Talked to a Vietnam vet about this movie
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ozart2002-919-392694 — 10 years ago(January 06, 2016 06:53 PM)
Thanks for your service brother..you have just voiced what I have felt was a vast injustice to those of us who saw action weekly (I flew a UH-1C gunship in '66/'67 Central highlands), and we were in on everything that went on for a 100 mile radius (my one regret is that theree never seem to be any gunships in these movies - and the air assault in Apocalypse Now was comic book beep
There is a HUGE difference between a Viet Nam "veteran" and a "combat veteran". Not taking away anything from anyone ripped from home for 12 months in that cesspool, but there really needs to be a delineation when passing out the accolades. Theater ribbons and unit ribbons simply don't stack up to the Air Medals, Bronze stars, and purple Hearts that some of us can wear proudly.
Whatever our government's motivations, we can sleep at night knowing we did what we could to serve America, and I have never regretted a single moment my time there. Being so close to death so often makes one appreciate life that much more.
Be well, and live long. -
thinkmcfly16 — 10 years ago(February 15, 2016 10:22 AM)
This post makes sense, but perhaps not to non-combat veterans. There is a huge difference between a campaign ribbon and a combat action ribbon, or equivalent. Lots of armchair warriors with desk-driving ribbons who try to represent as combat experienced. Our military tends to take a whole host of support billets with it to support the warfighter a who truly are at the tip of the spear.
This is also why so many that served in a given campaign have such different impressions of what happened there and what did not happen there. -
ozart2002-919-392694 — 10 years ago(February 15, 2016 01:33 PM)
Well said, and thanks. Unfortunately, it isn't just the non-combat vets that need to take a step back.the public in general is completely clueless as well.
It should be painfully obvious that the view thru the cockpit windshield of my Huey would be considerably different from the view out of a hangar in Nha Trang. -
thinkmcfly16 — 10 years ago(February 15, 2016 06:32 PM)
One generalization that holds pretty true in my experience is that those who actually participated in close quarters combat are the least likely to talk about it, and that as one's service gets farther away from actual combat, the more that they have to say about thier service.
My wife's one great uncle was on Guadalcanal and never ever spoke one word about having served. Her other great uncle was a tanker in Patton's third army in Europe and also would not talk about it. A friend I have known and worked with for almost 25 years was a combat wounded SeaBee in Vietnam, and I knew him for over ten years before I knew it. He will not talk about it, although he did once refer to his position being overrun by the enemy, which resulted in many casualties. No details were shared.
A good friend was an F 8 fighter jock off of carriers at Yankee Station, and his squadron lost over half. He survived an ejection, and his brother, also a F8 fighter jock, ejected twice. They would only talk about the jet pilot parts of thier wartime experience.
Can't imagine the brass cojones it would take to fly a Huey into that. -
ozart2002-919-392694 — 10 years ago(February 15, 2016 07:05 PM)
Not really cojones, but a sense of duty, to the country and our brothers in arms. The one thing we had with relatives (both yours and mine)who fought 2 decades earlier (and directly opposite to how war is conducted today) was the need to actually
see
the enemy to kill them - no magical equipment to insulate us from that specific act of violence.
Like many you have mentioned, I am not prone to discussions about my service unless specifically asked to. We are not interested in any long-lasting glory (we know what we did, and why) - a simple 'Thank You' from the general populace would have been sufficient (and nice, too).
Thanks for the forum, and for being as understanding as you are of the 'combat' soldiers' true nature.humble, but proud. -
spasek — 10 years ago(February 23, 2016 06:52 PM)
That's his opinion, obviously. I had an uncle in Vietnam and he was a part of the regiment that was attacked at the end of the film. He also stated that it was the closest Vietnam film to capturing the experience that he'd ever seenso much so that he said he could barely watch it.
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riversideriverside — 10 years ago(February 26, 2016 06:25 PM)
The problem with the "never talked about it" phenomenon is that it created a stigma. If you talk about it then you are lying. And not talking about it is what people with resentments of various kinds want: e.g. poor performance in combat, jealousy, and so-called anti-war stances, etc. It's as if combat vets are being told to not talk about it, or else.
Still, it's amazing that so much is known about combat vets who don't talk about it. And what of the ones who write books about it or who have Purple Heart license plates? -
RoyWilliamsbeatsCoachK — 10 years ago(April 02, 2016 11:34 AM)
Every Veteran has their own stories to tell and experienced their own version of the war, and has their own opinion about the war on a micro and macro level.
I have met Vietnam veterans in both camps; some that really don't like Oliver Stone's take on the war or Platoon, and others who are very grateful to Stone and feel Platoon was as close to a true portray as possible.
I believe there is a place for both types of films. -
RoyWilliamsbeatsCoachK — 10 years ago(April 02, 2016 11:34 AM)
Every Veteran has their own stories to tell and experienced their own version of the war, and has their own opinion about the war on a micro and macro level.
I have met Vietnam veterans in both camps; some that really don't like Oliver Stone's take on the war or Platoon, and others who are very grateful to Stone and feel Platoon was as close to a true portray as possible.
I believe there is a place for both types of films. -
Staropramen — 9 years ago(July 27, 2016 09:59 PM)
Every Veteran has their own stories to tell and experienced their own version of the war, and has their own opinion about the war on a micro and macro level.
Interesting point. I had an uncle who fought with the infantry in WWII, in the European Theater. The ONLY thing he EVER said about the war when someone asked him about Saving Private Ryan was, "eh.. some of it was true to the experience, some was BS." Never said anything else. Ever.
Another man who used to make appearances at hunting trips my old man would take me on when I was much younger served in the same war and actually did not support the war or show any pride in his service. He certainly was an infantry Pfc. in the ETO, same as my uncle, but only once and very briefly mentioned his service in "that BS war." Bad experiences in the service? Who knows it was just a totally unexpected reaction to the history convo we were having, contrary to all the photos I had seen growing up of men rushing to enlist for the fight.
Granted these were not Vietnam War vets, but your remark made me recall these two men. -
MightyTiki — 9 years ago(April 25, 2016 04:23 AM)
Platoon
is a movie, designed for entertainment purposes; not a documentary. Not every Vietnam veteran was directly involved in combat, even though the director, Oliver Stone, served in-country for 7-months and was decorated; it's difficult to translate the combat experience to the big screen.
I saw this movie as a child and thought it was fantastic but having seen it after being deployed downrange; it was nearly comical, especially the scene where SGT Elias (Willem Dafoe) is killed.
Unfortunately, this movie is very dated and doesn't stand the test of time both as a narrative and it's attempt to capture the war experience.
"Toto, I've [
got
] a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."