About the Show

Tour of duty premiered Septembyer 24, 1987 and ended April 28, 1990. It was the first television drama series about the Vietnam war and it focused on a single platoon (Company B) of young US soldiers through their one-year tour of combat duty in 1967. This was a time when their own country was rocked by a massive anti-war movement and these young men found themselves in combat in Southeast Asia, where they faced an enemy they could not see and sometimes could not kill. They also had to struggle with their own fears and try to keep themselves alive.

At this time the war had escalated to terrifying heights with 475,000 US troops sationed in South Vietnam. Like most units, Company B is a diverse mix of young men from across the United States. It's base is a remote firecamp made of sandbagged bunkers and protected by sourrounding minefields. The enemy they encounter is the North Vietnamese Army.

Company B's heart and soul is Sgt. Zeke Anderson (Terrence Knox), an amiable and popular sergeant who is on his third tour of duty in Vietnam and is determined to keep himself and his men alive. He shares a close bond and respect with Capt. Rusty Wallace (Kevin Conroy) who is the company commander and a patient leader, tolerant of the young soldiers for whome he is responisble. This group is rounded off by Lt Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey), a newly arrived officer who is anxious to assert his leadership despite his inexperience.

Tour of Duty went beyond the massive political turmoil by the War and showed a more human side of the conflict. It also addressed the issues of racism, suicide, fragging, terrorism, civilian deaths, drug abuse and the shattered lives of those troops who finally made it home alive.