BAT-21

Key Battles of American History

History

4.7 • 861 Ratings

🗓️ 20 September 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1988 film BAT-21, which is based on the true story of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Iceal “Ham” Hambleton, portrayed by Gene Hackman. After his aircraft is shot down behind enemy lines, Hambleton—an expert in electronic warfare with top-secret knowledge—must evade capture by North Vietnamese forces. The film centers on the intense rescue effort led by Capt. Bartholomew “Birddog” Clark, a reconnaissance pilot who maintains radio contact with Hambleton. The story highlights the dangers, sacrifices, and personal courage involved in the mission, culminating in a daring rescue under heavy enemy fire.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding
0:10.7	right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its size,
0:17.1	and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.
0:24.1	Welcome to Key Battles of American History,
0:26.7	a podcast in which we discuss American history
0:28.9	through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.
0:32.7	Here is your host, James Early.
0:43.4	Thank you. host, James Early. Hello and welcome back to key films of the Vietnam War.
0:46.5	I'm your host James Early, as always.
0:49.4	And as always, I am joined by my good buddy, Sean McIver.
0:53.6	This week, we're going to watch a film that Sean recommended when we were first talking
0:58.8	about this.
0:59.3	I'd actually never heard of it.
1:00.4	I somehow missed this one back in the 80s, but this goes pretty well with the regular
1:05.1	episode we discussed recently on the Air War, and the name of the film is Bat 21,
1:10.8	or sometimes they say 2-1 in the movie.
1:13.4	Bat-21 or Bat-21? What do you say for it, Sean? Probably from a military perspective,
1:18.5	it would be Bat-21, but we would probably call it Bat-21. Yeah, so we'll call it Bat-21,
1:24.1	even though, as I said, in the movie, they say it both ways. This film came out in
1:29.4	1988, so it's yet another one of the many films on our list that came out between
1:34.6	86 and 89. And as always, I will give you the basics about the film, and then Sean will
1:40.8	maybe give us a little bit of background information, some of the history behind
	...

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