I discovered that, like a lot of military professionals, I had avoided thinking about the war. I went through a very intense process of self-education. The structure of the course is basically the same as when he first began teaching it, but the assigned and supplemental reading materials have changed considerably. The most substantial change to the course is that starting about 1992, I was able to incorporate books that presented the war from the Vietnamese perspective, and I think that's a big plus. Teaching motivates him to keep up on the subject.
Nothing focuses the learning process more than a whole roomful of eager young Buckeyes.
The Mayaguez and the Battle of Koh Tang , published in 1995. He helps the students sort through the myths that have attached themselves to the war. He has found that today's students tend to come into the course better informed. To help today's students understand the time period, Guilmartin gives them the opportunity to see films about the war, tests them with quizzes and exams that include questions involving a form of role-playing, and assigns memoirs and fictional texts, much of it by Vietnamese authors. In addition, Guilmartin always invites to the class several guest speakers who were active either in the military or the anti-war movement.