Original subtitles

MICHAEL C. HALL: For three years,

peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam

have been going on in Paris with little or no progress.

In January of 1971, the talks remain deadlocked,

as do the private meetings between national security

advisor Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le

Duc Tho.

Nonetheless, President Nixon is moving ahead with his policy

of Vietnamization, the plan to eventually turn over all combat

responsibilities to the South Vietnamese Army, known

as the ARVN.

[machine gun fire]

Bravo!

As a result of the ongoing US withdrawals,

pressure is increasing, not only on the ARVN,

but also on the remaining Americans

to carry the full load of combat operations.

[helicopter whirring]

[MUSIC - DEEP PURPLE, "SMOKE ON THE WATER"]

[SINGING] We all came out to Montreux on a Lake Geneva

shoreline.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: Every one of these guys

thinks he's a damn cowboy.

I'm the lucky guy that gets to lead 'em into battle.

MICHAEL C. HALL: Twenty-nine-year-old Major Bob

Clewell was a military advisor to the ARVN in 1964.

He returns to Vietnam as a company commander

in the 101st Assault Helicopter Battalion.

[helicopter whirring]

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: My captains are experienced.

Some of my PILOT 1s are all--

--recently commissioned.

With a few exceptions, they were all on pretty much

their first tours.

[helicopter whirring]

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: Of course, when it comes down

to it, every one of them knows exactly what's expected of him.

And they're more than prepared to do what I ask,

which is a hell of a comfort because I've just gotten orders

saying we're about to get into a big operation.

MICHAEL C. HALL: Since the start of the war,

the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the enemy's main supply route

into the south, has been a thorn in the side of the Americans

and the South Vietnamese.

After years of heavy bombing failed to sever the trail,

a 1970 ground incursion into Cambodia

finally succeeded in destroying a massive amount of enemy

weapons and ammunition.

Now US and ARVN commanders hope that a similar assault

against the northern end of the trail, located in Laos,

will result in the destruction of an even greater amount

of supplies and disrupt enemy operations long enough

for Vietnamization to take hold.

Codenamed Operation Lam Son 719, the plan

is to send an armored South Vietnamese force speeding down

Highway 9 to the village of Tchephone, which is believed

to be a major enemy supply depot.

At the same time, US helicopter units, including Major Bob

Clewell and his men, will insert ARVN ground troops

north and south of the highway to act as a blocking force

and destroy any additional supply

caches in the immediate area.

In total, 12,000 South Vietnamese

are heading into Laos.

And for the first time since American forces

took over primary military leadership,

they will do all of the ground fighting.

A congressional amendment enacted a month

earlier prohibits US ground forces

from setting foot outside South Vietnam.

Lam Son 719 will be the first real test of whether or not

the South Vietnamese military is prepared to lead

the war by themselves.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: Right as we're about to take

off, a couple of my pilots ask, who the hell

are we supposed to talk to on the ground in Laos,

since none of the ARVN we're dropping off there

speak English?

I tell them not to worry, because we've

got translators standing by.

But in the back of my mind, I have a terrible feeling

that we're heading into trouble.

REPORTER 1: Heavy fighting has broken out in Laos again today

after three days of--

REPORTER 2: Four cameramen are reported missing in Laos

tonight, and it's believed that they were killed

in a helicopter crash.

MICHAEL C. HALL: One of the journalists killed

covering Lam Son 719 is a friend of UPI correspondent Joe

Galloway.

Galloway was last in Vietnam during the IA Drang Valley

battles, almost six years earlier.

His boss now requests he return to take

the place of his friend.

JOE GALLOWAY: Although I had fought to get there

the first time, I left there thinking I never

wanted to come back again.

I had seen the war, and I thought, my part of it's over.

I told my wife, and she said, you can't do that.

You're still grieving for your friends,

and you're going to go there and put yourself

in the same situation?

And I said, well, I have to do it.

And she said, well, if you go, I may not

be here when you come back.

And I said, I may not come back.

I begin to think we're all supposed to die in that place.

[explosion]

[artillery fire]

MICHAEL C. HALL: Galloway arrives during the second week

of Lam Son 719 and finds the military situation even

grimmer than he expected.

Nearly 60,000 NVA are massing to launch vicious assaults

against the 12,000 South Vietnamese.

The armored column is stopped only halfway to Tchephone.

Finally, during the third week of fighting,

a quick decision is made to break west and establish

three landing zones known as Lolo, Liz, and Sophia.

With the armored columns still bogged down on Highway 9,

ARVN and US commanders plan to helicopter approximately 1,600

ARVN ground troops into these LZs in the hopes

that they can jumpstart the advance to Tchephone.

[radio chatter]

PILOT 1 [ON RADIO]: Rich Loyal 1-2,

can you pick up [inaudible] going into the LZ?

OFFICER 1 [ON RADIO]: Get that altitude.

PILOT 1 [ON RADIO]: Yep.

MICHAEL C. HALL: Major Bob Clewell and his company

are among the 30 choppers selected for the missions at LZ

Lolo.

PILOT 2 [ON RADIO]: And Chop 6 has taken fire.

[rattling]

OFFICER 2 [ON RADIO]: Say it again.

You cut out.

PILOT 3 [ON RADIO]: --is down just west of--

[radio chatter]

PILOT 4 [ON RADIO]: This is BO6.

Say your location.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: Jesus, man, what the hell

is going on out there?

PILOT 3 [ON RADIO]: Mayday, mayday, mayday.

[inaudible] is down.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: Over the radios,

we can hear the choppers ahead of us.

They're taking heavy fire from all over the LZ.

PILOT 4 [ON RADIO]: Sir, 2-9er is the lead.

Our lead aircraft was hit.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: I look down

and it's like the terrain is moving beneath us.

There must be several hundred enemy soldiers heavily

camouflaged.

--heavy camouflaged, all moving together like a carpet,

you know?

And then as we got close to Lam Son--

[machine gun fire]

BOB CLEWELL: --began as a mass to shoot at the helicopter.

[machine gun fire]

MAN: Keep moving!

Keep moving.

[indistinct radio chatter]

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: Within minutes,

two of my choppers are shot down.

Over the radio, I can hear our pilots calling for rescue,

but nobody can get down to get them.

[machine gun fire]

[indistinct radio chatter]

MICHAEL C. HALL: Clewell and the remaining choppers

are determined to rescue the eight downed

Americans from their company.

For over an hour, they circle the LZ.

[sustained rapid fire]

But with their fuel and ammunition nearly depleted,

they are finally forced to head back to the base at Khe Sanh.

I have no contact with my leadership at the present time.

[helicopter whirring]

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: When we get to Khe Sanh,

everyone's exhausted, but there's

no way I'm going to leave our guys out there.

So I gather everyone together and I ask the guys,

I say look--

BOB CLEWELL: I said now, look, I said, you know, guys are still

alive out there.

And I said, we're going to go back out and get our guys,

make an effort.

You don't have to come with us, but I'd

like to see a show of hands of those

that do want to come with us.

And sure enough, everybody raised their hand.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: As we head back towards Lolo,

I feel an incredible sense of pride.

This is what being part of a chopper crew is all about.

MICHAEL C. HALL: In March of 1971,

South Vietnamese ground troops are in battle against the North

Vietnamese.

And for the first time, they're without US advisors or ground

support.

Only US air crews, including Major Bob Clewell

and his choppers, are in the thick of the fight.

They are speeding towards landing zone Lolo in Laos

to rescue the eight men from his company who were shot down

by the NVA.

[machine gun fire]

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: My mind's racing

a mile a minute, running through every possible scenario.

Only one thing's for sure.

We've got men down there and we aren't leaving without them.

[helicopter whirring]

These men are some of the most courageous, most dedicated

soldiers I have ever met.

Every one of them knew exactly what kind of hell was out here.

And yet, not a single one even hesitated

at the thought of coming back for their friends.

[explosion]

[gunshots]

[helicopter whirring]

MICHAEL C. HALL: In total, seven choppers are shot down

and two American lives lost at LZ Lolo.

But thanks to the courage and determination

of Clewell and his fellow pilots and crewmen,

no American, dead or alive, is left behind.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: In all my years

in the military, I've never been more proud

or more awed by the bravery of men.

MICHAEL C. HALL: Three days later, the push

continues as 120 American choppers lift off

to deliver 800 additional ARVN ground

troops within striking distance of their ultimate target,

Tchephone.

[helicopter whirring]

They arrive to find the NVA have stripped the village of almost

everything of value.

Tchephone is not even close to being the massive enemy supply

depot military commanders expected.

[vietnamese chatter]

[explosion]

Over the next three weeks, as the 17,000 ARVN troops,

now inside Laos, begin to withdraw,

the North Vietnamese lay siege to those furthest

inside the country.

[machine gun fire]

With their troops surrounded and outnumbered,

inexperienced South Vietnamese commanders

begin to lose control, forcing US choppers to come

to their rescue.

[helicopter whirring]

YOUNG JOE GALLOWAY [VOICEOVER]: Our pilots

risk their own lives to save them, going in again and again.

Some of them are being shot down, two, three--

JOE GALLOWAY: --two, three times a day.

They'd be shot down, rescued, go back, get another helicopter,

fly back out, get shot down again, absolutely insane.

You'd go in the club at night, and all of their pilots

and crew had their name tags on cup hooks hanging

behind the bar.

And you could come in and take a look.

And those who got killed that day, they turned upside down.

So you could scan the roster, as it were, and see who was alive

still.

MICHAEL C. HALL: By the time Operation Lam Son 719

concludes, nearly 3,800 ARVN have been killed.

253 Americans are dead and over 1,100 wounded.

JOE GALLOWAY: It was a disaster.

It was supposed to prove that the South Vietnamese were

competent and capable and could take over the American role.

That was the graduation--

YOUNG JOE GALLOWAY [VOICEOVER]: --that

was the graduation exercise.

But I'm afraid all it's shown is even

though the South Vietnamese soldiers fought valiantly,

their leadership is nowhere near ready to take control

of this war.

MICHAEL C. HALL: But that is not the message President Nixon

delivers to the nation.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Did the Laotian operations contribute

to the goals we sought?

I just completed my assessment of that operation,

and here are my conclusions.

The South Vietnamese demonstrated

that without American advisors, they could fight effectively

against the very best troops North Vietnam could put

in the field.

The South Vietnamese--

JOE GALLOWAY: They wanted to spin it as a success,

but that it should be amply evident to anyone who looked

at the situation and be able to understand this war is lost.

[MEN SINGING "BRING OUR SOLDIERS HOME NOW"]

MICHAEL C. HALL: Less than three weeks after President Nixon

delivers his assessment of Lam Son 719,

a five-day-long demonstration in Washington DC,

organized by Vietnam veterans against the war,

garners huge publicity and controversy.

[indistinct shouting]

On the fourth day of the event, VVAW spokesman, John Kerry,

testifies before Congress.

He is the first Vietnam veteran to do so.

JOHN KERRY: Each day, to facilitate the process

by which the United States washes her hands of Vietnam,

someone has to give up his life so that the United States

doesn't have to admit something that the entire world already

knows, so that we can't say that we've made a mistake.

And we are asking Americans to think about that, because how

do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?

[cheers]

MICHAEL C. HALL: The day after Kerry's testimony,

the veterans converge in front of the Capitol

for their final day of demonstrations.

Among them is former second lieutenant Barry Romo.

YOUNG BARRY ROMO [VOICEOVER]: When we get to the Capital,

everyone lines up.

And every single person, one at a time,

takes the medals they had won in Vietnam and throws them away.

[cheers, applause]

And when it's my turn to step forward and throw it down--

BARRY ROMO: --all I said was these aren't worth shit.

I couldn't say anything else.

All I could think about, my nephew,

how he was awarded a bronze star with a V. And of course,

he died to get his.

And so all I could think about was the sacrifice that he had

made for-- for the same thing that I had done.

[MUSIC - CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL,

"HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?"]

[SINGING] Someone told me long ago,

there's a calm before the storm.

I know, it's been coming for some time.

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?

Coming down--

[helicopter whirring]

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: I can't say I'll miss this place,

but I sure as hell will miss these guys.

Although, from the looks of things,

they'll all be following me home soon enough.

MICHAEL C. HALL: In July of 1971,

Major Bob Clewell completes his tour of duty,

having flown over 600 combat hours as company commander.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: No matter

what anyone says, we came here to fight for democracy,

just like our fathers did in World War II.

Just like them, we wanted to spare our families

from the horrors of war, the things

that they had seen that they couldn't talk about.

You know, as a consequence, we felt that deep commitment

to serve our country in Vietnam.

YOUNG BOB CLEWELL [VOICEOVER]: This war may not be the most

popular anymore, but we know that we

did what we were asked to do to the best of our abilities.

MICHAEL C. HALL: Throughout 1971, US forces accelerate

their withdrawal from Vietnam.

The difficulties demonstrated by the ARVN's

first major operation without US ground support

hasn't lessened Nixon's determination to turn the war

over to the South Vietnamese.

[sustained rapid fire]

In March of 1972, with US troop strength the lowest

it has been in seven years, the NVA suddenly stunned the world

by launching a massive three-pronged attack

into the south.

[sustained rapid fire]

Nearly 150,000 enemy troops, along with supporting armor

and artillery units, launched conventional frontal assaults

against thinly-held ARVN defensive lines.

[artillery fire]

As some South Vietnamese units begin to crumble,

President Nixon once again goes on national television,

this time, to try to help a faltering ally by building

a case for a new phase of the war.

[machine gun fire]

Throughout the war in Vietnam, the United States

has exercised a degree of restraint

unprecedented in the annals of war.

[roaring engine]

However, when the enemy abandons all restraint, throws

its whole army in the battle in the territory of its neighbor,

refuses to negotiate, we simply face a new situation.

In these circumstances, any president

who failed to act decisively would

have betrayed the trust of his country

and betrayed the cause of world peace.

[roaring engine]

MICHAEL C. HALL: After a three-year suspension,

the US begins large-scale bombings inside North Vietnam.

For the first time, the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi

is targeted.

[explosions]

Over the next five and a half months, 200,000 tons of bombs

rain down on the north, while US forces complete

their final withdrawal from the south.

President Nixon, who is running for re-election,

is under pressure to bring the troops home.

And so despite the ongoing bombing, on August 11, 1972,

the last US ground combat unit departs South Vietnam.

America's ground operations officially end,

but the war in Vietnam does not.

Without a signed peace treaty, the future of South Vietnam,

as well as more than 500 American prisoners of war

who are awaiting release in the north remains uncertain.

Finally, in October, Henry Kissinger

announces a breakthrough in his negotiation

with North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho.

HENRY KISSINGER: Peace is at hand.

We believe that an agreement is within sight.

MICHAEL C. HALL: But days after Kissinger's

optimistic announcement, South Vietnam's President Thieu

rejects the treaty when he learns

it allows North Vietnamese troops to remain in the south.

Resolution of the POW issue goes on hold.

For Anne Purcell, whose husband Ben was captured almost five

years before, it is almost unbearable.

ANNE PURCELL: It was a roller coaster.

We felt hopeful, and then we would--

our hope would be dashed, and then again a hope,

and then dashed again.

It was just a roller coaster one--

one week after the other.

And I remember saying to the Lord in prayer,

I don't know how much longer I can hold on.

MICHAEL C. HALL: Negotiations continue for the next three

months.

Until, on January 27, 1973, after continued bombing

of the north and much US pressure on the south,

all parties finally signed the Paris Peace Accords.

Hostilities are to cease immediately,

but North Vietnamese troops are allowed

to stay inside the south on the condition

that they do not continue to build up their forces

or resume aggressions.

PRESIDENT NIXON: I have asked for this radio and television

time tonight for the purpose of announcing that we, today, have

concluded an agreement to end the war

and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia.

[cheers, applause]

MICHAEL C. HALL: years earlier, at the end of World War II,

Times Square and New York City erupted

in spontaneous celebration.

[cheers, applause]

Not so in 1973.

[thunder cracking]

NEWSCASTER 2: This is [inaudible] in Times Square

in New York City, where the major visible observance

as the end of the war is the great sign "Peace" down

the side of the Allied Chemical building.

The sign flashed on, and the moving newswire below it

signaled the word over and over for a minute.

And on this rainy, cold evening here, there

were a few around to see it.

Times Square, which had filled again and again over the years

with crowds demanding peace, and a rather smaller crowd

to celebrate its arrival.

There were other observances as the hour came--

MICHAEL C. HALL: Eight years after the Marines first

landed in Vietnam, the war that divided a nation is finally

over.

And the unwinding of America's involvement can begin.

[applause]

[indistinct chatter]

Three weeks after the Paris Peace agreement is signed,

the return of America's prisoners of war begins.

For hundreds of families across America,

it's the end of an emotional journey.

[cheers, applause]

After five and a half years, I know what makes America great.

It's you, the people.

Thank you so much for your support.

I love you this much.

I love you this much.

YOUNG ANNE PURCELL [VOICEOVER]: My stomach is in knots.

For five years, I've done nothing

but dream about this moment.

"Dear Mrs. Benjamin Purcell, on behalf of the--

--Secretary of the Army, I wish to inform you--"

I can't do it.

[sobbing softly]

Give me a minute.

Isn't that strange, that I'd cry when I knew he was coming home?

[sobbing softly]

[indistinct chatter]

[cheers, applause]

We all were transported by bus or sedan to the airport,

and we were all waiting in our little groups.

And we were all waiting and waiting and waiting

till the plane came.

And they had the red carpet.

They had all these bank of microphones for them

to each one speak as they got off.

Ben was the highest ranking--

YOUNG ANNE PURCELL [VOICEOVER]: --the highest ranking

on the plane and they let him off first.

Distinguished arrival, Colonel Benjamin H. Purcell.

[cheers, applause]

YOUNG ANNE PURCELL [VOICEOVER]: As soon

as Ben steps out the door, our children start screaming.

They're so excited, they can barely control themselves.

Even I can hardly keep myself together.

Fellow Georgians, some five and a half years ago--

YOUNG ANNE PURCELL [VOICEOVER]: I'm trying so hard

to control myself and wait for him to finish speaking.

But all I want to do is just touch him

so that I can be sure that this is for real,

and that he's real.

--the Gulf of Mexico.

Instead, he found--

YOUNG ANNE PURCELL [VOICEOVER]: I can't take it anymore,

so in the middle of his speech, I run out of the crowd

and straight up to him.

[applause]

At this moment, my years of loneliness and my wife's

long vigil comes to a happy end.

[applause]

ANNE PURCELL: When I can run out there and hug you,

I knew that you were finally home.

And then I think that's the moment

that it took for me to really believe that you were going

to come back.

What a wonderful thing.

You're my angel.

[cheers, applause]

MICHAEL C. HALL: For many Americans,

the return of the POWs marks the final conclusion of the Vietnam

War.

The troubles of Southeast Asia slipped

from the daily newscasts, giving way

to reports of the Watergate break-in

and subsequent political firestorm.

NEWSCASTER 1: There was talk this weekend that the President

should resign.

He's under siege because of the Watergate scandal.

As President, I must put the interests of America first.

Therefore, I shall resign the presidency, effective at noon

tomorrow.

I, Gerald R. Ford, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully

execute--

MICHAEL C. HALL: By the time Gerald Ford

assumes the presidency in August of 1974,

US aid to South Vietnam has been cut by 75%

since its height a year earlier.

[applause]

For the ARVN, who've depended upon American money

and military supplies since 1954,

the cutbacks have a devastating effect.

Planes sit idle on runways, unable to take off

because of lack of fuel.

Artillery pieces that had once been allocated

100 rounds per day are rationed to only 10.

But while the ARVN supplies are dwindling,

the North Vietnamese are rebuilding

their military strength.

[explosions, artillery fire]

On March 10, 1975, just over two years after the Paris Peace

agreement was signed, hopes for an independent South Vietnam

come crumbling down.

[sustained rapid fire]

The North Vietnamese launch their largest and most

ambitious offensive yet into the south.

As ARVN units begin to falter, hundreds of thousands

of South Vietnamese civilians run for their lives.

On April 21st, President Thieu resigns.

Four days later, NVA forces reach the outskirts of Saigon.

[indistinct shouting]

On April 29th, as Saigon crumbles,

a small contingent of US State Department, CIA workers,

and Marines who remained in Vietnam

begin a hasty and desperate evacuation

of South Vietnamese civilians and government employees

who had worked with the United States.

[helicopter whirring]

Tens of thousands of people scramble

onto US ships waiting offshore.

As they run out of space for people,

millions of dollars of military equipment

is dumped into the ocean.

[splash]

[indistinct shouting]

On April 30th, just before 8:00 AM,

the last American chopper to leave Saigon lifts off

from the roof of the embassy.

[helicopter whirring]

Less than four hours later, North Vietnamese tanks

crash through the gates of the presidential palace.

At 4 o'clock, a live radio broadcast

announces Saigon is officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

YOUNG JOE GALLOWAY [VOICEOVER]: We're all

gathered in the Bureau, standing over the teletype, when

it starts ringing flashes.

Saigon has fallen.

JOE GALLOWAY: Saigon has fallen.

The presidential palace is taken.

It was over.

It was over.

KEITH CONNOLLY: When I hear people talk about Vietnam,

and they say we lost, or it wasn't a war we should have

been involved in, I can't necessarily argue with that.

But it immediately brings to mind the people that

made the ultimate sacrifices over there, the people

that nobody asked them, did you want to go?

The military people didn't have a vote.

We didn't get a chance to say, yeah, I'd like to go to war.

We were directed to do it and, by God, we did it.

DON DEVORE: I had taken my military experience

and I had really buried it.

And I didn't want to bother with it,

and I didn't want anybody else to bother me with it.

But in my kids' eyes, it was a thing of value,

and they're very proud of me.

That changed my life.

That changed my life in a lot of ways to that point.

[helicopter whirring]

They were very proud of me.

They're very proud of their old man.

ARTHUR WIKNIK: When people ask me about my Vietnam service,

I always tell them I'm very proud that I served.

At the time I went in, I hated the idea of going.

I hated the idea of being drafted.

But I went because that's-- that's the way it was back

then.

The country wasn't on the best of terms with the Vietnam vets

for a long time, but that's changed.

And I'm very proud of that fact.

The veterans who serve today get a great sendoff.

They get a great welcome home.

Now I never got that, but I don't care because today they

are getting that.

And in my mind, that's my welcome home.

Because of what I suffered through,

these people today are reaping the benefit.

And I'm just so glad that the country has realized

that our men and women who serve this great country

are appreciated.

JAMES ANDERSON: I don't think that anybody should ever

apologize or feel the need to apologize for the effort

that our soldiers in Vietnam put in.

The American soldier did everything

and were successful at everything

that they were asked to do.

MAN: We had, again, people that felt that they were not going

to come back, but they went over there

and they served their country.

So I remember the brave people that went over there and did

what we asked them.

JOE GALLOWAY: You know, they say the World War II

guys were the best generation.

Well, those who fought every war since then

were the best of their generation.

They went, they served, they sacrificed,

and they fought like tigers.

They were noble.

[helicopter whirring]

[explosion]

[music playing]