Thud Pilots

Interesting documentary. An aspect of the Vietnam War I hadn't seen. I have the utmost respect for these pilots and their ground crews.

I just saw this wonderful and hauntingly honest movie tonight. I, too, was floored by its dedication to J. T. Stadler-- but even more (happily) surprised to see that the review was written by his son. I was a classmate of J.T.'s in pilot training class 64G at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma in 1963-64. He was by far the best pilot and most respected student in our class; no one would have questioned that. Although I only flew "bug-smashers" in the Vietnam war (O1 and 02), I was in a position to know just how heroic those F105 pilots were; the Thud virtually was the early air war in SEA, until so many were lost that the F4 was phased in to carry the brunt of both the attack and defense operations (hamstrung though they were by government policy). I was saddened to learn, only a couple of years ago, that your father had been killed in an accident in, I believe, 1977. That he would be singled out to be memorized in this movie-- among all the other 105 pilots who survived that war-- is itself a testimony to what a special pilot and man he was. Not a lot of men alive today have a prouder heritage than you; that's for sure. Fred Lamparter

I enjoyed listening to the pilots experiences but whoever wrote the narration decided to inject his or her agenda into the film. The narrator, about half way into the film says, ''The Americans back home began to side with the enemy and began to protest.''

Protesting a war is not siding with an enemy of one's country. Many truly patriotic US citizens were against the Vietnam war and they didn't blame the pilots or US soldiers for fighting it. They blamed the politicians who fueled it.

Secretary of War Robert McNamara, after the war said. ''The Vietnam war was wrong, terribly wrong.'' He said this on several occasions after it was over. He realized that it was a Civil War, that the US had no business engaging in. There was no mention of this in the narration script for the film.

France had originally taken Vietnam by force in 1887 in order to grab its resources, they also conquered Laos and Cambodia and it was known as French Indochina. France killed a lot of people grabbing the region. They were finally defeated by the people of Vietnam who wanted to set up their own republic in 1954. The film briefly mentions France being there but doesn't go into any real detail as to the gruesome reasons the Vietnamese wanted them gone.

McNamara as well as many other fear mongers came to realize that our nation should have left them to decide their own future, because that's the way it turned out anyway and they became trading partners with our country. So if the narration wants to point out protesters it would also serve to point out things like this too. .

Patriotic US protesters wanted friendly relations with the world and knew that nations should decide their own form of government. They knew it long before McNamara and other war mongers finally figured it out. But we hear no mention in the film or depth of what protesters were really saying.

Instead, the narration agenda makes an attempt at trying to claim that all people who protested the war were calling our soldiers and pilots ''baby killers'' This is another false belief they are trying to reinforce. Though there were some people who did call them that, there were overwhelmingly many more who didn't. They feared for the troops and saw how they were ineptly being used by the politicians sitting in their comfortable homes in the US.

The film did not need to throw in its divisive agenda with their broad brush statements on the protesters. Real Patriots defend their country from political fear mongers who wage war on countries that have done nothing to our nation, should have been brought up in that segment of the film.

The film could have also pointed out that many of the protesters respected our troops and had brothers and cousins in the military but we refused to sit quietly by, when fools in our government wanted to use them for foolish reasons out of fear of what a communist country might do, especially since we now trade with China.

I think I could have enjoyed this film a lot more if the '' Good verses Evil, US citizen fantasy.'' would have been left out.

One last thing; the Lyndon Johnson southern drawl to the narrator's voice was a little too thick and overdone. It was almost like he ladled it out of a huge cooking pot in homespun southern soup kitchen.

I watched this movie out of interest and was very pleased. This documentary was the life my father lived as a Thud pilot and my family's experience. I was floored when I saw the in memory of J.T. Stadler. I had no idea it was there before watching. That is my father and I am forever grateful to those responsible for including him with this honor.

It is an accurate account of the events and political climate that existed. So many brave souls put into harms way serving and doing their best to protect and defend others. For those critical of the political statements made in the film regarding the anti war protests one must remember that the brave warriors shown and others fight to allow that opinion, as harmful as it was and still could be. I would have them read a writing from John Stuart Mill. It begins with "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things".

I knew many Thud pilots, having met them as instructor pilots during my F-4G Wild Weasel training. They did not talk a lot about their experiences in Vietnam, but I suspected that was because of the pain in the telling. This film shows me I was right.

Despite what others here have said, I know for a fact that they were called "baby killers". I suppose they were also imagining being spit upon on the street, as well as being directed not to wear uniforms in public for fear it would invite physical attack. The film's fantasy of "Good vs Evil US Citizen" exists only in sad sack Norm's mind; perhaps he picked this up during his Canadian vacation.

Finally, I was sorry to have to read a review where the Vietnam War was called a "little known campaign". There are 58,000+ families who are all too aware of that "little known campaign", Tex. I put your comment in the "some people did something" category.

Great film about those who believed in something bigger than themselves.