more at http://news.quickfound.net/intl/vietnam_news.html "This film portrays the strenuous six-day, eighty-hour training period which the replacement soldier received in Vietnam. This training was designed to supplement the soldier's stateside training with more specific training that reflected the climate and terrain conditions in which he eventually fought." Soldiers training in the film are assigned to the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. Also released, with a different "wrapper," as "The Big Picture" episode TV-708. The Big Picture TV Series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_hX5wLdhf_Jwfz5l_3NRAcCYURbOW2Fl Vietnam War playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF7FC7A2D880623F7 Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass color correction & mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101st_Airborne_Division The 101st Airborne Division ("Screaming Eagles")—is a modular light infantry division of the United States Army trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord (the D-Day landings and airborne landings on June 6 1944, in Normandy, France), Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands and, perhaps most famously, its action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles including the fight for Hamburger Hill in May 1969. In mid-1968 it was reorganized and redesignated as an airmobile division, then in 1974 as an air assault division. These titles reflect the division's shift from airplanes as the primary method of delivering troops into combat, to the use of helicopters. Many current members of the 101st are graduates of the U.S. Army Air Assault School. Division headquarters is at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In recent years, the division has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The division is one of the most highly decorated units in the United States Army and has been featured prominently in military fiction... Vietnam War In mid-1965, the 1st Brigade and support troops were deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, followed by the rest of the division in late 1967. The 101st was deployed in the northern I Corps region operating against the Vietnam People's Army (NVA) infiltration routes through Laos and the A Shau Valley for most of the war. In almost seven years of combat in Vietnam, elements of the 101st participated in 15 campaigns. Notable among these were the Battle of Hamburger Hill in 1969 and Firebase Ripcord in 1970. Within the United States, the 101st, along with the 82nd Airborne Division, was sent in to quell the large and violent 1967 Detroit riot. Firebase Ripcord On 12 March 1970, the 3rd Brigade of 101st began rebuilding abandoned Fire Support Base Ripcord which relied, as with most remote bases at the time, on a helicopter lifeline to get supplies in and the personnel out. The firebase was to be used for a planned offensive by the 101st to destroy NVA supply bases in the mountains overlooking the A Shau Valley. Located on the eastern edge of the valley, and taking place at the same time as the Cambodian Incursion, the operation was considered covert. As the 101st Airborne planned the attack on the NVA supply bases, the North Vietnamese Army was secretly observing their activities. From 12 March until 30 June, the NVA was sporadically attacking the Firebase. After weeks of reconnaissance by the NVA, on the morning of 1 July 1970 the North Vietnamese Army launched a surprise mortar attack on the firebase. The resulting 23-day battle between the 101st Airborne and the North Vietnamese Army was the last major confrontation between United States ground forces and North Vietnam of the Vietnam War. During the 23-day siege, 75 U.S. servicemen were killed in action, including 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry commanding officer Colonel Andre Lucas, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and 1st Lt. Bob Kalsu, one of the few American professional athletes to be killed during the war. During the entire battle (including the siege), 250 members of the division were killed. Fighting from four hilltops, surrounded, and outnumbered nearly ten to one, the division's forces were defeated but managed to inflict heavy losses on the enemy before an aerial withdrawal was ordered on 23 July 1970 while under heavy mortar, anti-aircraft, and small arms fire, ending the siege. After the division withdrew from the firebase, USAF B-52 heavy bombers were sent in to carpet bomb the area...

• published: 28 Aug 2015
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