Maya Ying Lin is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a utility military helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine, with two-bladed main and tail rotors. The first member of the prolific Huey family, it was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet a 1952 US Army requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter, and first flew in 1956. The UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter produced for the United States military, and more than 16,000 have been built since 1960.
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American actor, often playing supporting villainous characters of unstable nature. He is the recipient of several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Coming Home (1978) and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Nebraska (2013). He is also a BAFTA Award, two-time Genie Award, and three-time Golden Globe Award nominee.
Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. It was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images.
Debra Granik is an American filmmaker. She is most known for 2004's Down to the Bone, which starred Vera Farmiga, 2010's Winter's Bone, which starred Jennifer Lawrence in her breakout performance and for which Granik was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and 2018's Leave No Trace, a film based on the book My Abandonment by Peter Rock.
Bruce Perry Crandall is a retired United States Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a pilot during the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965, in South Vietnam. During the battle, he flew 22 missions in a Bell Huey helicopter into enemy fire to evacuate more than 70 wounded and bring ammunition and supplies to United States forces. By the end of the Vietnam War, he had flown more than 900 combat missions. He retired from the army as a lieutenant colonel and worked several jobs in different states before settling down with his wife in his home state of Washington.
The 17th Cavalry Regiment is a historical organization within the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry after the Pancho Villa Expedition. The unit was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 17th Cavalry at Fort Bliss, Texas and originally inactivated 26 September 1921 at the Presidio of Monterey, California. Formerly a part of the 1950s Combat Arms Regimental System, it was reorganized as a part of the U.S. Army Regimental System, an ongoing effort to maintain the lineage and history of the U.S. Army through its units. Today, the 17th Cavalry Regiment is found across the army within the combat aviation brigades, where the squadrons, now constituted as attack/recon helicopter squadrons, carry on the legacy of the 17th Cavalry Regiment.
Ed W. "Too Tall" Freeman was a United States Army helicopter pilot who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War. During the battle, he flew through gunfire numerous times, bringing supplies to a trapped American battalion and flying dozens of wounded soldiers to safety. Freeman was a wingman for Major Bruce Crandall who also received the Medal of Honor for the same missions.
Robert C. Mason is a Vietnam War veteran and author of several books, including his first, best-selling memoir: Chickenhawk (1983). Mason piloted Huey "Slicks" in the United States Army as a Warrant Officer 1. He sailed to Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and served a one-year tour, nine months with the "First Cav", the last three months with the 48th Aviation Company.
Doan Hoang or Đoan Hoàng is a Vietnamese-American documentary film director, producer, editor, and writer. She directed and produced the 2007 documentary Oh, Saigon about her family, after leaving Vietnam on the last civilian helicopter as Saigon fell. The documentary won several awards at film festivals and was broadcast on PBS from 2008 to 2012. Hoang was selected to be a delegate to Spain for the American Documentary Showcase.
Northern Light Productions is a documentary film and museum media production company based in Boston, MA. Founded in 1982 by independent filmmaker Bestor Cram, the company is one of New England's premiere production organizations, creating a variety of work for museums, visitor centers, educational institutions, and television broadcast worldwide.
"Walking On a Thin Line" is a song performed by Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1984 as the fifth and final single from their 1983 album, Sports.
Jean Akin Cunningham is an American performer, composer, songwriter, producer, writer and host of the video based web site The Composers Corner. She has toured with Lionel Richie, David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and worked closely with Ike and Tina Turner. She is also the co-author and voice of the ongoing children's audio book series Los Diggities, written about three rescued dogs living in Los Angeles. Seven cds of her music have been released on both domestic and international labels, as well as 2 performance DVDs.
In the Shadow of the Blade is a 2004 American documentary film produced and directed by Patrick and Cheryl Fries. It won awards in the film industry and with the Vietnam veteran community, including the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival "Best of Show" and "Gold Documentary" and the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award for Outstanding Documentary. The documentary was acquired for North American television broadcast by Discovery Communications.
Viva Vietnam: A White Trash Adventure Tour was a comedy documentary that aired on Comedy Central in 1995 and was hosted by the channel's first spokesperson, comic Tom Rhodes. It was the first opportunity Rhodes had to film and travel internationally for a television station.
Chris Noel, Sandra Louise Noel, is a retired American actress and entertainer. Noel is best known for her appearances in a dozen beach party movies in the 1960s, and for her work on the Armed Forces Radio And Television Service as the "Voice of Vietnam". A popular pin-up girl of the era, Noel made frequent visits to troops, risking the shooting down of the helicopters she was riding twice. She hosted the radio program A Date With Chris, one of Armed Forces Radio's most popular shows.
Pamela Tom is a 5th generation Chinese American producer, director, and screenwriter. Her films often explore the Chinese experience in the Western world, social justice, feminism, and religion.
On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary by producer Mylène Moreno of Souvenir Pictures, Inc., which takes a comprehensive look at the Latino experience in both the home-front and the battle grounds during the Vietnam War. The documentary, which aired nationwide on PBS on September 22, 2015, is part of PBS Stories of Service.
Alan "Ace" Cozzalio was an American army officer, primarily known for his distinguished service as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. Initially nominated for the Medal of Honor, he instead received the Distinguished Service Cross as well as every lesser commendation of valor. He remained in the army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant colonel before being medically retired due to heart problems. He died six years later at the age of 46 after an unsuccessful heart transplant operation.
