20th Annual Interdisciplinary Forum
From the Frontlines to the Headlines:
Media During the Vietnam War
One-Day Conference
Date to Be Announced
At the Vietnam Museum in Holmdel, New Jersey
Attending teachers will receive 7.5 hours of Professional Development Credits
Registration:
$65 for NJCCS Members
$75 for non-NJCCS Members
$30 for pre-service student teachers and military veterans
Hosted by the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial & Museum
and the New Jersey Council for Social Studies
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: JOHN FILO
John Filo, a student at Kent State University and a part time new photographer, captured the feelings of the Kent State Shootings in one single image which has become one of the most iconic of the period. He captured Mary Ann Vecchio crying out over fatally wounded Jeffery Miller. This photograph was put out on the AP Wire and printed on the Front Page of the New York Times. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and has since become the visual symbol of a hopeful nation’s lost youth.
The Kent State Shootings took place on May 4, 1970 so the event and the photo are celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured on May 4th 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the conflict in Southeast Asia. Historians and Political Scientists have cited this as a moment when public opinion shifted against the war and may have contributed to the decline of support for President Richard Nixon. Finally, the song “Four Dead in Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young was inspired by the events.
SCHEDULE
- 7:00 AM – Doors open, registration and breakfast
- 7:30 AM – Welcoming Remarks from Keri A. Giannotti, Museum Educator, NJVVMF
- 8:30 AM – Keynote Address by John Filo, Kent State Photographer, followed by Q&A
- 10:15 AM – Presentation by Les Arbuckle, son of Chief Petty Officer Bryant Arbuckle, Navy NCO of Armed Forces Radio Station and creator of the Dawn Buster program, and author of Saigon Kids about his time growing up in Vietnam; book signing to follow
- 12:00 PM – Lunch, Presentation of Teacher of the Year Award to Rebecca DiBrienza
- 1:00 PM – Presentation by Callie Wright, Educator, Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Fund
- 2:00 PM – Presentation by Dr. Jason Luther, Rowan University, New Jersey Council for the Humanities – “What’s All This About Fake News?”
- 3:00 PM – Closing, Certificate Presentations, and Evaluations
- 3:30 PM – Optional Tour with Greg Waters, Curator, of “As You Were: Stephen Warner – Words and Images from Vietnam”
