The story of Frank B. is presented with utter simplicity but poignancy by Fred Simon. Frank was a small-scale drug dealer confronted at an early age with the choice: prison or the navy. He chose the latter and it became an addiction for him. Every time he was discharged, he fled back into the army, back to a naive heroicism he identified with John Wayne and Steve McQueen. The harsh reality became Vietnam. Frank tells of the dehumanization process he was subject to, the disappointment on his return and his difficult struggle to become a human being again. Ten years after Vietnam, in 1981, he has got his alcolhol and drug abuse under control, but not his feelings of guilt, his nightmares and his homicidal fantasies. Photos are edited into his story starkly illustrating his personal drama. They provide a shocking contrast to his current existence in which he has learnt to talk about his experiences.
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Production: Fred Sirnon, Vince Canzoneri & WGBH
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