Directed by
Schoendoerffer, Pierre, French, 1928 - 2012
Subject of
Lt. Anderson, Joseph B., American, born 1943
Written by
Schoendoerffer, Pierre, French, 1928 - 2012
Produced by
Schoendoerffer, Pierre, French, 1928 - 2012
Narrated by
Schoendoerffer, Pierre, French, 1928 - 2012
Owned by
D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
Date
1967
Medium
acetate film
Dimensions
Duration (Reel 1): 35 Minutes
Length (Film): 1275 Feet
Duration (Reel 2): 25 Minutes
Length (Film): 900 Feet
Caption
This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
Description
A documentary film with the title The Anderson Platoon. It consists of two (2) reels of 16mm black-and-white acetate film with optical sound.
The film, created and narrated by Pierre Schoendoerffer who returned to Vietnam and spent six weeks filming the documentary, follows an integrated platoon led by Lt. Joseph B. Anderson. In the opening scenes, the narrator describes being a French veteran who fought in the First Indochina War and returning to the country to follow American soldiers for the documentary. Some scenes provide glimpses into the soldiers' daily activities on the battlefield, such as praying before combat, taking communion, playing dice and gambling.
Later in the film, Schoendoerffer describes the role of the integrated Anderson Platoon and the B Company of which it is a part. He names some of the men in the platoon as they walk past the camera, tells where they hail from, and describes their role in the platoon. He also identifies which ones were eventually wounded. In one scene, men from the platoon are seen rescuing a little girl that had been wounded for ten days. In another, Schoendoerffer describes an incident in which a patrol from the platoon was ambushed and one of the soldiers was killed and several others wounded, before showing a scene in which members of the platoon question the villagers in a nearby village and detained two individuals as suspects.
Place used
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted
Viet Nam, Asia
Collection title
DC Public Library Film Collection
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Type
documentaries
sound films
black-and-white films (visual works)
feature films
16mm (photographic film size)
Topic
Catholicism
Documentary films
Film
Military
Prayer
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.55.108.1ab
Restrictions & Rights
Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd56206906b-4bb1-46aa-a1d1-c1855f1c3b59

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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