Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers to speak at UO event in Portland

"The Echoes of Vietnam" panel discussion focuses on the role of whistleblowers and government transparency.

Daniel EllsbergEUGENE, Ore. — (Aug. 25, 2014) - Daniel Ellsberg discovered and released the Pentagon Papers, the classified history of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, on the front page of the New York Times in 1971. On Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. he joins historian Christian Appy and Lieutenant Colonel Thuy Tran at the First Congregational Church in Portland for “The Echoes of Vietnam.” The panel discussion focuses on issues such as the role of whistleblowers and government transparency, how the war changed the United States’ international standing, and the effects of the war on Vietnamese immigrants to the U.S.

“The American war in Vietnam changed our country in ways large and small. This panel examines how it changed our thinking, our government and our lives,” said Wayne Morse Center Director Margaret Hallock, who planned the event.

Daniel Ellsberg served in the Marine Corps for three years before earning his Ph.D in economics at Harvard. He was a consultant at RAND Corporation when  he released the Pentagon Papers. He is the author of Papers on the War (1971), Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (2002), and Risk, Ambiguity and Decision (2001)

Christian Appy is a history professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst and the author of Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered From All Sides (Viking, 2003), an award-winning oral history of the war.

Thuy Tran is on the board of advisers for the Vietnamese Community of Oregon, where she previously served as vice president. She is a Lieutenant Colonel in the 142 Medical Group, Oregon Air National Guard.

Registration for “The Echoes of  Vietnam” is required at worldoregon.org. The event is part of the Wayne Morse Legacy Series, which commemorates Senator Morse’s famous dissent to the Vietnam War and examines the relevance of his principles to current issues of national security and military affairs. These free public lectures take place in Eugene, Portland and Washington, D.C. in 2014. For more information on the series and a complete list of events, visit waynemorsecenter.uoregon.edu.

The series is sponsored by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, The Oregon Historical Society and World Affairs Council of Oregon. This event is cosponsored by ACLU of Oregon.

About the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics

The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics is a living memorial to Oregon's former U.S. senator. Housed at the School of Law at the University of Oregon, the Center brings scholars and activists to Oregon to discuss critical topics in law and politics, in the tradition of Senator Morse. The Center is dedicated to Morse’s vision of peace and justice through law and politics.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 63 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Media Contact: Abbie Stillie, Wayne Morse Center Communications Coordinator, astillie@uoregon.edu 541-346-3717

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