Platoon

Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first film of a trilogy of Vietnam War films by Stone (followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth). Stone wrote the story based upon his experiences as a U.S. infantryman in Vietnam to counter the vision of the war portrayed in John Wayne's The Green Berets. It was the first Hollywood film to be written and directed by a veteran of the Vietnam War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon_(film)).
Taglines: The first casualty of war is innocence.
Release Date: 29 April 1987 (Netherlands)
Also Known As: Pelotón
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/)
One of three Vietnam-based films released within 9 months of each other in 1986-87. The other two were Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987) and John Irvin's Hamburger Hill (1987) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

The Green Berets is een Amerikaanse oorlogsfilm uit 1968 onder regie van Ray Kellogg, John Wayne en Mervyn LeRoy (http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Berets). The Green Berets is a 1968 American war film set in Vietnam, featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book.
Thematically, The Green Berets is strongly anti-communist and pro-Saigon. It was produced in 1968, at the height of American involvement in the Vietnam War, the same year as the Tet offensive against the largest cities in South Vietnam. John Wayne, concerned by the anti-war atmosphere in the United States, wanted to make this film to present the pro-military position. He requested and obtained full military co-operation and materiel from President Johnson. To please the Pentagon, who were attempting to prosecute Robin Moore for revealing classified information, Wayne bought Moore out for $35,000 and 5 percent of undefined profits of the film.
At Fort Bragg, cynical newspaper reporter George Beckworth (David Janssen) is at a Special Forces briefing about the American military involvement in the war in Vietnam. The briefing at Gabriel Demonstration Area (named for SGT Jimmy Gabriel, the first "Green Beret" soldier killed in Vietnam), includes a demonstration and explanation of the whys and wherefores of participating in the Vietnam War.
Skeptical civilians and journalists are told that multinational Communism is what the U.S. is fighting in Vietnam; proof: weapons and equipment, captured from North Vietnamese soldiers and Vietcong guerrillas, manufactured in the Soviet Union, Communist Czechoslovakia, and Communist China ... The film's origins began in 1965 with a trip by John Wayne to South Vietnam, and his subsequent decision to produce a film about the Army special forces deployed there as a tribute to them.[6] Wayne was a steadfast supporter of American involvement in the war in Vietnam. He co-directed the film, and turned down the "Major Reisman" role in The Dirty Dozen to do so.
Much of the film was shot in the summer of 1967 (before the Tet Offensive) at Fort Benning, Georgia. The United States Army provided several UH-1 Huey attack helicopters, a C-7 Caribou light transport, and the United States Air Force supplied two C-130 Hercules transports as well as film footage of an AC-47 Puff, the Magic Dragon gunship and a Skyhook recovery for use in the film. The Army also provided authentic uniforms for use by the actors, including the OG-107 green and "Tiger Stripe" Tropical Combat Uniform (jungle fatigues), with correct Vietnam War subdued insignia and name tapes. Some of the "Vietnamese village" sets were so realistic they were left intact, and were later used by the Army for training troops destined for Vietnam. The commander of the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning can be seen shooting trap with John Wayne in the film. He can be identified as the only soldier wearing the Vietnam-era "baseball" fatigue cap; the rest wear green berets. The soldiers exercising on the drill field which Wayne shouts to were Army airborne soldiers in training. The defensive battle that takes place during the movie is very loosely based on the Battle of Nam Dong, during which two Viet Cong battalions and the PAVN attacked the Nam Dong CIDG camp located in a valley near the Laotian border of the South Vietnam Central Highlands. The camp was defended by a mixed force of Americans, Australians and South Vietnamese troops on 6 July 1964. For his actions at Nam Dong, Captain Roger C. Donlon was the first American to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Australian Warrant Officer Kevin Conway was the first Australian to be killed in action in the Vietnam War during the battle  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Berets_(film)).

We sat on the ground in Dong Ha and drank beer and watched “The Green Berets.” It was probably sometime in 1969. We laughed, we swore, we threw our empties at the screen.
It has taken years to fully appreciate that moment, to truly savor the experience of watching a movie about a war that was all around us and realizing, quickly, that what was on that makeshift screen was bunk. It was over-the-top preposterous. And we, in our grubby boots and utilities, were an audience uniquely qualified to say we would not be taken in by John Wayne and his faded brand of American invincibility. So we filed our reviews with airborne beer cans. And we moved on, carrying a memory of a time and a place when fantasy and reality mixed in a weird, twisted way.
In the years since, “The Green Berets” has become the “Reefer Madness” of war movies. In the hard light of history, the movie becomes a goof, a collection of tired, discredited, and laughable assumptions. It is war presented as some would have it but not as it really is.
But it can be seen as a turning point. It can be seen as the last American war movie to let the myth of battlefield glory run away with it. It’s almost as if moviemakers took a look at “The Green Berets” and said “never again.” (www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2015/01/24/american-sniper-best-american-war-movie/zgjmbyfcnuKcm6xNT6Ww7O/story.html).

Vietnam, despite being a war of much unrest and controversy, has established itself as a very attractive conflict amongst film makers. Oliver Stone’s Platoon is arguably one of the best ‘nam movies ever, encapsulating the essence of the war in an objective yet hands-on manner (http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-war-movies-all-time/2/).


During the Vietnam War, about two-third of American troops were volunteered, the rest were selected for military service through the drafts. In the beginning of the war, the names of all American men in draft-age were collected by the Selective Service.
...
Most of U.S. soldiers drafted during the Vietnam War were men from poor and working-class families. The least political power sections were mistreated. As a matter of fact, American forces in Vietnam included twenty-five percent poor, fifty-five percent working-class, twenty percent middle-class men, but very few came from upper-classes families. Many soldiers came from rural towns and farming communities.
...
Highly prominent political figures who were accused of improperly avoiding the draft includes Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney. Some other Americans fled to Canada to avoid the drafts. These people were derogatorily referred as “draft dodgers” – a very popular term during the Vietnam war. These facts led the public to believe that U.S. draft policies were unfair.
In an attempt to make the draft more equal, on 1 December 1969, the Selective Service System conducted the first lottery draft since 1942 (http://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-draft/).

On December 1, 1969, the Selective Service System of the United States conducted two lotteries to determine the order of call to military service in the Vietnam War for men born from 1944 to 1950. These lotteries occurred during "the draft"—a period of conscription, controlled by the President, from just before World War II to 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_lottery_(1969)).



Drawn from Oliver Stone's own personal experiences as an Army combat infantryman in Vietnam. He wrote it quickly upon his return from action and partly to counter the false depiction of war he had seen in John Wayne's The Green Berets (1968). Banned in Vietnam because of its depiction of the Vietnamese (http://dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=5246).


Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture and based on the first-hand experience of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, Platoon is powerful, intense and starkly brutal. "Harrowingly realistic and completely convincing" (Leonard Maltin), it is "a dark, unforgettable memorial" (The Washington Post) to every soldier whose innocence was lost in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam (www.epdrama.org/movie/Platoon-The-Movie-Oliver-Stone//#.VTzB2yHtlBc).

1987 ACADEMY AWARDS (OSCAR):
- Best Picture (Won)
- Best Director: Oliver Stone (Won)
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Berenger (Nominated)
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Willem Dafoe (Nominated)
- Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Oliver Stone (Nominated)
- Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson (Nominated)
- Best Film Editing: Claire Simpson (Won)
- Best Sound: John Wilkenson, Richard D. Rogers, Charles Grenzbach, Simon Kaye (Won)
 (www.deppimpact.com/platoon.php).

Platoon tells the story of idealistic new recruit Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen) as he embarks on his first tour of duty in the deadly, booby-trapped jungles of Vietnam. The movie sees Taylor’s patriotism crumble within days of joining a platoon of demoralized and battle weary soldiers as they fight a losing battle in one of the most controversial conflicts of the 20th Century (www.discoveryuk.com/web/the-true-story/about/platoon/).

In 1967, Chris Taylor has dropped out of college and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. Assigned to Bravo Company, 25th Infantry Division near the Cambodian border, he is worn down by the exhausting conditions, and his enthusiasm for the war wanes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon_(film)).

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young American who has abandoned a privileged life at a university to enlist in the infantry, volunteering for combat duty in Vietnam. The year is 1967 and upon arrival, he sees dead soldiers in body bags being loaded into his plane, but more distressing to him is the shellshocked state of a departing soldier with the thousand-yard stare.
Taylor and several other replacements have been assigned to Bravo Company, 25th Infantry division, "somewhere near the Cambodian border." Worn down by the exhausting work and living conditions, his enthusiasm for the war wanes quickly and he develops an admiration for the more experienced soldiers, despite their reluctance to extend their friendship.
One day, another new arrival, platoon commander Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses) discusses the plans for a patrol later that night with the platoon sergeants: the compassionate Sergeant Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe), harsh but hard core Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), cowardly lifer Sergeant Red O'Neil (John C. McGinley), and drug addict Sergeant Warren (Tony Todd). Barnes and Elias argue over whether to send the new men out on a patrol that is likely to be ambushed (www.epdrama.org/movie/Platoon-The-Movie-Oliver-Stone//#.VTzB2yHtlBc).

The Oliver Stone motion picture entitled “Platoon”, which came out in 1986 and starred Tom Berringer, Willem DeFoe and Charley Sheen, was a pretty gory testament to one platoon in the American war in Vietnam, and specifically to the soldiers of an infantry unit that served in a battle at a fire support base called FSB Burt .... When the film makers made the documentary for the film “The Real Story, Platoon”, they used testimony and factual information gathered from interviewing the men who were at FSB Burt and the horrific fight that ensued there on January 1st and 2nd of 1968 (http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.nl/2013/06/the-real-story.html).

The film was marketed with the tag line, "The first casualty of war is innocence", an adaptation of Senator Hiram Johnson's assertion in 1917 that "The first casualty of war is the truth".[12] (C.f. Aeschylus (525–456 BC), "In war, truth is the first casualty.") (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon_(film))

The characters in the movie are in the Army, but on the cover, the dog tags that make up the two "O"s in Platoon read USMC (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?tab=gf&ref_=tt_trv_gf). The dog tags which make up the double O's in the poster for the film are those of Willem Dafoe's character Sgt. Elias Grodin. Grodin, Elias K. 3365664125 USKC-987654 (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).



After his tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1968, Oliver Stone wrote a screenplay called Break: a semi-autobiographical account detailing his experiences with his parents and his time in Vietnam....The unproduced screenplay Break was the result, eventually providing the basis for Platoon....After penning several other produced screenplays in the early 1970s, Stone came to work...Producer Martin Bregman attempted to elicit studio interest in the project, but Hollywood was still apathetic about Vietnam....most studios were still reluctant to finance The Platoon, as they feared a film about the Vietnam War would not attract an audience. After the release of The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, they then cited the perception that these films were considered the pinnacle of the Vietnam War film genre as reasons not to make The Platoon. ....Then Stone's script for what would become Salvador was passed to John Daly of British production company Hemdale. Once again, this was a project that Stone had struggled to secure financing for, but Daly loved the script and was prepared to finance both Salvador and The Platoon off the back of it. Stone shot Salvador first, before turning his attention to what was by now called Platoon.
Platoon was filmed on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, starting in February 1986. The production of the film, on a scheduled date, was almost canceled because of the political upheaval in the country due to then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, but with the help of well-known Asian producer Mark Hill, the shoot went on as scheduled. The shoot commenced 2 days after Marcos fled the country. It lasted 54 days and cost $6.5 million. The production made a deal with the Philippine military for the use of military equipment. The film had real Vietnamese refugees acting in different roles in the film. Filming was done chronologically. Scenes were shot in Mount Makiling (Los Banos) for the forest scenes, Cavite (for the river and village scenes) and Villamor air base near Manila.
 Upon arrival in the Philippines, the cast was sent on a two-week intensive training course, during which they had to dig foxholes and were subject to forced marches and nighttime "ambushes" which utilized special-effects explosions. Stone explained that he was trying to break them down, "to mess with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don't give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation... the casual approach to death".Willem Dafoe said "the training was very important to the making of the film," including its authenticity and the camaraderie developed among the cast: "By the time you got through the training and through the film, you had a relationship to the weapon. It wasn’t going to kill people, but you felt comfortable with it." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon_(film)).


At the beginning of the Vietnam War, the M14 was replaced by the CAR-15 or CAR's, which had(as the above poster mentioned)an open flash suppressor that would not only singe your eyebrows, but would also get caught up in the foliage quite often. The CAR-15 was quickly replaced by the M-16, but some of the old school soldiers did like the compact and "exotic" look of the CAR, while some preferred the reliability and pinpoint accuracy of the M-14. This would correspond with the timeline in which Elias and Barnes entered service.
I believe that for all intents and purposes, most Vietnam movies/tv programs use the two different rifles to easily identify who holds rank in a platoon since it's incredibly difficult to see their stripes...This is false. The M-14 was not replaced by the CAR-15. It was replaced by the "AR-15" (the AR standing for Armalite, the company most instrumental in its development), which was designated as the M-16 (and the M-16E1, the latter having a forward assist, the former lacking one) when it was adopted. Improvements quickly followed, including chrome lining for the chamber and bore, different propellent powder in the ammunition, etc.  The CAR-15 is a later variant of the M-16, and as shown in the film includes a very long flash suppressor (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/board/nest/224558203?ref_=tt_bd_5).


Staff Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias both carry Cold Steel brand knives, which were not manufactured until the 1980s....Both SSG Barnes and SGT Elias are seen carrying M16A2 rifles (round hand grips and collapsible stocks). These rifles were not available until the early 1980s (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?tab=gf&ref_=tt_trv_gf). Sgt. Elias and SSgt. Barnes carry the Colt 653P standing in for the XM177 (albeit poorly) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

The M16 rifle, officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16, is the United States military select-fire adaptation of the AR-15 rifle. The rifle was adapted for semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. The rifle entered United States Army service and was deployed for jungle warfare operations in South Vietnam in 1963, becoming the U.S. military's standard service rifle of the Vietnam War by 1969, replacing the M14 rifle in that role. The U.S. Army retained the M14 in CONUS, Europe, and South Korea until 1970 (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_rifle).


Music used in the film includes Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane and "Okie From Muskogee" by Merle Haggard. During a scene in the "Underworld" the soldiers sing along to "The Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, which also featured in the film's trailer. The soundtrack also includes "Ride of the Valkyries" (in reference to Apocalypse Now, an earlier Vietnam War film that starred Charlie Sheen's father, Martin Sheen, in a leading role); "Groovin'" by The Rascals and "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon_(film)).

Stone makes a cameo appearance as the battalion commander of 3/22 Infantry in the final battle, which was based on the real-life New Year's Day Battle of 1968 that Stone took part in while in Vietnam. Dale Dye, who played Bravo company's commander Captain Harris, is a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who also acted as the film's technical advisor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platoon_(film)).

Factual error: At the end of the film in a scene when company Bravo is defending after a VC attack the company commander (Dale Dye) is wearing Y-type pistol belt suspenders, which were not introduced until 1974 (www.moviemistakes.com/film985).

Continuity mistake: In one scene as they are walking towards a village a shot shows them walking next to a river. Whilst it is meant to be raining and the troops are wearing raincoats have a look at the river. There is no splashing as droplets land, indicating that it wasn't raining at that particular moment. The rain was merely water sprayed in front of the camera (www.moviemistakes.com/film985).
Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him. While his two commanding officers (Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, the conflict, chaos and hatred permeate Taylor, suffocating his realities and numbing his feelings to man's highest value - life (www.deppimpact.com/platoon.php).


Originally Charlie Sheen was turned down for the main role of Chris because it was felt he was too young for the part. His older brother Emilio Estevez was offered the part but the project fell apart due to financial problems. Two years later the project was given the go-ahead, but Estevez had already committed to other projects. Charlie Sheen again read for the part and won it....The movie is narrated by Charlie Sheen, eerily echoing his father Martin Sheen's narration of another Vietnam war movie, Apocalypse Now (1979), also filmed extensively on location in the Philippines. (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).




The movie poster depicting Elias with his hands in the air, is a recreation of a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon. This photograph was recognized as the 13th greatest military photograph in a Sept 2000 issue of the Army/Navy/AF Time (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

The character of Bunny (Kevin Dillon) takes at least some of his lines and characteristics from the book 'Nam by Mark Baker. 'Nam is a collection of first hand accounts of soldiers who were in the Vietnam war, first published in the early 1980's. The line, "The only worry you had was dying, and if that happened you wouldn't know it anyway. So what the fuck" comes directly from the "Baptism of Fire" chapter of the book (p. 67). In addition, a soldier in the "Grunts" chapter of the book "had a scalp hanging off his helmet" at the back as does the character of Bunny in the film......Bunny tries to encourage Junior by saying "You're hanging out with Audie Murphy here my man!". Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and at least 32 other medals during his war-career. Murphy became a household name after he was featured on the cover of Life Magazine in 1945 and his subsequent movie roles (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

Audie Leon Murphy was the most "decorated" (was awarded the most service medals) soldier that served during World War II. He became quite famous and was a hero to Army soldiers for decades and is still widely remembered to this day. The reference to "decorated" can be misconstrued as medals considered to be "worthless." Far from it...Audie Murphy was awarded the Medal Of Honor and every other medal for bravery in combat, sometimes in multiples. He was also awarded France's and England's version of the Medal of Honor. Murphy was a small guy but was a wrecking crew against the Germans. He received a "battlefield" commission and got out as a captain. His wounds deprived him of his biggest dream which was going to West Point, so instead he became an actor. He later died in an airplane accident (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/faq?ref_=tt_faq_2#.2.1.11).

Just before the initiation of the end-fight, a NVA soldier is seen planting a yellow "axe" made of bamboo. The "axe" was a pointer to guide the NVA soldiers to the American base (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

At the initiation of the end-fight, Raha tells Taylor air cover is coming in with "Snake and Nape", meaning the typical Vietnam CAS load out 250-lb. Mk-81 Snakeye bombs and 500-lb. M-47 napalm canisters (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).



Continuity mistake: After the napalm has been dropped and Charlie Sheen is blackened from the fire (and others are dead and burned), the vegetation is all still green and unscathed. Shouldn't that also be burned and destroyed from the napalm? (www.moviemistakes.com/film985)


Interestingly, although not in the script, Taylor is seen on the verge of pulling the pin of a grenade, only to drop it as reinforcements come to Taylor. (Charlie Sheen thought that Taylor would be committing suicide after killing Barnes. Oliver Stone thought that the mistake was good so he decided to keep it in the film.) (/www.epdrama.org/movie/Platoon-The-Movie-Oliver-Stone//#.VTzB2yHtlBc).


Toward the end of the film, when the reinforcements arrive after the battle, Rhah (Francesco Quinn) reaches into a dead VC's breast pocket, pulls something out, and keeps it, while looking around nervously. The item he is removing is heroin, which VC soldiers used as a painkiller. Many heroin-addicted US troops did the same thing. The scene implies that Rhah's mystical quality is a symptom of a larger problem (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

According to Oliver Stone, he intentionally cast Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe against type (Berenger, who played the ruthless, sadistic Sgt. Barnes, was mostly famous at that point for playing good guys, while Dafoe, who had primarily played villains up until then, played the heroic, compassionate Sgt. Elias). The casting worked, and both men received Oscar nominations for their work (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv).

Platoon hit the silver screen in 1986 on a small budget with a cast of then unknown actors but gained worldwide acclaim for its gritty portrayal of the horrors of the Vietnam War.
Oliver Stone wanted Platoon to be the most realistic war movie of all time and it was based on his own experiences as a solider in the conflict. But how much of it was real and how much was adapted for Hollywood fiction? (www.discoveryuk.com/web/the-true-story/about/platoon/, www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/the-real-story/platoon/679/3375247).

Platoon got an Academy Award for Best Picture of 1986, and Platoon’s director Oliver Stone was awarded the Academy’s Best Director nod. Stone wrote the script based on his experiences as an infantryman in Vietnam.
Ignacio Medina, however, wasn’t impressed with Stone’s tale of betrayal and murder in the jungles of Vietnam, not at all.
“People who have never been to Vietnam might think it is a good movie because of the action. A good 50 percent of the movie is nothing but baloney,” said Mr. Medina.  “It is not realistic – especially the combat situations they show in the film.”
That is what he told the El Paso Herald-Post 27 years ago when he agreed to review it for the newspaper, and the movie was just being released across the nation.
Mr. Medina wasn’t a movie critic looking at Platoon through the sterilized filter of a Hollywood lens.  His  thick military resume noted credentials and experience: Served in World War II, Korea and three tours of Vietnam.  Two of those tours with the 25th Infantry Division, which was the combat unit depicted in Platoon. In Vietnam, he was awarded the Silver Star for bravery on the battlefield.  Before retiring, he attained the highest rank that a non-commissioned officer can get in the Army, command-sergeant-major.  Before retiring he was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas....Here is some of what Mr. Medina told me back then about Platoon:
“I never saw one GI shoot another GI just because he couldn’t get along with him. Violence among the soldiers almost didn’t exist especially when they went out in the jungle on a mission or patrol. They were as close to each other as brothers, trying to stay alive and accomplish the mission.”...“I got upset (by the movie) because it happened to be the 25th Infantry Division. I had experience with both battalions with the division, the “Wolfhounds” and the “Bobcats.” I never saw anybody fighting among themselves like they did in the movie.”
“You didn’t have the fragging until after 1969 when the drug situation got out of hand. Fragging happened everywhere in Vietnam, in fighting units as well as the support units based in the rear areas.” (Raul Hernandez , www.cjnotebook.com/american-sniper-platoon-and-the-baloney-factor/).

Was de film wat bier betreft wel realistisch en juist?

When the soldiers are celebrating in the tent early in the film, they are drinking Budweiser from two-piece stay-tab cans with UPC symbols. Container companies introduced the two-piece can in 1974, the stay-tab in 1975 and the UPC symbol in 1978. Budweiser introduced the can style used in the movie in 1981.
When Bunny is in the tent talking to Junior, he opens his beer can with a "church key" (can opener). But when Lieutenant Wolfe walks in and Bunny bites a piece out of the can, it has a pop-top and shows no sign of having been opened with a "church key" (www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/trivia?tab=gf&ref_=tt_trv_gf).


Factual error: Bunny bites an aluminum beer can in half. Beer cans weren't aluminum until the mid 70s. He would have hurt his mouth on that one (www.moviemistakes.com/film985).


WHAT IS A CHURCHKEY?
A churchkey is the opener used to open a flat top beer can. It’s called a churchkey for several reasons. The original openers used on bottles (before beer cans existed) looked similar to a large old fashion keys used by monks to open the church, as well as keep the precious beer they brewed safe. The name was then adopted to all tools used to open beer–with an ironic twist–for it is said if you used a churchkey opener (i.e. if you drank beer) you would be less likely to open the door of a church to attend service (www.churchkey.com/faq.html).


A churchkey or church key is any of various kinds of bottle openers and can openers.
A churchkey initially referred to a simple hand-operated device for prying the cap (called a "crown cork") off a glass bottle; this kind of closure was invented in 1898, although there is no evidence that the opener was called a "church key" at that time.The shape and design of some of these openers did resemble a large simple key.
In 1935, beer cans with flat tops were marketed, and a device to puncture the lids was needed. The same term, "church key", came to be used for this new invention: made from a single piece of pressed metal, with a pointed end used for piercing cans — devised by D.F. Sampson for the American Can Company, who depicted operating instructions on the cans, and typically gave away free "quick and easy" openers with their beer cans.
The term in the beverage-opening sense is apparently not an old one; Merriam-Webster finds written attestation only since the 1950s. Several etymological themes exist. The main one is that the ends of some bottle openers resemble the heads of large keys such as have traditionally been used to lock and unlock church doors. The other is that jocularity helped propel the popular spread of the name, with the joke being that opening a beer is an activity that usually has little to do with pious or ecclesiastical circumstances—historical connections between monasteries and brewing notwithstanding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchkey).






Was er Budweiser in Vietnam?


I remember a number of American beer brands being available in-country that year... Pabst Blue Ribbon, Carling Black Label, Budweiser... I even had some Ballantine's once!
One thing that I found interesting, was that all of the cans of beer that we got over there were the old style (pre-"pop top") cans that required a can-opener (a/k/a "church key"), even though pop tops had been in widespread use in the US for several years.  I guess that there must have been some kind of problem in transporting pop-top cans across the Pacific by ship. Maybe some of you swabbies might know why that was.
As for the local Vietnamese stuff, there was "Ba Moui Ba" - Biere "33", which came in a bottle about the size of a US 12 oz., and tasted OK, most of the time. The other local beer was called "Tiger Beer", but was actually named Biere Larue, and usually came in a one liter bottle.  This stuff was very inconsistent in quality.  Some bottles tasted bitter, some like formaldehyde, and even vinegar!  But occasionally (about once out of 3 or 4) you hit one bottle that was about as good tasting as you could ever find (www.mrfa.org/Beer.Soda.htm).






Now we all know that MPs were NOT allowed to drink beer during their tour of duty in Vietnam..... must have taken this can of Pabst Blue Ribbon into evidence and is just inspecting it. Some of the other beers we were not allowed to drink were Black Label, Budweiser and Ba Muoi Ba, or the Vietnamese "33" beer.  Of course we adhered to this rule strictly (www.geocities.ws/militarypoliceofvietnam/WeWereSoldiers.html).


One could be buying beer from a villager during the day and at night they could be your worst enemy (www.mywarhistory.com/browse/printPreview.aspx?serviceHeroId=28).


The Vietnam War was a debilitating defeat for the Unites States, inspiring much opposition both at home and abroad. Whether from the war’s unpopularity, or the schizophrenic nature of guerilla jungle fighting in a region that had not known peace in centuries, drug use among US soldiers was rampant. One of those drugs was alcohol. “Beer was everywhere. I remember seeing pallets of it stacked up outside at the base,” says Wenatchee, WA, psychologist Dr. James Goodwin, who was a Marine sergeant at the time. Many different brands of American beer were available, and soldiers usually preferred them to the Vietnamese-made “33” lager, known as “bam-e-bam” or “tiger piss.” (http://allaboutbeer.com/article/beer-goes-to-war/)



Ba Moui Ba, (Vietnamese for Thirty Three) or '33' Beer
This Danang-brewed golden lager was produced by France's Brasseries et Glacieres Internationales, until the plant was nationalized after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. After nationalization, Vietnamese-made beer was excluded from most major export markets other than Japan for years, and the French continued to produce 33 outside Vietnam under worldwide license. The Vietnamese beer became known as 333 (or "ba ba ba"), and the 33 vs. 333 dispute plagued Vietnamese brewing for decades. Heineken's Saigon Brewery Co. now produces "33" (www.ichiban1.org/html/memorabilia.htm).

"If you are bound for Viet-Nam, it is for the deeply serious business of helping a brave nation repel Communist invasion. This is your official job and it is a vital one."
"The dangers of ambush and raid will make sightseeing impossible in some places; but, when security restrictions permit, be sure to see something of the lovely country you are visiting and get acquainted with the charming-and tough and couragous-people who call Viet-Nam home."
(DA Pam 20-198,  A Pocket Guide to Viet-Nam. www.ichiban1.org/html/memorabilia.htm)

Er is ook een variant van Beer Pong van (www.tailgateman.com/vietnam-war-beer-pong/, http://drinklaughchug.solidcoding.com/game/Vietnam-War, http://mrphan.tumblr.com/post/7785064868):

The two teams in this version of beer pong are, you guessed it, the US and the Viet Cong.  The Viet Cong fill up 10 cups and scatter them around their half of the table (and can also move them in between rounds).  The US also fills 10 cups, but places them in the standard beer pong triangle (4-3-2-1).  As always, use judgment for how high to fill each cup...Now here is where the history lesson comes in.  When the US hits one of the scattered Viet Cong cups, the beer is consumed and the cup is permanently removed from the game.  But when the Viet Cong hit a US cup, the US drinks…and then fills the cup right back up again.  The game ends either when the US hits all 10 of the Viet Cong cups or the US forfeits.  The US can usually win the first few battles, but things tend to get dicey around game 3 (www.tailgateman.com/vietnam-war-beer-pong/).
Special Attacks:
Vietnam: Tet OffensiveThis special attack gives the Vietnam team 2 minutes to repeatedly fire shots. Alternatively, this can be used as an endgame special where after all Vietnam cups have been hit, the Vietnam team can call this.
Vietnam: BombEach Team Vietnam player gets to use this special attack once per game. If they make a cup after calling bomb, then all the surrounding cups on the US side are also considered hit.
Vietnam: DraftThe US Team has to add another layer to their triangle (aka 5 more cups to the back). The 5 cups in the back are not replaced when hit.
US: Night VisionTeam Vietnam must shoot with their eyes closed/blindfolded until one player on the team makes a shot. They are allowed to see in between turns.
US: NapalmEach Team US player gets to use this special attack once per game. They may call it at the beginning of their shot, and it expires after the shot is taken. If they make the shot, then they may draw an imaginary line from the made cup as long as the line crosses two edges of the table. All cups, even friendly cups, in that imaginary line are considered hit.
(http://drinklaughchug.solidcoding.com/game/Vietnam-War).