A historical investigation that analyzes the extent to which film and literature realistically depicted the warfare that the US Troops experienced under General Westermoreland's "Search and Destroy" tactics.

1. To what extent does the historical film and literature realistically depict
guerilla warfare in the Vietnam War from 1965-72.
The investigation assesses the extent that historical film and literature
realistically depict the experience of US soldiers against the Viet Cong and NVA
during the Vietnam War in the period of 1965 to 1972. To help evaluate the
depiction, this investigation also evaluates the autobiographical experiences that
soldiers had in Vietnam through the sources “A Rumor of War” by Phillip Caputo
and “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young” compiled by Harold Moore and Joseph
Galloway, alongside the US documents, “Report of the Office of the Secretary of
Defense Vietnam Task Force”, which are evaluated for their origins, purposes,
values and limitations.
Differences in beliefs and goals of the Viet Cong and North
Vietnamese Army will not be involved and nor does it assess the actions and
opinions of any other nations within the Vietnam War and advisory efforts by
western nations.
SECTION B.
From the moments that the US Marines landed onto the shores of
Vietnam to aid the Military Advisory Forces and the South Vietnamese Army, the
escalation of troops was only needed because of the lack of preparation for the
American soldiers. The setting and situations within Vietnam were not what the
men fighting were prepared for1. The description of Vietnam from Lieutenant
Harold Moore does not paint a clear picture “we stepped off the choppers into a
tangle of trees, weeds and brush, in the middle of what would become our
airfield.”2 This was one of the large problems that challenged America’s style of
warfare: they’d been expecting a “great war”, like those on the plains and fields
of Europe: not a trek with the slow movement of men and machinery through
the thick jungle foliage. The perspective of the US soldiers had of their enemy is
obvious in all writing of the war: “I can remember instance looking out, I saw the
side of a hill move: that’s because it was them. They made absolutely no noise.
[…] but you could hear a marine company from a mile away."3
This enemy was one that would haunt US servicemen for decades to
come4. When the Marines landed in Saigon with their B-52 bombers and
helicopter infantry4, the Viet Cong and NVA decided to take a different route:
underground. The creation and development of the North Vietnamese tunneling
system was key in the rate of success for guerilla strikes.5 General Man of the
NVA placed his troops through arduous training: physical conditioning through
mountains with sixty pounds of rocks, advanced skill in camouflage, and
rudimentary air force defense.
These skills and the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail gave the NVA and
the Viet Cong the edge in jungle warfare6: “The recruits were constantly
reminded that their fathers had beaten the French colonialists; now it was their
turn to defeat the American imperialists.”7 This tough mentality would
eventually lead them to a tough victory against US forces, and bring about the
Fall of Saigon.
Through the eyes of Chris Taylor, we begin to experience the life of a
soldier in 1968 Vietnam. With the movie based on those experience that marked
Stone’s time in Vietnam, we are exposed to the lack of preparation and the

2. confusion that surrounded the army men throughout their campaign in
Indochina. As Taylor mentions before they set fire to a village to flush out Viet
Cong supporters: “thevillage,whichhadstoodformaybeathousandyears, didn't know
we were coming that day. If they had they would have run,”8
The movie Platoon does a great job at not only showing the day-to-day
tedium that we army draftees experienced, but the great struggle that they had
with themselves. The men were fighting a war, which some didn’t actually
believe they needed to be in. 1967 (when the movie was set), was the year of the
Tet Offensive, the spark to the majority of public outrage against war in Vietnam.
Chris Taylor mused in his narrations that “Day by day I struggle to maintain not
only my strength but also my sanity, […] I don't know what's right or wrong
anymore.”9 This was the distressing truth of many of the fighting boys, with
messages of hate from the US, and constant attacks from NVA and Viet Cong
forces, this seemed like a war without purpose, against an unbeatable enemy in
dangerous territory.
SECTION C.
Oliver Stone – Platoon
Released in 1986, Platoon was conceived out of Oliver Stone’s personal
experiences in Vietnam and his counter to war movies that portrayed the
experience as “fully-American”. The movie itself depicts the war as a rough and
deadly action for the US soldiers, and is intended to give the public an new
understanding of how the American’s felt during the attacks on the Vietnamese.
The value of this movie is limited, however, because of the extreme bias
that not only Oliver Stone carried after being wounded and dishonorably
discharged from service, but from the creative freedoms that he took in the
writing and editing of the movie. Although much of the piece is valuable, such as
the many mentions and clips of the emotional toll that the conflict took on the
young soldiers, often we cannot rely on these images and moments to complete
and become our knowledge on that aspect of the conflict.
Lt. Gen. Harold Moore and Joseph L. Galloway - We Were Soldiers Once…And Young
Written in the 1980’s and 1990’s after interviews with members of the
battalions who were also in the Battle of Ia Drang, Galloway and Moore detail the
decisions and consequences of many actions taken on November 1965. This
entire text is written to help explain and narrate the action taken by the soldiers
and military advisors during the battle, with the intent of not adding politics or
bias to their writings10
The value of this text is very significant, as it does give us a clear
understanding of the thoughts and decisions made by those who were leading
these influential battles, rather than secondhand information from the news or
from government agencies. WWSOAY is also a valuable collection of knowledge
that otherwise would be lost, such as communication on the battlefield and
honest recollections of near-death experiences and connections to NVA and Viet
Cong soldiers. Even with the intent, there is still some bias for both the
selections of the book that are written by Americans who only knew of the
knowledge being given by their superiors, but Galloway and Moore balance this
with interviews of Viet Cong generals and leaders9 which give a new view and
perspective on the conflict.

3. SECTION D
This investigation is important in its historical context because the
public opinion of the Vietnam War ultimately decided the American military
action, and the representation of the conflict through film and literature helped
mold the views that the people on the home front had of the conflict and the
actions taken by US military leaders.
The aims of directors and writers such as Oliver Stone was to show a
segment of the warfare that affected so many soldiers in a very negative aspect.
Moments such as the desecration and demolition of the Vietnamese village in
Platoon vividly depict the actions that overtook many American soldiers, and
show actions that many of the men and women in the situation would want to
forget. With the declaration that “I think now, looking back, we did not fight the
enemy; we fought ourselves. And the enemy... was in us”, we learn through Chris
Taylor’s realization that Vietnam turned from an external war against an enemy,
but an internal war that caused soldiers to question their position in battles and
as American citizens.
The importance of this moment is that never before had American
soldiers been able to question their position in warfare. In World War I and
World War II, there was always the threat that Germany would continue off the
continent and take control of the USA after defeating England, which gave drive
and purpose to the soldiers. In Vietnam however, the soldiers began to learn that
there wasn’t as strong a push by Vietnamese to take over anywhere but their
own country.
To compare with the creative aspects of Platoon, the work of Lt. Gen.
Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway give a much more blunt and honest view of
decisions made during warfare, which l believe is much more demanding on the
reader. For the public, this honesty about decisions, such as Moore’s choice to let
Charlie Company stay under enemy fire overnight instead of risking attacks on
more troops allowed the readers who did not experience conflict to understand
the magnitude and the danger that was omnipresent during the wartime for
these soldiers.
Also, the idea that these soldiers and leaders did not understand the
landscape or the guerilla tactics that the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese
Army were harnessing is critical for knowledge and comprehension of the
Vietnam War. These soldiers entered the conflict expecting a land war like had
been seen in World Wars I and II, not the jungle attacks at Ia Drang or along the
17th Parallel.
Both sources show the extent of decisions and actions taken by the
soldiers quite realistically, considering the creative process and limitations.
Movies such as Platoon and others like Green Berets, and Born on the Fourth of
July do take some creative liberty for the purpose of good viewing, but many do
show the motives and actions with great attention to detail. Literature by those
within the warfare, like We Were Soldiers Once…And Young (especially those
written by former combatants) are perfect sources to get a realistic depiction
and description of warfare.
Moore and Galloway are excellent at explaining both the views of their
generals and lieutenants, but also giving understanding to the side and moves of
the Viet Cong generals, allowing the public to gain understanding of both angles
of warfare and of the conflict in general.

4. Works Cited:
1. Snow, Dan, and Snow, Peter. "1968 Vietnam." 20th Century Battlefields. BBC.
London, 2007. Television.
2. Moore, Harold G., and Joseph L. Galloway. "The Land and The Enemy." We Were
Soldiers Once... And Young. New York: Random House, 1995. Print
3. Snow, Dan, and Snow, Peter. "1968 Vietnam." 20th Century Battlefields. BBC.
London, 2007. Television.
4. Dorr, Robert F., and Chris Bishop. Vietnam Air Warfare: The Story of the Aircraft,
the Battles, and the Pilots Who Fought. Edison, NJ: Chartwell, 1996. Print.
5. Chambers, John Whiteclay., and Fred Anderson. "The Military and Diplomatic
Course of the Vietnam War." The Oxford Companion to American Military History.
New York: Oxford UP, 1999. N. pag. Print.
6. Schlenger, W. E., Kulka, R. A., Fairbank, J. A., Hough, R. L., Jordan, B. K., Marmar, C.
R., et al. (1992). The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in the Vietnam
generation: A multimethod, multisource assessment of psychiatric
disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 333-363.
7. Prados, John. The Blood Road: The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War. New
York: Wiley, 1999. Print.
8. Moore, Harold G., and Joseph L. Galloway. "The Land and The Enemy." We Were
Soldiers Once... And Young. New York: Random House, 1995. Print
9. Stone, Oliver, writ. Platoon. Narr. Chris Taylor. 1986. Orion Productions, 2008.
Web. 18 Apr. 2013. Page 39. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/2965750/Platoon-
Movie-Script-written-by-Oliver-Stone>.
10. Stone; Page __
11. Moore, Harold G., and Joseph Galloway. "Book Research." Book Research. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.