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Jimmy in Saigon

By Sarah Axel

An Interview with Peter McDowell, filmmaker, Jimmy in Saigon.

Jimmy in Saigon is a heartwarming documentary film directed by Peter McDowell about his older brother, Jimmy, who served in Vietnam, returned there after his discharge, and died there while Peter was still young. During the film's production, Peter discovered a story that helped his family communicate more openly and gain a deeper understanding of Jimmy's life.

The film has been shown at over thirty film festivals and has been voted "Best Documentary" over ten times.

I met Peter at a reunion event at our high school, the University Laboratory High School (Uni) in Champaign-Urbana, IL. Like me, Peter is too young to have had peers subject to the draft, but the Vietnam War profoundly changed his family. I had the chance to interview him recently.

Q: When did your brother graduate from high school, and when was he drafted? With what unit did he serve and where?

Peter: He graduated from Uni in 1965 and then enrolled at the University of Chicago that fall. He dropped out of the University of Chicago near the end of his junior year in the Spring of 1968 and was drafted later that year. He served in the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 20th Engineer Brigade, Long Binh.

Q: How old were you when he left for Vietnam? And when he died?

Peter: He left for basic training in 1969 and for Vietnam in 1970. I was born in 1967, so he was really gone for most of my childhood. I was five years old when he died in 1972.

Q: What did you know about Jimmy growing up?

Peter: He was sort of a combination of a hero in our family, as well as being a taboo subject—a name not said out loud but only whispered. Everybody loved him—I knew he was smart and funny, but we weren't really supposed to talk about his death. It was all considered a tragedy.

Q: When did you decide to investigate what actually happened? Did you plan to make a movie about Jimmy from the start of your investigation?

Peter: I thought about making this kind of movie since the 1990s, when I took a film and video class in grad school at the University of Wisconsin. I created some short films in the 1990s that achieved success at film festivals. In 2010, when I began working on Jimmy in Saigon, I initially conceived it as an oral history project with my family and his friends. However, it quickly became clear that it could stand on its own as a documentary film.

Q: As I recall from the film, at the start, you had only a photo of Jimmy with another guy on the beach, a couple of letters from Jimmy, and a letter from a girlfriend in Vietnam. How did you know where to start?

Peter: I read all of the letters that we had. My mom was a meticulous saver of nostalgic objects (a pack rat!), and she had all of the letters he ever sent her. One of his friends also saved Jimmy's letters. I tried to piece together his life based on the letters and other clues. I got on the internet and made phone calls, contacting people like mad. My goal was to interview (on camera or off camera) everyone who had ever known him.

Q: You traveled to Vietnam several times to make this film. Tell me about those trips.

Peter: My first trip was in 2016. I was looking for Vietnamese people who knew Jimmy around the time of his death, and I wanted to walk in his footsteps. The trip was overwhelming, in a good way. I loved the country and its people, and I had a really wonderful crew. We got a lot of great footage and made progress, but we didn't crack the mystery we were hoping to solve. Then, in 2018, I discovered the answer to an unsolved issue that helped me envision finishing the film. This allowed me to return to Vietnam in 2019, where I was able to interview key subjects and film important locations. I hope to return to Vietnam soon to visit and, hopefully, to screen the film.

Q: Overall, the story you uncovered about Jimmy was very different from the story your family had before your investigation. In addition to learning why he had returned to Vietnam after his discharge, you also discover that the cause of death listed on Jimmy's death certificate was incorrect—he didn't die from a drug overdose. You also found people who knew your brother and loved him as if he were family.

How did your discoveries and the making of Jimmy in Saigon change your family?

Peter:: I think the very notion of talking openly about the truth, and not hiding family secrets, was the core of this journey for my family. We are getting along better than ever, partially because we are committed to being open, supportive, and honest. The nature and cause of his death remain murky to me. I have evidence that he was a heavy drug user, and I do believe that contributed to his death from a bacterial infection.

Q: Do you think Jimmy's story has a particular message for Vietnam veterans?

Peter: Perhaps the message is that it's never too late for healing; it's never too late to talk about things that happened 50 years ago. It's good for the heart and soul to purge secrets, seek the truth, and look for emotional honesty. And don't be afraid to reach out and try to locate those lost friends from way back then, long ago.

Q: I found the film intensely touching and uplifting and would encourage people to watch it.

Peter: Thank you so much—that means so much to me!

Jimmy in Saigon is now available to rent or buy on multiple platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Prime Video. To see a screening, check www.jimmyinsaigon.com To arrange a private screening, contact peter@petermcdowell.com

Sarah Axel is a reader of The Veteran. She is from Urbana, IL, and graduated from Uni High (University Laboratory School) in 1977. Too young to have had peers in the service in Vietnam, she was old enough to remember the nightly Vietnam War news and the campus protests. She will soon be taking a trip to Bangkok, Laos, Cambodia, and Ho Chi Minh City.