MarieGabrielle Who are returning from Iraq, who have questions and no answers.I was interested in this film because Jane Fonda (demonized by the recent influx of right wing media hate mongers) clearly was proud of her position against the Vietnam War.There are so many officers and people who lived through this. The doctor who protests being a trainer for new recruits, he mentions how dermatologists were used by the army so they could aid the Vietnamese to thinking the U.S. was helpful, even while bombing their villages. Victims were women, children, and the elderly. It is sad to me that no one hears the truth in todays corporate media.Anyone who was born in the 70's or 80's must see this film to get a real picture of what was happening at that time. The My Lai Massacre and other atrocities. The only way I became familiar with the resonance of destruction was having read poet Anne Sexton's "My Lai Soldier" and I was interested to read and research what actually happened in Vietnam.It is so important since we are yet going through more troubled times as a nation, the wars and what they do to humanity should be understood, and learned from. Noteworthy also, I don't recall being taught about Vietnam in honors history, American History taught the colonial days and founding fathers. Something young people should be learning about as they are at a recruit-able age in high school. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn the disturbing facts and reality. 10/10.

nealrob17 I thought that I was aware during the 60's and 70's regarding the War in Vietnam. Clearly I was not. I completely missed this exceedingly important part of the protests of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. I had thought that the student protests were a big part of our finally leaving Vietnam. It appears that is probably highly exaggerated as it was the actual soldiers who rebelled against the war, how it was being waged and the many, many lies we back in the States were told. And, this was at a time that the press was not the lapdog of the government as it is now with the Bush administration.A truly amazing moment, though small (spoiler here), was the myth after the war that returning soldiers were spat upon at the airport. A brief and interesting discussion about this leads me to believe that it was another Hawk-led bit of propaganda to continue trying to embarrass and shame those who opposed the war. Bottom line is that this excellent documentary shows us some incredibly brave heroes who sacrificed a great deal personally to oppose the War in Vietnam. And, that our soldiers are really a wonderfully brave representation of the best in our country. Bravo to these great vets, and of course, to those involved in this present war.

William Gruendler "... to your country!" With these words I shook hands with Jane Fonda at the Atlanta showing one recent Friday night. Attendance was excellent, the audience was mostly older but there was a smattering of very young - some of whom asked questions of Jane and David and a Vietnam veteran up front between shows.... Yet, I could have answered those questions, too; I am a Vietnam combat infantry vet who was an existentialist then; I am a Christian now. I wanted to ask Jane: "Ms Fonda, do you love Jesus?" - but it is obvious she does. She shook hands with me - a huge, ugly guy in a "Vietnam Veteran" ball cap, not knowing me from Adam, and there was nothing but love and a hint of sadness in those beautiful eyes. Yes, we all made mistakes in those days.... it was cathartic for this vet to watch and regret and weep and mourn the live not lived, the sacrifices needlessly made by the thousands... but the movie has seen the light of day and for that I will ever be grateful. See it with a vet. Thanks to all fellow vets and Welcome Home; your service is appreciated!

roland-104 By 1968 the civilian anti-Vietnam war movement was beginning to expand, young men were escaping to Canada to avoid the draft, and former combatants were starting to protest the war. Like most Americans, I had no idea that at the same time there was a snowballing anti-war movement taking place right within the ranks of active duty military personnel.Awareness of the disconnect between Pentagon and White House rhetoric, on the one hand, and realities on the ground in Vietnam, on the other, especially our massive extermination of civilian lives, began to seep through every pore within the military, prompting protests that were strikingly varied, creative, and, while often made up of small, localized actions, collectively impressive. To the point that by 1971, as one army colonel put it, the active GI anti-war rebellion had "infested the entire armed services." David Zeiger, writing and directing his first feature for the big screen, does a splendid job of pulling together the stories of participants in this unprecedented, diffuse, largely unorganized, multicentered movement. There are plenty of talking heads, but they aren't experts, they're people reminiscing today about their personal antiwar activities 35 years ago while on active duty. (We also see old shots of these same people when they were young and in uniform.) We hear from participants in actions as diverse as the following examples indicate: Proliferation of forbidden antiwar newspapers on military bases; Passive refusal to participate in antiriot actions at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Party Presidential Convention; Boycott of a chain of jewelry stores located near military bases that pandered to men about to go to Vietnam (Their selling point: the prospect of dying in Vietnam made it urgent to buy a bauble for your wife or mother now, before you go. The ads were juxtaposed with photos of soldiers who had recently died).And more: An Air Force Intelligence group based in Thailand that refused to transmit further intelligence because it was being used as a basis for undisclosed Cambodian bombings; A group of active duty Army personnel that swore not to fight, rioting after their mass arrest and incarceration in an overcrowded Army stockade; A physician - a dermatologist - who refused to continue training Special Forces medics to treat skin infections of Vietnamese children – part of a "win the hearts and minds" campaign – once he learned that we were killing untold thousands of civilians by napalm bombing of villages; Pilots refusing to fly bombing raids; The first major mass public testimony by former combatants about atrocities against civilians, at a 3-day conclave in 1971, in Detroit (memorialized in the film, "Winter Soldier").These stories and many others are told here, involving officers as well as grunts, from every branch of the service. What is so compelling is that the passion of these people has not ebbed despite all the years that have passed, and the many sacrifices and punishments they absorbed consequent to taking a stand. Perhaps there are also people out there who stood up against the war from within the ranks and later regretted doing so. We don't meet any of them.We do meet Jane Fonda, who reminisces with evident conviction today, about her participation, along with Donald Sutherland and other entertainers, in the unauthorized "FTA" variety shows they conducted near military bases during the Vietnam war, antiwar shows that roused huge crowds as they mocked the Bob Hope tours.The men and women – inside the military and among civilians throughout this country – who bravely spoke truth to power during and after the Vietnam war gave the U.S. peace movement its best opportunity since the Civil War to acknowledge the costs of war and seek a better way. Western Europe figured it out. But we didn't. Lessons learned became lessons lost. And, God help us, look where we are today. My grade: 8/10 B+.