They risked their lives overseas while facing inequality here at home. Now, African-American veterans featured in the new documentary Soul Patrol are sharing their stories.
The award-winning film from director J.M. Harper arrives in select theaters on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, according to an announcement from the film’s production team.
The documentary looks back at a group of young Black soldiers brought together to form an elite reconnaissance unit in 1968. Sent deep behind enemy lines, they became the Vietnam War’s first all-Black special operations team.
More than five decades later, the surviving members reunite to reflect on their service, their friendship and the experiences that stayed with them long after they returned home.
Helping tell that story is footage the soldiers recorded themselves. Team member Willie Brown gave the director a box of Super 8 reels he filmed in Vietnam that had never been digitized.
Those recordings, combined with photographs, audio and personal stories, offer a glimpse of the men’s lives in Vietnam.
Beyond recounting dangerous missions, Soul Patrol explores what it meant for young Black men to fight for a country still struggling to recognize their rights.
Harper won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film also earned a Best Historical Documentary nomination at the 11th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards and a place on DOC NYC’s Short List: Features.
The film opens in select cities across the nation on Wednesday, Nov. 11. You can find the list of theaters here.
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