As a Brit of a certain age – too young for the Beatles (no big deal), not allowed to stay up to see man walk on the moon and just old enough to see live tv coverage of Kennedy’s assassination, the film this gentleman was in, was my first proper grown up movie.
I can never appreciate what it was like to have had your young men in combat over there, and we have had our own boys sent to places on questionable reasons, but this film – no matter how close to the truth it was – left me in no doubt of the horror of that war and an abiding passion for its history.
Thanks to Kim, I’ve managed to achieve one of my ambitions – to stand on the spot at Dealey Plaza where as a five year old, I watched history being made through a grainy black and white tv. Although I can never walk on the moon, one day I fully intend to go to Vietnam – thanks in a large part to this man’s portrayal of what it most probably was like. Thank you Sir.
Kennedy Space Center is worth visiting. As is Kill Devil Hill.
Edwards South Base (where the did the testing in the 1945-65 timeframe) is inaccessible, but worth seeing if you can get base access.
A Patriot…..and a Man!
Semper Fi, Gunny.
I saw Full Metal Jacket a week before boot camp at Parris Island. That guy scared the hell out of me.
When I see the movie now, there are glaring flaws in both halves of the movie that are hard to overlook. For instance, your Senior Drill Instructor is rarely the guy yelling (he usually has 2 or 3 junior DI’s who do that full time), and the movie was filmed in San Diego and Camp Pendleton not PI.
But, Ermey did a spectacular job of capturing the feeling and spirit of the place and Corps. He was one of ours.
“Beautiful Beaufort by the sea, Twenty-six miles from Yemassee.”
As a Brit of a certain age – too young for the Beatles (no big deal), not allowed to stay up to see man walk on the moon and just old enough to see live tv coverage of Kennedy’s assassination, the film this gentleman was in, was my first proper grown up movie.
I can never appreciate what it was like to have had your young men in combat over there, and we have had our own boys sent to places on questionable reasons, but this film – no matter how close to the truth it was – left me in no doubt of the horror of that war and an abiding passion for its history.
Thanks to Kim, I’ve managed to achieve one of my ambitions – to stand on the spot at Dealey Plaza where as a five year old, I watched history being made through a grainy black and white tv. Although I can never walk on the moon, one day I fully intend to go to Vietnam – thanks in a large part to this man’s portrayal of what it most probably was like. Thank you Sir.
Kennedy Space Center is worth visiting. As is Kill Devil Hill.
Edwards South Base (where the did the testing in the 1945-65 timeframe) is inaccessible, but worth seeing if you can get base access.
A Patriot…..and a Man!
Semper Fi, Gunny.
I saw Full Metal Jacket a week before boot camp at Parris Island. That guy scared the hell out of me.
When I see the movie now, there are glaring flaws in both halves of the movie that are hard to overlook. For instance, your Senior Drill Instructor is rarely the guy yelling (he usually has 2 or 3 junior DI’s who do that full time), and the movie was filmed in San Diego and Camp Pendleton not PI.
But, Ermey did a spectacular job of capturing the feeling and spirit of the place and Corps. He was one of ours.
“Beautiful Beaufort by the sea, Twenty-six miles from Yemassee.”
Semper Fi!