KMOS Commemorates End of Vietnam War with new documentary

By Michael O’Keefe, April 14, 2025

 

 

 

“Manchu: A Brotherhood of Sacrifice” features Missouri veterans

 

“Manchu: A Brotherhood of Sacrifice,” premieres on KMOS-PBS channel 6.1 April 29 at 7 p.m. and on the PBS App. This film by Matt Wilcox recounts the story of the Manchus (U.S. Army 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25^th Infantry) and pays tribute to all who served and sacrificed during the Vietnam War. Among the many veterans who tell their stories in this film are Missourians Stan Adams (author of “Mokane to Mole City, A Manchu Vietnam Memoir”) and David Hosenfelt, both of Callaway County.

It was on April 30, 1975, that thousands of U.S. personnel and South Vietnamese civilians evacuated Saigon, ending the long-running Vietnam War. Fifty years later, on April 29, KMOS-PBS is proud to present this film on the anniversary of the Manchus’ initial arrival in the country. It was in 1966 when the unit first disembarked the ship USNS General Nelson M. Walker at Vung Tau, Vietnam and joined the 25th Infantry "Tropic Lightning" Division at Củ Chi Base Camp located northwest of Saigon. The unit has a rich history extending back to 1799, but at the time that Stan Adams was drafted in 1968, the unit had just weathered a devastating battle on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Hosenfelt was one of over fifty men wounded in that battle, which killed 18 Manchus and 6 crew members from the 187th Assault Helicopters (Crusaders). Although Hosenfelt returned to the unit and Adams had arrived as one of the replacement troops, the two did not connect until years later back in Fulton, Missouri. This was well after the time the Manchus built and defended ‘Mole City,’ their underground combat patrol base camp located near the Cambodian border.

The film features interviews with fourteen other veterans and serves to memorialize their fallen comrades. The project actually began when filmmaker Matt Wilcox, then a high school student interested in history, made a film from interviews with his shop teacher, Manchu Steve Knowlton. Years later they reconnected to expand the story and eventually partnered with Stan and his wife Rita (Russell) Adams. Together they organized interviews with scores of veterans, conducted research of the details to make this incredible film.

In May of 2024, the film was screened for over 400 people at a red-carpet event at William Woods University in Fulton. During the ceremony, Manchu and other Vietnam veterans were recognized and the city of Fulton honored the Callaway County veterans and 428 Manchus who were killed in the war.

The film will air again on KMOS channels 6.1 and 6.3, details available at kmos.org. In addition, KMOS is broadcasting the ten-part film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, “The Vietnam War” each Friday at 8 p.m.

 

Shown: Filmmaker Matt Wilcox with Manchu David Young