Film begins showing traffic and pedestrians in front of the City Hall in Saigon, Vietnam, at a quiet time during the Vietnam War. Camera pans back to reveal a huge botanical display being visited by local people. Young women in colorful áo dài (traditional dress) mingle among the visitors. Growers deliver flowers from a small bus for the display. Closeup of flower blooms as a man delivering more passes behind. A woman in a rickshaw carrying a huge bouquet of flowers. Closeup of two young women visiting the displays. An elderly man places a huge pot of white flowers into the display. closeup of white and orange-colored blooms. A small tree being carried into the display area. Scene shifts to a roundabout with statue of General Tran Nguyen Han in the center. (This was erected by the Republic of Vietnam in 1965.) Traffic moves past the Ben Thanh Market in the background. On the street outside the market building, merchants display their wares under umbrellas outdoors. Closeup of local people shopping in the outdoor stalls. Closeup of two young women shopping. Closeup of fruit displayed by one merchant. Several women and a girl making purchases. Closeup of a woman selecting pears for purchase. Closeup of another woman buying some sweets. Closeup of some cakes.
Opening scenes show destroyed and damaged American UH-1 helicopters. A flying buzzard depicted on remains of one. Damage to buildings at American airbases and other installations, including barracks of U.S. servicemen, where a photograph of a girl and other personal items are seen on the ground. Smoke rising and ambulance responding at site of a bombing in Saigon. Injured personnel bleeding, after the Viet Cong detonate a car bomb outside the American Embassy in Saigon, on March 30, 1965. A victim being carried on a stretcher. (Vietnam War period).
A South Vietnamese attack on a Red Vietcong stronghold leads to the capture of smuggled weapons south of Saigon, Vietnam. A helicopter lands near South Vietnamese soldiers. A cache of arms. Soldiers near boxes of ammunition. An International Control Commission inspects the captured smuggled weapons. (Vietnam War period).
United States Naval patrol bomber SP-2H patrol the coast in Saigon,Vietnam as a river in the background is seen winding into the sea. Bomber flies over inhabited areas and junks. Aerial view from cockpit. A crewman speaks over the mike. Aerial view of water and shoreline as bomber flies over three swift boats and Nha Trang, where naval advisory radio station is located. Smoke is seen rising from the area.
Henry Cabot Lodge returns as U.S. Ambassador to Saigon, Vietnam. Henry Cabot Lodge in a meeting with other officials. United States troops along with Vietnamese troops land from a helicopter in a jungle area of Vietnam. U.S. soldiers march in fields and forest area. They cross a small water stream. The 105 Howitzer emerges from helicopters. Units of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat team advance towards enemy. (Vietnam War period).
Vietnamese Women's Army Corps stationed in Saigon, Vietnam. The WACs walk in long columns in a compound. A concrete building in view. American WACs Major Kathleen I. Wilkes and Sergeant Betty L. Adams serve as advisors of the Vietnam Women's Army Corps. They help the Vietnamese WACs. The Vietnamese WACs issue uniforms to the women recruits. Several new recruits wear native dress. Blouses are held against the girls for possible fit. Sergeant Adams tries a jacket on a new recruit. A Vietnamese woman works at a sewing machine. Major Wilkes, Sergeant Adams, Vietnamese WAC Sergeant and a Vietnamese girl walk out of the building. (Vietnam War period).