The documentary Soldier’s Bones examines the deadly aftermath of a US-led military campaign in Vietnam: Operation Speedy Express.

In 1971, 27-year-old Newsweek reporter Alec Shimkin uncovered a secret, US-led military campaign in Vietnam: Operation Speedy Express. The story was supposed to expose war crimes of unprecedented magnitude, on a scale that would make the infamous My Lai massacre pale in comparison, a story that was undoubtedly Pulitzer material.

But Alec's revelation never received the attention it deserved: his findings were published in Newsweek, but tucked away in a small section—far from the headline it should have been. Shortly afterward, Shimkin himself went missing in Vietnam. What happened to the story he wanted to tell?

Following Alec's quest and his youthful fascination with war, the documentary Soldier's Bones, directed by Kasper Verkaik, explores the deadly aftermath of Speedy Express in the Mekong Delta.