Soul Patrol uncovers a hidden chapter of American military history by focusing on the Vietnam War’s first Black special ops team, an elite unit operating deep behind enemy lines. With unprecedented access to this once-secretive group of African-American veterans, director J.M. Harper reconstructs their journey with an immediacy rarely seen in Vietnam War storytelling, using raw Super 8 footage, photographs, and audio recordings from their personal archives. Opening on the war’s 50th anniversary, the surviving members reunite in a hotel that becomes a surreal liminal space, where memory, brotherhood, and unresolved trauma collide. As the men reflect on their experiences, the film interrogates the contradictions of fighting for freedom abroad while facing inequality at home. Soul Patrol is not just a war story, but a reckoning, an intimate portrait of survival, memory, and the enduring cost of war on those asked to fight it.
“Haunting, revelatory… Soul Patrol contributes a little-known chapter to the nation’s understanding of Vietnam War and Black history.” – Lisa Kennedy, Variety
“Exceptionally moving.” – Elizabeth Weitzman, The Wrap
“Jolting and heartbreaking” – Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
“Powerful… visceral and affecting” – Amber Wilkinson, Screen International
“A profoundly moving exploration of Vietnam’s first Black spec-ops team, J.M. Harper’s Soul Patrol is a fascinating window into a little-known story of military history.” – Christian Gallichio, The Playlist
