GBH Openvault

Vietnam: A Television History; Aftermath of Vietcong Attack

Part of The Vietnam Collection.

02/07/1965

The attack was made on the Vietnamese II Corps Head Quarters area which includes Camp Holloway, home of the 52nd Aviation Battalion, Army Support Command, Vietnam. Seven were killed and 43 wounded, all Americans. LS, entrance to Camp Holloway with identifying sign. Trucking shot of Camp Holloway Airfield. Military men looking at damage. CU, rubble of a destroyed helicopter. CU, ashes of another helicopter. American soldiers putting M-60 Machine Gun ammunition into belts. Partly damaged UH-1. MCU, sandbags around unexploded hand grenade. CU, unexploded hand grenade. Completely destroyed UH- 1 helicopter. Pan, gutted tail section of helicopter. CU, smoldering ashes and rubble. CU, bent ammunition container. Shot from moving vehicle of UH-1 helicopter standing on field. Corps sign. Wreckage in American quarters in the II Corps compound. Quarters are completely destroyed: smashed roofs, exposed beams, bent metal. CUs, damage done to foundation. Pan, broken parts and rubble on the ground. Int, old ceiling fan turning on completely exposed ceiling. Tilt down to wrecked furniture. Tilt down on observation tower on airfield. LS, wreckage on field. CU, sign on building: "Camp Holloway Airfield Operations." MS, Major General Delk M. Oden talking with an unidentified two- star Vietnamese officer and Major General Nguyen Khanh on airstrip. C-123 taxis to a stop. General William C. Westmoreland, Commander, US Military Assistance, Vietnam, and Mr. McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to President for National Security, get off plane. General Westmoreland and Mr. Bundy talk with General Khanh. CU, Great Seal of the US on side of plane. VS, Westmoreland, Bundy, and Khanh start on inspection tour. Others follow. CU, blown tire on plane landing gear; pan to hole in steel mat. CU, General Khanh talking to Mr. Bundy. MCU, General Westmoreland talking to Mr. Bundy and Major General Oden. CUs, rubbish strewn about. LA, ragged holes in blown roof of American quarters.

Series

Vietnam: A Television History

Title

Aftermath of Vietcong Attack

Series Description

This 13 part series covers the history of Vietnam from France's colonial control, through the 1945 revolution, to the 1975 U.S. evacuation from Saigon and the years beyond. The series' objective approach permits viewers to form their own conclusions about the war. 101--Roots of a War--Despite cordial relations between American intelligence officers and Communist leader Ho Chi Minh in the turbulent closing months of World War II, French and British hostility to the Vietnamese revolution laid the groundwork for a new war. 102--The First Vietnam War (1946-1954)--The French generals expected to defeat Ho's rag-tag Vietminh guerrillas easily, but after eight years of fighting and $2.5 billion in U.S. aid, the French lost a crucial battle at Dienbienphu--and with it, their Asian empire. 103--America's Mandarin (1954-1963)--To stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, America replaced France in South Vietnam--supporting autocratic President Ngo Dinyh Diem until his own generals turned against him in a coup that brought political chaos to Saigon. 104--LBJ Goes to War (1964-1965)--With Ho Chi Minh determined to reunite Vietnam, Lyndon Baines Johnson determined to prevent it, and South Vietnam on the verge of collapse, the stage was set for massive escalation of the undeclared Vietnam War. 105--America Takes Charge (1965-1967)--In two years, the Johnson Administration's troop build-up dispatched 1.5 million Americans to Vietnam to fight a war they found baffling, tedious, exciting, deadly and unforgettable. 106--America's Enemy (1954-1967)--The Vietnam War as seen from different perspectives: by Vietcong guerrillas and sympathizers; by North Vietnamese leaders; by rank and file; and by American held prisoner in Hanoi. 107--Tet (1968)--The massive enemy offensive at the Lunar New Year decimated the Vietcong and failed to topple the Saigon government, but led to the beginning of America's military withdrawal. 108--Vietnamizing the War (1968-1973)--President Nixon's program of troop pull-outs, stepped-up bombing and huge arms shipments to Saigon changed the war, and left GI's wondering which of them would be the last to die in Vietnam. 109--Cambodia and Laos--Despite technical neutrality, both of Vietnam's smaller neighbors were drawn into the war, suffered massive bombing, and in the case of Cambodia, endured a post-war holocaust of nightmare proportions. 110--Peace is at Hand (1968-1973)--While American and Vietnamese continued to clash in battle, diplomats in Paris argued about making peace, after more than four years reaching an accord that proved to be a preface to further bloodshed. 111--Homefront USA--Americans at home divide over a distant war, clashing in the streets as demonstrations lead to bloodshed, bitterness and increasing doubts about the outcome. 112--The End of the Tunnel (1973-1975)--Through troubled years of controversy and violence, U.S. casualties mounted, victory remained elusive and American opinion moved from general approval to general dissatisfaction with the Vietnam war. 113--Legacies--Vietnam is in the Soviet orbit, poorer than ever, at war on two fronts; America's legacy includes more than one half million Asian refugees, one half million Vietnam veterans and some questions that won't go away. Series release date: 9/1983

Duration

00:07:32

Asset Type

Stock footage

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Nguyen, Khanh

Bundy, McGeorge

Pleiku (Vietnam)

Vietnam (Asia) nation

National liberation movements

Nationalism and communism

Battle casualties

Westmoreland, William C. (William Childs), 1914-2005

Military camps

Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Locations

Pleiku, Vietnam

Genres

Documentary

Topics

War and Conflict

Creators

Ellison, Richard (Series Producer)

Publication Information

NARA

Rights Summary

Public Domain Rights Holder: NARA

Citation

Chicago: “Vietnam: A Television History; Aftermath of Vietcong Attack,” 02/07/1965, GBH Archives, accessed April 19, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_B94426E52B0A478780BCE1A74B0D7570.

MLA: “Vietnam: A Television History; Aftermath of Vietcong Attack.” 02/07/1965. GBH Archives. Web. April 19, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_B94426E52B0A478780BCE1A74B0D7570>.

APA: Vietnam: A Television History; Aftermath of Vietcong Attack. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_B94426E52B0A478780BCE1A74B0D7570