Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Humanities

Committee Chair

Dr. Heather Stur

Committee Chair School

Humanities

Committee Member 2

Dr. Katya Maslakowski

Committee Member 2 School

Humanities

Committee Member 3

Dr. Joseph Peterson

Committee Member 3 School

Humanities

Committee Member 4

Dr. Kenneth Swope

Committee Member 4 School

Humanities

Committee Member 5

Dr. Andrew Wiest

Committee Member 5 School

Humanities

Abstract

Who did the United States fight during the Vietnam War? Who were the soldiers of the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN)­? Despite the vast scholarship and historiography of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the victors of that conflict, the PAVN, remain shockingly understudied. This research will provide a further understanding of the soldiers or bộ đội of PAVN who fought during the “American War” against the United States and South Vietnam, from 1965-1975.

By analyzing the material culture of the PAVN soldiers–the equipment issued and their personal items they carried with them– we learn more about their motivations and lived experiences, as well as the society that they were a product of. Through this methodology, a simple item becomes a historical primary source material that offers insight into the owner and their experience. Research has been conducted in museums and archives across Vietnam and the United States. Interviews with former bộ đội have been conducted to further our understanding of their experiences of the conflict.  

Studying the material culture of PAVN results in humanizing these soldiers and counters assumptions of PAVN, created by the lack of historical research, as either superhuman or a subhuman, monolithic, brainwashed mass. One can conclude that the individual soldiers of PAVN expressed fears, motivations, objections, and frustrations more so than previous hypotheses presumed.

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