Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ImminentDangerClue: When the North Vietnamese troops are looking for Savage's platoon in the thick foliage and end up standing right in the middle of them [[HiddenInPlainSight without realizing it]], their first and last clue before the bullets start flying is when Sgt Savage thumbs his fire selector to "[[MoreDakka Auto]]" with an audible click.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CannonFodder: Discussed. The brass try to recall just Moore when the scale of the enemy forces becomes clear on the grounds that losing a few hundred grunts is unremarkable, but the loss of a full Colonel is a major blow.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 24,25 (click to see context) from:
* CaliforniaDoubling: Apparently, northern California is a dead ringer for Vietnam.
** TruthInTelevision. The Ia Drang Valley looks a lot like the filming location. Not all of Vietnam was jungle or city.
** TruthInTelevision. The Ia Drang Valley looks a lot like the filming location. Not all of Vietnam was jungle or city.
to:
* CaliforniaDoubling: Apparently, Double subverted. The film is set in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam, but was shot in northern California California, which in turn is a dead ringer for Vietnam.
** TruthInTelevision. Thethe Ia Drang Valley looks a lot like the filming location.Valley. Not all of Vietnam was jungle or city.
** TruthInTelevision. The
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Adding Sgt Maj Plumleys Wikipiedia Entry
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
** Best part? While the people who knew Plumley agreed Sam Eliot did an excellent job portraying him, he actually ''underplayed'' how badass the real man was.
to:
** Best part? While the people who knew Plumley agreed Sam Eliot did an excellent job portraying him, he actually ''underplayed'' how badass the real man was. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Plumley Wikipiedia Page on Sgt Major Plumley]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 93 (click to see context) from:
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Moore laments about the actions of US President LyndonJohnson prior to being sent to Vietnam, which will leave his battalion understrengthed.
to:
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Moore laments about the actions of US President LyndonJohnson UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson prior to being sent to Vietnam, which will leave his battalion understrengthed.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Spelling correction of \'batallion\'
Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
A 2002 movie set in the VietnamWar focusing on the RealLife campaign of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry (cavalry with helicopters not horses that is) in the Ia Drang valley in 1965, the first major battle between the United States and North Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (Creator/MelGibson) has to lead a batallion of 400 American soldiers against a force of 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. Notable in that, unlike most films about TheVietnamWar, it portrays both sides sympathetically and nobly.
to:
A 2002 movie set in the VietnamWar focusing on the RealLife campaign of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry (cavalry with helicopters not horses that is) in the Ia Drang valley in 1965, the first major battle between the United States and North Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (Creator/MelGibson) has to lead a batallion battalion of 400 American soldiers against a force of 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. Notable in that, unlike most films about TheVietnamWar, it portrays both sides sympathetically and nobly.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 91 (click to see context) from:
* NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont: A sharp-eyed viewer at [[http://www.imfdb.com the Internet Movie Firearms Database]] noticed that one of the North Vietnamese troopers killed in the final battle still has the safety on his AK-47 when the Americans overrun his position.
to:
* NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont: A sharp-eyed viewer at [[http://www.imfdb.com org/wiki/We_Were_Soldiers#AK-47 the Internet Movie Firearms Database]] noticed that one of the North Vietnamese troopers killed in the final battle still has the safety on his AK-47 when the Americans overrun his position.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 122 (click to see context) from:
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a week prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Alvin_Beckwith Chargin' Charlie Beckwith]]).
to:
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed over a week prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Alvin_Beckwith Chargin' Charlie Beckwith]]). His discussion on his status was also with Colonel Beckwith.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
This Troper is expressly forbidden anywhere on this wiki.
Changed line(s) 62 (click to see context) from:
*** May be a case of a different term for same thing, but this troper learned it in Army Basic as Recon By Fire, shooting into an area to get the enemy to respond by moving or shooting back.
to:
*** May be a case of a different term for same thing, but this troper learned it in Army Basic It is also known as Recon By Fire, shooting into an area to get the enemy to respond by moving or shooting back.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The men of Major Crandall's helicopter squadron, in Colonel Moore's words, "[[MildlyMilitary look like shit]]", and address each other by [[NomDeGuerre various unusual nicknames]] rather than ranks and names, but he notes that their equipment is immaculately maintained, and that they voluntarily show up to train even on their days off.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: The NVA soldiers nearly overrun the Americans, at one point fighting against Moore and his staff inside the Americans' field HQ. [[GodzillaThreshold This necessitates]] the TrialByFriendlyFire to push them back.
Changed line(s) 130 (click to see context) from:
to:
* YouShallNotPass: At one point, the NVA soldiers are fighting the American troopers [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs inside the field HQ]]. [[OldSoldier Plumley]] is standing square in the middle of the Casualty Collection Point with his M1911 one-shotting charging enemy soldiers to protect the wounded.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Crosswicking.
Added DiffLines:
* DisconnectedByDeath: Implied. A [[CommunicationsOfficer radio operator]] manages to tune in on frantic radio transmissions from a group of special forces soldiers heavily engaged in combat with the enemy in Vietnam. The signal is lost abruptly, but it is unclear if it was because the special forces troops were killed, or due to more mundane reasons, given the extreme range they picked up the transmission from.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
*** [[ShownTheirWork If you look closely, you can see that his uniform's branch insignia says "U.S. Air Force" rather than U.S. Army.]]
to:
*** [[ShownTheirWork If you look closely, you can see that his uniform's branch insignia says "U.S. Air Force" rather than U."U.S. Army.Army".]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** [[ShownTheirWork If you look closely, you can see that his uniform's branch insignia says "U.S. Air Force" rather than U.S. Army.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 125 (click to see context) from:
*** In RealLife, Moore and An held each other in ''very'' esteem, and, along with Joe Galloway, visited the Ia Drang Valley in 1993, and on learning of his death, Moore and Galloway went to his widow's house in Hanoi (where they found a copy of their book on in a glass display cabinet, with his uniform and decorations).
to:
*** In RealLife, Moore and An held each other in ''very'' esteem, and, along with Joe Galloway, visited the Ia Drang Valley in 1993, and on learning of his death, Moore and Galloway went to his widow's house in Hanoi (where they found a copy of their book on in a glass display cabinet, cabinet with his uniform and decorations).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a weep prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with Chargin' Charlie Beckwith).
to:
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a weep week prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Alvin_Beckwith Chargin' Charlie Beckwith).Beckwith]]).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
*** And in the British Army, the Mad Minute is in training, hitting a 12" target at 200 yards 15 times in one minute.
to:
*** And in the British Army, the Mad Minute is is, in training, hitting a 12" target at 200 yards 15 times in one minute.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** And in the British Army, the Mad Minute is in training, hitting a 12" target at 200 yards 15 times in one minute.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 48,49 (click to see context) from:
** A deleted scene features a 2nd Lieutenant fresh out of ROTC trying to boss around a seasoned veteran sergeant. Said sergeant manages to put the LT back in his place...by comming out [[NakedPeopleAreFunny just wearing his boots and his Medal of Honor]]. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome The LT salutes him immediately]].
*** he was actually wearing 2 Medals of Honor. Which is why this seen was deleted, as that hadn't happened since 1918.
*** he was actually wearing 2 Medals of Honor. Which is why this seen was deleted, as that hadn't happened since 1918.
to:
** A deleted scene features a 2nd Lieutenant fresh out of ROTC trying to boss around a seasoned veteran sergeant. Said sergeant manages to put the LT back in his place...by comming coming out [[NakedPeopleAreFunny just wearing his boots and his Medal of Honor]]. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome The LT salutes him immediately]].
***he He was actually wearing 2 two Medals of Honor. Which is why this seen scene was deleted, as that hadn't happened since 1918.
***
Changed line(s) 84 (click to see context) from:
** Several scenes emphasize this: both Lt. Col. Moore and Lt. Col. An look up at the same moon; Moore predicts the pattern of the NVA attack because it was how he would do it, and in the climactic [[spoiler:bayonet charge]] An's radioman is killed by his American counterpart. Also Jack Geoghegan's wife reading the letter that Moore sends her is played alongside the woman whose photograph is in the journal of the vietnamese soldier who tries to bayonette Moore as she reads his journal.
to:
** Several scenes emphasize this: both Lt. Col. Moore and Lt. Col. An look up at the same moon; Moore predicts the pattern of the NVA attack because it was how he would do it, and in the climactic [[spoiler:bayonet charge]] An's radioman is killed by his American counterpart. Also Jack Geoghegan's wife reading the letter that Moore sends her is played alongside the woman whose photograph is in the journal of the vietnamese Vietnamese soldier who tries to bayonette bayonet Moore as she reads his journal.
Changed line(s) 116 (click to see context) from:
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a weep prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with CHargin' Charlie Beckwith).
to:
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a weep prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with CHargin' Chargin' Charlie Beckwith).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 115 (click to see context) from:
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: A true story from a book of Similar Name that the movie was made from. Mediated though by the fact that some of the actual people involved were on set to make sure the filmmakers were getting the spirit if not the details right (although some scenes[=/=]lines ''were'' ripped straight from reality apparently). See AdaptationDistillation above
to:
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: A true story from a book of Similar Name that the movie was made from. Mediated though by the fact that some of the actual people involved were on set to make sure the filmmakers were getting the spirit if not the details right (although some scenes[=/=]lines ''were'' ripped straight from reality apparently). See AdaptationDistillation aboveabove.
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a weep prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with CHargin' Charlie Beckwith).
* VillainousValor: [[NotSoDifferent to no surprise.]] Special mention goes to the PAVN soldier who breaks through, if only for a moment, to the American command post. [[spoiler:Moore recovers the man's diary in a TearJerker near the end.]]
** Specifically, the bayonet charge at the end didn't happen (they were reinforced by two battalions and withdrew, and a B-52 bombed the NVA positions), and Joe Galloway's noncombatant status was discussed a weep prior - he arrived at the battle with an M16 (he was also at the Plei Mei Special Forces camp, and fed an M60 with CHargin' Charlie Beckwith).
* VillainousValor: [[NotSoDifferent to no surprise.]] Special mention goes to the PAVN soldier who breaks through, if only for a moment, to the American command post. [[spoiler:Moore recovers the man's diary in a TearJerker near the end.]]
Deleted line(s) 122 (click to see context) :
* VillainousValor: [[NotSoDifferent to no surprise.]] Special mention goes to the PAVN soldier who breaks through, if only for a moment, to the American command post. [[spoiler:Moore recovers the man's diary in a TearJerker near the end.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** In RealLife, Moore and An held each other in ''very'' esteem, and, along with Joe Galloway, visited the Ia Drang Valley in 1993, and on learning of his death, Moore and Galloway went to his widow's house in Hanoi (where they found a copy of their book on in a glass display cabinet, with his uniform and decorations).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 6 (click to see context) from:
* AcePilot: Bruce "Snake Shit" Crandall and his right-hand man, Too Tall, are UH-1 Huey pilots, who fly in and out of heavily contested landing zones to drop off troops and supplies, and to collect the wounded.
to:
* AcePilot: Major Bruce "Snake Shit" Crandall and his right-hand man, Too Tall, are UH-1 Huey pilots, who fly in and out of heavily contested landing zones to drop off troops and supplies, and to collect the wounded.
Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* CallToAgriculture: [[TagalongReporter Galloway]] ends up having to take a rifle and help defend the wounded troops when the battalion's HQ is overrun. As soon as the crisis has passed, he hangs up the rifle [[WarIsHell in disgust]] and picks up his camera to photograph the troops and chronicle their struggle.
to:
* CallToAgriculture: [[TagalongReporter Galloway]] ends up having to take a rifle and help defend the wounded troops when the battalion's HQ is overrun. As soon as the crisis has passed, he hangs up the rifle [[WarIsHell in disgust]] and picks up his camera to photograph the troops and chronicle their struggle. In RealLife, Galloway landed in Vietnam with a rifle.
Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
* CoolGuns: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Colonel Moore seems to like the new M-16 rifle. Sergeant Major Plumley thinks it feels too much like a toy compared to the weapons he's accustomed to. So instead he decides to play the trope straight with his Colt Model 1911 handgun (he uses an M14 for a rifle, [[TruthInTelevision as a lot of older soldiers did at the beginning of the war]]). He picks up an M-16 only once in the entire movie [[spoiler: to hand to the photojournalist to defend himself with during a fierce NVA attack.]]
to:
* CoolGuns: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Colonel Moore seems to like the new M-16 M16 rifle. Sergeant Major Plumley thinks it feels too much like a toy compared to the weapons he's accustomed to. So instead he decides to play the trope straight with his Colt Model 1911 handgun (he uses an M14 for a rifle, [[TruthInTelevision as a lot of older soldiers did at the beginning of the war]]). war]], as well as those not yet equipped with the M16). He picks up an M-16 M16 only once in the entire movie [[spoiler: to hand to the photojournalist to defend himself with during a fierce NVA attack.]]
Changed line(s) 49,51 (click to see context) from:
*** he was actually wearing 2 Medals of Honor.
**** which is why this seen was deleted, as that hasn't happened since 1918.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Galloway, who has spent most of his time on the battlefield laying low and talking to people, is handed a blood-soaked rifle and tasked with helping defend the wounded (and himself). As soon as the enemy has been pushed back, he [[CallToAgriculture hangs the rifle from a tree and picks up his camera again.]]
**** which is why this seen was deleted, as that hasn't happened since 1918.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Galloway, who has spent most of his time on the battlefield laying low and talking to people, is handed a blood-soaked rifle and tasked with helping defend the wounded (and himself). As soon as the enemy has been pushed back, he [[CallToAgriculture hangs the rifle from a tree and picks up his camera again.]]
to:
*** he was actually wearing 2 Medals of Honor.
**** whichHonor. Which is why this seen was deleted, as that hasn't hadn't happened since 1918.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Galloway, who has spent most of his time on the battlefield laying low and talking to people, is handed a blood-soaked rifle and tasked with helping defend the wounded (and himself). As soon as the enemy has been pushed back, he [[CallToAgriculture hangs the rifle from a tree and picks up his cameraagain.]]again]] (in RealLife, his noncombatant status was discussed a week prior to the battle, and he arrived at there with a rifle).
**** which
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Galloway, who has spent most of his time on the battlefield laying low and talking to people, is handed a blood-soaked rifle and tasked with helping defend the wounded (and himself). As soon as the enemy has been pushed back, he [[CallToAgriculture hangs the rifle from a tree and picks up his camera
Changed line(s) 106 (click to see context) from:
** A deleted scene has a soldier telling his buddies a story about Plumley, whom he knew from his old unit. He describes his old platoon sergeant. Big scary dude, with scars on his face. When their new platoon leader, [[EnsignNewbie a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of ROTC]], gets in his face about not wearing all his decorations, he goes back to the barracks, and comes back wearing ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny only]]'' his boots, all of his ribbons and medals ''pinned directly to his chest'', and ''not one but two Medals Of Honor''. (The LT then promptly salutes him per military custom.[[note]]It's a ''de facto'' rule that anyone who has won the Medal of Honor is entitled to a salute from all personnel present, regardless of rank.[[/note]]) The soldier telling the story then reveals this sergeant is ''not'' Sgt. Major Plumley, but works for Sgt. Maj. Plumley and is ''terrified'' of him.
to:
** A deleted scene has a soldier telling his buddies a story about Plumley, whom he knew from his old unit. He describes his old platoon sergeant. Big scary dude, with scars on his face. When their new platoon leader, [[EnsignNewbie a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of ROTC]], gets in his face about not wearing all his decorations, he goes back to the barracks, and comes back wearing ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny only]]'' his boots, all of his ribbons and medals ''pinned directly to his chest'', and ''not one but two Medals Of Honor''. (The LT then promptly salutes him per military custom.[[note]]It's a ''de facto'' rule that anyone who has won the Medal of Honor is entitled to a salute from all personnel present, regardless of rank.[[/note]]) The soldier telling the story then reveals this sergeant is ''not'' Sgt. Major Plumley, Plumley (as the last double Medal of Honour award was in 1918), but works for Sgt. Maj. Plumley and is ''terrified'' of him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
****which is why this seen was deleted, as that hasn't happened since 1918.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* MissingBackBlast: Averted. A North Vietnamese trooper is shown wearing a protective mask and goggles while firing a rocket launcher.
Added DiffLines:
* NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont: A sharp-eyed viewer at [[http://www.imfdb.com the Internet Movie Firearms Database]] noticed that one of the North Vietnamese troopers killed in the final battle still has the safety on his AK-47 when the Americans overrun his position.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* DeathFromAbove: The American forces invoke it with artillery, helicopters, and attack planes. Mostly used against the North Vietnamese troops, but a mis-aimed napalm bomb leads to NightmareFuel and BodyHorror.
to:
* DeathFromAbove: The American forces invoke it with artillery, helicopters, and attack planes. Mostly used against the North Vietnamese troops, but a mis-aimed napalm bomb leads to NightmareFuel and BodyHorror.
Changed line(s) 77 (click to see context) from:
* NomDeGuerre: Amongst the Air Cavalry pilots, we have [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Too Tall]] and [[PrecisionFStrike Snake Shit]][[hottip:*: An "Affectionate Appellation" by Major Crandall's men, referring to the fact that he [[AcrophobicBird flies lower than snake shit.]]
to:
* NomDeGuerre: Amongst the Air Cavalry pilots, we have [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Too Tall]] and [[PrecisionFStrike Snake Shit]][[hottip:*: An Shit]][[note]]An "Affectionate Appellation" by Major Crandall's men, referring to the fact that he [[AcrophobicBird flies lower than snake shit.]]]][[/note]].
Changed line(s) 101 (click to see context) from:
** A deleted scene has a soldier telling his buddies a story about Plumley, whom he knew from his old unit. He describes his old platoon sergeant. Big scary dude, with scars on his face. When their new platoon leader, [[EnsignNewbie a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of ROTC]], gets in his face about not wearing all his decorations, he goes back to the barracks, and comes back wearing ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny only]]'' his boots, all of his ribbons and medals ''pinned directly to his chest'', and ''not one but two Medals Of Honor''. (The LT then promptly salutes him per military custom.[[hottip:*:It's a ''de facto'' rule that anyone who has won the Medal of Honor is entitled to a salute from all personnel present, regardless of rank.]]) The soldier telling the story then reveals this sergeant is ''not'' Sgt. Major Plumley, but works for Sgt. Maj. Plumley and is ''terrified'' of him.
to:
** A deleted scene has a soldier telling his buddies a story about Plumley, whom he knew from his old unit. He describes his old platoon sergeant. Big scary dude, with scars on his face. When their new platoon leader, [[EnsignNewbie a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of ROTC]], gets in his face about not wearing all his decorations, he goes back to the barracks, and comes back wearing ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny only]]'' his boots, all of his ribbons and medals ''pinned directly to his chest'', and ''not one but two Medals Of Honor''. (The LT then promptly salutes him per military custom.[[hottip:*:It's [[note]]It's a ''de facto'' rule that anyone who has won the Medal of Honor is entitled to a salute from all personnel present, regardless of rank.]]) [[/note]]) The soldier telling the story then reveals this sergeant is ''not'' Sgt. Major Plumley, but works for Sgt. Maj. Plumley and is ''terrified'' of him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Good Looking Privates now only deals with in-story acknowledgement that the person is better looking because of the uniform. Re-add with correct context if this example fits.
Deleted line(s) 58 (click to see context) :
* GoodLookingPrivates: When the soldiers are in their Class A uniforms at the ball before shipping out.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ClickHello: A group of [=NVA=] troops are trying to find Savage's lost platoon in the jungle. Due to the thick foliage and tall grass, the Americans end up HiddenInPlainSight, even with the Vietnamese troops almost right on top of them. The [=NVA=] troopers [[OhCrap realize this]] when Savage switches his safety selector from "Single" to "[[MoreDakka Auto]]".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
A 2002 movie set in the VietnamWar focusing on the RealLife campaign of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry (cavalry with helicopters not horses that is) in the Ia Drang valley in 1965, the first major battle between the United States and North Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (Creator/MelGibson) has to lead a batallion of 400 American soldiers against a force of 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. Notable in that, unlike most films about TheVietnamWar, it portrays both sides sympathetically and nobly.
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* AcePilot: Bruce "Snake Shit" Crandall and his right-hand man, Too Tall, are UH-1 Huey pilots, who fly in and out of heavily contested landing zones to drop off troops and supplies, and to collect the wounded.
* AcrophobicBird: Some of the American planes seem to be flying in a ''lot'' lower than is strictly necessary for delivering air support. Air-dropped bombs typically have a blast radius measured in hundreds of feet, which especially includes the area directly above where the bomb lands.
** In RealLife, at least one of the American pilots met his end this way: fragmentation from a bomb dropped below the minimum safe altitude flew back up and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hit his plane]], causing it to crash.
** Evidently, his practice of invoking this trope in a transport helicopter is what earned Major Bruce Crandall the nickname "Snake Shit". Justified in this case, as flying at low altitude and high speed is a popular method of avoiding anti-aircraft fire (known as "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nap-of-the-earth Nap-Of-The-Earth]]").
* AdaptationDistillation: From book to movie, there are noted historical differences between the two, supposedly to make a more condensed product for the movie. Even the title fits the trope. The book was originally called ''We Were Soldiers Once...and Young''.
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Private Godbolt ends up with some nasty blisters on his feet during training.
* ApronMatron: Julia Moore, who is a very queenly TeamMom to all the [[MyGirlBackHome Girls back home]] at the base.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Sergeant Savage.
** FluffyTheTerrible: Sergeant Major ''Basil'' Plumley. [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in a deleted scene, no less.
* BadassGrandpa: Sergeant Major Plumley. [[BerserkButton Don't you dare tell him that.]]
--> '''Sgt. Major Plumley''': ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny If any of you sons of bitches calls me grandpa, I'll kill you.]]''
** Best part? While the people who knew Plumley agreed Sam Eliot did an excellent job portraying him, he actually ''underplayed'' how badass the real man was.
* BashBrothers: Lieutenant Geoghegan and Private Godbolt end up becoming quite the team on the battlefield. [[spoiler: They both die after Geoghegan tries to carry mortally wounded Godbolt to safety.]]
* BearerOfBadNews: The taxi driver, and later, Julia Moore.
* BenevolentBoss: Lieutenant Geoghegan, who makes a point of making a soldier take off his boots so he can inspect his feet for blisters when he sees him wincing while marching, and reminding the other men to do the same.
* BodyHorror: The film shows the horrifying effects of napalm when a canister is accidentally dropped on a group of American troops.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Apparently, northern California is a dead ringer for Vietnam.
** TruthInTelevision. The Ia Drang Valley looks a lot like the filming location. Not all of Vietnam was jungle or city.
* TheCaptain: Moore.
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Moore, as noted above, is the father to his men type. Plumley is there to kick them in the ass whenever they need it. (And sometimes just because).
* CallToAgriculture: [[TagalongReporter Galloway]] ends up having to take a rifle and help defend the wounded troops when the battalion's HQ is overrun. As soon as the crisis has passed, he hangs up the rifle [[WarIsHell in disgust]] and picks up his camera to photograph the troops and chronicle their struggle.
* TheCavalry: Strictly speaking, when the Lost Platoon is rescued by the troopers late in the film, they were being rescued by TheCavalry (even if it was their own unit, and even if everybody was on foot and moving slowly to avoid ambushes).
** The RevisedEnding plays it more straight [[spoiler: with a helicopter gunship [[CurbStompBattle curb stomping]] a large portion of the NVA defenses just before Moore's bayonet charge is about to get slaughtered.]]
* TheChainsOfCommanding: After the battle, [[spoiler:Moore suffers a brief HeroicBSOD over the fact that so many of his men have died yet he is still alive.]]
* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Minigun]]: Before the training sequence, the officers of the soon-to-be 7th Cavalry are seen standing around a [[GatlingGood minigun]] on a table. The minigun makes its appearance later during [[spoiler: the aformentioned GunshipRescue.]]
* ColonelBadass: Hal Moore
* CombatBreakdown: One engagement between the Lost Platoon and a group of North Vietnamese soldiers devolves to a desperate brawl, with one American soldier beating a Vietnamese troop to death with a helmet.
** Another, less extreme example is when the North Vietnamese overrun the Americans' lines and briefly end up fighting Moore and his officers in their own headquarters, with the wounded American soldiers that had been awaiting medevac now fighting the enemy soldiers at point blank range. The Americans end up having to call an air strike [[TrialByFriendlyFire on their own position]] to force the North Vietnamese off (granted, they didn't mean for the strike to land ''quite'' as close as it ended up - the American jets end up killing several of their own troops by mistake.)
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When the officers and their wives dance and sing along to "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die" while celebrating getting to go off and fight in Vietnam.
* CommunicationsOfficer: On both sides, we see radiomen with backpack radios passing information back and forth. Several end up getting killed throughout the movie.
** Of particular note is Colonel Moore's personal radioman, who got that job during training after he managed to tune in on a radio transmission from a firefight happening in Vietnam, on the far side of the world. This scene was TruthInTelevision, due to a [[RealityIsUnrealistic quirk of UHF radio signals]]. The signals can actually bounce off of the upper atmosphere, effectively bank-shotting the signal around the Earth.
** Another radioman had the primary responsibility of calling in artillery strikes and air support. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the book the film was based on]], he was a fighter pilot who was trained to serve specifically in this role.
* CoolGuns: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Colonel Moore seems to like the new M-16 rifle. Sergeant Major Plumley thinks it feels too much like a toy compared to the weapons he's accustomed to. So instead he decides to play the trope straight with his Colt Model 1911 handgun (he uses an M14 for a rifle, [[TruthInTelevision as a lot of older soldiers did at the beginning of the war]]). He picks up an M-16 only once in the entire movie [[spoiler: to hand to the photojournalist to defend himself with during a fierce NVA attack.]]
* DareToBeBadass: Sgt. Major Plumley to Joe Galloway, who he finds trying to take pictures of the battle while also lying flat in the grass to avoid getting shot.
-->''You ain't gonna get any pictures down there, boy.''
* DeathFromAbove: The American forces invoke it with artillery, helicopters, and attack planes. Mostly used against the North Vietnamese troops, but a mis-aimed napalm bomb leads to NightmareFuel and BodyHorror.
* DeathNotification: Due to the RuleOfDrama, we see the notices being delivered as each soldier dies in combat, although in reality there was likely several weeks of delay. Also {{subverted}}; the notices are delivered by a taxi cab driver, who ''really'' isn't enjoying the experience.
** [[ApronMatron Julia Moore]] and Barbara Geoghegan take it upon themselves to deliver the letters themselves, both to save the taxi driver from some of the anguish and out of a sense of responsibility to their neighbors.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] again [[spoiler: in the film's climax, when a car with two men in uniform stop in front of Julia's house... and one of them is Hal Moore, home from the war.]]
* DueToTheDead: After the battle, the Americans collect the fallen, retrieving the bodies of their own comrades, and collecting the NVA's fallen so that they can retrieve them once the Americans depart, which the North Vietnamese soldiers do later on.
* EnsignNewbie: One of the platoon commanders leads his men into the woods in pursuit of some fleeing NVA scouts, and end up [[TrappedBehindEnemyLines cut off from the rest of the American troops.]] [[spoiler:He is very quickly killed [[HeroicSacrifice attempting to lead his men back to safety]], leaving [[YouAreInCommandNow Sergeant Savage in charge of the cut-off platoon.]]]]
** A deleted scene features a 2nd Lieutenant fresh out of ROTC trying to boss around a seasoned veteran sergeant. Said sergeant manages to put the LT back in his place...by comming out [[NakedPeopleAreFunny just wearing his boots and his Medal of Honor]]. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome The LT salutes him immediately]].
*** he was actually wearing 2 Medals of Honor.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Galloway, who has spent most of his time on the battlefield laying low and talking to people, is handed a blood-soaked rifle and tasked with helping defend the wounded (and himself). As soon as the enemy has been pushed back, he [[CallToAgriculture hangs the rifle from a tree and picks up his camera again.]]
* FatalFamilyPhoto: One per side.
* AFatherToHisMen: Hal Moore, and the North Vietnamese commander.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During their training, Moore, wanting to [[AnyoneCanDie make a point]], declares that one of the platoon commanders, Lieutenant Herrick, is now "dead", and that the platoon sergeant next to him is now in command. He then declares the platoon sergeant dead, because he hesitated. Sergeant Savage takes charge and orders the men to get off the chopper. [[spoiler: Once the fighting starts, two of the first men to be killed are Lieutenant Herrick and his platoon sergeant, leaving Sergeant Savage in command of the platoon.]]
* GenreSavvy: Both Colonel Moore and Sergeant Major Plumley, due to their lengthy military experience.
** Moore arrives at a section of the American Line that's too quiet. When asked what's wrong he explains, "There's nothing wrong here...[[ItsQuietTooQuiet except that there's nothing wrong...]]" He orders his troops to fire a few shots at anything they see that looks suspicious, inciting a massive gunfight as the hidden Vietnamese troops return fire.
*** Another example of TruthInTelevision. This strategy of flushing out the enemy with random gunfire is called "The Mad Minute"
*** May be a case of a different term for same thing, but this troper learned it in Army Basic as Recon By Fire, shooting into an area to get the enemy to respond by moving or shooting back.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: Lt. Colonel Moore holds an advanced degree from [[IvyLeagueForEveryone Harvard]] and is an astute student of military history, but both the testimony of his fellow officers and his subsequent [[BadassBookworm conduct on the field]] prove that is is not an [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation out-of-touch]] "intellectual" (as one officer contemptuously puts it). True to form, he is an [[ThePatriarch excellent father and husband]].
** While Moore had indeed undertaken graduate studies at Harvard, he had also graduated beforehand from West Point (where he got his Bachelor's Degree). As well, Moore had served in combat during the Korean War and won the Bronze Star Medal there.
* GoodLookingPrivates: When the soldiers are in their Class A uniforms at the ball before shipping out.
* GloryHound: While observing their troops during a training exercise, Moore makes note that Lt. Geoghegan is a great leader, while Plumely points out another lieutenant who's yelling at his men, and says that that LT just wants to win medals.
* GreaterNeedThanMine: A wounded soldier gives up his spot on a chopper to a more seriously wounded soldier saying he'll get on the next one. [[spoiler: While patting the other soldier as the chopper is about to leave, he's shot and killed]].
* GunshipRescue: The American forces use ''liberal'' amounts of air support to fight off the NVA offensive. [[spoiler:Also plays a key role in the final battle, when an actual gunship saves the American troops from a prepared ambush.]]
* HopelessWar: Even though the US troops win the battle, Moore foreshadows a few times during the film the real life issues the US will end up facing in Vietnam and ultimately prevent them from achieving victory. Lt. Col. An also says something at the end of the movie along the lines that a lot of people will die to land both sides in the same place they were in before (although that could be extrapolated to saying that this is the end-result of all wars ultimately).
* IconicItem: Galloway's [[IntrepidReporter camera]] [[spoiler: and rifle]], Sergeant Major Plumley's [[OldSoldier M1911]], the French bugle, the NVA trooper's diary, and Lieutenant Geoghegan's bracelet.
* IntrepidReporter: Joe Galloway, hitches a ride in a Huey headed to the battle so he can get a first-hand look at what's going on.
-->'''Lt. Colonel Hal Moore''': ''Where you from, son? ''
-->'''Joseph Galloway''': ''Refugio, [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]], sir. ''
-->'''Lt. Colonel Hal Moore''': ''Well, that's the first thing I've heard today that makes any sense. ''
* ImprovisedWeapon: At one point, a helmet, during [[CombatBreakdown a particularly desperate fight.]]
* KeepTheHomeFiresBurning: Julie as a few scenes of this trope.
* KillItWithFire: Napalm dropped from attack planes, as well as what appears to be a phosphorus grenade at one point.
* LastStand: Averted but discussed several times. Everyone remembers that this is [[InTheBlood Custer's unit]] but they manage to ScrewDestiny.
* LeaveNoSurvivors: During the film's prologue.
* MeaningfulEcho: Sergeant Savage's greeting to Sergeant Major Plumley early in the film: "Good Day, Sergeant Major!" When he first uses it, Plumley's response is less than friendly. Later variations on the greeting result in heavier doses of spite. Finally, towards the end of the film, Sgt. Savage is standing and looking around [[spoiler: at the battlefield, surrounded by dead and wounded, himself covered in dirt and blood after having spent the night with his platoon cut off and fighting for their lives.]] Sgt. Major Plumley looks him in the eye and says "[[WellDoneSonGuy Now it's a nice day, Sergeant Savage.]]"
* TheMenFirst: Moore refuses an order from his superiors to evacuate just him, telling them that he will not abandon his men.
** Also, just as he promised earlier in the movie, he is the first man to set foot on the battlefield and the last one to leave at the end.
* MoodWhiplash: See PrayerOfMalice
* MoreDakka: The point of the "Mad Minute," mentioned above under GenreSavvy. If you suspect the enemy is hiding somewhere, perforate that somewhere with sustained automatic fire.
* NomDeGuerre: Amongst the Air Cavalry pilots, we have [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Too Tall]] and [[PrecisionFStrike Snake Shit]][[hottip:*: An "Affectionate Appellation" by Major Crandall's men, referring to the fact that he [[AcrophobicBird flies lower than snake shit.]]
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Moore promises his men that "Dead or alive, we will all come home together."
* NotSoDifferent: US Army and North Vietnamese Army.
** Also lampshaded by Moore when he is praying to God for protection for his troops, acknowledging that the North Vietnamese troops were no doubt making similar prayers.
** Several scenes emphasize this: both Lt. Col. Moore and Lt. Col. An look up at the same moon; Moore predicts the pattern of the NVA attack because it was how he would do it, and in the climactic [[spoiler:bayonet charge]] An's radioman is killed by his American counterpart. Also Jack Geoghegan's wife reading the letter that Moore sends her is played alongside the woman whose photograph is in the journal of the vietnamese soldier who tries to bayonette Moore as she reads his journal.
* NowYouTellMe: Colonel Moore's radio operator calls Crandall's helicopters to tell them they have a hot LZ. Crandall receives this message as his Hueys are being peppered with small arms fire.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Moore laments about the actions of US President LyndonJohnson prior to being sent to Vietnam, which will leave his battalion understrengthed.
* OhCrap: When the American brass hear Moore calling out "Broken Arrow", they realize that the situation is much ''much'' worse than they thought.
* OldSoldier: Sergeant Major Plumley, in spades. He has one of the page quotes.
--> ''GENTLEMEN! [[ThisIsGonnaSuck PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES!]]''
* PrayerOfMalice: Providing some MoodWhiplash immediately after a NotSoDifferent moment:
--> ''"Oh, yes, and one more thing, dear Lord, about our enemies, ignore their heathen prayers and help us blow those little bastards straight to Hell. Amen."''
* RealityIsUnrealistic: Picking up radio transmissions from the far side of the world is very possible with UHF radios such as the ones used by many military forces, due to a quirk of signals in that frequency: they have a tendency to bounce off of one of the upper layers of the atmosphere, using it like a reflector to bankshot transmissions around the curvature of the Earth.
** The scenes that critics complained were cheesy, corny, melodramatic or unrealistic tended to be the ones lifted ''directly from real life!'' This includes lines said by soldiers as they were dying. In the director's commentary the director himself brings this up, which makes the rather ironic point that it would have been far more unrealistic if the soldiers had said something witty or clever as they were lying dying in enormous pain with little mental faculties left.
* RealMenLoveJesus: Lt.Col. Moore and 2nd LT. Jack Geoghegan.
* RealMenWearPink: Moore and Geoghegan again. The [[EnsignNewbie young lieutenant]] has just become a father and is wearing a string of pink and white beads with his daughter's name, something one would expect to see on a teenage girl's wrist, at least if not for this trope. When Moore notices it, the lieutenant tries to take it off, but Moore ''orders'' him to leave it there.
* RecruitersAlwaysLie: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]], in a half-joking fashion, by Sgt. Major Plumley.
--> ''Kinda makes you wish you'd signed up for Submarines, don't it?''
* {{Retirony}}: Jimmy Nakayama.
* RevisedEnding: [[spoiler: The bayonet charge in the finale never happened in RealLife. Moore's troops were reinforced by two other battalions and then evacuated before a B-52 carpet bombing strike moved in to finish off the enemy headquarters]]
* RousingSpeech: Sergeant Major Plumley gives his commander one of the shortest ones on record.
--> '''Sgt. Major Plumley''': ''Sir, Custer was a pussy. You ain't.''
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: The enlisted men and the [=NCOs=] (and most of the officers) are rightfully terrified of Sergeant Major Plumley.
* SergeantRock: Sgt. Major Plumley
** A deleted scene has a soldier telling his buddies a story about Plumley, whom he knew from his old unit. He describes his old platoon sergeant. Big scary dude, with scars on his face. When their new platoon leader, [[EnsignNewbie a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of ROTC]], gets in his face about not wearing all his decorations, he goes back to the barracks, and comes back wearing ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny only]]'' his boots, all of his ribbons and medals ''pinned directly to his chest'', and ''not one but two Medals Of Honor''. (The LT then promptly salutes him per military custom.[[hottip:*:It's a ''de facto'' rule that anyone who has won the Medal of Honor is entitled to a salute from all personnel present, regardless of rank.]]) The soldier telling the story then reveals this sergeant is ''not'' Sgt. Major Plumley, but works for Sgt. Maj. Plumley and is ''terrified'' of him.
* TheSeventhCavalry: Due to the ways military heraldry works, Colonel Moore's unit is a descendant of the TropeNamer. This does inspire a bit of [[DiscussedTrope discussion]] on the parallels, leading to the quote for RousingSpeech.
* SoundtrackDissonance: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2Ad04mukI Sgt. MacKenzie]]'', a mournful Scottish dirge, plays over some of the more intense action sequences, including [[spoiler:the BigDamnGunship blasting the NVA base camp just before Moore's battalion overruns it,]] to emphasize the horror and sadness of the war even in victory.
* SympatheticPOV: The NVA gets their scenes as well, and they are portrayed as normal people fighting for their own country, and not as DirtyCommunists.
* TagalongReporter: Galloway. The first time we see him, he is [[QuickNip finishing his drink]] before he impulsively jumps onto a chopper heading to Landing Zone X-Ray. Spends most of the rest of the movie [[TheWatson talking to the soldiers]] and [[ActionSurvivor staying alive.]]
* [[strike:[[TalkingIsAFreeAction Talking]]]] [[TalkingIsAFreeAction Bugling Is A Free Action]] ([[KilledMidSentence Nope.]])
* TeamMom Julia and a group of the other army wives take it upon themselves to deliver the DeathNotification telegrams to each other, preferring to become a hated bearer of bad news than to let their friends' hearts be broken by an anonymous courier in a taxi cab.
* TrappedBehindEnemyLines
* TrialByFriendlyFire: The Americans are forced to call in air strikes on their own positions when they are nearly overrun by the North Vietnamese. While the strike swings the balance of power back their way, several American troops die or are horribly wounded when two of their own planes accidentally drop bombs on top of them.
* UnusualEuphemism: Major Bruce Crandall is addressed by his subordinates with the less-than-dignified nickname of "Snake Shit". He refers to it as an "Affectionate Appellation" when asked about it by Colonel Moore.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: A true story from a book of Similar Name that the movie was made from. Mediated though by the fact that some of the actual people involved were on set to make sure the filmmakers were getting the spirit if not the details right (although some scenes[=/=]lines ''were'' ripped straight from reality apparently). See AdaptationDistillation above
* WarIsHell: Particularly for [[EnsignNewbie Lt. Herrick's]] platoon, who spend most of the battle cut off from the rest of the battalion and pinned down by the enemy. Nevermind [[BodyHorror poor Jimmy]].
** Also the napalm: fire which ''sticks'' to you.
** Another scene that reinforces this is when the helicopter full of reporters arrive after the battle. Moore and Joe are deluged with questions from the reporters, and the men can only stay silent and turn away in disgust.
* WonTheWarLostThePeace: A deleted scene has Moore meeting with General William Westmoreland and US Secretary of Defense Robert [=McNamara=] after the battle and explaining, as history showed, that this will inevitably prevent the US victory in Vietnam.
* WorthyOpponent: The North Vietnamese Army.
** Lt. Col. An, Hal Moore's NVA counterpart, even makes it a point to be the last to leave his bunker when Americans threaten it, just as Moore himself promised to be the last off the battlefield. When the battle's over and the NVA are policing the battlefield An notices a miniature American flag stuck in a broken tree. He holds it briefly before putting it back.
* VillainousValor: [[NotSoDifferent to no surprise.]] Special mention goes to the PAVN soldier who breaks through, if only for a moment, to the American command post. [[spoiler:Moore recovers the man's diary in a TearJerker near the end.]]
* YouAreInCommandNow: [[spoiler: Sergeant Savage]]
** In RealLife, something of a subversion. He was not the highest ranking man still alive amongst the platoon, but he ''was'' the only [=NCO=] near the platoon's radio operator, and he was the man who took command when the platoon's senior leadership was killed.
<<|{{Film}}|>>
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* AcePilot: Bruce "Snake Shit" Crandall and his right-hand man, Too Tall, are UH-1 Huey pilots, who fly in and out of heavily contested landing zones to drop off troops and supplies, and to collect the wounded.
* AcrophobicBird: Some of the American planes seem to be flying in a ''lot'' lower than is strictly necessary for delivering air support. Air-dropped bombs typically have a blast radius measured in hundreds of feet, which especially includes the area directly above where the bomb lands.
** In RealLife, at least one of the American pilots met his end this way: fragmentation from a bomb dropped below the minimum safe altitude flew back up and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hit his plane]], causing it to crash.
** Evidently, his practice of invoking this trope in a transport helicopter is what earned Major Bruce Crandall the nickname "Snake Shit". Justified in this case, as flying at low altitude and high speed is a popular method of avoiding anti-aircraft fire (known as "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nap-of-the-earth Nap-Of-The-Earth]]").
* AdaptationDistillation: From book to movie, there are noted historical differences between the two, supposedly to make a more condensed product for the movie. Even the title fits the trope. The book was originally called ''We Were Soldiers Once...and Young''.
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Private Godbolt ends up with some nasty blisters on his feet during training.
* ApronMatron: Julia Moore, who is a very queenly TeamMom to all the [[MyGirlBackHome Girls back home]] at the base.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Sergeant Savage.
** FluffyTheTerrible: Sergeant Major ''Basil'' Plumley. [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in a deleted scene, no less.
* BadassGrandpa: Sergeant Major Plumley. [[BerserkButton Don't you dare tell him that.]]
--> '''Sgt. Major Plumley''': ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny If any of you sons of bitches calls me grandpa, I'll kill you.]]''
** Best part? While the people who knew Plumley agreed Sam Eliot did an excellent job portraying him, he actually ''underplayed'' how badass the real man was.
* BashBrothers: Lieutenant Geoghegan and Private Godbolt end up becoming quite the team on the battlefield. [[spoiler: They both die after Geoghegan tries to carry mortally wounded Godbolt to safety.]]
* BearerOfBadNews: The taxi driver, and later, Julia Moore.
* BenevolentBoss: Lieutenant Geoghegan, who makes a point of making a soldier take off his boots so he can inspect his feet for blisters when he sees him wincing while marching, and reminding the other men to do the same.
* BodyHorror: The film shows the horrifying effects of napalm when a canister is accidentally dropped on a group of American troops.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Apparently, northern California is a dead ringer for Vietnam.
** TruthInTelevision. The Ia Drang Valley looks a lot like the filming location. Not all of Vietnam was jungle or city.
* TheCaptain: Moore.
* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Moore, as noted above, is the father to his men type. Plumley is there to kick them in the ass whenever they need it. (And sometimes just because).
* CallToAgriculture: [[TagalongReporter Galloway]] ends up having to take a rifle and help defend the wounded troops when the battalion's HQ is overrun. As soon as the crisis has passed, he hangs up the rifle [[WarIsHell in disgust]] and picks up his camera to photograph the troops and chronicle their struggle.
* TheCavalry: Strictly speaking, when the Lost Platoon is rescued by the troopers late in the film, they were being rescued by TheCavalry (even if it was their own unit, and even if everybody was on foot and moving slowly to avoid ambushes).
** The RevisedEnding plays it more straight [[spoiler: with a helicopter gunship [[CurbStompBattle curb stomping]] a large portion of the NVA defenses just before Moore's bayonet charge is about to get slaughtered.]]
* TheChainsOfCommanding: After the battle, [[spoiler:Moore suffers a brief HeroicBSOD over the fact that so many of his men have died yet he is still alive.]]
* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Minigun]]: Before the training sequence, the officers of the soon-to-be 7th Cavalry are seen standing around a [[GatlingGood minigun]] on a table. The minigun makes its appearance later during [[spoiler: the aformentioned GunshipRescue.]]
* ColonelBadass: Hal Moore
* CombatBreakdown: One engagement between the Lost Platoon and a group of North Vietnamese soldiers devolves to a desperate brawl, with one American soldier beating a Vietnamese troop to death with a helmet.
** Another, less extreme example is when the North Vietnamese overrun the Americans' lines and briefly end up fighting Moore and his officers in their own headquarters, with the wounded American soldiers that had been awaiting medevac now fighting the enemy soldiers at point blank range. The Americans end up having to call an air strike [[TrialByFriendlyFire on their own position]] to force the North Vietnamese off (granted, they didn't mean for the strike to land ''quite'' as close as it ended up - the American jets end up killing several of their own troops by mistake.)
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When the officers and their wives dance and sing along to "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die" while celebrating getting to go off and fight in Vietnam.
* CommunicationsOfficer: On both sides, we see radiomen with backpack radios passing information back and forth. Several end up getting killed throughout the movie.
** Of particular note is Colonel Moore's personal radioman, who got that job during training after he managed to tune in on a radio transmission from a firefight happening in Vietnam, on the far side of the world. This scene was TruthInTelevision, due to a [[RealityIsUnrealistic quirk of UHF radio signals]]. The signals can actually bounce off of the upper atmosphere, effectively bank-shotting the signal around the Earth.
** Another radioman had the primary responsibility of calling in artillery strikes and air support. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the book the film was based on]], he was a fighter pilot who was trained to serve specifically in this role.
* CoolGuns: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Colonel Moore seems to like the new M-16 rifle. Sergeant Major Plumley thinks it feels too much like a toy compared to the weapons he's accustomed to. So instead he decides to play the trope straight with his Colt Model 1911 handgun (he uses an M14 for a rifle, [[TruthInTelevision as a lot of older soldiers did at the beginning of the war]]). He picks up an M-16 only once in the entire movie [[spoiler: to hand to the photojournalist to defend himself with during a fierce NVA attack.]]
* DareToBeBadass: Sgt. Major Plumley to Joe Galloway, who he finds trying to take pictures of the battle while also lying flat in the grass to avoid getting shot.
-->''You ain't gonna get any pictures down there, boy.''
* DeathFromAbove: The American forces invoke it with artillery, helicopters, and attack planes. Mostly used against the North Vietnamese troops, but a mis-aimed napalm bomb leads to NightmareFuel and BodyHorror.
* DeathNotification: Due to the RuleOfDrama, we see the notices being delivered as each soldier dies in combat, although in reality there was likely several weeks of delay. Also {{subverted}}; the notices are delivered by a taxi cab driver, who ''really'' isn't enjoying the experience.
** [[ApronMatron Julia Moore]] and Barbara Geoghegan take it upon themselves to deliver the letters themselves, both to save the taxi driver from some of the anguish and out of a sense of responsibility to their neighbors.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] again [[spoiler: in the film's climax, when a car with two men in uniform stop in front of Julia's house... and one of them is Hal Moore, home from the war.]]
* DueToTheDead: After the battle, the Americans collect the fallen, retrieving the bodies of their own comrades, and collecting the NVA's fallen so that they can retrieve them once the Americans depart, which the North Vietnamese soldiers do later on.
* EnsignNewbie: One of the platoon commanders leads his men into the woods in pursuit of some fleeing NVA scouts, and end up [[TrappedBehindEnemyLines cut off from the rest of the American troops.]] [[spoiler:He is very quickly killed [[HeroicSacrifice attempting to lead his men back to safety]], leaving [[YouAreInCommandNow Sergeant Savage in charge of the cut-off platoon.]]]]
** A deleted scene features a 2nd Lieutenant fresh out of ROTC trying to boss around a seasoned veteran sergeant. Said sergeant manages to put the LT back in his place...by comming out [[NakedPeopleAreFunny just wearing his boots and his Medal of Honor]]. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome The LT salutes him immediately]].
*** he was actually wearing 2 Medals of Honor.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Galloway, who has spent most of his time on the battlefield laying low and talking to people, is handed a blood-soaked rifle and tasked with helping defend the wounded (and himself). As soon as the enemy has been pushed back, he [[CallToAgriculture hangs the rifle from a tree and picks up his camera again.]]
* FatalFamilyPhoto: One per side.
* AFatherToHisMen: Hal Moore, and the North Vietnamese commander.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During their training, Moore, wanting to [[AnyoneCanDie make a point]], declares that one of the platoon commanders, Lieutenant Herrick, is now "dead", and that the platoon sergeant next to him is now in command. He then declares the platoon sergeant dead, because he hesitated. Sergeant Savage takes charge and orders the men to get off the chopper. [[spoiler: Once the fighting starts, two of the first men to be killed are Lieutenant Herrick and his platoon sergeant, leaving Sergeant Savage in command of the platoon.]]
* GenreSavvy: Both Colonel Moore and Sergeant Major Plumley, due to their lengthy military experience.
** Moore arrives at a section of the American Line that's too quiet. When asked what's wrong he explains, "There's nothing wrong here...[[ItsQuietTooQuiet except that there's nothing wrong...]]" He orders his troops to fire a few shots at anything they see that looks suspicious, inciting a massive gunfight as the hidden Vietnamese troops return fire.
*** Another example of TruthInTelevision. This strategy of flushing out the enemy with random gunfire is called "The Mad Minute"
*** May be a case of a different term for same thing, but this troper learned it in Army Basic as Recon By Fire, shooting into an area to get the enemy to respond by moving or shooting back.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: Lt. Colonel Moore holds an advanced degree from [[IvyLeagueForEveryone Harvard]] and is an astute student of military history, but both the testimony of his fellow officers and his subsequent [[BadassBookworm conduct on the field]] prove that is is not an [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation out-of-touch]] "intellectual" (as one officer contemptuously puts it). True to form, he is an [[ThePatriarch excellent father and husband]].
** While Moore had indeed undertaken graduate studies at Harvard, he had also graduated beforehand from West Point (where he got his Bachelor's Degree). As well, Moore had served in combat during the Korean War and won the Bronze Star Medal there.
* GoodLookingPrivates: When the soldiers are in their Class A uniforms at the ball before shipping out.
* GloryHound: While observing their troops during a training exercise, Moore makes note that Lt. Geoghegan is a great leader, while Plumely points out another lieutenant who's yelling at his men, and says that that LT just wants to win medals.
* GreaterNeedThanMine: A wounded soldier gives up his spot on a chopper to a more seriously wounded soldier saying he'll get on the next one. [[spoiler: While patting the other soldier as the chopper is about to leave, he's shot and killed]].
* GunshipRescue: The American forces use ''liberal'' amounts of air support to fight off the NVA offensive. [[spoiler:Also plays a key role in the final battle, when an actual gunship saves the American troops from a prepared ambush.]]
* HopelessWar: Even though the US troops win the battle, Moore foreshadows a few times during the film the real life issues the US will end up facing in Vietnam and ultimately prevent them from achieving victory. Lt. Col. An also says something at the end of the movie along the lines that a lot of people will die to land both sides in the same place they were in before (although that could be extrapolated to saying that this is the end-result of all wars ultimately).
* IconicItem: Galloway's [[IntrepidReporter camera]] [[spoiler: and rifle]], Sergeant Major Plumley's [[OldSoldier M1911]], the French bugle, the NVA trooper's diary, and Lieutenant Geoghegan's bracelet.
* IntrepidReporter: Joe Galloway, hitches a ride in a Huey headed to the battle so he can get a first-hand look at what's going on.
-->'''Lt. Colonel Hal Moore''': ''Where you from, son? ''
-->'''Joseph Galloway''': ''Refugio, [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texas]], sir. ''
-->'''Lt. Colonel Hal Moore''': ''Well, that's the first thing I've heard today that makes any sense. ''
* ImprovisedWeapon: At one point, a helmet, during [[CombatBreakdown a particularly desperate fight.]]
* KeepTheHomeFiresBurning: Julie as a few scenes of this trope.
* KillItWithFire: Napalm dropped from attack planes, as well as what appears to be a phosphorus grenade at one point.
* LastStand: Averted but discussed several times. Everyone remembers that this is [[InTheBlood Custer's unit]] but they manage to ScrewDestiny.
* LeaveNoSurvivors: During the film's prologue.
* MeaningfulEcho: Sergeant Savage's greeting to Sergeant Major Plumley early in the film: "Good Day, Sergeant Major!" When he first uses it, Plumley's response is less than friendly. Later variations on the greeting result in heavier doses of spite. Finally, towards the end of the film, Sgt. Savage is standing and looking around [[spoiler: at the battlefield, surrounded by dead and wounded, himself covered in dirt and blood after having spent the night with his platoon cut off and fighting for their lives.]] Sgt. Major Plumley looks him in the eye and says "[[WellDoneSonGuy Now it's a nice day, Sergeant Savage.]]"
* TheMenFirst: Moore refuses an order from his superiors to evacuate just him, telling them that he will not abandon his men.
** Also, just as he promised earlier in the movie, he is the first man to set foot on the battlefield and the last one to leave at the end.
* MoodWhiplash: See PrayerOfMalice
* MoreDakka: The point of the "Mad Minute," mentioned above under GenreSavvy. If you suspect the enemy is hiding somewhere, perforate that somewhere with sustained automatic fire.
* NomDeGuerre: Amongst the Air Cavalry pilots, we have [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Too Tall]] and [[PrecisionFStrike Snake Shit]][[hottip:*: An "Affectionate Appellation" by Major Crandall's men, referring to the fact that he [[AcrophobicBird flies lower than snake shit.]]
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Moore promises his men that "Dead or alive, we will all come home together."
* NotSoDifferent: US Army and North Vietnamese Army.
** Also lampshaded by Moore when he is praying to God for protection for his troops, acknowledging that the North Vietnamese troops were no doubt making similar prayers.
** Several scenes emphasize this: both Lt. Col. Moore and Lt. Col. An look up at the same moon; Moore predicts the pattern of the NVA attack because it was how he would do it, and in the climactic [[spoiler:bayonet charge]] An's radioman is killed by his American counterpart. Also Jack Geoghegan's wife reading the letter that Moore sends her is played alongside the woman whose photograph is in the journal of the vietnamese soldier who tries to bayonette Moore as she reads his journal.
* NowYouTellMe: Colonel Moore's radio operator calls Crandall's helicopters to tell them they have a hot LZ. Crandall receives this message as his Hueys are being peppered with small arms fire.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Moore laments about the actions of US President LyndonJohnson prior to being sent to Vietnam, which will leave his battalion understrengthed.
* OhCrap: When the American brass hear Moore calling out "Broken Arrow", they realize that the situation is much ''much'' worse than they thought.
* OldSoldier: Sergeant Major Plumley, in spades. He has one of the page quotes.
--> ''GENTLEMEN! [[ThisIsGonnaSuck PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES!]]''
* PrayerOfMalice: Providing some MoodWhiplash immediately after a NotSoDifferent moment:
--> ''"Oh, yes, and one more thing, dear Lord, about our enemies, ignore their heathen prayers and help us blow those little bastards straight to Hell. Amen."''
* RealityIsUnrealistic: Picking up radio transmissions from the far side of the world is very possible with UHF radios such as the ones used by many military forces, due to a quirk of signals in that frequency: they have a tendency to bounce off of one of the upper layers of the atmosphere, using it like a reflector to bankshot transmissions around the curvature of the Earth.
** The scenes that critics complained were cheesy, corny, melodramatic or unrealistic tended to be the ones lifted ''directly from real life!'' This includes lines said by soldiers as they were dying. In the director's commentary the director himself brings this up, which makes the rather ironic point that it would have been far more unrealistic if the soldiers had said something witty or clever as they were lying dying in enormous pain with little mental faculties left.
* RealMenLoveJesus: Lt.Col. Moore and 2nd LT. Jack Geoghegan.
* RealMenWearPink: Moore and Geoghegan again. The [[EnsignNewbie young lieutenant]] has just become a father and is wearing a string of pink and white beads with his daughter's name, something one would expect to see on a teenage girl's wrist, at least if not for this trope. When Moore notices it, the lieutenant tries to take it off, but Moore ''orders'' him to leave it there.
* RecruitersAlwaysLie: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]], in a half-joking fashion, by Sgt. Major Plumley.
--> ''Kinda makes you wish you'd signed up for Submarines, don't it?''
* {{Retirony}}: Jimmy Nakayama.
* RevisedEnding: [[spoiler: The bayonet charge in the finale never happened in RealLife. Moore's troops were reinforced by two other battalions and then evacuated before a B-52 carpet bombing strike moved in to finish off the enemy headquarters]]
* RousingSpeech: Sergeant Major Plumley gives his commander one of the shortest ones on record.
--> '''Sgt. Major Plumley''': ''Sir, Custer was a pussy. You ain't.''
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: The enlisted men and the [=NCOs=] (and most of the officers) are rightfully terrified of Sergeant Major Plumley.
* SergeantRock: Sgt. Major Plumley
** A deleted scene has a soldier telling his buddies a story about Plumley, whom he knew from his old unit. He describes his old platoon sergeant. Big scary dude, with scars on his face. When their new platoon leader, [[EnsignNewbie a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of ROTC]], gets in his face about not wearing all his decorations, he goes back to the barracks, and comes back wearing ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny only]]'' his boots, all of his ribbons and medals ''pinned directly to his chest'', and ''not one but two Medals Of Honor''. (The LT then promptly salutes him per military custom.[[hottip:*:It's a ''de facto'' rule that anyone who has won the Medal of Honor is entitled to a salute from all personnel present, regardless of rank.]]) The soldier telling the story then reveals this sergeant is ''not'' Sgt. Major Plumley, but works for Sgt. Maj. Plumley and is ''terrified'' of him.
* TheSeventhCavalry: Due to the ways military heraldry works, Colonel Moore's unit is a descendant of the TropeNamer. This does inspire a bit of [[DiscussedTrope discussion]] on the parallels, leading to the quote for RousingSpeech.
* SoundtrackDissonance: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2Ad04mukI Sgt. MacKenzie]]'', a mournful Scottish dirge, plays over some of the more intense action sequences, including [[spoiler:the BigDamnGunship blasting the NVA base camp just before Moore's battalion overruns it,]] to emphasize the horror and sadness of the war even in victory.
* SympatheticPOV: The NVA gets their scenes as well, and they are portrayed as normal people fighting for their own country, and not as DirtyCommunists.
* TagalongReporter: Galloway. The first time we see him, he is [[QuickNip finishing his drink]] before he impulsively jumps onto a chopper heading to Landing Zone X-Ray. Spends most of the rest of the movie [[TheWatson talking to the soldiers]] and [[ActionSurvivor staying alive.]]
* [[strike:[[TalkingIsAFreeAction Talking]]]] [[TalkingIsAFreeAction Bugling Is A Free Action]] ([[KilledMidSentence Nope.]])
* TeamMom Julia and a group of the other army wives take it upon themselves to deliver the DeathNotification telegrams to each other, preferring to become a hated bearer of bad news than to let their friends' hearts be broken by an anonymous courier in a taxi cab.
* TrappedBehindEnemyLines
* TrialByFriendlyFire: The Americans are forced to call in air strikes on their own positions when they are nearly overrun by the North Vietnamese. While the strike swings the balance of power back their way, several American troops die or are horribly wounded when two of their own planes accidentally drop bombs on top of them.
* UnusualEuphemism: Major Bruce Crandall is addressed by his subordinates with the less-than-dignified nickname of "Snake Shit". He refers to it as an "Affectionate Appellation" when asked about it by Colonel Moore.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: A true story from a book of Similar Name that the movie was made from. Mediated though by the fact that some of the actual people involved were on set to make sure the filmmakers were getting the spirit if not the details right (although some scenes[=/=]lines ''were'' ripped straight from reality apparently). See AdaptationDistillation above
* WarIsHell: Particularly for [[EnsignNewbie Lt. Herrick's]] platoon, who spend most of the battle cut off from the rest of the battalion and pinned down by the enemy. Nevermind [[BodyHorror poor Jimmy]].
** Also the napalm: fire which ''sticks'' to you.
** Another scene that reinforces this is when the helicopter full of reporters arrive after the battle. Moore and Joe are deluged with questions from the reporters, and the men can only stay silent and turn away in disgust.
* WonTheWarLostThePeace: A deleted scene has Moore meeting with General William Westmoreland and US Secretary of Defense Robert [=McNamara=] after the battle and explaining, as history showed, that this will inevitably prevent the US victory in Vietnam.
* WorthyOpponent: The North Vietnamese Army.
** Lt. Col. An, Hal Moore's NVA counterpart, even makes it a point to be the last to leave his bunker when Americans threaten it, just as Moore himself promised to be the last off the battlefield. When the battle's over and the NVA are policing the battlefield An notices a miniature American flag stuck in a broken tree. He holds it briefly before putting it back.
* VillainousValor: [[NotSoDifferent to no surprise.]] Special mention goes to the PAVN soldier who breaks through, if only for a moment, to the American command post. [[spoiler:Moore recovers the man's diary in a TearJerker near the end.]]
* YouAreInCommandNow: [[spoiler: Sergeant Savage]]
** In RealLife, something of a subversion. He was not the highest ranking man still alive amongst the platoon, but he ''was'' the only [=NCO=] near the platoon's radio operator, and he was the man who took command when the platoon's senior leadership was killed.
<<|{{Film}}|>>
