Was O'Neil a coward at the end?
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GirlwonderReturns — 9 years ago(May 02, 2016 09:07 AM)
I hated O'Neill, I thought he was probably the biggest coward of the bunch (it's between him and Junior), but in that particular case, I thought it was actually smart. There were too many VC swarming around at that point, he only would have died in vain.
The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it. -
sfcwo2 — 9 years ago(May 30, 2016 11:20 AM)
It didn't really come across in the movie but in the book, the soldier was still alive and O'neil used him as a potential human shield. The VC were known to shoot/stab the "dead" as was shown in Junior's case. He took a big risk that the VC wouldn't fire into them or drop a grenade. A clear case of desertion before the enemy.
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sonofbeach-sheet — 9 years ago(May 30, 2016 06:03 PM)
Calling O'Neill a coward? Well, yes overall he was like during the first mini ambush when he threw the grenade and near the end when he tried to plead with Barnes to take off a few days.
His choice was to hide under the body or die unless he was lucky enough like Taylor to dodge every bullet. -
sfcwo2 — 9 years ago(May 31, 2016 07:07 AM)
In the military you may have to sacrifice your life if lawfully ordered. Pragmatism is great for armchair generals and those that haven't served. I'm sure their orders consisted of something like "hold this ridge. Don't let any through and no retreating." Guess what? That means confronting the enemy even at the risk of dying. Hell, he didn't even shoot the enemy in the back after they went by!! Had everyone done their duty and fired on the enemy, it may have delayed the enemy to allow more air/arty strikes; bought time for a maneuver element to flank them; time for reinforcements; ad infinitum. A soldier is just a cog in the machine that is EXPECTED to perform as ordered in order to contribute to the desired outcome.
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haynese_98 — 9 years ago(June 01, 2016 05:34 PM)
In the Nam a lot of soldiers did what they had to to survive. Fraggin' became a huge problem towards the end. Most soldiers will fight to save their buddies but when you gotz 10 days and a wake up left in the bush that's when it gets interesting!
Shall we play a game? -
nickm2 — 9 years ago(June 01, 2016 06:02 PM)
Fragging was mostly a 'behind the lines' problem where the grunts dealt with 'chicken shyte' officers their own way. Now in the fieldbeing a screw up & potentially getting your guys killed (regardless of rank) was sometimes 'dealt with' using a grenade (or five or six guys working you over with soap bars wrapped in towels)
Why can't you wretched prey creatures understand that the Universe doesn't owe you anything!? -
sfcwo2 — 9 years ago(June 01, 2016 06:41 PM)
LOL fragging is a lot different than a blanket party! Plus, fragging was employed against leadership whereas a blanket party is for motivation among the ranks. Our wing nut sounds like a true Fobbit. Good thing real soldiers handled perimeter security. Cowering in a bunker is exactly what the enemy wants you to do.
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stevekaczynski — 9 years ago(June 02, 2016 01:26 AM)
I think he was a coward. He probably spent all night hiding under a dead man, emerging only when the coast was clear. To be fair, he did not pretend to be a hero. Being put in charge at the end was the worst thing that could happen to him. He just wanted out of there. The only characters in the film more despicable were the rapist and Junior. O'Neil did have some comic value as a character.
"Chicken soup - with a beep straw." -
micirisi — 9 years ago(June 14, 2016 12:13 PM)
His argument, and I don't think much detail needs to go in here, is that O'Neil was a coward for hiding from the enemy under the body of one of his fellow men in an effort to just stay alive.
May not make much difference but the body O'Neil took shelter under appeared Asian. I always assumed it was the enemy. Also the NVA did not give the body the poke with a bayonet.
O'neil proclaimed himself a coward when he begged the Sgt. for a Hawaii leave shortly before the battle whimpering he had a "bad feeling."
Back to hiding under a body. The most fearsome enemy is one who will continue to attack even if it means certain death. The character O'neil was not a most fearsome enemy.
He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator. -
stevekaczynski — 9 years ago(June 15, 2016 12:49 AM)
As a temporary expedient when your position is overrun, it might be defensible to do that, so you can resume the fight when the attackers have gone past. But O'Neil probably hid there all night.
"Chicken soup - with a beep straw." -