Historical Merit Paper On Platoon

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Recommended: Vietnam war from the Vietnamese point of view

Tre ‘an Hickmon
March 26th, 2014
4th period
History Thru Film
Historical Merit Paper
Mr. Baldwin
I’m writing my historical merit paper on Platoon. The reason for me choosing this was because it was right up my alley. It had action, adventure, drama, and comedy. It was a good film to me. I enjoyed watching this movie. It is a film of a trilogy of Vietnam War.
Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone. It stars Tom Berenger , William Dafoe, and Charlie Sheen. One night his unit is set upon by a group of a North Vietnam Army. Gardner is killed while another soldier, Tex, is maimed by a friendly fire from a grenade thrown by Sergeant "Red" O'Neill, with Taylor being mistakenly reprimanded by the ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes. Taylor eventually gains acceptance from a tight-knit group in his unit who socialize and use drugs in a cabin clubhouse. He finds a mentor in Sergeant Elias as well as the elder King and becomes friends with Gator, Lerner and Rhah.
During one patrol, a soldier named Manny is found mutilated and tied to a post while two others, Sal and Sandy, are killed by a booby trap. As tension mounts, the platoon soon reaches a nearby village where a supply cache is discovered. Taylor finds a disabled young man and an elderly woman hiding in a spider hole. Taylor snaps, screaming and threatening the man but is shocked to see Bunny then bludgeon him to death. Using Lerner as a translator, Barnes interrogates the village chief to determine if they have been aiding the NVA. Despite the villagers' adamant denials, with Lerner also agreeing that they are telling the truth, Barnes shoots and kills the chief's wife due to her persistent arguing. Barnes then takes the child of the woman at gunpoint, ...

... middle of paper ...

... heading for their transport back home, having finished their tour of duty. After only a week, he realizes he's made a horrible mistake by volunteering. He finds out that other soldiers don't associate with the newcomers because they haven't put in their time.
There is a belief among the troops that if you're going to get killed in Viet Nam, it's better that you get killed early in your tour. That way you don't suffer so much. Because of the lack of suffering, a newly arrived soldier's life isn't worth as much as the people who are "short". After Chris has been there a while, other soldiers advise him to count the days he's put in, not how many he has to go. That way, they rationalize, it won't seem so long.
During a patrol, a rift develops between Barnes and Elias which causes two factions to form in the platoon. This leads to the final surprising confrontation.

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