Skip to main content
Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.
Back to Show
The Vietnam War

The River Styx (Explicit Language Version)

Season 1 Episode 23

With South Vietnam in chaos, hardliners in Hanoi seize the initiative and send combat troops to the south, accelerating the insurgency. Fearing Saigon’s collapse, President Johnson escalates America’s military commitment, authorizing sustained bombing of the north and deploying ground troops in the south.

Available Until
1/1/2026
Support Provided By
A soldier holds a cigarette in his mouth as he balances his gun on his shoulder.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:57:25
US soldiers discover Vietnam is unlike their fathers’ war, as the antiwar movement grows.
Two politicians rest their heads on their fist and palm.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:57:55
With South Vietnam near collapse, LBJ bombs the North and sends US troops to the South.
An American soldier addresses a group of South Vietnamese soldiers who are all sitting down on the ground with their guns pointing up.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:26:27
As a communist insurgency gains strength, JFK wrestles with US involvement in Vietnam.
Two Vietnam War soldiers crouch as they run away from smoke at a distance.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:25:20
After a century of French occupation, Vietnam emerges independent but divided.
Active loading indicator