Hear from veterans, watch 'Voices from Vietnam' film at library in November

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the position Larry Rottmann held at Missouri State University. It has been updated.

Vietnam veteran Larry Rottmann admits he was an imperfect soldier in a historically flawed war.

The former Army lieutenant, Bronze and Purple Star recipient, and former Missouri State University instructor won't tell you his film "Voices from Vietnam" is gold standard, though it's earned some acclaim.

But Rottmann's gripping anecdotes, dualistic narrative and poetic cadence in his 52-minute picture are a visual culmination of his decades-long cause.

Rottmann, who railed against the conflict in Vietnam while testifying to Congress as a young veteran, retains much of the same vigor.

"Some call it an obsession, I call it a responsibility," said Rottmann, an author and ex-journalism instructor nearing his 80th birthday.

The latest iteration of "Voices from Vietnam," created with the aid of Missouri State film professor and director Mark Biggs and the help of three local colleges, debuted in November last year. It will soon be screened again in the Ozarks.

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The film will be shown Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at The Springfield-Greene County Library Center auditorium, followed by a Q&A session. DVDs of the film, narrated by Rottmann with a musical score by Ray Castrey, will be available for purchase.

As a precursor to the film, Rottmann and retired Army officer Mike O'Brien of Boise, Idaho, will be share harrowing personal stories from Vietnam on Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m at the same venue as part of the reading "A Different Vietnam: Three True Stories."

Rottmann will also do a reading from the Vietnamese perspective with an excerpt from Nguyen Phan Que Mai's "The Mountains Sing."

Rottmann has often done readings of his work throughout Missouri and beyond in the spirit of Veterans Day, but this will be a much different presentation.

Biggs, who has worked alongside Rottmann in different projects since 1987, likes the finished product and noted it has been honored at multiple film festivals.

"I think it turned out true to the form that Larry has been presenting for a long time," Biggs said.

What to expect

Clad in black, Rottmann sits in a chair as he delivers somber but powerful first-person American and Vietnamese stories during war time.

The "Voices from Vietnam" narrator is flanked in the film by a series of of musical instruments, including a gong made from artillery shells fired by U.S. tanks, flutes and bamboo pipes.

Castrey, an emeritus staff member of Missouri State's Theater and Dance Department, plays every instrument, providing a musical score that helps punctuate Rottmann's stories.

Footage and photographs accompany the storytelling, along with the sharp and contrasting sounds of war and nature.

The opening minutes set the tone.

Rottmann tells the story of an American soldier corresponding with his family back home in a series of letters.

"Dear mom, it sure rains here a lot," the soldier writes.

"Tell us more," his mother responds.

"The monkeys here sure are funny," he replies. "The sunsets here are spectacular. Just spectacular. "

"Don't hold back. How is it? We need you to tell us everything," his mother presses.

"Today I killed a man," he admits. "Yesterday we dropped napalm on women and children."

In the next letter, his father intervenes.

"Please don't tell us those things. You're depressing your mother," the father says.

"Dear mom, it sure rains here a lot," the young soldier responds, reverting to his original message.

'Nam and nuance

Since nearly dying in action after sustaining a traumatic head injury, Rottmann, a 1965 University of Missouri graduate, said he has always wanted to add cultural context to the widely misunderstood and complex Vietnam conflict.

He's written several books and put together multiple films on the subject and taught in over 100 classrooms.

Well after his time in the military, Rottmann still considers Vietnam a home away from home. He has returned 19 times, teaching, working, hiking and biking in the country. One of his books, "Voices from the Ho Chi Minh Trail," chronicles those experiences.

Rottmann said he often cringes when he sees the war portrayed from a sensationalist, Hollywood perspective. Dispelling stereotypes, providing nuance and humanizing the Vietnamese have been among his primary objectives for more than 40 years.

"I was really worried about how the war was portrayed in culture. I'm still concerned," Rottmann said. "Movies like Rambo, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Hamburger Hill. They seemed unfair and one-sided. There wasn't very much about the individual GIs, their backgrounds. And virtually nothing about the Vietnamese."

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Years in the making

Rottmann's passion project, "Voices from Vietnam" first came together in 1985. Several iterations of the performance and reading have evolved since.

It's been performed hundreds of times at schools, churches and prisons, museums, cruise ships and just about any venue that Rottmann said would support his objective: providing a balanced and nuanced history of the war.

It wasn't until after his 212th reading, at Drury University in 2019, he felt inspired to go the documentary film route.

Production was boosted by a $10,000 grant by Ozarks Technical College, where Rottmann has been an educator. Missouri State and Drury also contributed talent and resources to the project.

It took 27 months to put together the final product, which involved the use of 12 cameras and 24 microphones.

"One of the best film collaborations MSU, Drury and OTC has done working together on a single project," Biggs said. "This was a work of love from pretty much everyone involved."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Library hosts veterans program, screens 'Voices from Vietnam' film