Unknown Soldier

On Saturday, June 14, at 1 p.m., the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation will host a presentation of the documentary film Unknown Soldier at the Vietnam Era Educational Center in Holmdel. This film, written and directed by John Hulme, follows a son in his search to get to know the father he never met, a father killed in action in the Vietnam War.

John Hulme, of Highland Park, N.J., has been writing and making films for the past ten years. He co-created, wrote, and directed Vanishing Point, an original radio drama broadcast by National Public Radio’s American Playhouse. Some of his films have won awards including the Best Short Film award at the 1996 North Carolina Film Festival for the film 1/6 and the Best Short Film award at the 1996 Hamptons Film Festival for Winterlude. Unknown Soldier is his first feature-length film.

Three weeks after he was born, Hulme’s father was killed in Vietnam, before they ever had a chance to meet. Thirty years later, and documented in Unknown Soldier, Hulme tracks down everyone who once knew his father, from family members and childhood friends to those who fought with him in Vietnam, hoping to finally meet Lt. Jack Hulme inside their memories. What he uncovers is a life that mirrored the struggles of an entire generation … husbands vs. wives, soldiers vs. protestors, America vs. Vietnam. And by reliving that life, his father becomes more than a face in a photograph, or a name upon a wall. Hulme also discovers wounds that are painfully fresh, especially his mother’s. So using information taken from several first-hand witnesses, Hulme takes her back to Vietnam, to the place where her husband and his father spent the last few moments of his life, and they finally come to terms with his death.

Attendees are asked to RSVP one week prior to the event to (732) 335-0033. A donation of $5 per person is suggested. The Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial off the Garden State Parkway at exit 116. The Educational Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.. Regular admission is free for veterans and active-duty military personnel. Regular adult admission is $4; student and senior citizen admission is $2; and children under 10 are admitted free.