U.S. 47th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Battalion troops in Binh Phuoc, Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Rising smoke marks a landing zone. Aerial view of a rice paddy. Soldiers walk through the rice paddy. A pilot at the controls of a helicopter. Soldiers get off a United States Army UH-1D Iroquois helicopter. UH-1D Iroquois helicopters take off and fly away. The soldiers walk towards the base.
U.S. Marines setting up to refuel helicopters at a forward base in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. They connect hoses and begin to transfer fuel. But a hole in the hose causes a serious leak with fuel running onto the ground. View of empty fuel bladder laying flat on the ground. The Marines set up new refueling lines to a full bladder. They open valves and fuel two Marine Corps UH-1E Iroquois helicopters that arrive in quick succession. (Vietnam War period).
Electric wire lines amidst smoke appear. POl storage tanks are seen on a side of road. Howitzer shells are stacked in ammo dump. The shells are fixed in sockets on base of open wooden box . The top and base of wooden box are strapped to fix the shells. These open wooden boxes are stacked. (Vietnam War period).
Men work on UH-1B helicopter at Soc Trang base in Vietnam. Cowling covers are removed and placed on the ground. Another man works on the engine of the helicopter. A man hands out mail during mail call. He goes through a mail. Crew members and officers stand near the helicopter and chat with each other. UH-1B helicopter lifts off from the base.
Opening scene shows two U.S. Air Force F-105 Thunderchief aircraft taking off in pre-dawn from Vietnam on a bombing mission, in 1966, during the Vietnam War. Next, the F-105s are seen diving and dropping bombs that explode into fire and smoke on the ground. Closeup of a Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-135 aircraft in flight. It has been modified to serve as as a "Combat Lightning" aircraft that serves as a communication link between the Tactical Air Reporting Center at Monkey Mountain, near Danang, Vietnam and ground radar, airborne radar and any U.S. aircraft operating over North Vietnam. KC-135 "Combat Lightning" crew members are seated in a briefing room at the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, in Thailand. A briefing officer explains their mission, using charts and a map labeled SECRET Noforn (no foreign access) showing Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin. The briefer points to an area in the Gulf, and sketches a figure eight, showing where and how the KC-135 should maneuver in a holding pattern during its mission. Crew members rise and leave at the end of the briefing. View of a Strategic Air Command EC-135L that arrived on May 29, 1967, along with another, to support 24 hour "Combat Lightning" operations. Ground crewman directs the EC-135L as it taxis out and then takes off, past a C-130 aircraft holding short of the active runway. (Narrator notes that by the end of July, 1967, there were four "Combat Lightning" C-135 aircraft operating at U-Tapao airfield.) View from above of EC-135L aircraft in flight above clouds, en route to its assigned location over the Gulf of Tonkin. View of radio operator inside the aircraft, who is in radio contact with U-Tapao and the aircraft they are going to relieve. View of map showing their destination figure-eight holding pattern. Radio operator establishes the same contacts used by the aircraft they are relieving, to assure continuity of communications. Remainder of the film contains extended views of the radio operator at his station and of the EC-135 aircraft in flight. Near the end, the crew's Armaments and Electronics Technician is seen pulling a piece of malfunctioning electronic gear from a rack and replacing it with a spare, stored nearby.
United States Defense Secretary Robert McNamara at a press conference in the United States. He talks about air strikes against North Vietnam targets during the Vietnam War. A map of Haiphong and Hanoi on a wall. Cameramen take photographs. U.S. aircraft carry out bombing air strikes against Haiphong and Hanoi in Vietnam. U.S. troops load bombs onto Thunderchief F-105 aircraft and F-105 aircraft takeoff for bombing run. Air raids on oil depots in Haiphong and Hanoi. U.S. Navy aircraft take off from USS Ranger (CV-4) aircraft carrier. An aerial view of the land below. Smoke rises up due to explosions.
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