Vietnam Blues

Summary:

Vince Gabriel is a Vietnam veteran who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience of the war. He takes listeners back to 1968, to the jungle of Vietnam.

Website:

http://www.blindalbert.com

Additional Credits and Funding:

Additional production assistance from Rebecca Miller, Karen Brown and the Advanced Media Center at Hampshire College.

Timely on:

November 11: Veterans Day

Tones:

Engaging, Personal, Real

Language:

English

Description:

Vince Gabriel is a Maine-based blues musician who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience in the Vietnam war. In the documentary, Vince takes listeners chronologically through his time in Vietnam, with his music leading us into stories about getting drafted, arriving in the jungle, what combat was like, the loss of his closest friend, the relief of finally
returning home and his reflections on the legacy of Vietnam today. While news reports about the war in Iraq tend to focus on numbers and strategy, Vince's stories give listeners an almost visceral sense of what it's like for those on the front lines. Though it is an account of a war that took place years ago, the current situation in Iraq make Vince's observations feel disturbingly immediate and poignant.

This piece aired nationally on the documentary program "Soundprint" in late January 2005.

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