At the siege of Dien Bien Phu, he filmed the battle between the French Union forces and the Viet Minh, but his reels were captured when he surrendered to the enemy.

The following year in September, Schoendoerffer joins it and follows a 33-man platoon of GIs led by Black West Pointer Lieutenant Joseph B. Anderson (24) until October 1966.

The Anderson Platoon was screened in more than 20 countries and won several prizes, including an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film on April 10, 1968, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

He observed: After visiting different operations around the country, both army and Marine, he settled on the 1st Cav because of the new approach of our air mobility, or helicopter orientation.

[4]Captain Anderson discusses the death from friendly fire of a white soldier from California named Shannon, who is also introduced in the film.

The Anderson Platoon was broadcast on the French public channel ORTF's monthly show Cinq colonnes à la une on February 3, 1967.

[citation needed] This documentary was originally made for a French TV show and was released in theaters in the United States only.

[citation needed] In France it was available online April 26, 2006 as a VOD pay-per-view service through the National Audiovisual Institute's website hosting the ORTF archives.