How accurately does Oliver stone’s Platoon depict American soldiers’ experiences 

in the Vietnam War?  

 
In 1967-the year in which platoon is set in-US involvement in Vietnam had already 
escalated from their initial position of finance and intelligence support. By this year, 
Vietnam had become not a far flung civil conflict in a place unbeknownst to the 
average American, but one that made the news in households. Operation Rolling 
Thunder was two years well into its three year duration, with more than 800,000 
tonnes of bombs having already been dropped on the communist North-a number 
far greater than the 653,000 tonnes that had been dropped by the US during the 
entirety of the Korean War. American casualties had risen to more than 20,000 whilst 
the communists invariable sustained more.  
Unlike the French earlier-though not too dissimilar in principle-who progressively 
expanded their territorial claim to Indochina as apart of their ​mission civilisatrice, ​The 
Americans objective in Vietnam was to prevent the fall of the democratic south to 
the communists. This was a difficult task for the US to achieve due to the nature of the 
conflict itself, which the film Platoon attempts to depict. The film’s key measure of 
accuracy relies more so on the core experiences of soldiers in the Vietnam, that 
being in regard to the Vietnamese climate and terrain as well as the tempo of 
military operations and the psychological toll it had on them due to those objectives. 
However the film does have inaccuracies in its representation of certain aspects of 
the war, such as in regard to the historical representation of contentious issues and 
omission of the political context. 
 
The defining factor of accuracy for the film would be it’s representation of core 
experiences by US troops. The environment of Vietnam-a quintessentially tropical 
country-whose terrain comprised of the central highland mountains suspending the 
two great food bowls in the north and the Mekong Delta in the South, provided a 
catalyst for the nature of warfare that ensued in Vietnam. Under the search and 
destroy tactic, US troops spent their patrol time in the hot, humid and forbidding 
Vietnamese jungle seeking out Viet Cong guerillas, often having difficulties in their 
“Initial confrontations with this climate (which) made deep impressions”(Red 
Thunder,Tropic Lighting). This was due to the fact that Vietnam, “during the dry 
season, (had) temperatures (that) frequently reaches 110 degrees or more during the 
day”(Red Thunder, Tropic Lightning). The Vietnam of the wet season wasn't that much 
cooler either-only by a couple degrees-as well the monsoon season effectively, 
“turned much of South Vietnam into a mud hole”(Frederick Downs). Platoon 
accurately depicts Vietnam’s environment and her climate, through the vividness of 
the scenery shots, such as the heatwaves of base camp at the film’s start and the 
jungles in which Taylor moves through on patrol. 
 
In every turn during those search and destroy missions, there were deep suspicions 
of Viet Congs hiding in the thick foliages, waiting until the off American would stray 
from his platoon before tackling him down and slitting his throat, as was the case in 
the film where Manny is, ​“​trussed with rope, arms behind his back. Throat cut, eyes 
startled open, mouth shaped in a scream of terror”(from the script). This was part of 
a wider tactic used by the communists in counter offensive to the coalition’s search 
and destroy,the tactic being hit and run. These usually comprised of two factors , first 
being one of ambushes. These were quick strikes against the American troops, where 
the engagement lasted at length no longer than a couple minutes and often under 
the cover of night. Gerald Kolb observed these ambushes, “one particular night, they 
ambushed us pretty good from one side of the road”, then “their side was firing, our 
side was firing and tracers were going about 3 or 4 feet over our heads”. In the film, 
these ambushes were accurately depicted in the first engagement, where the 
company was ambushed at night time by the communists and the engagement 
that ensued, only lasted for a short time before they retreated back into the jungle. 
Then there were firefights, which would, “begin as an ambush but, for many different 
reasons, develop into combat that was larger and lasted longer than the typical 
ambush”(Eric Bergerud). These were accurately depicted in the second engagement 
of the film, where North Vietnamese soldiers brawled at length with Taylor’s company. 
With both sides sustained significant casualties that were higher than the average 
ambush and an artillery strikes being needed as well.  
 
The war itself was as much as a booby trap conflict as it was a ground war, As Eric 
Bergerud points out, “Mines and booby traps were continuous plagues to every 
combat element”. Communists having employed substantial use of traps and rigged 
explosive devices in their conflict against the anti-communist coalition, often with 
fatal effects to those who would come in contact with one, as well as the indirect 
effect they had. They, “slowed troops down, forced them to traverse ugly terrain that 
was unlikely to have booby traps” as well as adding immensely, “to the psychological 
strain of living in a war zone”(Eric Bergerud). An instance of their devastation can be 
heard from a recollection of Del Plonka’s time in Vietnam,as he recalled, “When this 
young man tripped over this stick mine and it went off, he lost both his legs 
immediately” and was, “split open from the groin area up to his neck”. The film 
accurately depicts the existence of traps in the war in the scene where the platoon is 
inspecting the NVA bunker complex, then they set off of booby trap which detonated 
the explosives. The character Sal being a state where, “Both his arms are gone and 
blood is gushing out like a water fountain”, which is reliably close to the reality of the 
war. 
 
Along with the ever present fear of unseen communist assailants, the jungles of 
Vietnam had posed a genuine danger and potential harm with the amount of insects 
and fauna it contained, which caused much difficulty to a soldier’s time in Vietnam. 
As ​Michael He​rr puts it, the environment of Vietnam was, “a dark room full of deadly 
objects”. An example of this is Kenneth Stumpf’s experience with “those big ants (that) 
just bit the sh*t right out of me”, injuries he incurred when he was, “chopping down 
bamboo...​and all of a sudden, a bunch of red ants seemed to fall out of the sky”, and, 
“stung like crazy.” This was correctly represented in the film, when Taylor who on his 
first patrol was being bypassed by his fellow platoon, as he’s swatting the red ants 
that were all over his neck, “ants. I got ants all over my neck”.  
 
The film also depicts to the presence of leeches in the war, as shown when Taylor rips 
one from his face. The triple canopy jungle of Vietnam’s environment, caused the 
earth to be damp and thus provided a breeding ground for leeches, this is so that 
when, “you stopped to rest or lay down in that vegetation, you became the host”. 
Although it was easy for soldiers to get them off, through sprinkling salt on them 
which was provided to in their C rations. However the main problem was there 
anti-coagulant chemical in there saliva, which prevented wounds from clotting, “so 
you would bleed for awhile”(David McCallum). Which made it hard for the medical 
officers in there treatment of troops, especially the major wounds; “We’d put several 
layers of gauze and direct pressure on the wound until the bleeding finally 
stopped”(David McCallum) 
 
However the most dangerous of all in the jungles of Vietnam was not the plethora of 
snakes and tigers it contained, but instead it was the mosquito. The malaria stricken 
man at the start and the subtle scene​ ​where Taylor is driven to distraction by 
mosquitos while on ambush detail​, is stone’s way of acknowledging the presence of 
the malaria infection during the war. After all this was one that claimed the lives of 78 
American soldiers and between the year of 1965 to 1970, there were 40,000 reported 
cases of malaria infected troops, this lead to a remark made by Dr. Stephen L 
Hoffman that, ”we lost more casualties to malaria then bullets” as well as the fact that 
“​e​ntire divisions ceased to be effective combat units due to malaria”​. Troops were 
also conscience of the fact that malaria was closely associated with the availability 
of sizeable bodies of water, to which larval mosquitoes develop in. Thus told to avoid 
drinking from the rivers, this was accurately depicted in the film in the scene where 
juniour is warned not to drink the water in his canteen after he filled it from the 
stream.  
 
Though not all of Vietnam was as lush and densely forested, as some believe.  
A popular perception held by some members of the public was one of a war 
comprised entirely of men patrolling through the thick tropical environment, however 
it must also be stated Vietnam was also one of desolation. The film accurately 
displays this visual through the balacement of jungle patrol scenes and the desolate 
environment at the end of the movie, which is an accurate portrayal of an area, 
devastated as a result of war. ​What would once have been an area of dense, tropical 
jungle has been decimated by years of carpet-bombing and deliberate defoliation 
using chemicals such as Agent Orange. 
The F-5 jet depicted in the film, was used in the war where it flew more than 2600 
sorties during the start of major US involvement in Vietnam, and the up to 57 kg 
warheads it carried produced sizeable destruction. One accurately depicted in the 
film when the aerial bombing conducted by the F-5 caused the grim scene of dead 
communist soldiers. Vietnam after all was a place of, “the smell of growth; it’s the 
smell of death. Decay, of stuff growing, of stuff dying”.(Red Lighting, Tropic Thunder) 
 
Oliver Stone is no reservationist in depicting the substantial role of the Huey 
helicopter in the film. Having shown it in many scenes such as the transportation of 
Taylor to his first assignment and rescuing him in the firefight scene. This is accurate 
to the war as the huey was an integral part of the soldier's time in Vietnam, and 
saving many lives due to its introduction. One veteran remarked of them capable of, 
“​making more than a mile a minute when the patrol is lucky to make a mile an 
hour”(Mike Mealey). 
Even though the helicopter certainly did save large percentage of American lives and 
reduced the total casualty number, injuries and death was still infinitely apart of the 
daily operations. 
New troops who were regarded as ‘cherry’, ‘FNGs’ and ‘new meat”-the latter being the 
more prevalent term that the film uses, had a more than 10% chance of being killed 
and a 50% chance of being wounded. Whilst when compared to the men who’s been 
in Vietnam for a longer duration, one had a vastly improved chance of surviving, the 
“Jungle’s okay. If you know her you can live in her real good. If you don’t she’ll take you 
down in an hour. Under” (dispatches).   
This was accurately displayed in the film during the ambush scene, when the new 
recruit Gardner was the only one killed by North Vietnamese soldiers, due to his 
limited experience in dealing with the enemy.  
 
These factors overall played role in causing the deep psychological impact that 
Vietnam had on American soldiers; a deep psychological impact that was 
encapsulated in the film during the village scene. As one soldier said in the book Red 
thunder, Tropic lightning, “We started losing our cool after a while”. It was not 
uncommon for troops to snap and in a large percentage of situations, it was a 
Vietnamese who were at the receiving end; “many soldiers pushed around the slight 
Vietnamese, and some administered beatings”. In some circumstances, “farm 
animals were shot for no reason”-accurately depicted in the film when a soldier shot 
a pig upon entering the village.   
Although the Americans consequently, “saw the gooks as subhumans and were 
prejudiced against them”(Red thunder, Tropic Lightning), thus treated them unkindly 
in some instances. The liberal killing of civilians on the other hand is another thing.  
 
The films accuracy of events starts to stray when the film depicts the more 
contentious side of the Vietnam war. That being the depiction of the war in certain 
scenes, such one where it suggested the brutality of Americans in conducting actions 
of murder and r*pe being commonplace. As well as to that, the degree in which US 
soldiers burned down villages. 
The most noticeable of contentious issues present in the film Platoon would be its 
depiction of illegal killings of Vietnamese civilians, as seen in the Village scene.This is 
where the Film strays from being a accurate depiction of the war to a more 
Hollywood movie; “Things like it were strictly for the movies”, as Jim Ross said. 
Although, troops did not rule out that such a thing, “didn't happen in the annals of the 
Vietnam War”(Thomas Giltner), they were certainly very rare and the, “evidence 
strongly supports this claim”(Eric Bergerud).  
 
Even My Lai was considered by soldiers who had been in the war as, “bizarre (and) an 
unusual aberration”(Jim Ross). The idea that Americans troops were so willing to kill 
civilians as depicted in the film where, Barnes shot the village chief’s wife and Bunny 
caving the boy’s head in with the butt of his M16, is one more appropriately closer to 
fiction than fact. The Americans, “knew of the command’s instructions to adhere to 
the Law of War, which was printed in the handbook’s or guides for troops”, and the 
vast majority of soldiers fought honourably in the war, as well as knowing 
consequences that would happen should they step out of line.  
 
For example, the 25th division soldiers-the division that the director Oliver Stone 
served in-bares no evidence that there were “willful murder of civilians”(Red 
Thunder,Tropic Lightning). Should there of been, it would be documented and referred 
to be dealt with by the Staff Judge advocate’s office on the matter of military justice, 
which all military divisions have. ​“Every legal officer that I knew was shocked by the My 
Lai killings and was pleased to see the Army prosecute these cases vigorously”. 
William Calley, the man deemed responsible for the My Lai massacre was sentenced 
to life imprisonment and hard labour, by the six member officer jury.  
 
Stone’s abstract depiction runs contrary to the basic logic of any military, as officers 
in war knew, “that a military unit, by definition, has the capability to wreak total havoc 
against civilians” and he knows that by,“Allowing soldiers to do so would have a 
devastating impact on discipline and morale”(Eric Bergerud). So officer characters 
like Lt Wolfe, who did nothing of great notice in preventing troops of his command 
from engaging in r*pe and illegal killings, would be very rare in the field of Vietnam. 
Although the Film does have Captain Harris issuing the punishment of court marshall 
should there have been evidence of any illegal killings, when speaking with Barnes 
and Elias. It was not pursued with greater intense judicial rigour as it would have been 
in reality. This is inaccurate to the reality of the war. 
 
Then there’s the burning of the village at the end the scene, where Barnes ordered for 
its destruction in the film. However, “these stories you hear about burning villages and 
atrocities come from the movies”, as Morgan Sincock says. Nor were villages 
destroyed sparactially by the US military in a indiscriminate way, as one division 
policy dictated, “If it was gray, you did not fire into it; if it was white, you did not fire into 
it; if it was black, you asked for permission”. In fact US high command tightened the 
rules of engagement in ensure maximum firepower were not used in populated 
areas, which was in response to communist tactics-where they hoped to draw 
Americans to fight in the villages and thus cause the death of civilians in the crossfire 
in order to weaken US public perception of the war.  
 
The US belief in not destroying property was exemplified in a village skirmish a mile 
east of Trang Bang, “in this case, we knew the civilian population had fled, so we were 
only protecting property by not using all our firepower” as Morgan SIncock says. 
“When the cobra helicopter gunships came on station. I told them to rocket the 
house”, However then, “my battalion commander came on the radio and vetoed the 
order”. As well as, “canceled my request for an airstrike...we continued to exchange 
fire with the enemy for the rest of the afternoon”. This battle as well as many more like 
it contradicts the popular notion that Americans frequently burned villages to the 
ground; Throughout Sincock’s tour in Vietnam he’s only heard of one story of a village 
being burned down by US soldiers, which occurred during the Tet Offensive. However 
Sincock said, “I am aware of no documentation about that incident-only word of 
mouth, months after the fact”. 
Even hamlets that were of enemy origins, “was to (be) avoid(ed) if possible; but if we 
took fire from it..you just go in and take it”(Red Thunder, tropic Lightning). 
 
The notable exception to this rule is of course My Lai, where Lt William Calley and his 
men, massacred 347 unarmed civilians as well as engaged in the r*pe of villagers. In 
addition to that, they burned the village to the ground. To which the film alludes to in 
the village scene, Thus there is a basis for historical truth in the film’s depiction. 
The fact still remains that My Lai was aberration and that figures like Lt William Calley 
in reality and in the film Barnes or Bunny, would be extremely rare. As well as the 
other fact that, “all divisions anxiously sought to identify and remove anyone like Lt 
william Calley from their ranks”(Eric Bergerud). 
 
The films purposely omits certain aspects that were apart of the Vietnam war from 
being depicted, the political context being the main one. Nowhere in the film did the 
term communist or democracy, or any other political references came into use, this 
may be due to the dramatic fall in the army’s political morale in the actual war by this 
time. When C. W Bowman arrived in Vietnam in 1967, he spoke of morale being, “good 
then. It was early in the war. Everybody had a cause. We were fighting the 
communists”. However when Mario Tarin arrived in 1969, he sensed that the political 
purpose evident earlier had dramatically faded, “everybody was pretty disillusioned 
with the whole war effort...and black GIs were getting more militant, so morale was 
low” and that, “by this time, we no longer wanted to win but just get out alive!”.Whilst 
there was an absence of political morale among soldiers , thus a reason of why the 
film omits it, there was still plurality of soldiers who in the war who still believed in the 
political cause-particularly among the conservative faction. As Sidney Stone says, 
“we were doing our duty and carrying out the foreign policy of the United States”, as, 
“we hoped for the welfare of our country and then we had people who would not 
support it”.  
 
When General Sir Douglas Gracey accepted the Japanese surrender of Vietnam, in 
1945 on behalf of the British Empire and the Allied powers, before handing the colony 
back into the authority of the French. He would have never known at that point that in 
just 19 years time, America would be involved in a large scale conflict to prevent the 
spread of communism in Vietnam. Nor would he have known director Oliver Stone 
would create a film called ‘Platoon’ 11 years after the ending of that war, where he 
attempts to depict the conflict’s horrors as well as the daily life of a soldier. The Film 
accurately displays the core experiences of soldiers, such as the scenery shots of the 
Vietnam environment and the tempo operations in Vietnam. However the accuracy 
is less so on contentious issues like civilian killings and village burning. The film had 
also omitted the political context of the war from being shown, this may being part to 
the absence of it among soldiers in the later years of the conflict. 
 
 
References 
 
Red Thunder, Tropic Lightning by Eric M Berger 
 
Dispatches by Michael Herr   
 
Wikipedia  
 
https://vietnammedic.wordpress.com/tag/leeches-in-vietnam/  
 
http://ecointheknow.com/uncategorized/the-monsoon-war-weather-insects-and-a
nimals-in-the-vietnam-war/​ * 
 
https://www.stripes.com/news/vietnam-jungle-hot-humid-and-forbidding-1.277008