The Letter

The Letters

F period

Samantha Manriquez

Danielle Martinez

Mikey Vaughn

Jacob Smith

Brad Rutherford

4/10/2012

Setting: Vietnam War. New England. 1961

Note: no dialogue

Timeline:

1961- Beginning of the Vietnam War

1968- The boys receive the draft

1968-May 1969- Training

196 - Anti-war strikes

May 1969- Called to fight at Hamburger Hill

February 1970- Men killed

March 1970- Came home

March 1970- Flags are presented to families

Summary:

Three men are drafted into the Vietnam War. Two are boys who should be in college and the other man is married who just found out his wife is pregnant. They all leave their families and sweethearts at home to fight for their country in her time of need. They train and prepare to go to Vietnam to fight, and when they do one of the boys is killed right away. And the man who is to be a new father is shot in the leg and the other boy helps him to safety, but he ends up dying from blood loss. Out of the three boys to fight in that war only one came home alive. Flags are presented to the families who just lost their sons.

Scene 1

Audio of President John F. Kennedy ordering more help for South Vietnamese government[1]

Song for Frat party- “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith[2]

Arthur Wiknik[3] ( Jacob Smith ) at a Frat party. The other at home with family watching the news about the war, because he took a year off of school to help his family earn a living. The first boy is handed the draft notice. The beer in his hands falls and he freezes. The second boy named Mikey Johnston[4] ( Mikey Vaughn ) is handed the draft notice in front of his sister watching TV as well playing cards. He drops the deck of cards in his hands and begins to bury his face in his hands. His little sister Sammie Johnston[5] (Sam Manriquez ) goes over to soothe him trying to comfort him.

Scene 2

Silence then slow music for a sad mood

A man named Brad Rutherford[6] ( Brad Rutherford ) coming home from the store with his wife named Danielle Rutherford[7] (Danielle Martinez), both ecstatic. As he is putting the groceries away he is handed the draft. As he reads it and collapses on the bed his wife comes out of the bathroom with a positive pregnancy test. She immediately realizes his distress and reads the letter. He begins to cry as she does too.

Scene 3

Clips are shown of each of the men/boys packing. It shows the stress and impact on the family. One soldier comes by in a pickup to take them to the bus stop. Everyone piles in the bed of the truck. It ends with them all at different bus stops being picked up for war. Same bus.[8]

Scene 4

Boot camp begins.[9] Orientation is first then preparation. Lastly workout and training begins. As this is happening glimpses of letters are seen being written between the soldiers and their families being read while viewers see training.

Letters are short and sweet because there is one from each family and one from each soldier.

Scene 5

Back home the strike against war is going on. Hippies begin to protest the war and beg for peace. Sammie is now a Hippy.[10] Get clips from the computer and sound effects of anti-war marches.

Scene 6

Soldiers are deported to Vietnam to fight at Hamburger Hill.[11] Fighting scenes with good music.[12] Mikey dies in action. The 2 boys are left. Brad is injured badly and Arthur has to care for him. In the long run Brad doesn’t make it due to loss of blood. Only Arthur survives.[13]

Scene 7

The home coming of the soldiers.[14] The wife is given the letter informing her on her husband’s death as does the other family. The 3 families are all united as the caskets are carried from the plane. The one soldier pays his respects to the boys and their families then turns toward his family or lack thereof. And returns home.

Scene 8

Song: Amazing Grace

The funerals. The wife is raising the little boy her husband left behind. She asks the name of Arthur later and thanks him for his saving grace to her husband, because at least he died in peace. The other family grieves as well.

Scene 9

Closing scene with flashbacks/ credits/ and songs. Leading song is “Traveling Soldier” by the Dixi Chicks.[15]

Vocab

Guerrillas- a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses “guerrilla warfare,” harassing the enemy by surprise radio, sabotaging communication, and supply lines

Platoon- a military unit consisting of two or more squads or sections and a headquarters

A leg- disparaging army slang for a soldier, usual infantry, who are not airborne qualified

Weapons

AK47

Helicopters

Planes

Bombs

Highly toxic chemical defoliants or herbicides

Vietnam

Chinese versions of the AK47

Light/medium/heavy machine guns

Heavy machine guns were used to take down helicopters

Rocket propelled grenades

Recoiless rifles

Booby traps/mines in villages

“Punji traps” spikes at the bottom of pits/deliberately contaminated to increase infection

B-52 bombers

Both

M14 Rifle

M16

FN FAL

Vietnam War Snipers

Works Cited

“Vietnam,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/videos/vietnam (accessed Apr 9, 2012).

“Arthur Wiknik,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/videos/arthur-wiknik (accessed Apr 9, 2012).

"Battlefield: Vietnam." PBS. PBS, 1995. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/guerrilla/index.html.

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. <http://dictionary.reference.com/>.

USAA. "The Men and Womwn in Vietnam in HD: Arthur Wiknik." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1996. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. <http://www.history.com/shows/vietnam-in-hd/bios/arthur-wiknik>.

"Vietnam in HD: Interview with Arthur Wiknik." The Trad. 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. <http://thetrad.blogspot.com/2011/11/vietnam-in-hd-interview-with-arthur.html>.

Wiknik, Arthur. Nam-sense: Surviving Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. Havertown, PA.: Casemate, 2005. Print.

Downs, Frederick. The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.

"Vietnam War Weapons." Military Channel : Wars, Weapons, Vehicles, Games, Top Ten Lists. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://military.discovery.com/history/vietnam-war/weapons/weapons.html>.

[1] Still searching

[2] “Red Solo Cup” performed by Toby Kieth, written by Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Brad Warren, and Brett Warren; country; released in October of 2011

[3] Actual veteran of the Vietnam War who was drafted in 1968

[4] Not an actual veteran of the Vietnam War; this character is fictional

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid, name of actor

[7] Not an actual veteran of the Vietnam War; this character is fictional

[8] We can get a school bus. I talked to Mr. Combast and he said to just tell him when we are filming and he will see what he can do.

[9] The men are only allowed a few months to train before going into full combat

[10] Searching for clips from the computer and audio of anti-war marches

[11] Hamburger Hill was named this because it was a human meat grinder

[12] See page 5 for list of weapons used in the Vietnam war and vocab they used as well

[13] Fictional situation, but Arthur actually fought in Hamburger Hill in May 1969

[14] Early 1970