as follows:
8:30-9:00 Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00-9:10 Dr. Jennifer Wallach, Chair, Department of History
9:10-11:00 Colonel Tony Nadal
11:00-11:30 Question and Answer
11:30-12:00 Lunch (provided)
12:00-1:00 Professor Andrew Wiest
1:00-1:15 Question and Answer
1:15-1:30 Book signing and autographing