View from a U.S. Marine bunker as enemy shell explodes nearby, during the siege of Khe Sanh in 1968 during the Vietnam War. The United States Marines in the Battle of Khe Sanh firing mortars and a 105mm howitzer from their bunker. Enemy shells exploding on the tarmac, where American Air Force C-130 aircraft are parked. Marines rushing wounded comrades on stretchers, to C-130s for evacuation. Scene shifts to U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel James P. Sheehan, standing at Camp Pendleton, California. (He was a company commander in the siege at Khe Sanh.) As he describes the C-130 aircraft support operations, a contingent of marines marches past, behind him. Scene shifts to a civilian narrator standing in the Military Airlift Command (MAC) Headquarters Command Center at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Among other things, he describes MAC support to the Tactical Air Command in Korea. Camera focuses on MAC air routes in the vicinity of the Philippines, Japan, and Korea. Next, is seen view of airfield at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, briefly at sunset, and then at night, as pilots of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing and their F-111 aircraft prepare to depart for Korea, in response to border tensions, in August, 1976, after North Korean forces killed two American officers ("Korean Axe Murder Incident" and resulting "Operation Paul Bunyan"). Ground crewman directs a taxiing F-111 using lighted wands. The F-111s takes off. One of them is seen landing after the 7 thousand mile flight to Korea, as Major Paul Malandrino,Jr. (unseen) of the 366th Wing, speaks about MAC's airlift support. A C-141 MAC aircraft is seen landing. View of a C-141 with tail doors open and its cargo of military equipment on the ramp behind it. Glimpse of a marine with rifle and earphones, guarding equipment on the airfield ramp. Closeups of F-111 aircraft taking off.
View of deserted bunkers at Khe Sanh, Vietnam. United States Marine Corp sleeps leaning against drums with a camouflaged net in the foreground. View of trench dug by the Marines and M-16 Rifle in camouflaged net. Barbed wire around Khe Sanh Combat Base, Vietnam. (Vietnam War period).
The Battle of Khe Sanh in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Smoke rises outside the perimeter of a camp area. Soldiers in the camp area. A fire truck foams a burning vehicle. A Marine helicopter takes off. A wrecked United States Marine Corps ( USMC ) UH-1 Iroquois helicopter in a revetment. A damaged United States Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter in the revetment. Container Delivery System bundles dropped from a United States Marine Corps Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Damaged window pane of the aircraft. United States Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft drop napalm and general purpose bombs. A UH-1 Iroquois helicopter lifts off and flies away.
The Battle of Khe Sanh in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. An M-76 amphibious cargo carrier is driven. Casualties on stretchers being placed aboard United States Marine Corps UH-1H Iroquois and CH-46B Sea Knight helicopters. Men remove long crates from a CH-46B helicopter.
The Battle of Khe Sanh in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. A United States Marine Corps CH-53A Sea Stallion helicopter carries a heavy cargo such as netted crates, a truck and a trailer on a sling as seen from the bottom hatch of the aircraft. The helicopter deposits the cargo on the ground. A soldiers mans a gun in the helicopter. Cargo chutes descend toward the drop zone.
The Battle of Khe Sanh in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. U.S. Marines fill sand bags and stack them around a communications van. A Marine flattens the stack. The Marines stand in a group. A Marine opens the sand bags. Two Marines talk.