This gripping documentary of the Vietnam War begins with the Kennedy administration and extends through the return of the first MIAs in the mid 1970s. Stark and disturbing newsreel footage is combined with letters written by soldiers to loved ones at home and the music of the times. The servicemen have also provide their own amateur films of their experiences in addition to the footage from the NBC news vaults. The war hits home with the deaths of four Kent State students at the hands of the Ohio National Guard. Dozens of popular Hollywood actors lend their voices as they read the letters sent home written by many who would never live through the terrible ordeal.