It's too bad the makers of "The Boys in Company C" had to exaggerate in places, and gave short shrift in others. The guys in this film were all enlistees in the Marines. Some of them would have known what to expect. Even though this was the time of the flower children, hippies and long hair, that was a small portion of the population. One wouldn't think that most guys of that stripe would have chosen to enlist in the Marines. The Selective Service draft for Vietnam service began on Dec. 1, 1969. Many enlistees had an idea of what to expect, and those like my brother who joined the Marines in 1961 would report with short hair. Of course, they would still get a shave cut. Which isn't what these guys get in this film – they've got considerable hair left on top. The same was true for those of us who joined the Army in those years. Most of the two dozen guys I went to boot camp with on a train had short hair. I think the filmmakers here just continued with a stereotype Hollywood generated some time in the past to show young men distraught at losing their handsome hairdos or beautiful locks.
But, not to split hairs. (I hope that gets a smile, or even a grunt.) This film shows very minimal training. Apparently the whole film was shot in the Philippines, but it mostly misses the intensity of the rigorous training. The focus is mostly on the training cadre. With the exception of the drill instructor, the cadre seems mostly exaggerated and unreal. The platoon sergeant is close, as a short exception with a little bit of a gut. But most cadre are bigger men. Look at the skinny, short corporals who dress the recruits down in formation. The supply and other personnel all seem quite small for gyrenes. And, the platoon sergeant is overboard exaggerated with his foul mouth. He couldn't complete a sentence without one or two curses and half a dozen expletives. Yes, the Marine Corps cadre cuss and swear, as do the Army boot camp cadre. But nothing on the level this film shows.
The last big exaggeration is in the mouthing off by the gyrenes to higher authority, especially officers. We know Vietnam was different in many ways form anything the U.S. had experienced before – to say nothing about the cultural changes at home. But the level of lipping off, and insubordination by several of the guys in Company C at different times is huge exaggeration.
Now, three things the movie shows that are not exaggerated are important. The first was the push by higher ups for body counts. By 1970, government officials, the media and some military leaders began to question the high body counts that the Americans were reporting of enemy killed. The second important aspect of the film is the incompetency of some officers. This was a sufficiently large enough number as to be a serious problem within the Armed Forces. Captain Collins clearly is an incompetent company commander. He gets his men lost frequently. The ability to read maps is critical for line officers.
We had such a platoon leader assigned to my airborne unit in Germany during the Cold War – just before Vietnam. He had received a promotion to first Lt. right out of ROTC, We were holding a combined training exercise and border guard duty in West Germany at the time – on the Czech border. He got lost and almost had a squad cross a minefield on the Czech border. Fortunately, we had a seasoned platoon sergeant (with Korean experience) who straightened things out. That lieutenant later became a company commander.
Another brother served as a paratrooper in Vietnam, around the time that this movie takes place. He was an MP and told me how widespread drug use had become. And, that there were some instances of fragging. It wasn't widespread, but it happened. A soldier, usually on drugs, who strongly disliked a platoon leader, would toss a grenade in his tent at night.
The Vietnam War was an ugly piece of American history. It was American's first involvement in a conflict that did not pose a direct threat to our nation. We hadn't learned from the French who had been in and withdrawn from Vietnam. Nor did we have the savvy of England and other countries from their colonial experiences. Hopefully, we have learned from these experiences. As horrible as war is, it doesn't appear that we will be able to achieve true peace so long as largescale organized terrorism continues, and some countries and ethnic groups are bent on genocide.
Without the exaggerations noted, and with some better writing and training and action scenes, this could have been a very good film. As is, it's a fair glimpse at the travesty of the Vietnam War.
But, not to split hairs. (I hope that gets a smile, or even a grunt.) This film shows very minimal training. Apparently the whole film was shot in the Philippines, but it mostly misses the intensity of the rigorous training. The focus is mostly on the training cadre. With the exception of the drill instructor, the cadre seems mostly exaggerated and unreal. The platoon sergeant is close, as a short exception with a little bit of a gut. But most cadre are bigger men. Look at the skinny, short corporals who dress the recruits down in formation. The supply and other personnel all seem quite small for gyrenes. And, the platoon sergeant is overboard exaggerated with his foul mouth. He couldn't complete a sentence without one or two curses and half a dozen expletives. Yes, the Marine Corps cadre cuss and swear, as do the Army boot camp cadre. But nothing on the level this film shows.
The last big exaggeration is in the mouthing off by the gyrenes to higher authority, especially officers. We know Vietnam was different in many ways form anything the U.S. had experienced before – to say nothing about the cultural changes at home. But the level of lipping off, and insubordination by several of the guys in Company C at different times is huge exaggeration.
Now, three things the movie shows that are not exaggerated are important. The first was the push by higher ups for body counts. By 1970, government officials, the media and some military leaders began to question the high body counts that the Americans were reporting of enemy killed. The second important aspect of the film is the incompetency of some officers. This was a sufficiently large enough number as to be a serious problem within the Armed Forces. Captain Collins clearly is an incompetent company commander. He gets his men lost frequently. The ability to read maps is critical for line officers.
We had such a platoon leader assigned to my airborne unit in Germany during the Cold War – just before Vietnam. He had received a promotion to first Lt. right out of ROTC, We were holding a combined training exercise and border guard duty in West Germany at the time – on the Czech border. He got lost and almost had a squad cross a minefield on the Czech border. Fortunately, we had a seasoned platoon sergeant (with Korean experience) who straightened things out. That lieutenant later became a company commander.
Another brother served as a paratrooper in Vietnam, around the time that this movie takes place. He was an MP and told me how widespread drug use had become. And, that there were some instances of fragging. It wasn't widespread, but it happened. A soldier, usually on drugs, who strongly disliked a platoon leader, would toss a grenade in his tent at night.
The Vietnam War was an ugly piece of American history. It was American's first involvement in a conflict that did not pose a direct threat to our nation. We hadn't learned from the French who had been in and withdrawn from Vietnam. Nor did we have the savvy of England and other countries from their colonial experiences. Hopefully, we have learned from these experiences. As horrible as war is, it doesn't appear that we will be able to achieve true peace so long as largescale organized terrorism continues, and some countries and ethnic groups are bent on genocide.
Without the exaggerations noted, and with some better writing and training and action scenes, this could have been a very good film. As is, it's a fair glimpse at the travesty of the Vietnam War.