“Sometimes there’s an issue not of legal and illegal, but of right or wrong.”
Said Stuart Arthur Herrington (CLIP) Col, U.S. Army (Ret.) and author and retired counterintelligence officer. Herrington served at the Defense Attache Organization in Saigon as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Delegation, At dawn, April 30, 1975 he was one of the last Americans to helicopter off the roof of the United States Embassy during the Fall of Saigon. Have a look here at Craig Compiano’s photo – NPR’s Untold Vietnam Tale Now Told: How U.S. Sailors Saved Refugees. This is where crew members from knox-class destroyer escort USS Kirk (FF-1087) push a Huey helicopter into the ocean to make room on the small deck for more incoming crafts carrying Vietnamese refugees. 40 years later this was the focus of the 2014 released documentary ‘Last days in vietnam’ (Explore the Last Days Experience site here) (TRAILER) (Preview) from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker American documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy:.
WATCH THESE STUNNING CLIPS FROM THE FILM:
- “Desperate Eyes”
- “Our flight deck will only take one helicopter at a time…”
- ”Dead Men Walking”
- “Chaos Had Descended”
- “What Would Happen To Them”
- “Like Something Out of Exodus”
Rory Kennedy is the youngest child of U.S. Senator Robert Francis "Bobby” Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. Rory examined the final days of American presence in Saigon and the heroic efforts to help evacuate 135,000 South Vietnamese.
- “A remarkable piece of work that should be seen by everyone who thinks they know everything about the Vietnam War.”
The film was nominated for the Academy Award® Nominee for Documentary Feature at the 87th Academy Awards. And premiered on PBS television on April 28, 2015 but can now be fully seen on PBS website. Read here where the Oscar-nominated director narrowed her focus to one specific part of the Vietnam story. ‘Last days in vietnam’ was brought to you by American Experience and PBS – browse the entire American Experience series featuring over 250 films.
Watch THR’s 60min. Documentary Roundtable with Rory Kennedy:
- WATCH HERE – The directors of ‘Citizenfour,’ ‘Life Itself,’ ‘Last Days in Vietnam,’ ‘Virunga,’ ‘The Case Against 8,’ ‘Tales of the Grim Sleeper’ and ‘Keep On Keepin’ On’ reveal why their very dramatic films have attracted the support of Quincy Jones, Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Soderbergh.
- WATCH HERE – “First Kill” a 2001 rare gem of a documentary film made by Dutch filmmaker Coco Schrijber (Produced by Lemming Film, Distributed by D.Net.Sales), which revolves around the psychology of war. The Film examines these and other questions with former war correspondent Michael Herr, who wrote the screenplays to Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, as they explore what war does to the human mind and soul. The depth of the interviews provides insight into the feelings that accompany violence, fear, hate, seduction and pleasure.
American Experience is the US television’s longest running and most watched history series. Read more about the IndieGogo project here – #SaveTheirStories, Explore teaching resources, Delve into a timeline of the story, Follow the film on Facebook, About the Film, About Rory Kennedy, Press, View the film with Vietnamese subtitles here, Official Press Release. Photo credit: Credit:PBS/American Experience. One-to-follow!