no no no no no no no no no no no no vietnam is a nation both ancient and modern. bursting with life. rooted in history. and in communism. it's where american soldiers fought for vietnam to have democracy more than 50 years ago. and where my father served as an army combat pilot. now i have my own mission. oh, my god, trekking to vietnam. my dad would have loved us to see for myself. oh, imagine the places where dad earned his hard won wisdom. his name is there. join me for this adventure of a lifetime. i'm harris faulkner, and for those who watch fox news, they see me on a couple of shows. the faulkner focus on outnumbered. and when i get to work, i honestly cannot wait for that moment that i get to spend with americans who are watching fox news. all right, guys, let's rock and roll. i'm addicted to it. and while i do love a good glam session, the real reason i go to work is sitting with an audience that i know cares about the country. and i didn't make it here on my own. i've been blessed with a wonderful mom and dad who especially lead with their faith and patriotism. my dad, lieutenant colonel bobby harris, was a veteran of the vietnam war. he served two tours as a combat pilot. the absolute mindblowing part about my dad was that there was nothing in his past that would have forecast the rarefied air that he would breathe as a pilot and as a dreamer. his family grew up very poor in the sticks of texas. and again, this was a time when the nation was divided. but my dad trusted in his own potential. he believed he could find freedom and opportunity by joining the military. so he did the military and afforded me the place to be free. that's probably difficult to understand, but the structure of the military was my first chance at freedom from having to be alert about something as simple as a drinking soda. i even wrote a book about the lessons my father taught me. nine rules of engagement. but after he died christmas morning in 2020, i realized there was still so much i didn't know about a defining time in his life, his tours of duty in vietnam and a divine assignment was revealed to me. and in my christian faith, that means that i've been assigned by the lord to go complete a mission and i think that when you actually walk in the footsteps of someone who had to make split decisions in war time, you learn more about that person you love than you can ever imagine. i began mapping out my journey to vietnam, where i would walk my father's combat trail and explore his lessons of faith, bravery, and determination. my journey begins in new york, where i board a plane and fly more than 12.5 hours to dubai, then another plane for many more hours, and then on the ground, some driving to the heart of saigon. 89.3 million people live here. that's more than new york city. wow, what a road trip. okay, so 22.5 hours of flying, and i am here in ho chi minh city, vietnam or saigon as we all know it. my dad spent two combat pilot tours in the vietnam war, so i've come back to retrace his most important steps. i want to find out what he did as a warrior, and how another american soldiers and military members like him, what they did, how they made a difference in vietnam, and what it's like today. i am going to my number one guy that would give me the total picture. he taught at west point for several years. he's a former service member and a military historian. i'm going to see brian to talk. brian chose to meet me at a powerful place. this is actually where the war ended, and it's a great starting point. and you said we were starting here. why? because right through these gates, at 1030 in the morning, april 30th, 1975, two north vietnamese army tanks crashed through those gates and ended the war on this lawn in front of the presidential palace. and the climax of 30 years of fighting, the russian made tanks smashed down the gates and took up positions in the ground. there was no resistance. today we call this independence palace. but back during a time frame when the americans were here, this was the presidential palace. the president of south vietnam lived here. and so when this place falls, the war is over. the war in vietnam had been raging for 20 years, including more than a decade of american involvement, a american combat troops finally left the country in 1973. suddenly, the communist north could push toward a complete victory. so those are the actual tanks that came through the gates are several of them claimed credit, but we know which 390 was the first tank it. so there was like, what bravado about who crashed through the gate first. oh, absolutely. somebody wants to be the one to bring this regime to its knees. the north vietnamese were supported throughout this conflict by the other communist powers, specifically the soviet union and the chinese communist party. that's what we're seeing all over the world now, with china and russia sending the money and the equipment to help those that they want in the game to win. when saigon fell, a desperate crush of humanity, including foreign journalists, rushed to the american embassy just down the road from the palace, trying to make it on to the helicopters that were ferrying people out of the country. suddenly, we two had to get out and fight our way to the american compound where the helicopters were landing. brian and i ventured to the rooftop of a building used by our intelligence agencies. this building here, pittman apartments, was the old cia headquarters and the u.s. agency for international development. americans, the south vietnamese, everybody trying to escape this country. vietnam has fallen into the hands of the north vietnamese. and that's going on all over saigon. it was panic with communist soldiers closing in. a cia helicopter pilot made one final stop on the rickety roof of the pittman apartment building. there's that iconic shot with people being loaded onto aircraft from the rooftop of this building, the last american helicopter on the roof, repairs to lift off the last of the evacuees fleeing before the advancing communist army. let's head up to the rooftop. what are you expecting to see while we're up here? in my mind's eye, i'm seeing that cia agent. that air america officer reached down his hand and try to lift people to freedom. the helicopter was not built for that many people. but how could you say no? desperate people in their families are looking up at you. right. and there's there's a line of other people wanting to get on, but this is the last aircraft out. let me slow down for a moment in respect and gratitude, especially for our prisoners of war, some of whom did not get out right away or at all. their sacrifice was not in vain. the fact of the matter is, vietnam was going to be a hard place for an american victory. just consider the long, fraught history of this nation. various asian dynasties ruled the land that would become vietnam before it officially got its name in 1802. france took control of the region in the mid 1800s, and it remained a french colony until world war two, when japan invaded. but after japan's defeat, the french reoccupied the southern half of vietnam. in the north, which is situated close to china. communist leader ho chi minh seized control and declared independence, sparking the first indochina war. america sided with france, hoping to stop the spread of communism. it was the start of america's incremental but ever growing involvement, and so six different american administrations would be involved. well, and that's part of the issue, isn't because we have each president having his own view of how things should go. and that led to what my dad used to call mission creep, where we had an idea in the beginning and then it kept changing. yeah. absolutely. right. in 1954, the geneva conference created a provisional military demarcation line, splitting vietnam into the communist north and the pro-western and south. but ho chi minh wanted all of vietnam. and in 1959, he declared war to united under communist rule. and then kennedy comes in and would provide all kinds of equipment, training, support. and then gulf of tonkin happens in august of 1964, two u.s. destroyers stationed in the gulf of tonkin off the coast of vietnam. radio. they had been fired upon by north vietnamese forces. a response by the president will be limited and fitting. we're no longer being the advisors helping the vietnamese fight for themselves. we've now taken over and we're in the lead. brian. we have a lot to learn from vietnam. i'm so glad that i have you for this journey along with me and navigating where my father went. i'm so grateful. let's go do more. all right. fox nation is forever grateful to those who have put this great country first. we're continuing to offer all active military and veterans their first year of fox nation for free. celebrate our country with brand new shows and new seasons of exclusive content. you can only see on fox nation wars. how really did you think that you would survive honoring those who put their lives on the line and gave their all for our freedom? 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[cars honking] i'm a guy who lost a bet. and my dignity. get out of the way! as if watching my team lose wasn't punishment enough. what are you looking at huh... it's a one speed. hahaha. hahaha. and if you have cut rate car insurance, odds are you'll be paying for that yourself. so, get allstate and be better protected from mayhem... like me. hey, i'm walking here! why choose a sleep number smart bed? can i make my side softer? i like my side firmer. sleep number does that. now, save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed. plus, free home delivery when you add any base. shop now at sleepnumber.com i wanted to see one of the places where my dad actually flew combat missions. this is the saigon river. we've come here because this was one of the missions that my dad flew. he almost didn't make it back. and so i wanted you to kind of navigate how dangerous it was at that point to be out on these waterways. this river we're on is a battlefield. now, today, you can see the city has grown up. back then. all along here would have been mangrove swamps, tall trees, easy places for an enemy to hide. so this was the base. he would fly down here and the viet cong knew that took off. and i was going to fly over the room. and i'll do the little trees just on the humble side of the river. nobody was in the plane with me at that point. they were firing tracer fire at shadows, things like they were coming straight from the finish, the fifth round or so. it was an illumination type around it, showing them which way to shoot so they can direct their fire onto your father's aircraft. and his plane flies low and slow. and so it is a target when you see them and they come in, it looks like they are coming towards your face and they just kind of spread it across the river. now, of course, when he landed back a long time, his plane was shot up. so i was very fortunate. yeah, that was the scariest thing to happen to me. under that second tour, he was commanding an aviation support company, a logistics company that repaired some of the most important aircraft. over a thousand of them in this field force down. so will be enough. so his headquarters, where he probably slept most nights, was down here, but he had three platoons. he had a platoon up at 2:00. he had a platoon at going on and then way up in the central highlands. he had a platoon up at play coo. so your dad would have flown nonstop moving around to check on his units throughout there i found that a website of his old unit and you found a website of my dad's dad's old unit. i saw the company command post and sure enough, his name is there. yeah, he was commanding the unit. i didn't know that he had made major while it was in vietnam. while i was in vietnam, a second tour that is a big deal. yeah. wow. amazing. you really, really are changing the fabric of what my family has always understood about my dad. this is really the first official mission tracing that we're doing, and it seems appropriate now with dad in heaven to let him know that he's always with me. and when i, after this journey to vietnam, present dad's flag to my family, which i've had since he was buried, i want my family to know that he came back and he saw vietnam, and that his steps were not in vain. and we've come back and dad represented in his burial flag. you were always with me. the american people will win through the absolute victory. remembering the heroes we can't afford to forget. when uncertain times. the recent landing of nazi submarines. sounds a newer load. brought out the best in us. we wanted to give, in fact, and go on with our lives. the secret history of world war two and the final journey of the greatest generation. new season streaming now on fox nation. fox nation would like to thank active military and veterans this memorial day. sign up and get your first year free. force factor total beets is the number one beets brand in america. that's why friends and family recommend total beets. now you can find total beets blood pressure chews at walmart so you can boost nitric oxide, support blood pressure and improve heart health. rush to walmart and find total beets. ♪ a love song that goes on forever ♪ ♪ for worse and for better ♪ ♪ we'll two-step together ♪ ♪ and i'll hold you closer ♪ ♪ each day i go through ♪ ♪ this dance of a lifetime ♪ ♪ with you ♪ what if there was a place where every kid got a chance to be great? the hersheys believe learning shouldn't have a price. everything we need is taken care of. our classrooms, they have no walls. we learn by doing through programs that give us an early start on college and our careers. here, we have the chance to be great. and you? you can be next. american troops in vietnam had far superior weapons and technology than the communist viet cong. but our side faced a determined enemy that used the terrain and guerrilla tactics to their advantage. northwest of saigon, in the coochie district, the thick jungle held many traps, but the real danger lurked below ground. the enemy dug hundreds of miles of underground tunnels. it's a clay with a lot of iron content, and so it's easy to dig. and then as it oxidizes, it gets really solid, almost like concrete. is the entrance. this is the entrance, right now. i can uncover it. okay? okay. yeah. oh my goodness. oh, no. i don't even think my body. sit down. this secret hatch actually full. look at that. easy going down at the time. it's very tiny, right. because made for the soldier at time. they got a slim and skinny body they can go through easily. the american soldiers tasked with searching and clearing the tunnels were known as tunnel rats. they would pull security, and then a small guy would go in with a flashlight and a pistol and go down in. this is three levels. there's a level that's three meters down. there's another one that's six meters down here, 18ft, and then there's 12m, 30 some feet down, 35ft down. and so we might bring explosives, but we'll only blow up the top level. you know what that sounds like hamas. they have these different levels. and then we saw the fence. they wanted to be able to stay down there for a long time. yeah. and that's more modern version of this. i'm going to go down, but you're going to tell me what to do here. i'll at first take it up, man. okay. so there's so little stream right here okay. all right. oh, boy. and you sit down. then i sit down, i put the lights down there. look down. all right, all right. i'm really claustrophobic. people, so i am claustrophobic. and i have hips. oh, man. this is like, the width of my hips. did women get in here? yeah. oh, m g i mean, oh, my goodness, i guess. how could they stay in here? yeah. this one's for you. all right. i'm going to try to climb back up the arms out first, and then you can turn sideways. okay, i see the step. i think i got this. here we go. okay. another step. okay, okay. thank you. it. it's really hot down there. think about being an american soldier. who's. it's his turn to go down in there and go hunting the viet cong in that hole. special breed of soldier. a special breed indeed. we got a lot of heroes. oh, warriors are amazing today. america really needs to thank them. even before i left saigon, it was important to me to speak with american veterans like my dad, who bravely fought more than 50 years ago. hello. so we want to give you a hug. right. and so i had the great privilege of meeting nick, bob and jerry. jerry. oh, to meet you. so nice to meet you. pleasure to meet you guys. this is the first time nick, bob and jerry have returned to vietnam since they fought in the war. cheers. cheers. i want our audience to know the journey that it took to serve in vietnam. nick, tell me about your. it was a long journey. i have to college. i volunteered because i felt that that was the only option i had available. i had no clue what vietnam was about. i was with the u.s. army field depot and the name which was the largest coming in the vietnam war, 50,000 american soldiers. we were all young. i was fortunate enough to have a pretty good assignment, as bob will tell you about, you know, bob, why do you laugh when he says that? you would have never known we were both in the same war based on the lifestyles we had when we were here. everybody's jobs important. but he was in the supply world, and he lived in tonight going to the beach. he played volleyball. he had a vietnamese woman that did his laundry and starched his fatigues and ironed. and he's laughing. you guys are still at war. what was your journey? i'm a field artillery officer in the 101st airborne division. up north. everything i did was out on hilltops west of here in the mountains. but we fired, on average, 615 five millimeter howitzers between 600 and 1000 rounds a day. i saw my fair share of action on fire bases, but nothing like infantry men saw. jerry, tell me about your journey to get to vietnam. at the time, i was just doing my job, and i felt that i was blessed that i made it. you work for what i went through. you knew that the war was not popular at home. yes. and how did that make you feel? you're out on the battlefield. look, i was an officer in the army. i had a job to do and didn't matter what the public thought. my employer said, this is what you have to do. i did it when i came home august 4th of 67, when i stepped off the, the aircraft, i was proud in my uniform, and everybody was turning away from me, and i said i couldn't understand it. i says, here's my buddies. i just left them in the jungle. they're getting killed every day. what's wrong with our country? and i flew home, took my uniform off right away and didn't put it on for 50 years. well, you were shamed or what? well, i would like he was the word dumbfounded. i was dumbfounded with our country is not backing us. we're fighting for our lives. and all of our experiences should we put out there? we don't want to be a forgotten war. and that's how i feel. we will never forget. i won't let them. let's be real about it. there are some people in this country who just don't understand the military. i don't think they understand that democracy is not free. but when i meet a vietnam veteran, now i know to say these words. welcome home. thank you for loving our nation so much that you would go so far away. and her name. when you smell the amazing scent of gain flings... time stops. (♪) and you realize you're in love... steve? with a laundry detergent. (♪) gain flings. seriously good scent. and my fox nation team and i have now traveled south and east inside vietnam to a beautiful coastal city called vung tau. my dad had a very close call and boomtown. he was flying back