Project Description:

This ambitious project will culminate in an exclusive four-episode documentary series that will shed light on the storied, military career of Sgt. Jorge Otero Barreto  and the pursuit of a Latina filmmaker to understand and tell his exciting story. The four episode docuseries will also  recount the struggles he went through with the military, as a Latino, to receive the proper recognition warranted by his martial prowess, recognition which had been acknowledged and promised by superiors but not acted upon. In this story Melissa Sue Lopez challenges a deceased Lieutenant General on his description of certain pertinent aspects of the battle of Phouc Yen, which did not correspond with his own or those of other members of his unit who over the course of those fateful days were the Tip of the Spear in the battle. The docuseries is an action-packed journey that revisits, through the unveiling of the life of a super soldier, a turbulent time in the history of the United States and the US Army’s struggles to support democracy and achieve peace in a troubled and divided Vietnam.

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Project Synopsis:

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“Willing to Kill, Willing to Die” simultaneously tells of the journey of a Latina filmmaker, unversed in military life, discovering the story of the military career of one of Vietnam’s most numerically decorated soldiers, Puerto Rican Sgt. Jorge Otero-Barreto, and recounts his many accomplishments and challenges. The documentary sheds light into how Sgt. Jorge Otero Barreto, also known as Sgt. Rock and the “Puerto Rican Rambo,” who served five tours in Vietnam, has become such a legendary soldier amongst his peers. The docuseries tells of the battles he has took part in, the units he was a part of, and how he was instrumental force in one of the most successful, and yet unsung, gritty battles of the Vietnam War. Through his story we begin to discover the injustice done not only to him, but also to his 1st Platoon soldiers and the soldiers of A Company 1/502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division as a whole in the misrepresentations of the Battle of Phuoc Yen. The Battle of culminated in the largest en masse surrender of NVA (the Northern Vietnamese Army) troops to an American Unit of the Vietnam War, A Company 1/502nd played an integral part in the successful outcome of this battle, a fact that has been glossed over in numerous official accounts. The series follows the timeline of important events of this time, exploring how turbulent the 1960’s were, from the assassinations of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers and President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mass demonstrations for Civil Rights, the political chaos in Southern Vietnam, and the United States’ role in attempting to mitigate this American societal and geopolitical upheaval.  In conclusion it is also our firm desire that the proper recognition be bestowed upon Sergeant Otero Barreto and his valiant soldiers who deserve the appropriate recognition for their service to our country, including the awarded of the Congressional Medal of Honor promised to him more than five decades ago.