More than 40 years ago, the Vietnam War engulfed the national conversation in our country, igniting debate and protests, and resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of U.S. and Vietnamese soldiers.

Today, it’s playing out again as the country watches Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s documentary on the Vietnam War, which was recently released on PBS.

And that’s bringing up memories for many Americans who remember that tumultuous time, including Stuart Warner, editor of the Phoenix New Times, who wrote about this recently.

In Warner’s piece, he says thank you to the filmmakers behind this 18-hour epic because now is a good time to remind us about the Vietnam War.

We talked more about his generation’s reaction to the documentary and a trip he took back to his hometown not long ago that stirred up some old memories as well.