U.S. troops arriving in Vietnam undergo processing by the 90th Replacement Battalion. Scene opens showing buses carrying newly arriving U.S. soldiers from the Ben Hoa airbase, to the depot of the 90th Replacement Battalion,near Long Binh, Vietnam. The buses make their way along dirt roads at the base. Various types of shelters, including tents and buildings of light construction are seen. The soldiers leave the buses, carrying personal belongings and manila folders with documents. As the buses pull away, signs in Vietnamese are seen on their sides. Next, the newly arrived soldiers are seen gathered in an open field. Some smoke cigarettes. There appears to be a chapel building in the background. Some soldiers see the camera behind them and wave toward it. A briefer is addressing them from a stand in front of a low building. Next, soldiers are seen entering a building where sign is posted reading: "OFF LIMITS, unless you are processing." (Vietnam War period).
Scenes of Vietnamese people as they flee Hue during communist siege of the city in 1968 Tet offensive during the Vietnam War. Refugees with belongings run as city is bombed. Houses burned. Woman cries after crossing remains of a destroyed bridge over river. Scenes changes to one year later: Long line of Vietnamese on way to newly discovered mass grave on March 25, 1969. Vietnamese civilians dig and on March 27, 1969 they begin to uncover bodies in the sand which show signs of torture. Locals try to identify dead. Second mass grave uncovered. Dead bodies and body parts. Third mass burial uncovered. Men at local authorities meeting. Assembly point for hundreds of coffins. Incense burning. Mourners at coffin. Coffin opened and woman looks at remains. Flowers and incense burning on coffins. Buddhist ceremonies shows coffins prepared for procession. Women grieve. Shrine at cemetery.
Excerpt from film entitled "Counterattack- Marine Air Ground Team," about U.S. Marines in the Vietnam War. Marines are seen walking cautiously across irrigation ditches in cultivated region of South Vietnam. Scene shifts to one marine looking down at a hole where smoke is rising at the base of a berm. Vietnamese families evacuating their village where marines are burning houses and huts. View from riverbank strung with barbed wire, where marines are relaxing while gunfire is heard and black smoke rises from fires burning across the river. Next, a city is seen jammed with Vietnamese refugees with their belongings (some being assisted by ARVN soldiers) making their way through the crowds. A fallen civilian seen on the ground, victim of the Viet Cong (VC). Buildings and places of worship severely damaged by the VC. A bearded old Vietnamese man wearing a non la (conical hat) and smoking a cigarette, is questioned by a U.S. soldier. (Narrator says civilians are reluctant to say much for fear of reprisals.) Marines walking slowly through a village, and then through areas of trees and brush, open areas, and dense jungle. View of underbelly of a U.S. jet fighter bomber in flight over water, carrying two BLU-10 250 lb Napalm Bombs. A Marine A-4 Skyhawk jet aircraft dives down and drops a bomb that explodes with large fireball and black smoke. Closeup of an A-4 in flight. View of pilot in cockpit and sound of conversation with ground controllers. Pilot asks if there are any more requests from the "grunts." Anachronistic Inserted images of two Marine F-4 aircraft from VMFA 232 (Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232). They display "Red Devil" insignia on their sides. (They flew ground support in F-4s from Chu Lai Air base, Vietnam, commencing 1969.) View shifts to Marines "Grunts" in sandy area, with one communicating by radio. Next, a jet fighter bomber swoops down and unloads bombs that explode in succession on the ground. Marines in heavily sandbagged trenches. A jet fighter flies low overhead at very high speed. Another succession of bomb bursts is seen. Sea-going Marines arrive and exit Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, at landing zone. Views of Marines exiting the choppers and then a variety of views of CH-46s in flight. Closeup of one in flight. View of interior, with a squad of Marines, inside, in battle gear. CH-46s landing and taking off.
Opening slate attributes film to SEAPC and Jensen (Southeast Asia Pictorial Center/221st Signal Company based in Long Binh and Chris Jensen). U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division troops pass through jungles of A Shau Valley in Vietnam. U.S. 327th Infantry Airborne regiment, 101st Airborne Division troops climb a mountain in a dense jungle. African American soldier carrying rifle brings up the rear. At one point the soldiers have dumped their ruck sacks and left them with the remainder of the company while they went on a short patrol. The troops on patrol in the jungle. The troops walk through high bushes. The troops fire M-79 grenade launchers as part of a recon patrol. Film taken by the Southeast Asia Pictorial Center/221st Signal Company based in Long Binh. Chris Jensen.
Beginning slate identifies 1st Aviation Brigade and Long Binh. U.S Army ground crew refuels an Army Beechcraft U-21 Ute aircraft from a fuel truck. The aircraft's wing lowers as the fuel fills a wing tank. Control Tower is seen in background. Ground crewman stands fireguard as number one engine is started while the entrance steps are still in down position. After steps are raised and both engines running, the airplane taxis out for takeoff. View of the aircraft on takeoff roll in distance. (Vietnam War period).
Vietnam War U.S. Army 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division base camp operations in Phu Bai near Hue, Vietnam. Soldiers dig in and fill sandbags. 105 mm howitzer in the background. Soldier drinks from canteen cup. Soldier digs trench. (This camp was later named Camp Eagle in March 1969).