Hollywood and the FWMF in Vietnam

[Airbornelawyer]

I am racking my brain, but I cannot think of a single Hollywood production about the Vietnam War that mentioned any other of the forces in Vietnam other than the Americans and the Vietnamese themselves. There are a few that mention or show the French from the fighting prior to 1954, but I can't think of any that mention the Australians, New Zealanders, South Koreans, Thais or Filipinos. Nor, for that matter, a mention of the thousands of Canadians who joined the US Armed Forces, although Americans who fled to Canada to avoid the draft often get a Hollywood shout-out.

Am I missing any? Can any of you think of any films or TV shows that mention them? Maybe it's just American insularity or Hollywood ignorance. I remember that when I first saw Lethal Weapon, I thought it would have been cool to make Mel Gibson's Vietnam veteran character an Australian-American like Gibson himself. Outside of Vietnam, M*A*S*H, at least, showed other UN forces in Korea on several occasions.

From what little I can find on the Internet, their own media seem to be lacking as well. There are apparently several Korean films dealing with Vietnam, but I have not come across anything from the Philippines or Thailand. I've only found a handful from Australia.

The Odd Angry Shot from 1979 dealt with the Australian SASR in Vietnam. It is a bit of a mixed bag as a film, IIRC, but I have not seen it in decades.

2019 gave us Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, an Australian film about Australian and New Zealand forces in the eponymous 1966 battle. I haven't seen anything but the trailer on YTube, but it looks well-made. The Wikipedia article says the movie got positive reviews, but that "Danger Close is problematic as a history lesson, ...." Looking at the actual reviews the article quotes, apparently the "problematic" aspect is that it is not a woke, preachy antiwar movie, which makes me more interested in seeing it.

[Airbornelawyer]

Apparently, Danger Close is now streaming for free (with ads) on YT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHRJlM04mmE

[milkman]

I don't think Hollywood made anything positive war movies about Korea and Vietnam. There are plenty of Veterans who live through those times that remember the WWII veterans that are now passing.
As far as Vietnam war movies like WE WERE SOLDIERS, there haven't been any that equal it.
Why?
You just have to look at what type of movies are coming from Hollywood and realize that they are not capable of making movies that will fill theaters now.

[SF_BHT]

Originally Posted by milkman

I don't think Hollywood made anything positive war movies about Korea and Vietnam. There are plenty of Veterans who live through those times that remember the WWII veterans that are now passing.
As far as Vietnam war movies like WE WERE SOLDIERS, there haven't been any that equal it.
Why?
You just have to look at what type of movies are coming from Hollywood and realize that they are not capable of making movies that will fill theaters now.

It is an Australian movie not Hollywood made.

[Airbornelawyer]

I watched it. It has a lot of traditional war movie cliches, like you know that as soon as the private talks about his fiancée back home, he's a goner. But the action is well-done. There's a fair amount of insubordinate behavior that wouldn't be tolerated in a lot of armies, but that may be more an Australian thing than a movie thing.

There's some stuff you might think is unrealistic, like the fact that no one wears a helmet, but again, that's just Australian.

It's an Australian/New Zealand co-production. The New Zealand artillery plays a big role, as they did in the actual battle. The fact that there was also a battery of US 155s in support of the Australian and New Zealand 105s doesn't show up in the film, but the USAF does make an appearance.

[mark46th]

"I don't think Hollywood made anything positive war movies about Korea and Vietnam." Milkman

The one that comes to mind that is positive is "The Green Berets" with John Wayne.

[sg1987]

On this board….. that is priceless!

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by mark46th

The one that comes to mind that is positive is "The Green Berets" with John Wayne.

Always in the back of my mind is that he had the guts to make it, at the time he made it.

[Airbornelawyer]

TV rather than a movie, but I vaguely recall season 1 of Tour of Duty being pretty good. They had Pentagon cooperation and filmed in the jungle training areas at Schofield Barracks. Then they cut costs by moving filming to California and lost Pentagon cooperation so they could do "edgier" storylines.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Badger52

Always in the back of my mind is that he had the guts to make it, at the time he made it.

The Vietnam war was not as hated as the media has led us to believe since it ended. Barry Sadler's Ballad of the Green Berets was a major hit on the radio and with record sales.

In the United States, "The Ballad of the Green Berets" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1966, staying at No. 1 for five weeks. It placed tenth on the year-end Hot 100 chart published by Billboard in December 1966. When Billboard later revised its year-end rankings for 1966, the song was re-ranked at No.1. Since then, Billboard has recognized "The Ballad of the Green Berets" as the top Hot 100 song of that year. On Cash Box's 1966 year-end chart, "The Ballad of the Green Berets" tied for first with "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas. It was also the No. 21 song of the 1960s as ranked by Joel Whitburn. The single sold more than nine million copies; the album, more than two million.

Most of the “anti-war” protests were actually anti-draft protests. They picked up steam after the misreporting about Tet by Walter Cronkite.

Originally Posted by Walter Cronkite

Who won and who lost in the great Tet offensive against the cities? I’m not sure. The Viet Cong did not win by a knockout, but neither did we. The referees of history may make it a draw. Another standoff may be coming in the big battles expected south of the Demilitarised Zone. Khe Sanh could well fall, with a terrible loss in American lives, prestige and morale, and this is a tragedy of our stubbornness there; but the bastion no longer is a key to the rest of the northern regions, and it is doubtful that the American forces can be defeated across the breadth of the DMZ with any substantial loss of ground. Another standoff.

On the political front, past performance gives no confidence that the Vietnamese government can cope with its problems, now compounded by the attack on the cities. It may not fall, it may hold on, but it probably won’t show the dynamic qualities demanded of this young nation. Another standoff.

Once the draft ended, so did the protests for the most part. The radical Leftist anti-Americans kept it going with free concerts to add numbers to their rallies, but the crowds weren't that enthusiastic with the political speeches as before. I saw this because I was working in Tucson TV at the time.

[Badger52]

Sadler's 45 had the grooves worn off in our house.

Originally Posted by PSM

I saw this because I was working in Tucson TV at the time.

What was your impression of the dynamic in Tucson - which I'd think would be a bastion of conservatism at the time - vs. raw news you'd see come in from some of the large cities?

[bblhead672]

Originally Posted by Airbornelawyer

TV rather than a movie, but I vaguely recall season 1 of Tour of Duty being pretty good. They had Pentagon cooperation and filmed in the jungle training areas at Schofield Barracks. Then they cut costs by moving filming to California and lost Pentagon cooperation so they could do "edgier" storylines.

Agreed. I thought Season 1 of Tour of Duty was good, but after that it went downhill. Didn't know the reason until now. Hollyweird pretty much ruins whatever it touches.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Badger52

What was your impression of the dynamic in Tucson - which I'd think would be a bastion of conservatism at the time - vs. raw news you'd see come in from some of the large cities?

It was in the '70s, largely, because it was a military town with Davis-Monthan actually withing the city limits. But it was also a college town, with the UofA. Like all colleges, over the years it's been taken over by Leftist professors who indoctrinate the students who then remained in Tucson and changed it to a liberal city and county.

The feminization of the news media assisted in the change, too. The male anchors and reporters in my day were only interested in whether they'd get morning or afternoon tee times. The women were more interested in social issues. The news directors at all 4 stations are now women. There were none in the early '70s and only 1 by 1980. The news departments are the only direct connection with the citizens and determine what their view of the community is.

[Badger52]

@PSM, thanks for the comments. And, having done Sierra Vista several times in the summer I opt for AM tee-times. You can do almost everthing with a 7-iron because you get 130 yards of carry and 200 of roll on those brick hard fairways, lol.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Badger52

@PSM, thanks for the comments. And, having done Sierra Vista several times in the summer I opt for AM tee-times. You can do almost everthing with a 7-iron because you get 130 yards of carry and 200 of roll on those brick hard fairways, lol.

When I got to Huachuca in 1970, I was told that the old golf course, deeper into the base, blew up (well one part of it did). It was built on a landfill. I guess the one you are talking about is the shared Army/civilian one.