Yes, there is a reason this won the Oscar in 86' and helped heal a nation of "closet vets"
I didn't know much about history, or where Vietnam was on the map before I saw this in 90' for the first time (my uncle is a vet, but never talked about it, I'm 34)
Since seeing this, I've become one of those wannabe Nam vet kids, almost joined up after 9/11 long story short I didn't go.
But I've studied the Vietnam war in depth, and history of war in general, this movie opened the door to all that, it finally cut through all the BS that movies like Apocalypse, FMJ, SPR, or even the new HSR continue to spew out.

Defiantly felt like that when I watched it for the first time. Still makes an impact on every subsequent viewing. Brilliant film!