FINAL 19

The Final 19

Directed by Timothy Breitbach
Viet Nam, U.S | 2021 | Documentary
106 minutes | English

"The Final 19" tells the harrowing true story of Sgt. Dan Hefel, one of the final 19 prisoners of war to come home from Vietnam. Hefel’s riveting, sometimes raucous first-person account is by turns intense, horrific, and blackly humorous. His Vietnam experiences included both a delirious bout with malaria and a broken back from the helicopter crash that led to his capture. The severely wounded Hefel managed to survive being carried through the jungle on a difficult journey, but during his subsequent imprisonment, he faced torture and exploitation as a propaganda pawn by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The film is directed by Hefel's cousin, St. Louisan Tim Breitbach.