Project on the Vietnam Generation

Project on the Vietnam Generation
FoundedMid-1980s
FounderJohn Wheeler
TypeResearch initiative
FocusVietnam-era studies; generational research
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
Location
Key people
John Wheeler (president); Sandie Fauriol (executive director); Stephen Sonnenberg (director of research)

The Project on the Vietnam Generation was an American nonprofit organization founded in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1980s to study how the Vietnam War and the broader Vietnam era affected American society. Its organizers used the term "Vietnam generation" for those whose lives were shaped by the war, military service, protest movements, and the political changes of the period.[1]

Founded by John Wheeler and Sandie Fauriol, the project conducted surveys of university courses, organized conferences, and published newsletters and research reports. In 1987 it was renamed the Center for the Study of the Vietnam Generation. Its work was noted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

Origins

The project grew out of renewed interest in the Vietnam era during the early 1980s, following a period of relative public silence after the war. Early conceptual work appeared under the title The Century Generation, which framed the group more broadly as Americans shaped by the post-World War II period, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War. By the mid-1980s, this framework had narrowed to focus more specifically on the Vietnam era as a defining experience.[2]

The initiative was founded by John Wheeler and Sandie Fauriol, following their involvement with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.[3]

By 1985, the project had begun organizing a national effort to support and coordinate academic study of the Vietnam era. Surveys documented a rapid expansion of university courses addressing Vietnam and related topics, including civil rights, protest movements, and Watergate, reflecting growing interest in the period as a connected historical experience.[4]

By late 1985, it also served as a clearinghouse for this emerging field, compiling directories of scholars, distributing teaching materials, and facilitating collaboration.[4]

In 1986, the project moved toward more formal program development. It advanced a working definition of the "Vietnam generation" as those coming of age between 1963 and 1972, bounded by the assassination of President Kennedy and the early 1970s end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Research programs included study groups, conferences, and planned publications intended to strengthen the field.[5]

Later developments

By 1987, Sandie Fauriol, the project's former executive director, described the organization as a Washington center dedicated to education about the Vietnam War that had merged with the Indochina Institute at George Mason University.[6]

Organization

The project was led by John Wheeler as president, with Sandie Fauriol as executive director. Psychiatrist Stephen M. Sonnenberg served as director of research, overseeing the development of research programs, study groups, and publications.[5] Administrative support was provided by Marney Hawkins. Its board of directors included attorney George W. Mayo Jr., attorney John Paul Ketels, and Suzanne H. Woolsey.[7]

The project’s National Advisory Board included figures from government, academia, journalism, and business, including Walter H. Capps, Clayborne Carson, Sara M. Evans, James Fallows, Matina S. Horner, Mary E. King, Elliot L. Richardson, Charles S. Robb, Sargent Shriver, and Frederick W. Smith.[8]

In 1987, John Kerry was added to the board.[9]

Research and approach

The project’s work centered on understanding how the Vietnam era shaped identity, values, and institutions in the United States. It treated the war as part of a broader set of developments, including civil rights activism, political protest, and changes in social norms.

Research methods included archival study, analysis of public policy, and interviews with participants and decision-makers.[10]

Stephen M. Sonnenberg, serving as director of research, contributed to the project’s intellectual direction, including work on the psychological dimensions of war and its implications for public policy.[11]

Activities

The project developed a national network of scholars, educators, and public figures, and expanded its visibility through conferences, publications, and media coverage. Contemporary reporting described growing student and public interest in understanding the Vietnam era and its legacy.[12]

It also engaged with questions of public memory, including the role of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and related commemorative efforts across the United States.[13]

In 1987, the Center reported that its survey of university courses on Vietnam-era subjects had attracted media attention and inquiries.[7] It also noted that 60 Minutes had filmed Walter Capps's University of California, Santa Barbara course on the Vietnam War, reflecting growing national interest in how the era was being taught in colleges and universities. The segment aired in October 1987.[14]

By the late 1980s, the project had become a more formal research entity, later known as the Center for the Study of the Vietnam Generation. It operated as a research hub and clearinghouse for scholarship.

Its activities were supported by private funding and fundraising efforts, including the use of photographer Michael Katakis’s image Wall 25, Line 91, the proceeds of which were directed to the project.[11] The project also intersected with academic networks associated with Walter H. Capps.[11]

Teaching resources and film guides

As part of its role as a clearinghouse for instructors, the Center circulated lists of films reported in university courses on Vietnam-era subjects and identified additional audiovisual resources for classroom use. Titles listed in its 1987 survey update ranged from major feature films to documentaries and public television productions, reflecting the interdisciplinary character of courses on the war, protest movements, veterans, and the wider culture of the period.[15]

Films and series specifically listed included Apocalypse Now (1979), In the Year of the Pig (1968), The Anderson Platoon (1967), Basic Training (1971), The Atomic Cafe (1982), The Visitors (1972), and the television documentary series Vietnam: A Television History and Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War. Other titles addressed the domestic legacy of the conflict, including Kent State May 1970,[16] America After Vietnam,[17] and How Far Home: Veterans After Vietnam.[18][7]

Reception

The project and its work received coverage in national media. Reporting in the Chicago Tribune described growing efforts to incorporate the Vietnam War into university curricula, while articles in The Washington Post and The New York Times noted increasing public and academic interest in understanding the era and its generational impact. Insight on the News also covered the project as part of a broader effort to study the Vietnam generation and its influence on American society.[19][20][21][22]

Legacy

The Project on the Vietnam Generation contributed to the emergence of Vietnam-era studies as a distinct field of inquiry, emphasizing the broader social, political, and cultural consequences of the period beyond military history.

See also

Further reading

The following works were referenced in newsletters, surveys, or teaching materials issued by the Project on the Vietnam Generation and the Center for the Study of the Vietnam Generation.

  • Caputo, Philip (1977). A Rumor of War. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 9781250117120.
  • Karnow, Stanley (1983). Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 9780670746040.
  • Kovic, Ron (1976). Born on the Fourth of July. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9781508125068.
  • O'Brien, Tim (1978). Going After Cacciato. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 9780767904421.
  • O'Brien, Tim (1973). If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 076790443-5.
  • Webb, James (1978). Fields of Fire. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 9780553583854.
  • Heinemann, Larry (1986). Paco's Story. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9781400076833.
  • Westmoreland, William C. (1976). A Soldier Reports. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 9780385004343.
  • Smith, Julian (1975). Looking Away: Hollywood and Vietnam. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9780684139548.
  • Ehrhart, W. D. (1983). Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 9781476660288.

References

  1. ↑ Franklin, Ben A. (June 8, 1986). "On the phenomenon that was the Vietnam era". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ The Century Generation, Vol. 1, No. 3 (PDF) (Report). Washington, D.C.: The Century Generation, Inc. March 1984.
  3. ↑ Gold, Philip (September 15, 1986). "Agenda for the Vietnam Generation". Insight. pp. 68–69.
  4. 1 2 Report, Vol. 1, No. 2 (PDF) (Report). The Project on the Vietnam Generation. December 1985.
  5. 1 2 Report, Vol. 1, No. 3 (PDF) (Report). The Project on the Vietnam Generation. March 1986.
  6. ↑ Gordon, Larry (1987-12-19). "War Courses Popular : Lessons of Vietnam in Curricula". Los Angeles Times.
  7. 1 2 3 Report of the Survey of Courses on Vietnam Era Events — 1986 Update (PDF) (Report). Center for the Study of the Vietnam Generation. January 31, 1987.
  8. ↑ "The Project on the Vietnam Generation: Report on First Fifteen Months of Activities" (PDF). Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life. July 1986.
  9. ↑ Report, Vol. 2, No. 3 (PDF) (Report). Center for the Study of the Vietnam Generation. March 1987.
  10. ↑ Report, Vol. 2, No. 1 (PDF) (Report). The Project on the Vietnam Generation. September 1986.
  11. 1 2 3 Report, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Report). The Project on the Vietnam Generation. March 1987.
  12. ↑ Arndt, Michael (November 24, 1985). "America comes to terms with Vietnam War--in classroom". Chicago Tribune. p. A11.
  13. ↑ Report, Vol. 1, No. 4 (PDF) (Report). The Project on the Vietnam Generation. June 1986.
  14. ↑ "Vietnam 101 | 60 Minutes Archive - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
  15. ↑ Report on the Survey of Courses on Vietnam Era Events – 1986 Update (PDF) (Report). Center for the Study of the Vietnam Generation. March 1987.
  16. ↑ Synesthetics (1972), Kent State: May 1970, Internet Archive, Synesthetics, retrieved 2026-04-16
  17. ↑ America After Vietnam. Retrieved 2026-04-16 – via www.pbs.org.
  18. ↑ Cram, Bestor; Robart, Scott; Valley Filmworks; Vietnam Era Media Fund; Northern Light Productions; Copyright Collection (Library of Congress) DLC (1983), How Far Home: Veterans After Vietnam, Internet Archive, Boston, MA : Northern Light Productions, retrieved 2026-04-16
  19. ↑ Arndt, Michael (November 24, 1985). "America Comes to Terms with Vietnam War—in Classroom" (PDF). Chicago Tribune.
  20. ↑ Gold, Philip (September 15, 1986). "Agenda for the Vietnam Generation" (PDF). Insight on the News.
  21. ↑ Salmon-Heyneman, Jana (August 27, 1986). "POWs of an Era: Understanding the Vietnam Generation" (PDF). The Washington Post.
  22. ↑ Franklin, Ben A. (June 8, 1986). "On the Phenomenon That Was the Vietnam War" (PDF). The New York Times.
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