This film is a U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) documentary that covers the story of the U.S. Marines and their South Vietnamese allies garrisoned at Khe Sanh, Vietnam in 1968.
Historical Background / Context:
The Vietnam War (aka the Second Indochina War) was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was fought between North Vietnam - supported by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China - and the government of South Vietnam - supported by the United States and other anti-communist countries. The communist Viet Cong, a South Vietnamese political organization and army aided by North Vietnam, fought a guerrilla war against the United States and the South Vietnamese forces. The Vietnam People's Army (North Vietnamese Army) engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large units into battle.
The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam under communist rule. The U.S. government viewed American involvement in the Vietnam conflict as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam with the aim of stopping the spread of communism.
The U.S. Marine Corps served an important role in the Vietnam. Individuals from the USMC operated in the Northern I Corps Regions of South Vietnam. Portions of the Corps were responsible for the less-known Combined Action Program that implemented unconventional techniques for counter-insurgency and worked as military advisers to the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps. Marines were withdrawn from Vietnam in 1971, and returned briefly in 1975 to evacuate Saigon.
