Dartmouth to show new film on Vietnam expedition

Posted 11/04/98

The new documentary film, "Vietnam: A Long Time Coming," will be shown on Friday, Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Dartmouth's Loew Auditorium. Sponsored by the Dartmouth Programming Board, the screenings will be free and open to the public.

Produced by Sports Illustrated Television and the producers of "Hoop Dreams," the film documents a group of 65 disabled Vietnam War veterans, both American and Vietnamese, who made a 16-day, 1200-mile cycling expedition last January from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The film received a standing ovation when it was screened last month at the Aspen Film Festival.

The expedition was coordinated by World TEAM (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) Sports, a non-profit charity that sponsors events for disabled and able-bodied athletes. Dud Hendrick, a 1969 graduate of Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, helped coordinate the ride and brought the film to Dartmouth.

The screenings will include remarks by Hendrick and Artie Guerrero, a disabled athlete who participated in the ride and is the past president of Paralyzed Veterans of America. Other disabled athletes, their coaches, Vietnam veterans, and representatives of World TEAM Sports --including board member Bob Freeman, a 1964 Dartmouth graduate --also will visit the campus that day.

On a related topic, John McAuliff, Executive Director of the U.S.-Indochina Reconciliation Project, will speak on Friday, Nov. 6 at 12:30 p.m. in Collis Common Ground. He will describe grassroots efforts to repair U.S.-Indochinese relations. McAuliff's previous work includes coordinating the Forum on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, an informal network of 150 nongovernmental aid and development organizations, foundations and other philanthropic entities with an interest in Indochina. His visit is supported by the International Programs Advisory Group and is free and open to the public.