Return With Honor: The American Experience
by Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders
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Actor: Everett Alvarez, Fred Cherry, George Day, Jeremiah Denton, Ron BlissDirector: Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders
Brand: Paramount
Producer: Freida Lee Mock
Writer: Freida Lee Mock
Producer: Terry Sanders
Writer: Terry Sanders
Producer: Christine Z. Wiser
Writer: Christine Z. Wiser
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-17
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
DVD Reviews of Return With Honor: The American Experience
DVD Review: The Courage Of The Human Spirit Defined
Summary: 5 Stars
"Return With Honor" is a documentary that everyone should see. Unlike a typical war documentary, this focuses on the inner strengths and emotions of the military men in question, in this case American pilots shot down, imprisoned, and tortured in North Vietnam. I have been privileged to have met many pilots who flew in Vietnam, and a handful of POW's, and can attest that without exception, these are a truly exceptional group of men: this documentary brings their story to life better than any other.
The film profiles multiple prisoners with both current interviews and vintage footage, much of it from North Vietnamese archives (the North Vietnamese film of an F-105 on fire still haunts me). The ultimate lessons here are of courage, the indestructibility of the human spirit, and honor. Despite brutal torture these men had a strict code of honor, and although many were offered early releases in exchange for propaganda useful to the North Vietnamese, their motto was "Return With Honor" and they lived up to it. Far from being mindless military automatons as they were (and still sometimes are) frequently depicted, these men had a keenly intelligent and insightful world view. One thing that amazed me was the degree of forgiveness that the men themselves had for their former captors: one even became the first US Ambassador to Vietnam after political relations were restored. As for specifics, I was disappointed that Leo Thorsness, F-105 pilot and Medal of Honor winner, was not profiled, but I was considerably more impressed with John McCain after viewing this documentary than I previously had been.
The extras on the DVD are all worth watching. I especially liked the biographies of all the men profiled and the "making of" feature. I was amazed by the amount of cooperation and freedom the filmmakers received from the government of Vietnam, and was impressed by the fact that Pete Peterson, a man imprisoned in Hanoi for over six years, was appointed and accepted the Ambassadorship to Vietnam in 1997. Truly the ability of humans to heal and forgive is a wonderful thing and this film shows better than any other I can recall the indomitable nature of the human spirit.
Description of Return With Honor: The American Experience
This tells the powerful & moving story of american pilots shot down over north vietnam & the challenge to survive with honor as pows for up to 8 1/2 years. More than 20 veterans describe their captivity & struggle to survive - mentally physically & spiritually - and to return with honor. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/17/2005 Run time: 113 minutes Rating: NrMen who piloted the hottest fighter planes in the world found themselves suddenly transformed from hotshots to humiliated prisoners during the Vietnam War. The story of how American prisoners survived in North Vietnam's notorious prison camps is dramatically told in this documentary, an installment of the American Experience series on PBS. The men, who survived appalling treatment, relate their experiences, and vintage footage, including propaganda films shot by their captors, portrays what they endured. A former POW describes how he was coached before being put on public display, yet he spelled out the word "torture" in Morse code by blinking his eyes, a defiant action that can clearly be seen in footage that the North Vietnamese provided to the world's media. Another former prisoner, who somehow survived massive injuries despite being denied medical care, describes how he had to lie on the concrete floor of his cell for nearly a year, just trying to get his arms and legs to function again. These inspirational stories lead up to an emotional climax as the prisoners, including Arizona Senator John McCain, describe what it was like to be freed after their long captivity. This is a deeply moving and inspiring story told by men who overcame great depths of human suffering. --Robert J. McNamara
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