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MPR News' Midday to present The Vietnam Tapes: letters from a Willmar soldier
Web features to include a live conversation during the program, three audio slide shows and uncensored audio footage
June 26, 2008
WHAT: Minnesota Public Radio News' Midday, hosted by Gary Eichten, presents a special one-hour documentary broadcast of The Vietnam Tapes, a collection of audio letters recorded by a soldier in combat, his family in Willmar and his friends in 1970.
WHEN: Friday, July 4, 2008, noon to 1 p.m.
WHERE: MPR's News & Information stations statewide, including 91.1 FM KNOW in the Twin Cities
MPR News' Midday will present a special one-hour broadcast of rare audio letters between a soldier and his family and friends while serving in Vietnam in 1970 at noon on Friday, July 4, 2008.
Midday will air a riveting collection of audio cassettes, including three recorded in the field by Sergeant Dan Kleven, three from his buddies back in Willmar and at Mankato State University—which was shutting down early after the Kent State killings—and five tapes recorded by Kleven's family on their dairy farm in Willmar, Minn.
The tapes offer an intimate view of one man's experience on the front lines in Vietnam and real-time reactions from family and friends back home during this turbulent time in American history. Midday host Gary Eichten interviewed Kleven at his home in Willmar to hear his reflections on the experience and how it changed him, weaving together material from these insightful archival tapes. MPR News also scanned a collection of highlights from Kleven's Vietnam photo albums and will display them on the Web site, www.mpr.org.
Web features, which can be found at www.mpr.org, will include:
- An uncensored, hour-long version of the documentary
- Three audio slide shows: The Life of a Grunt in Combat, Vietnam Through a Soldier's Lens, A View From the Home Front
- An audio overview from the producer's perspective
An open online discussion where individuals can share their reactions, images or personal stories will be featured during and after the broadcast. This discussion can be found on MPR's hosted groups on Gather.com, linked from MPR's Web site.
Listeners are invited to submit their collections of audio letters for a larger upcoming documentary project by American RadioWorks, the documentary unit of Minnesota Public Radio's parent organization, American Public Media.
MORE INFORMATION, PHOTOGRAPHS AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
Minnesota Public Radio® operates a 37-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio's parent company, American Public Media,™ reach more than 15 million listeners nationwide each week. Of those, nearly 800,000 listen regionally, in Minnesota and surrounding states. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.mpr.org.
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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc., Nationwide and PSA data. Arbitron data are estimates only. Spring 2007/Fall 2007 average
Press Contacts:
Jennifer Haugh
Minnesota Public Radio
651-290-1369
jhaugh@mpr.org
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