programming note for 11 April 2025
reflecting on Vietnam
My column today is both an alert about an event and a reminder of how enduring consequences may become. Many of you might find this commemoration worthy of your time. I realize many of you are not in the Beltway environs but you can find a link for remote viewing from Arnold Auditorium at Theodore Roosevelt Hall, home of the National War College. If you are local, please attend in person.
The Vietnam War unfolded between 1960 and 1975 for the United States but was part of a much longer history for the region. Nearly 60,000 Americans lost their lives during the conflict, while millions across Southeast Asia saw virtually everything about their lives upended. We refer to it as the Vietnam War but arguably it was really the Southeast Asian War because it pertained to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia also. The dynamics were not merely communism versus democracy as so often portrayed but included elements of religious, socio-economic, and ethnic divisions. Two of the greatest American concerns—communist regimes in China and the Soviet Union—were not even located in the region.
Controversies echo fifty years later as profound doubts about government, leaders, the military as a national instrument, and so much else arose as a result of this conflict. Too much of the blame fell on the individuals who served—but at its heart were the efforts of young men and women who served. Much about the country changed in response to that conflict, especially the lives of the millions it affected.
The event below allow five veterans and a scholar of the period to reflect on the aspects they find most pertinent.
50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration
The National War College Alumni Association will commemorate the service of our alumni in Vietnam on Friday, 11 April 2025, between 1330 and 1700 in Roosevelt Hall. Our program will welcome back six distinguished graduates who served and hear them reflect on this period.
Panelists
Ambassador Michael Lemmon (Ret.) served 34 years in the U.S. Foreign Service at posts in Russia, the Middle East, South Asia and Washington D.C. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs then nominated as U. S. Ambassador to Armenia, 1998-2001, and retired as a Professor of National Security Studies at the National War College in 2008. He earlier served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam and Germany from 1966-1970.
Admiral William Fallon, Class of 1992, USN (Ret.) served as combat aviator flying from an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War. He participated in many U.S. military operations during the Cold War. He led a Carrier Air Wing in combat during the Gulf War of 1991, and commanded a Navy Battle Group and the U.S. 6thFleet Battle Force during NATO military operations in Bosnia. His final two assignments in uniform were as Combatant Commander for U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Central Command.
Col David Tretler, USAF (Ret.) flew 250 combat missions in the F-4D Phantom during the Vietnam War, was an instructor pilot in the T-38 jet trainer, served in the plans directorates at both the USAF Air Training Command and USAF headquarters, and was Deputy Chief of Air Force History before joining the faculty at National War College in 1992. He served twice as Dean of Faculty & Academic Programs, retiring in 2018 following a fifty year career in uniform and as a civil servant.
Captain Bernard “Bud” Cole, USN (Ret.) served thirty years in the Navy, then twenty years as a civilian at the National War College. He first went to Vietnam as Boat Group Commander for the Amphibious Ready Group in 1966 and ‘67, leading amphibious assaults on the Vietnamese coast and rivers. He then deployed in 1967 and 68 as a Naval Gunfire Liaison Officer with the 3rd Marine Division, spending five months with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, before spending several months with the 1st Battalion 13th Marines, including at Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive. He finished 1968 aboard a cruiser in the Tonkin Gulf.
Colonel Harry Rothmann, USA (Ret.) served on the National War College faculty between 1993 and 1996. A U.S. Military Academy graduate, Colonel Rothmann was commissioned in the Infantry, and served in numerous troop duty assignments in airborne, infantry and ranger organizations, both as a commander and staff officer. These included platoon and company command in combat, and company command and battalion/ brigade operations and training staff officer positions in Vietnam, Germany, and the United States from 1968 to 1980.
Lt Col Mark Clodfelter, USAF (Ret.) wrote Limits of Airpower: The American Bombing of North Vietnam, a compelling but controversial study, during his twenty-two year career in the U.S. Air Force. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Clodfelter’s final years in uniform were on the faculty of the National War College where he then taught for a further two decades. His work on decision-making during Vietnam remains his passion while retains the position as seminal in the field.
When/Where
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 1330 in Roosevelt Hall. Light refreshments will be provided.
1330: Welcome Reception and Tours of Roosevelt Hall
1400: Opening Remarks and Introductions in Arnold Auditorium
1415: Amb Lemmon (Ret.)
1430: ADM Fallon (Ret.)
1445: BREAK
1500: Col Tretler (Ret.)
1515: CAPT Cole (Ret.)
1530: BREAK
1540: COL Rothmann (Ret.)
1545: Lt Col Clodfelter (Ret.)
1610: BREAK
1620: Q&A
1700: Social in Rotunda & Alumni Store Open
*Base access information can be found here.
RSVP
If you would like to attend virtually or in person, please select an option below.
LOCATION
Roosevelt Hall
DATE AND TIME
04/11/25 1:30pm - 04/11/25 5:00pm US/Eastern
50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration
We appreciate your ongoing support!
Angela Martz
Executive Director
National War College Alumni Association
Thank you for reading Actions today—or any day. I appreciate each of you.
Be well and be safe. FIN