The film premiered in the Philippines on September 8, 1988,[6] a month before it premiered in the United States on October 21. "[7] In a contemporary review, Roger Ebert noted: "'BAT*21' is the kind of lean, no-nonsense war film Hollywood used to make back before the subject became burdened with metaphysical insights. As night approached, Norris and his three remaining team members began their final effort to find Hambleton.

Walking through a deserted village, Norris and Kiet found some native clothing and dressed themselves as peasants. Resources, locations and other assistance were supplied by the Malaysian Army and the Royal Malaysian Air Force, which also supplied aircraft and pilots, including the services of Captain V. Thiagarajah, who flew both on- and off-camera.[5]. No one, including Lt. Col. Iceal “Gene” Hambleton, could have known that on the afternoon of April 2, 1972, the largest and longest combat search and rescue (CSAR) operation of the war in Southeast Asia was about to begin. Their job was to get Hambleton to safety, and they grimly bent to the task. These planes were used as escorts to the larger, less maneuverable B-52’s, because they could locate the enemy surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites and jam the SAM radars if necessary. They pulled the canoe over to the bank and discovered it was Hambleton, still alive but in very poor shape. A tough sergeant and his sidekick roll into a demoralized firebase and proceed to rebuild morale and fortifications in advance of the climactic battle with the VietCong. All Rights Reserved. Lt. Col. Andy Anderson, USMC, then the commander of the Joint Personnel Recovery Center in Saigon, had not yet supervised a successful ground rescue of an American, and had anxiously been monitoring Hambleton’s and Clark’s situation. By Of course I’d do it again.”. On the south shore of the river they saw what looked like a body lying on the bank. Choose an adventure below and discover your next favorite movie or TV show.

[2][Note 1] Set during the Vietnam War, the film is a dramatization based upon the rescue of a U.S. air navigator shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam. Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. After completing engine … The airborne observers had to yell at him to get back in the bushes and wait just a little bit longer. “I was used to running ops where I was penetrating into the opposing forces’ territory without much support, but I had never seen anything like this,” Norris said.

Check out our picks for family friendly movies movies that transcend all ages. camps in Laos. garykmcd, In 1969/70 I was a US Army Huey pilot in Northern I Corps of South Vietnam. Based (loosely) on a true story. Norris’ first instinct was to have his team open fire, but he knew they were outgunned. Birddog becomes Hambleton's link to rescue. Anderson and the other Vietnamese waited further downstream as a backup in case Norris missed Clark. Amy P. Fabry In the end, Hambleton and Clark are rescued by a US river boat patrolling nearby on the Cam Lo River. Bat*21 Walker was discovered and killed by the Vietnamese forces. An F-100 bombing raid both assists and hinders their progress through the jungle, as North Vietnamese irregulars are trailing them. Along the way however, he has to face enemy forces and the death of some of his fellow soldiers. Add the first question. The American airmen supporting the ARVN forces anticipated that the NVA air defenses would be tough to penetrate, but our airmen would soon realize just how tenacious an opponent they faced. It would be the start of a confrontation now referred to as the Easter Offensive. The normal American mode of brute force from the air was not going to work this time; the NVA force was too large and too entrenched. Hambleton was too weak to move any farther; they were going to have to go to him. Hungry, exhausted and desperate, Hambleton’s lowest moment came at the end of the fifth day, when he watched an Air Force Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopter erupt into a giant fireball, killing all six men aboard. BAT-21 was home. It was ripped apart by an enemy SA-2 Guideline SAM. But what BAT-21Bravo did not know was that he had just landed on the wrong side of a 30,000 strong North Vietnamese offensive thrust. Portions of Bat*21 were highly dramatized, including the climactic battle. Very poor quality. Up on a bluff above the river, Norris could make out the cannon barrels of a line of tanks.

War is not a game where at the end you can get all your players back. The cold river water was causing Clark to breathe hard and Norris was just about to step out of cover to grab Clark when a six-man NVA patrol walked directly between them. Hambleton was in very poor physical condition after his ordeal. Looking for a movie the entire family can enjoy? After waiting for the Army of South Vietnam (ARVN) to establish their defensive line along the DMZ border, the NVA boldly displayed their flags announcing their presence on the other side. Use the HTML below. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay.

By the end of day five, the tally of losses included a Cobra helicopter, the Jolly Green and eight lives. This will allow the rescuers to keep track of his progress, making it easier for them to pick him up. A Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney is sent to protect a woman who accidentally witnessed a Mafia murder. After finding some vegetation to cover them, they called in some much-needed help from the air. Once they get there, the experience proves worse than they could have imagined. Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him. It was all to save one precious human life and the invaluable knowledge in his head. Also, firing would compromise the mission by announcing the team’s presence, so he let them pass. A Forward Air Observer aircraft was shot down and USAF 1Lt Bruce Walker and USMC 1Lt Larry Potts parachuted to the ground safely, eluding capture. Now his would-be direct rescuers had taken casualties and were running out of ammunition.

It was a bad idea, because Hambleton knew as much about American electronic warfare capabilities as any man in the Air Force, which made him an incredible prize for the enemy side should things go wrong. With Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant. A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. When the three arrived at Dong Ha, a reporter commented to Norris, “It must have been tough out there. The Rescue of BAT-21 By Amy P. Fabry - July 26, 2010 An O-2 forward air control (FAC) aircraft of the type flown by Capt. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bat*21&oldid=979705587, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Theodore Chan Woei-Shyong as Boy on Bridge, Scott A. Howell as Helicopter Crew Member, This page was last edited on 22 September 2020, at 09:05. Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. The Air Force had to reevaluate all the losses they were taking and realize there needed to be another approach.” The initial plan was to have a small team composed of Lt. Col. Anderson, Norris, and five Vietnamese commandos put up an over-watch position along the Mieu Giang River, which ran near the positions of both downed airmen. Norris was now left with just three Vietnamese commandos who spoke very little English. It was going to have to be a rescue closer to the ground. On this particular day in April, there had been a short notice request for two EB-66s to escort three B-52s that were to take out a buildup of SAM sites that had been noted in the southern panhandle of North Vietnam. Bartholomew Clark, the pilot who first … Amy P. Fabry is a documentary film producer based in Monterey, Calif. She has produced... © 2020 Defense Media Network.

Three journalists in a romantic triangle are involved in political intrigue during the last days of the corrupt Somozoa regime in Nicaragua before it falls to a popular revolution in 1979. Despite cloudy weather, the mission proceeded. SEAL Lt. Tom Norris with Lt. Col. Iceal “Gene” Hambleton after reaching American lines. Five other aircraft were shot down, but their crews were rescued, and countless others were badly damaged. Kiet was quietly passing information back to Norris on the numbers of enemy he was able to see in plain sight.

Clark ultimately flies a "Huey" helicopter rescue mission, but as he retrieves Hambleton, the pair are shot down by ground fire, with Clark being wounded. The Douglas B-66 Destroyer is a light bomber that was designed and produced by the American aviation manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company.. But they couldn’t afford to be discovered. The trio was not free from danger yet, though. BAT 21 is the first Vietnam War movie I have ever seen.The truth of the war and how it was done and flown is terrible enough. Five A-4 Skyhawks from the carrier Hancock immediately answered the call.

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