Frequently Asked Question
What is the War Legacies Data Dashboard?
The War Legacies Data Dashboard is an online application and educational resource that provides geospatial data and supports a broad understanding of what happened during the Vietnam War and how the legacies of the war continue to impact Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia today. The opening tab, Regional War Legacies Data, provides information on what happened during the war: bombing runs, herbicide sprays, battle sites, and province-level dioxin contamination. The second tab in the application, Quang Tri Clearance Data, provides insight into the efforts in Dong Ha District of Quang Tri province to remediate these legacies of war through UXO clearance efforts.
This is a freely available resource which can be used by government officials, academic researchers, civil society actors, and the public to understand the ongoing impacts of a war that ended nearly half a century ago.
This resource is supported by the War Legacies Working Group, a collection of actors throughout the United States and Southeast Asia working to address issues related to unexploded ordnance, herbicide sprays with dioxin, and mine clearance in the broad theater of the Vietnam War. This project was supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace Vietnam War Legacies and Reconciliation Initiative, War Legacies Project, and Chino Cienega Foundation.
How do I cite the War Legacies Data Dashboard?
Please use the following citation:
The Stimson Center, War Legacies Data Dashboard, supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace, Chino Cienega Foundation, and War Legacies Project, [your date of access], https://www.stimson.org/2024/war-legacies-data-dashboard/.
How do I use the Regional War Legacies Data?
The Regional War Legacies Data tab includes overview information of what happened during the war. Individual data layers are located to the right side of the screen and can be toggled on or off by clicking the individual checkbox.
How do I find information about bombing runs?
There are millions of data points associated with bombing runs, so, for the purpose of casual use, these are grouped into visualizations on the dashboard showing individual bombing run end points as dots on the map. You can review the bombing runs by year during the war by checking off individual data layers on the right side of the screen. To see details on individual bombing runs, follow the Bombing Runs link under the Data Information tab.
I’m interested in understanding more details on the herbicide runs. How do I run a search?
To review the Herbicide Sprays dataset, toggle it on in the box to the right side of the screen. You can click on an individual line to view detailed information about a specific bombing run—such as the date, location, type of dioxin used, amount sprayed, mission type, etc.
If you want to run a search, look to the upper right side of the map for the Herbicide Sprays Filter. Click on this dropdown and click on the On/Off toggle. Once you select this filter, you can run a filtered search based on Year, Herbicide Type, Province, or Mission Type. Making a selection will filter the map to show only the search result data points.
I am interested in looking for specific battle site information. How do I search it?
To review the Battle Sites dataset, toggle it on in the box to the right side of the screen. To run a search for specific types of datasets, look to the upper right side of the map for the Battle Sites Filter. Click on this dropdown and click on the On/Off toggle to ensure it is selected. Once you select this filter, you can run a filtered search based on Year, Corps (military unit involved in the battle), Current Province, or Minimum Body Count. Making a selection will filter the map to show only the search result data points.
How do I use the Quang Tri Clearance Data?
The Quang Tri Clearance Data tab shows efforts to clean up unexploded ordnance, landmines, and other explosive devices in Quang Tri Province. This data is courtesy of QTMAC and can be filtered by interacting with the summary boxes on the right and bottom of the screen.
How do I turn layers on or off?
To turn a layer off, navigate to the upper right corner of the map where there is a box. Click on it to see a dropdown of the layers available on the map. All data layers which are currently visible are black, while those which are turned off are greyed out. To turn a layer off, click on the eye symbol and it will put a cross through the eye and remove relevant data from the map. To turn a layer back on, simply click on the eye symbol again.
How do I filter the information?
Each of the boxes—Clearance Activity by Organization; Year of Clearance; and Type of Ordnance—can act as a filter. By clicking on a specific organization, specific year, or specific type of ordnance, the map will automatically update to focus on the specifically relevant dataset.
For instance, to focus on only areas cleared by Peace Trees Vietnam, a user can go to the Clearance Activity by Organization and click Peace Trees Vietnam. The map will automatically hide the data for areas cleared by other organizations, and the user can then go in to click around on individual Confirmed Hazardous Areas or Land Release areas to see details. To turn off a filter, simply click on the box again to un-highlight it and then click elsewhere on the map to reset it.
Where do you get your data?
Individual datasets come from different sources. Please see the Data Information tab for full details on each dataset.
Who do I connect with if I have interest in engaging on the Dashboard or on ways to use this data?
If you have technical questions about the data platform or would like to share related datasets, please reach out to Regan Kwan at the Stimson Center. If you have interest in exploring ways to use the dashboard for educational purposes such as classroom use, exploring what else can be done to address the legacies of the war in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, or are interested in following these issues, reach out to the U.S. Institute of Peace war legacies team.
