‘HAMBURGER HILL’

“Hamburger Hill,” a shocking, vivid portrayal of the bloody assault by American airborne troops on Hill 937 in Vietnam, is a welcome departure from the long series of blatantly propagandistic films we have been exposed to on the subject of that war.

The makers of this movie are not apologizing for anything; they are telling the story of a battle and of the bitterness of the men who fought it, knowing they were being undercut by vocal elements back home.

Interestingly enough, Kevin Thomas trashed the picture for “a series of preachy, rabble-rousing speeches that add up to a diatribe against the anti-war movement at home rather than an attack on U.S. involvement in the war in the first place” (“ ‘Hamburger Hill’: On the Lean Side,” Aug. 28). What a revealing comment on the liberal mind-set then and now! Has he really forgotten who the rabble-rousers were?

I sincerely hope that this fine tribute to the American fighting man will find a large audience, so that overdue recognition will come both to the Vietnam veterans and to those who betrayed them.

ARTHUR HANSL

Pacific Palisades