The Movie
As an Army infantry captain, Bob received orders in 1965 to go to Vietnam as a military advisor. The orders stated that he first would attend the Military Assistance Training Advisor Course at the Army Special Warfare School at Ft. Bragg, NC, followed by Vietnamese language training at the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, CA. In January 1966, he departed the U.S. for his first tour of duty in Vietnam (1966-67) as a combat advisor. This one-hour documentary movie covers what combat advisors did in the Vietnam War.
This war (1945-1975) began and terminated with U.S. military advisors. The first military advisors were WW II OSS agents working with Ho Chi Minh to train his followers to rescue downed American pilots and gather intelligence on the Japanese. After WW II, when France again regained its presence in Indo China, U.S. military technical advisors served in Vietnam to train French troops to operate and maintain the weapons, vehicles, and other equipment, furnished by the U.S. When the French abandoned Vietnam in 1954, the U.S. continued to advise, but this time the fledgling South Vietnamese army. By the early 1960s, the war between North and South Vietnam escalated to the point where the U.S. now provided combat advisors, serving with South Vietnamese units, down to the battalion levels. In the mid-1960s, the U.S. began to commit combat forces to the war in South Vietnam. As the US involvement in the Vietnam War diminished, once again in the early 1970s, the presence of combat advisors increased. In 1973, US troops left Vietnam and in 1975, North Vietnam took over the south. During this 30-year time frame (1945-1975), 115, 427 military advisors served in Vietnam. Of these, 66,399 were combat advisors. 378 were killed, 1393 wounded and 11 awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous bravery.
This movie will show what combat advisors actually did. Where we lived with the Vietnamese troops, what we ate, combat operations, Vietnamese “County Fair” operations where Vietnamese and U.S. military would secure a rural village and provide medical and government services to its citizens. There are scenes depicting U.S. and Vietnamese medical personnel holding a joint medical clinic for rural Vietnamese, a night combat operation where the Viet Cong agreed to stop the fighting if the American advisor would arrange for a military helicopter medical evacuation to save a Viet Cong baby’s life (which he was able to do), and the filming of a Viet Cong machine gunner shooting at Bob as he filmed being shot at (the VC missed).
All footage was shot by Bob as a combat advisor during the last three months of his first tour in Vietnam. The film discusses the extensive training for combat advisors (counter-insurgency, counter-guerrilla and unconventional/special operations warfare, learning about the culture, customs, and history of Vietnam and then Vietnamese language school). His entire year as a combat advisor is described in his book,
Under Fire with ARVN Infantry, to be released by McFarland Publishers. Bob’s second tour in Vietnam (1968-69) involved mostly special operations, again as a combat advisor with Vietnamese combat units. This will be described in his second book on combat advisors in Vietnam.
This film will be released by Borderlands Media this fall after a film premiere. It will be available to view from Internet streaming companies and from Borderlands Media.
Movie Premiere of Combat Advisor in Vietnam
A Special Event in Las Cruces, NM – November 17, 2018
Non-fiction writer and film producer Dr Bob Worthington, in conjunction with Bob Worthington Films, PRC Productions and Borderlands Media, are hosting the premiere of Bob’s one-hour documentary film depicting what combat military advisors, serving with South Vietnamese combat units, did during the Vietnam War. After this premiere, this film will be commercially available via Internet streaming services and directly from Borderlands Media.
This movie will show what combat advisors actually did. Where we lived with the Vietnamese troops, what we ate, combat operations, including Vietnamese “County Fair” operations where Vietnamese and U.S. military would secure a rural village and provide medical and government services to its citizens, is presented. There are scenes depicting U.S. and Vietnamese medical personnel holding a joint medical clinic for rural Vietnamese, a night combat operation where the Viet Cong agreed to stop the fighting if the American advisor would arrange for a military helicopter medical evacuation to save a Viet Cong baby’s life (which he was able to do), and the filming of a Viet Cong machine gunner shooting at Bob as he filmed being shot at (the VC missed).
All footage was shot by Bob serving as a combat advisor on his first tour in Vietnam, during 1966-67. The film discusses the extensive training for combat advisors (counter-insurgency, counter-guerrilla and unconventional/special operations warfare, learning about the culture, customs, and history of Vietnam and then Vietnamese language school). This film footage was shot during Bob’s last three months in Vietnam for his first tour there. The entire year is described in his next book, Under Fire with ARVN Infantry, to be released by McFarland Publishers. Bob’s second tour in Vietnam (1968-69) involved mostly special operations, again as a combat advisor with Vietnamese combat units. This will be described in his second book on combat advisors in Vietnam.
Associated with this event will be the U.S. Pilots Association (USPA) and all the affiliated state pilot organizations. This weekend is offered as a special fly-in activity, where members can participate by flying their planes to Las Cruces. USPA is a national 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization for general aviation pilots and aircraft owners. USPA was created to assist pilots in organizing state and local pilot groups for providing safety education for people who own and fly small planes. Bob is a Director Emeritus and former, long-term president of USPA.
USPA members will arrive on Friday, 16 November and fly into Las Cruces Airport, parking and refueling at Southwest Aviation. USPA members will be staying at the new Hilton property, Home 2 Suites, located on North Telshor Blvd. That evening USPA members will eat, as a group, in a local restaurant.
The premiere of this documentary film will be held at the oldest theatre in New Mexico, the Rio Grande. On Saturday morning, USPA will be the special guests of the movie studios of PRC Productions to see what goes on behind-the-scenes of making-movie. USPA members will participate in various aspects of movie making magic. Late that afternoon, USPA and movie production company hosts will attend a light dinner and then attend the film premiere. After the film and a Q & A session in the theatre, there will be a champagne reception for everyone at an adjacent restaurant.
The film was released in November 2018, after its premiere. It is available for $10 plus postage. Email [email protected]