Interesting propaganda

Almost totally 100% "progressive" propaganda in every aspect.

No actual "truths" in this movie - but a few tiny bits of "truth" presented as the "big truth/whole picture".

1. No wounded veterans had ANY kind of "old" friends and family supporting them. The WHOLE country abandoned them from the VA and "government" to their own Moms and Dads and cousins and just High School/College friends. ONLY a few enlightened folks like Jane Fonda and then other bitter anti-war veterans who took care of each other. Really?

2. Every soldier, but especially the officers - were just total "losers". Bruce Dern as a Marine Captain played as a weak mind, weak spirit, even weak body (AND a lousy lover, as well!) Not the slightest indication of any military like in "We Were Soldiers, Once - And Young" (real history book AND a movie.) Innumerable other books (and only a few movies) that tell a MUCH more objective picture of the war there and here.

3. American soldiers were universal "Lt, Calley" types - and just because they were mean and/or "racist". Captains little angst speech to his wife in Hong Kong, without ONE mention of the REAL almost universal atrocities the North Vietnamese and especially Viet Cong (Supposedly patriotic South Vietnamese communist guerrillas) did to a whole lot of innocent South Vietnamese village leaders. They were REALLY big on raping the wives and daughters of such before further torturing and murdering them in front of said leaders. That was how the Commies won those "hearts and minds." And many American soldiers hated that more than anything.

4. We "lost" the war - and deserved too. This wasn't directly addressed in the movie directly but was certainly a subtext (given the movie was made in 1978 AND Luke's "hopeless" speech at the end to the HS students - "don't be an idiot and end up like me.") In fact, the US Military never lost a major battle with the VC or North Vietnamese regulars in ANY kind of direct engagement and we lost very, very few ambushes/litte engagements, either - since our troops WERE well-trained and brave fighters and also had good communications and quick support - especially artillery and CAS. Our casualties were also light overall, compared to other wars - because of MASH and other quick evacuation and medical support. VA may have sucked (a tad) back here but onsite emergency medical aid was about as good as it could get. And also just disease deaths were way, way down from even WW2 levels. In any case our fighting men actually DID win the war and forced the North Vietnamese to the negotiation table. We won the war. But we DID lose the subsequent peace because Gerald Ford and (more importantly the Dem Congress) reneged on every American promise to continue supporting South Vietnam IF the North broke the peace terms and attacked the South again, which is EXACTLY what they did. It is THIS stain on America's honor that is the dismal legacy of the Vietnam War and has had the worst and most lasting consequences for world peace since then.