Filtered by Time: A True Story of Success in Vietnam

Filtered by Time is the account based on real events of a young Infantry Captain deployed to Vietnam in 1964. The United States had not yet committed to direct combat but in the context of the Cold War, Ed Skillam and cadre of several thousands of American advisers have the mission to stop the advance of communism in the free world. Ed leads his newly formed team as they take up residence in a small river town in the Mekong Delta. Skillman believes his mission is noble. In spite of a growing anti-war feeling at home, which he ignores, Ed fully commits himself to his job. It becomes clear that the presence of Vietnamese Monks around violent incidents is more than coincidental. Dodging assassination attempts, Ed and his team help the District Chief open roads, capture weapons, and kill Viet Cong insurgents. Between the ambushes and land mines, Ed explores economic incentives. He focuses resources from the State Department, the CIA and the Department of Agriculture on a sugar cane crop which results in a second profit source for the local rice mill: molasses. Surrounded by hate and violence, Ed, none the less finds among the Vietnamese friendship, respect and an entrepreneurial spirit. But it takes forty years for historians and events to validate Ed's success.