THEDEERTEAM
A documentary film
PO BOX 736, south freeport, me 04078 www.pernacontent.com
THEDEERTEAM
FewAmericansknowthattheU.S.andtheVietMinh,
headedbytheasceticrevolutionaryHoChiMinh,were
alliesin1945astheyfoughttheJapaneseoccupationof
Indochina.TheVietMinhhelpeddownedU.S.pilotsand
gatheredintelligencefortheOfficeofStrategicServices,
precursortotheCentralIntelligenceAgency.VietMinh
intelligencehelpedU.S.ArmyAirForceGen.Claire
Chennaultandhis“FlyingTigers’’makemoreaccurate
bombingrunsagainstJapaneseforces.TheOSS“Deer
Team’’parachutedintonorthernVietnam,wherethey
providedtheVietMinhwithmuchneededmedicines,
weapons,trainingandmedicine.Duringthisadventure,
theysavedthelifeofanailingHoChiMinh.Whatif
AmericaandVietnamhadremainedallies?
TheDeerTeamTrailer
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Aswehavearrivedatthe40thanniversaryoftheendof
theVietnamWarwecan’thelpbutwonderaboutthe
“whatifs”.
Forexample,whatifinsteadofbeingenemies,HoChi
MinhandtheVietMinhhadbeenAmericanallies?
Soundimplausible?
Actually,thisstoryistrue.
Nowimagine”TheDeerTeam".
TheTruth.ImagineThat.
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PO BOX 736, south freeport, me 04078 www.pernacontent.com
“DeerTeam”willbeanewdocumentarywithnewfootage,newcommentaryandnewperspectivesoncrucialhistoricaleventsinthe
contextofcurrentevents,issuesandemotions.”DeerTeam"willfocusonastill-little-knowneventthat,itturnedout,hadmajor
ramifications.
Withthepassageofsomanyyears,muchofthefogaroundthe20thCenturyconflictsinIndochinaislifting.We’reseeingmoreclearly
intoeventswhosesignificancewasmurkywhentheyhappenedbecauseofunder-orover-reporting,extremeemotionsandofficialand
unofficialignorance,misinformationanddisinformation.Hadhistory'skeyplayersbetterunderstoodtheoriginsoftheirowndecisionmaking,laterhistorycouldhavebeenvastlydifferent.
”DeerTeam”willhaveuniqueaestheticandperspectiveasitdramatizeshistoricaltopics.Mostofthematerialhasneverappeared
beforeinmainstreamU.S.media.Thefilmstacklesthestoryofpeopleoperatingintenseandconfusingtimesandisn’tafraidofmoral
ambiguities.Itshowshowthepassageoftimebyitselfchangesourunderstanding.Thefilmfrequentlypresentseventswithasenseof
absurdisthumor,showinghistory’scharactersasfrequentlycaughtineventsoverwhichtheyhadlittleornocontrol.Theyoftenrealize
thattheyareinridiculoussituations:theirmordanthumorcomesoutininterviews.
Weaimtomakeaudiencesoccasionallylaughastheyseecaptivesofhistorytryingtounderstandthechaoticandperiloussituationsin
whichtheyinvoluntarilyfindthemselves.Abitof"Catch22"andthegreatWorldWarIInovelsofEvelynWaugh.
Weuseourveryunusualpresentationstructureandintellectuallyrigorousbutentertaininganalysesofhistoricaleventstoheighten
understandingoftoday’seventsaswellaspastones.Wewillexplainhowpeoplemadewhatweseewithhindsightwerebaddecisions
butwhytheymighthaveseenthemasreasonable,indeed,unavoidable,atthetime.Thefilmdoesnotseektoplaceblamepersebut
rathertohelpviewersunderstandwhypeopledowhattheydoinhistory.Wehopethatthisstorymighthelpusavoidsomemistakesin
thefuture.AsMarkTwainsaid:“Historymaynotrepeatitself,buttherearerhythms.’’
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PO BOX 736, south freeport, me 04078 www.pernacontent.com
Treatment
The“DeerTeam”isthestoryofopportunitieslost,roadsnottakenand30yearsofwarthat,perhaps,couldhavebeenavoidedifother
decisionshadbeentakeninthesummerof1945.That‘swhenVietnamandAmericacouldhavebecomefriends,andnotthefierceColdWar
enemiesthattheybecame.
Maybe.The“what-ifs’’resonateandsodotheingenious,courageous,conspiratorialandsometimesfunnyandoutrageouscharactersinour
story.
It’sastoryofinternationalintrigue,war,clashingcultures,shiftingalliances,unlikelyfriendshipsandbitter,albeitevolving,enemiesand
confusednationalpolicies.ThebackdropincludesVietnamesejungles,FrenchcafesinHanoi,thehallsofpowerinWashingtonandParisand
suchhistoricalfiguresasChiangKai-Shek,CharlesDeGaulle,HarryTruman,FranklinRooseveltandtheratherpatheticVietnamese
Emperor/playboyBaoDai.
TheforegroundincludessuchcharactersastheVietMinh’spoliticalleader,HoChiMinh,anditsmilitaryleader,VoNguyenGiap,gung-ho
andeccentricDeerTeamleaderAllisonThomas,theOSS’sArchimedesPatti,OSSandCIAmanCarletonSwiftandotherswithvividtalesto
tell,filledwithheroism,conniving,paradoxesandabsurdsituations.
Butthen,HoandGiapwereamongthefewpersonagesinthestorywhodidnotseemconfusedaboutwheretheyweregoing.
Thegistofthestory--usingdramaticnewandarchivalfilmofwarandotherhistoricalevents--evocativemusicfromthetimeandriveting
interviewsdoneoveralmostthree-quartersofacentury,isthis:
TowardtheendofWorldWarII,theU.S.OfficeofSpecialOperations(theOSS),theprecursortotheCIA,starteddoingbusinesswiththe
communist-dominatedVietMinh,ledbytheasceticandmysteriousglobetrotterHoChiMinh.TheaimwastousetheVietMinhtodrive
theJapaneseoutofwhathadbeenFrenchIndochina.
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Treatment
TheVietMinhaimedtopermanentlyendFrenchcolonialruleintheregion.Americanpolicy,whileitwasmurky,exceptfor
theobviousaimofdefeatingtheJapanese,tendedinitiallytopushtowardaspeedyFrenchexitfromtheregion.Afterall,the
latePresidentFranklinRoosevelthadoftenmadeknowhisdistasteforEuropeancolonialism;andhisexpectationwasthatit
wouldendsoonafterWorldWarII.AsfortheexampleofU.S.imperialisminthenearbyPhilippines,well,Americahad
promisedtheFilipinosthattheywouldgetindependencesoonaftertheyearended.
InscenesevocativeofSomersetMaughamstoriesandspynovelsandthemovieCasablanca,thefilmstartswiththeplanning
forinfiltratingasmallOSSteamintonorthernVietnaminthesummerof1945tomakecontactwiththeVietMinh.Theidea
wastosetupapartnershiptoobtaininformationonJapanesetroopmovementsandmilitaryinstallations,andarrange
bombingraidsonJapaneseforces.
InreturnfortheVietMinh’shelpagainsttheJapanese,theOSSprovidedtheCommunist-dominatedgroupwithweapons,
radiosets,medicinesandtraining.Thetwogroupsquicklybecameveryfriendlyandfoughtascomrades-in-armsincapturing
theJapanesegarrisonatTanTrao.Theycelebratedbygettingdrunktogether.Alongthewaytherewouldbesuchincongruous
(inretrospect)actionsasanOSSmedicsavingthelifeoftheverysickHoChiMinh.
ButeventsweremovingtoofastforcoherentAmericanpolicytobemade.TheJapanese,traumatizedbythedroppingofthe
atomicbombs,surrenderedmuchearlierthanexpectedandHo’sforcesdeclaredindependencewithinweeks.Insodoing,
theylookedtoAmericaforfriendshipandevenincludedsomephrasingfromtheAmericanDeclarationofIndependencein
theirown.
Meanwhile,ChiangKai-Shek’sundisciplinedandrapacioustroops,defeatedJapaneseforces,someFrenchmilitarypeopleand
colonsandafewbemusedAmericansmilledaroundinHanoiwaitingforresolutionofthedangerousandconfusedsituation
inwhichIndochinafounditselfattheendofWorldWarII.
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Treatment
TheAmericans’adventureinHanoiendedquickly,anditswiftlybecameclearthattheFrenchwouldfighttoregaintheir
lucrativecoloniesinIndochina.Atthesametime,U.S.policymakersintheinexperiencedTrumanadministrationweredealing
withdomesticpressurestosendU.S.forceshomeandanxietyaboutupsettingtheFrench.
Washingtonfearedthatinthechaosandeconomicdistressofimmediatepost-warFrancethatthecommunistswouldtake
powerthere.SotheypulledbackfromwhathadseemedtohavebeentheirsupportforVietnamesenationalismunderthe
VietMinhandbegantosupporttheFrench.SomeOSSpeoplethoughtthatthiswasfoolish.
TheseedsweresownforAmerica’sconflictwithwhatcametobeknownasNorthVietnamandtheVietCong,insouthern
Vietnam.ThetaleoftheDeerTeamdemonstratesjusthowunpredictablepoliticsandwarcanbe,andhowdifficultitisto
gaugetheintentionsofleaders.Forexample,wasHomoreanationalistthanacommunist,ortheotherwayaround?
Inanyevent,theDeerTeamleftIndochinawithasenseofincompletion,whichwasnotresolvedbythe“AmericanWar’’that
followedtheFrenchwartokeepIndochina.Thestoryshowshowfastone-timefriendscanbecomeenemiesandthen,as
nowwithAmericaandVietnam,friends,ofasort,again--especiallywhenabiggeradversary--China--loomsnextdoor.
PO BOX 736, south freeport, me 04078 www.pernacontent
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NewResearch
NewCast
•
NewCommentary
•
NewFootage
•
NewPerspectives
•
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PO BOX 736, south freeport, me 04078 www.pernacontent.com
THETEAM
Wehaverunverysuccessfulcommercialproduction
companies,whereweproducedclosetothousand
televisioncommercials.We'veworkedformanyofthe
world'sleadingadvertisersandadvertisingagencies,such
asDoyleDaneBernbach,OgilvyandGrey.Wehavealso
workedasjournalistsatsuchleadingpublicationsasthe
InternationalHeraldTribuneinParisandTheWallStreet
Journal,hostedtelevisionpublic-affairsshowsandwritten
andeditedmanymagazinearticlesandsuchbooksas
"CapeWind".Weunderstandbudgets,tightdeadlines
andotherproductiondemands.Weareveryseasoned
professionalsinawiderangeofmediaandthe
beneficiariesofmuchrigoroushistoricalresearch,our
ownandothers,andhaveaccesstoawiderangeof
sourcematerialabroad
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RobertWhitcombisalongtimeinternationaleditor,prize-winningwriterand
mediaexecutive.HehasheldseniorexecutivepositionsattheInternationalHerald
Tribune,inParis,andatTheProvidenceJournalaswellashavingbeenearlyinhis
careeraneditorandwriter(includingofthepageoneWorldWidecolumn)atThe
WallStreetJournal,inNewYork,andawriterfortheBostonHeraldTraveler.He
haswrittennewspapercolumnsformanyyearsonaverywideoftopics.
BillPerna,amarketingexecutiveandfilmmakerwithmorethan
twentyyearsexperienceworkingwithmajoradvertisingand
consumerbrands,hisPERNACONTENTspecializesinproducing
documentariesandbrandedcontent.Herecentlyproducedin
Vietnam,VietnamNowaseriesinassociationwithPBS.
Whitcombhasworkedinallmajorprintandelectronicmedia.Thishasincluded
co-hostingformanyyearsapublic-affairsshowonanABC-TVaffiliateandfrequent His20yearsintheadindustryincludedstintsatGreyAdvertising,
radioengagements.Theeditorofseveralbooks,heco-wrotethebookCapeWind,
WellsRichGreene,OgilvyandDoyleDaneBernbachandtenyearsin
fromwhichthemovieCapeSpinwasmade.Hehasalsodoneextensivewriting
LosAngelesbuildingoneofadvertising’smostsuccessfulcommercial
overtheyearsfornationalmagazinesandinternationalnewsletters.
HewasthemembersecretaryoftheAgaKhanUniversityMediaThinkingGroup,
whoseworkledtocreatingtheuniversity’sGraduateSchoolofMediaand
Communications,servingtheDevelopingWorldandbasedinNairobi.
HiscurrentactivitiesincludebeingapartnerandsenioradviseratCambridge
ManagementGroup;columnistfortheHuffingtonPostandTheProvidence
Journal;overseerofnewenglanddiary.com;FellowofthePellCenterfor
InternationalRelationsandPublicPolicy,andchairmanoftheProvidence
CommitteeonForeignRelations.
productioncompanies,SmillieFilms.Whileservingaspresidentand
executiveproduceratSmillieFilms,Billworkedonaccountssuchas
Apple,CocaCola,IBM,NikeandAnhueserBuschamongcountless
others.
Alongwithhisexperienceintheplanning,directing,andproduction
ofcommercialfilm,hehasworkedwiththedocumentarianAlbert
Maysles,thenotedfilmmakerandcreatedanddevelopedthe
BrandedContentdivisionforMayslesFilms.
RobertWhitcomb,amemberofPhiBetaKappa,graduatedasahistorymajorfrom
DartmouthCollegeandhasamaster’sdegreefromtheColumbiaUniversity
AgraduateoftheUniversityofNewMexicoandNYU’sfilmschool,he
GraduateSchoolofJournalism
livesandworksinPortland,Maine.
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