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A question for you Vietnam vets
11BravoCrunchie
Member Posts: 33,423 ✭✭
I'm watching the movie "The Green Berets" and I can't help but wonder how true to life it is.
So my question for you guys who were in it is, did Hollywood hit close to the mark with that one?
So my question for you guys who were in it is, did Hollywood hit close to the mark with that one?
Comments
For quite a few years after my tour I was unable suffer through the movies being made because watching even the the things I hadn't been through were intolerable because I knew that some of our guys went through them.
After many years of avoiding any movie depicting the trials of combat vets in VN I was finally able to sit through them.
When asked by friends and family the same question you're asking (but not about a specific movie) my reply would be that I think that most of the deeds depicted were true to life but they didn't happen to just one guy/platoon/company or on any one operation.
So yes, Hollywood did hit close to the mark as far as events are concerned but they certainly used licence in to whom and when they took place.
Take a look at this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Berets_(film)
Just keep in mind: "Never believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see".
SS
The Vietnam War was a different experience for every single person who went through it. Like most wars, only a small fraction of those who went there ever saw real combat. Those who did saw it in spades.
I'm not a Hollywood apologist, but one must remember no matter how badly made the movie was, "The Green Berets" was a tribute at the time for the most elite force of the U.S. Army. John Wayne was instrumental in having the movie done with that objective in mind.
John Wayne made all his war movies as an apology for being a draft dodger...."Green Berets" was pure propaganda...Viet Nam was a terrible mistake. 55000 mistakes....
W.D.
Only movie that I saw about river patrol boats was Apocolypse Now (sp?) We sure as hell didn't water ski behind our patrol boats, (What great targets that would have made)& there weren't any sand beaches "Up the River" where I was either. Hollywood took some liberties with that one!! In my humble opinion, I believe they embellish most historical events on film!!!
I did get my * in a jam one night for "Skippin' Tracers" like stones on the pond....Pretty cool sight @ sundown!! Only problem, is they ricocheted into villages & the locals complained about stray rounds flying through their neighborhood...The dumb things we do when we we're young!! I still to this day don't know how they got word back to our HQ! Truth is stranger than fiction - And usually more fun!
Served with 3rd Force Recon in 1970-71. Spent 15 months in country and ran most of my long range recon patrols out of Vandigriff combat Base. Most were in the Ashau Valley. None of the crap you see in movies compare to anything we went thru.
Re: John Wayne, draft dodger. Go read up. Father of 3, damaged shoulder, classified 3-A. Had applied for Annapolis some years before.
I can't believe that's been around since '89 and I've never even heard about it.
I haven't had a bad dream for over 20 years but I think that's gonna change tonight. I should have paid more attention to 11b6r's warning.
I was the 13f1p in a squad like that for 6 months of my tour.
SS
john wayne and aldo ray would not have made in the special forces. too old and over weight. i call most of that movie b.s. mostly propaganda.
I agree with you ....
But the effect when they opened fire was about right.
Too big and too slow a target when they already had a price on their heads.
Most American men born prior to 1910 with families did not serve in WWII. Do we cast these individuals as draft dodgers too? I think not.
He(John Wayne) could have volunteered ,like all the other movie stars did....Bob Hope, Clark Gable( born 1901),Jimmy Stewart,and a host of others...Wayne was asked why he didn't serve,and he said he didn't want to interrupt his acting career...
quote:Originally posted by kimi
Most American men born prior to 1910 with families did not serve in WWII. Do we cast these individuals as draft dodgers too? I think not.
He(John Wayne) could have volunteered ,like all the other movie stars did....Bob Hope, Clark Gable( born 1901),Jimmy Stewart,and a host of others...Wayne was asked why he didn't serve,and he said he didn't want to interrupt his acting career...
Care to name the "host of others" that you claim, pwillie, say those born between 1900 and 1910, as it would be educational, I'd think.
Served a total of 39 months (18 months with a 11B mos)
I have a Vietnanese American grandson. My son's wife is a Vietnamese refugee. In Sept of 1971 my ship, USS Epperson DD719 was assigned to support the AVRN fighting the VC & NVA in the UMinh Forrest. Turns out the other grandfather, my daughter-in-law's dad, was an ARVN Infantry Lt., and was stationed north & east of the forrest. We used our guns to attack massing enemy troop concentrations and supply cashes that were later used to attack the other grandfather. He survived the war and over 6 years in the post war re-education camps ( concentration camps ) and finally got an opportunity to come to the U.S. I am proud to have him as family.
To all of you who believe VN was a mistake, if you are referring to how the U.S. managed the war, there is great truth in that. If you are commenting on our efforts to save a people from communism, I suggest you get to know some of the South Vietnamese who lived through the war. I know several different families. Everyone of them are greatful for our sacrifices.