Sir! No Sir!
Encyclopedia
Sir! No Sir! is a 2005
Displaced Films and BBC
documentary film about the anti-war movement
within the ranks of the United States Military during the Vietnam War
.
It is subtitled "the suppressed story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam." It was completed in 2005 and won the audience award at the Los Angeles Film Festival
and the Golden Starfish Award for best documentary in 2005. The film is also a part of the Iraq Media Action Project film collection.
The film was produced, directed, and written by David Zeiger
. It consists in part of interviews with Vietnam veteran
s explaining the reasons they protested the war or even defected.
The film tells the story of how, from the very start of the war, such as with the Green Berets
, there was resentment within the ranks over the difference between the war in Vietnam and (as Jane Fonda
and others state in the film) the "good wars" that their fathers had fought. In the beginning some servicemen simply left the military as individuals; according to Pentagon
figures, between 1966 and 1971 there were over 500,000 incidents of desertion in the U.S. military. Over time, however, it became apparent that so many were opposed to the war that they could speak of a movement. Howard Levy noticed this when he stopped training soldiers and got a lot of support from fellow soldiers. Protest newspapers started to be printed. This resulted in a severe crackdown by the Army, sending people to prison for years. The organiser of one protest newspaper was sent to prison for ten years for the alleged possession of marijuana
.
Another cause for discontent was that a large number of the soldiers sent to the front were black
and at the time a black movement was rising. One notion was that blacks should only fight against black oppression and that was not going on in Vietnam, so blacks should not go there. This resulted in one revolt, at the Long Binh Jail
in South Vietnam
in August 1968, in which one white soldier was killed.
The movement eventually made the U.S. Army almost unoperable. In response to this, U.S. president Richard Nixon
decided to "Vietnamise
" the war, leaving the ground fighting to South Vietnamese troops and limiting U.S. involvement to bombardments. As a result, the presence of U.S. soldiers at the border was denied, leaving these soldiers to fend for themselves. When six of these soldiers were ordered to go on what was effectively a suicide mission, they refused and instead decided to send a message to the home front. Nixon responded to this by pulling that company out, but then other companies started to stop fighting as well. Some officers were killed by their own men. Because this was often done with fragmentation grenades, it became known as fragging.
When, during one offensive, more bombs were dropped on Vietnam than were used during the whole of World War II (by both sides), the Navy also started to protest. A ballot was cast on the aircraft carrier Constellation
, in which the crew decided not to go to Vietnam.
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
Displaced Films and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary film about the anti-war movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
within the ranks of the United States Military during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
It is subtitled "the suppressed story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam." It was completed in 2005 and won the audience award at the Los Angeles Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
and the Golden Starfish Award for best documentary in 2005. The film is also a part of the Iraq Media Action Project film collection.
The film was produced, directed, and written by David Zeiger
David Zeiger
David Zeiger is an American film director and producer.Zeiger is best known for directing the documentary Sir! No Sir! and the PBS documentary series Senior Year, Displaced in the New South, which inspired The Indigo Girls song Shame on You, and The Band.-External links:...
. It consists in part of interviews with Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
s explaining the reasons they protested the war or even defected.
The film tells the story of how, from the very start of the war, such as with the Green Berets
Green Berets
A green beret was the headgear of the British Commandos of World War II. Certain military organisations still wear green berets because they have regimental or unit histories that form a connection with the British Commandos of World War II....
, there was resentment within the ranks over the difference between the war in Vietnam and (as Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
and others state in the film) the "good wars" that their fathers had fought. In the beginning some servicemen simply left the military as individuals; according to Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
figures, between 1966 and 1971 there were over 500,000 incidents of desertion in the U.S. military. Over time, however, it became apparent that so many were opposed to the war that they could speak of a movement. Howard Levy noticed this when he stopped training soldiers and got a lot of support from fellow soldiers. Protest newspapers started to be printed. This resulted in a severe crackdown by the Army, sending people to prison for years. The organiser of one protest newspaper was sent to prison for ten years for the alleged possession of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
.
Another cause for discontent was that a large number of the soldiers sent to the front were black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
and at the time a black movement was rising. One notion was that blacks should only fight against black oppression and that was not going on in Vietnam, so blacks should not go there. This resulted in one revolt, at the Long Binh Jail
Long Binh Jail
Long Binh Jail was a U.S. military serviceman's prison located at Long Bình, in the province of Dong Nai, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The prison was established in 1966 and turned over to the South Vietnamese in 1973...
in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in August 1968, in which one white soldier was killed.
The movement eventually made the U.S. Army almost unoperable. In response to this, U.S. president Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
decided to "Vietnamise
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard M. Nixon administration during the Vietnam War, as a result of the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S....
" the war, leaving the ground fighting to South Vietnamese troops and limiting U.S. involvement to bombardments. As a result, the presence of U.S. soldiers at the border was denied, leaving these soldiers to fend for themselves. When six of these soldiers were ordered to go on what was effectively a suicide mission, they refused and instead decided to send a message to the home front. Nixon responded to this by pulling that company out, but then other companies started to stop fighting as well. Some officers were killed by their own men. Because this was often done with fragmentation grenades, it became known as fragging.
When, during one offensive, more bombs were dropped on Vietnam than were used during the whole of World War II (by both sides), the Navy also started to protest. A ballot was cast on the aircraft carrier Constellation
USS Constellation (CV-64)
USS Constellation , a Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the "new constellation of stars" on the flag of the United States and the only naval vessel ever authorized to display red, white, and blue designation numbers...
, in which the crew decided not to go to Vietnam.
See also
- F.T.A.F.T.A.F.T.A. is a 1972 American documentary film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland and directed by Francine Parker.-Overview:Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland and a collection of performers and musicians put together a touring satirical revue to perform at coffeehouses and parks near American army...
- Opposition to the Vietnam WarOpposition to the Vietnam WarThe movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
- Presidio mutinyPresidio mutinyThe Presidio mutiny was a sit-down protest carried out by 27 prisoners at the Presidio stockade in San Francisco, California on October 14, 1968. The stiff sentences given out at courts martial for the participants attracted attention to the extent of sentiment against the Vietnam War in the armed...
- Vietnam Veterans Against the WarVietnam Veterans Against the WarVietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans...
- Free The Army tourFree The Army tourThe FTA Tour , a play on the troop expression "Fuck The Army", which in turn was a play on the army slogan "Fun, Travel and Adventure") was an anti-Vietnam War road show designed as a response to Bob Hope's USO tour....
- Radio First TermerRadio First TermerRadio First Termer was a pirate radio station which operated in January 1971 in Saigon during the Vietnam War.The station was hosted by a United States Air Force sergeant calling himself "Dave Rabbit". The two other members of the crew were known as "Pete Sadler" and "Nguyen"...
- Jeff Sharlet (Vietnam antiwar activist)Jeff Sharlet (Vietnam antiwar activist)Jeff Sharlet , a Vietnam veteran, was a leader of the GI resistance movement during the Vietnam War and the founding editor of Vietnam GI...
- Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
- Coffee StrongCoffee StrongCoffee Strong is a GI coffeehouse based on the tradition of resistance coffee houses opened during the Vietnam war by antiwar veterans and active duty soldiers. Based in Lakewood, WA it was founded in 2008 by veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its located within 300 meters of...
A contemporary GI resistance coffeeshouse
External links
- BBC
- Displaced Films
- Black Power in Viet Nam - TIME Magazine, 1969
- Sir! No Sir! on the Iraq Media Action Project
- F.T.A. at Google Video