- When the war in Afghanistan began, U.S. Army special operations soldiers ferreted out hardened terrorists from their lairs and annihilated them using lessons learned from the most successful unit of its kind in the Vietnam War: Company F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry. Executive Producers Don and Annette Hall's determination to tell the story of this groundbreaking unit resulted in an award-winning documentary. The men of F/51st decimated the Vietcong and helped save Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive. This is their story, told by the extraordinary men who lived it.—Anonymous
- This is the story of Company F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry, the most successful unit of its kind in the Vietnam War, and of the men who served within this unit. Because of the early warning from F/51st LRP, American troops were able to thwart the attempted takeover of Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was F/51st LRP that detected and battled a large enemy horde that was swarming from the east toward Saigon in the earliest hours of this massive and well-coordinated enemy offensive. F/51st LRP then helped to direct the counterattack that resulted in the near annihilation of the Viet Cong. It took four more years for the enemy to rebuild its decimated forces and launch another large offensive.
Silent Victory is a story about what made the men and the unit so special, what made them function so well, and what made them successful in accomplishing their mission. F/51st LRP was a prototype unit. Most people today are not aware of the crucial impact the men of F/51st had on the Vietnam war and on how the U.S. military operates today.
The typical war story is full of testosterone: action, fighting, macho posturing, and acts of heroism. While the men of F/51st certainly experienced all of the above, the documentary, SILENT VICTORY, encompasses so much more of who these men were and who they are. It tells of young patriots, perhaps idealistic or naïve, who volunteered to serve in an elite, top-secret intelligence-gathering unit in the U.S. Army. It tells of bravery, courage and survival...and of camaraderie, respect, and good (and bad) leadership. But more, it probes the humanity of these men. These were soldiers, good soldiers, even heroes, who did not love war, but who believed in the ideals of freedom and democracy, and who believed it was their duty to serve their country when called to do so.
In their own words, these men, mature now, reflect on their experiences, from harrowing to humorous. They talk about the significance of what they did, about what they learned, and about how their experiences in this unit, and what they faced when they returned home, have influenced who they have become. They discuss their pride in their unit, their closeness with each other, and the difficulties they had to overcome both in combat and back home. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf provides significant background and insight, as does author Michael Lee Lanning. No narrator is used.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content