As examples of action expected under provisions of the Third Geneva Convention, opening scenes show Republic of Vietnam soldiers (ARVN) escorting some Viet Cong prisoners of war (POW); a wounded being carried on a stretcher; refugees moving along a trail en masse and women and children being helped to board a DC-3 transport airplane. As examples of prohibited behavior: soldiers are seen abusing prisoners; a woman strikes someone surrounded by a vigilante group; a soldier threatens a child; mother and child being threatened. A Cuban revolutionary officer is seen passing sentence on prisoner without due process. A prisoner being executed by a firing squad. (Vietnam War period).
U.S. 20th Helicopter Squadron, Special Forces personnel and Montagnard troops aboard U.S. Army UH-1F Iroquois helicopters en route to a remote village in Vietnam to pick up a suspected Vietcong prisoner during the Vietnam War. Troops leave a UH-1F helicopter as it lands. They run into a jungle. The UH-1F helicopter takes off. The UH-1F unloading troops. Special Forces personnel and Montagnard troops enter the village and bring the prisoner from a hut to the UH-1F. More troops leave the UH-1F. The UH-1F takes off. Aerial view of the village. UH-1Fs land on the field and troops leave a helicopter. Suspected Vietcong prisoner is marched by a Special Forces personnel. UH-1Fs take off.
Aerial view showing smoke rising from a bombed jungle in the Vietnam War. Helicopters flying over a jungle just south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone during Operation Hastings. Helicopter landing in open field. United States Marine Corp (USMC) Marines commander Major General Lowell E. English talking outside a tent with officers. Major General Lowell E. English points to a map of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, showing where the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces are building up in the Vietnamese DMZ and the United States Marines positions at the beginning of Operation Hastings. United States helicopters landing near the Vietnamese DMZ. United States Marines Sikorsky H-34 helicopter landing in field. Marines run and assume prone position along a fence line, possibly the DMV. Marine Corps officer Major Donald Cook discusses how the Marines acted as Operations Hastings developed in the Vietnamese DMZ. A map of the DMZ is seen behind Major Cook. A Marine firing a gun. A United States fighter jet dropping an incendiary bomb. Marines running across the battlefield. Fairchild C-123 Provider takes off from an airfield. Sikorsky H-34 helicopter in the foreground. Dong-Ha Combat Base as seen from an aircraft cockpit. Reserve battalion unload weapons and supplies at Dong-Ha base. A tractor pulls a Howitzer. Lockheed C-130 Hercules parked on runway. Soldiers loading boxes in the back of a truck. Marines moving across dusty field. Some Marines climb into a Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. A helicopter lifts off and flies away. Marines inside a Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. A fighter drops bombs over a field, bombs explode upon impact. A Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter lands and a group of Marines exit rear door. The helicopter flies away. Combat scenes showing Marines fighting in the battlefield, with one throwing a grenade. Marine fires M60 machine gun while another drips oil on it to cool it down. Marine hunkered down while trying to unroll a bandage. A Marine communicates with a field telephone.
United States soldiers unload weapons and place them on the ground during the Vietnam War. Crates with various markings. Captured North Vietnamese weapons such as rifles, submachine guns, and ammunition on display. The soldiers inspect Chinese anti-tank and mortar rounds captured from North Vietnamese forces. A finger points to Chinese markings. North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh meets with delegates. Ho Chi Minh and other North Vietnamese communist leaders attend meeting with United States officials. “Our war aim in South Vietnam is peace. President Johnson has directed me to do everything possible to bring this matter from the battlefield to the conference table. And so we’ve been utilizing all of the existing and available political machinery for that purpose” says Secretary of State Dean Rusk during an interview.
U.S. crewmen attach lanyard wire to parachute flares and toss flares through door. Tracers from Minigun as seen from AC-47 aircraft cockpit. Pilot's sight reticle in the foreground.
Activities at Soc Trang Army Air Base,Vietnam, on occasion of its turnover to VNAF forces. Major General McCown and Secretary of Air Force Robert C. Seamans speaking on the microphone. Soc Trang tower with flags of U.S. and Vietnam flying over it. Vietnamese General speaks on the microphone. Dr.Seamans and his group leaving,walking past Vietnamese troops and taking salutes. (Vietnam War period).