Vietnam Photos & Video

 Pleiku Town Patrol 1967-68.

This video is from my tour of duty as an MP in Company B 504th in Pleiku. This video is a compilation of 25 reels of Super 8mm movies I took while in Pleiku from November 1966 to June 68. The film had been in my basement for decades and had deteriorated beyond salvage--so I thought. Surprisingly, I found a local company that did old film conversions to digital. The results were amazing considering the film is over 50 years old. Although, the YouTube video can be viewed on a desktop computer, laptop computer I recommend that it be viewed on a big screen. The video is 55 minutes long. Most smart TVs have access to YouTube. You can view it there by searching:          

        Pleiku Town Patrol 1967-68.

The film was intended for viewing by family back home and therefore focuses on yours truly. After my family received the first couple of reels of helicopters they insisted that I did not have enough footage of me. I tried to oblige them. The camera I purchased at the PX was cheap and the filmmaker not very skilled. Many of the scenes are too fast or skip back and forth. To make sense for the viewer I taught myself editing with Apple’s IMovie software. By adding a narrative I tried to describe for the viewer what they were seeing. After 50 years my description of events and locations is certainly flawed. I gave it my best shot. Twenty years ago I wrote a fictional book, “Shack Rat, A Novel of Vietnam.” Looking back, I now realize that many of the scenes in the book are depicted in the video. So, if you desire to read the book, see the movie first.