American aid to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaking at a Gettysburg College commencement, on April 4, 1959, notes, among other things, that the cost of defending freedom must be paid in many places. And he mentions Berlin,Vietnam,and the Middle East. Scene shifts to South Vietnam where recruits are being signed up for its armed forces. Glimpse of a U.S. Army Lieutenant advisor, in sunglasses, smoking a pipe, on a crowded street. Local people in the area. Scene shifts to 1960. Two U.S. Army Ranger advisors, in full brim hats (3214D-M41), stand near as a contingent of Montagnard troops boards a train. View from armed guard standing on front of train as it travels along a single rail in deserted area. A sudden explosion occurs on the train track about 100 yards ahead. Next machine gun fire is seen coming from an armored gun turret on the train. View from inside the armored compartment, as the gun fires, spraying the surrounding area with bullets, creating two explosions nearby. South Vietnamese soldiers (ARVN) pursuing enemy in wooded areas. One, down deep in underbrush, is firing a machine gun. Several others are engaging enemy with small arms. Huts being blown up. ARVN troops returning from an engagement, carrying wounded on stretchers. Year, 1961, and an official American Government airplane is seen. It carries General Maxwell Taylor (in mufti) who was sent by President John F. Kennedy. Taylor is seen being interviewed on the airport ramp. A U.S. Air Force officer training young Vietnamese pilot trainees. A Vietnamese student pilot in a T-28 training airplane.
Montagnard tribesmen cut weeds from a field in Vietnam. Tribal huts shown. The Montagnards wear lion clothes. Hills seen in the distance. Fields with scattered fields. Vietnamese children wearing conical hats lead a herd of cattle on an unpaved path.
Aerial view of 25th Infantry Division Headquarters Base Camp in Cu Chi, North West of Saigon, Vietnam. View of 'Tropic Lightning' insignia on ground.
A PX mobile canteen in Long Binh. Internal arrangement of food stuffs in the van is shown. A man in the van passes two cans to a soldier. Another soldier buys a can of drink from the van. Army trucks are seen in the background. (Vietnam War period).
Sign board showing 624th Special Service of U.S. Army in Vietnam. Conex containers placed on loading platform. Forklift loads crates onto truck.
Special Service Board displays ground rules. Soldiers swim in swimming pool. Some men and women basks in sun around the pool. (Vietnam War period).