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The Most Horrifying Secrets of Netflix’s Vietnam War Documentary

BBG News

50 years ago, the Vietnam War officially came to an end when the communist North Vietnamese seized Saigon, a city backed by the United States in South Vietnam, on April 30, 1975. However, for many American and Vietnamese people living through it, the war didn’t feel over. The U.S.’s exit from Vietnam left behind chaos and profound emotional scars that lingered long after the last soldier had departed.

Titled “Turning Point: The Vietnam War“, this engrossing documentary series available on Netflix delves into the profound human toll of America’s longest conflict (1955-1975), as experienced by U.S. military veterans, Vietnamese survivors, and through archived speeches of U.S. presidents discussing the situation. The series also features exclusive CBS News footage never seen before. It is estimated that around 58,220 Americans and over a million Vietnamese lost their lives during this period.

Repeatedly, U.S. presidents maintained their intentions were solely to halt Communist control over South Vietnam, believing such a takeover would eliminate any prospect of democracy in Asia. However, as the conflict persisted, the strategy for victory grew increasingly ambiguous.

According to director Brian Knappenberger, as stated in TIME, it wasn’t evident who the adversary was during their mission. Questions arose such as: Were they there to halt communism or to win over the Vietnamese populace? Many veterans we interviewed expressed that they frequently felt like they were merely trying to make it through.

Across five installments, “Turning Point” delves into some of the most chilling incidents during the Vietnam War and explores the ongoing impact they have had on our world.

Drug use among U.S. soldiers

In Turning Point, U.S. veterans open up about using drugs while serving in Vietnam.

As a passionate fan, I can share my findings about the abundance of marijuana during those times. Fortunately, in places like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, we could easily access opium too. The captivating TV series even features a CBS News correspondent, Ed Rabel, reporting on a congressional investigation that shockingly revealed that between 10-15% of all U.S. troops were using heroin – a stark reality brought to light by the footage.

According to Knappenberger, many veterans we spoke with resorted to heavy drug use as a way to manage the harsh realities of war and its ongoing impact. This addiction persisted for years after the conflict ended for some, and unfortunately, it left a lasting impact on not only their lives but also those of their loved ones.

Dennis Clark Brazil, a U.S. Army vet, shares in the documentary that he began using marijuana daily, around the clock, as a means to conceal both his physical discomfort and his anxiety.

As a devoted cinephile, let me share a heart-wrenching tale: I, once a U.S. Army comrade like Eldson J. McGhee, found myself in a tragic predicament. After the medical team ceased administering morphine for my injury, I found myself ensnared in the destructive grip of heroin addiction. It devastated every aspect of my life.

Drug testing in the military became more routine after Vietnam.

U.S. soldiers killed their bosses on purpose

Through an action referred to colloquially as “fragging,” some disenchanted American soldiers either killed or attempted to kill their superior officers. This term comes from the M67 fragmentation hand grenade, which scatters metal shards in every direction upon detonation. In a particular television series, CBS News correspondent Jed Duvall can be seen brandishing an M67 fragmentation hand grenade during a news broadcast.

Approximately 90 occurrences of “fragging” were reported within the U.S. Marine Corps, while an estimated range of 600 to 800 instances took place in the U.S. Army during the conflict. These incidents were usually acts of revenge performed by soldiers.

In the series, U.S. Marine veteran Mike Nakayama mentions that a sum of money was gathered as a reward for anyone who successfully took the life of an officer.

During Nakayama’s stay in Vietnam, a bomb was hidden beneath a sergeant’s tent, resulting in the sergeant’s death, and three soldiers divided the cash stash.

“You can kind of call it justice,” Nakayama said. 

The torture of South Vietnamese people

Following the collapse of Saigon, the newly established communist administration relocated hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers who had assisted the Americans during their rule to “re-education centers.

In these institution-like settings, captives were isolated from their loved ones and endured malnutrition, physical abuse, and illness. As stated by Chung Tu Buu, a former prisoner of war who spent approximately 14 years behind bars, the primary objective of this re-education camp was to indoctrinate and compel labor through harsh conditions, as documented in the book Turning Point.

In the film, the creators spoke with several men who had been imprisoned in re-education facilities, along with a woman whose spouse perished in one of these camps.

Vu Thanh Thuy, a South Vietnamese reporter, shared that her husband was imprisoned in a re-education camp, leaving her to care for their newborn baby alone. In those tough times, she contemplated taking her own life. However, her husband eventually broke free from the camp and sought refuge in a church, which was part of an underground network of South Vietnamese individuals. Eventually, they were reunited and successfully escaped Vietnam in 1979.

In the series, Ton Nu Thi Ninh, a former high-ranking official from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, candidly admits that establishing re-education camps under severe circumstances was indeed a grave error we committed.

The tragic Operation Babylift plane crash

2022 marks the half-century anniversary of a heartbreaking event: Operation Babylift, an initiative intended to transport Vietnamese orphans to the U.S., faced a devastating turn when a plane carrying hundreds of babies and toddlers crashed just minutes after takeoff on April 4, 1975. This disaster ranks among the most tragic civilian airplane accidents ever recorded. Approximately 50 adults, 78 infants, and 35 American military personnel lost their lives in this tragedy.

The documentary Turning Point showcases the account of Jennifer Kruse, a survivor of Operation Babylift, who was an orphan from South Vietnam and later adopted by American parents. As she grew up, Kruse shared that she was constantly told that she was placed on that plane due to her mother’s desire for her to have a more prosperous life. In the midst of the war, it was not uncommon for U.S. soldiers to father children with Vietnamese women, and some of these offspring were on the plane, in an attempt to reduce potential discrimination they might face in America.

In her recollection, Kruse noticed a cloud of smoke while drifting on some sort of flotsam during the Vietnam War. Her final recollection from Vietnam is “drifting on this debris, gazing out…I seem to have fainted. I don’t remember my rescue. My next conscious thought was in America.

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2025-05-01 02:06

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