'On Two Fronts' Highlights the Latino Experience in Vietnam

Premiering this week on PBS, the new documentary On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam explores the military service of men from the small mining town of Morenci, Arizona. Premiering at a moment when certain politicians are questioning the role of Latinos in American life, filmmaker Mylène Moreno takes a comprehensive look at events on both the homefront and the battlefront.

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On Two Fronts details the Latino American tradition of military service and how these men struggled to adapt in the context of a rising Chicano anti-war movement during the era.

“With this film, we wanted to look back, five decades later, with the benefit of hindsight, at the Vietnam War — at its costs and consequences — and ask some difficult questions about the price of war and citizenship,” said Moreno.

Like many good documentaries, On Two Fronts focuses on a narrow story and manages to illuminate broader truths about the era. In the context of detailing the Latino experience, the film also highlights the ways that experience paralleled the fates of working-class troops from other ethnic backgrounds.

Check your local PBS listings for airdates and times. Or watch it on demand in the PBS app this week.