History Channel to feature professor

From the Student Printz: History Channel to feature professor
Andrew Weist, a history professor at Southern Miss, has published a total of 14 books, six of which are about Vietnam. Weist recently worked as the head historian for the History Channel documentary "Vietnam in HD." The documentary will premiere Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.

"Lou Reda Productions needed a Vietnam War expert to set the parameters for the documentary, to work the script writing and to help them find the veterans they needed to interview," Weist said. "As a historian, it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Weist wanted to take the topic he had been working on for years and translate his knowledge into a format that would affect and reach millions of people.

Weist was in charge of narrowing down a very complex war that lasted eight years and compacted it into a six-hour film series.

""I jumped at the chance," Weist said. "It was also quite challenging and fun."

Weist said he felt compelled to learn more about the war and how Vietnam was unlike wars that came before it.

"It was a war in which our soldiers fought so hard and well, but a war we still lost," Weist said.

Weist also said there are many facets to the Vietnam War, so research is always interesting.

"What I am interested in right now is the U.S. soldiers' experience here," Weist said. "I was too young for the war, but I saw it on television and heard my older sister's friends talking about it all the time."

Although he may not have understood it then, Weist knew that it was the most important event of his generation.

Weist played a part in the history of Southern Miss since 1987. His favorite role on campus was being a professor of history.

"I just loved learning what had come before," Weist said. "My mother, grandmother and my great grandfather all taught," Weist said. "I respected them all quite a bit. I was also affected very much by my high school and college teachers. I wanted to be like them."

Weist said he learned about the war "through reading pretty much everything that comes out on the Vietnam War." He also holds interviews, researches thousands of records in the national archives, takes trips to the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech and has veterans speak to his classes. "There is no better way to learn than from those who were there," Weist said.

Between his research and interviews, Weist experiences emotion every time he opens a book or hears the personal tale of a surviving veteran. He has interviewed over 70 surviving members of a military company unit and 26 of their relatives.

"It is even more emotional still to talk to the loved ones of soldiers who did not return home," Weist said. "It is a real honor for me to be able to interview these veterans, to have them entrust their stories to me."

The documentary also includes the story of a Hattiesburg veteran's role in the notorious Southeast Asian conflict.

The documentary will premiere Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.