It was the Summer of 1972, my first semester at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park campus, where I participated in a protest rally to end the war in Vietnam and bring our troops home.  We were a massive crowd gathered on the grassy area in front of the historic building known as Old Main, that housed the offices of the president and other university officials.  

In the upper windows of the building, I saw men dressed in suits and ties, taking photographs with long lenses of the crowd as the campus police assembled around us.  A feeling of disbelief came over me as I remembered the Kent State shootings which occurred only 2 years prior on May 4, 1970. 

The war was the central issue of the 1972 presidential election and for me, it was the first time I felt I could finally express my voice, to join my peers to 'hate the war, but love the warrior'.  I was not one of those radical people who disrespected the veterans when they returned home- I never understood that.  In fact, I saw veterans protesting along side me, wanting to end the blood shed on both sides.

The Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam" were signed in January of 1973- officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the war and a cease-fire was declared.  However, the last 'official' American military action occurred on May 15, 1975.  Many more U.S. soldiers were killed during those two years.  Vietnam was the first televised war and the longest war in our country's history.

I was just a kid during the 60's, but I remembered those images of war every night on television, the countless number of coffins draped with our flag, the assassinations of our leaders, the social injustice and the civil unrest of that time all juxtaposed with television shows like 'The Lone Ranger' and 'Father Knows Best'.  It was an amazing decade filled with excitement, turbulence and controversy. 

Too young for Woodstock, but old enough to be conscious and concerned- and I never forgot.

In 1999, when I began to do some research for a screenplay I was writing about Vietnam veterans, I read a horrifying statistic on the VA website: that over one-third of those homeless on the streets were veterans and most of them served during the Vietnam war era.  This gave me great pause and still does to this day.  However, most of those who were living on the streets back in 1999, are no longer with us. 

Unfortunately, the current war in Iraq & Afghanistan has similiarities to the Vietnam war and in many ways, worse consequences for our returning veterans.  This is what propelled me to create this documentary and to venture on a journey to learn more.

All funding for this documentary, so far, has been out of pocket.  It has been a true labor of love.  My goal - my hope, is to raise awareness and shed some light on the many issues our veterans are facing and have ALWAYS faced when they return home, and in some small way-- to make a difference.

 Nina M. Gilberti

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