Nazi flag at the end of Platoon?

Thunder

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I dont know if this is the right section, but I'll go ahead anyways.

I was watching Platoon last night, and at the end scene where Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) gets up after shooting Barnes, a tank rolls by which appears to have a Nazi battle flag waving on it. Has any one ever noticed this? Any explenation?
 
You should put this into "Entertainment". There are a lot of
people who may answer the question given the fact, that there
recently was a War-Movie thread with a lot of responses... :)
 
While listening to Stone's commentary (from the Special Edition DVD of Platoon) I finally found the answer to a question about Platoon that had dogged me for years. In the scene after Barnes is killed, Chris is sitting down and is discovered by US soldiers followed by an American tank flying a Nazi swastika flag. I never understood this and scoured the Internet looking for an answer. In the commentary, Stone explains that the APC units were very extreme and used to adorn themselves with Nazi regalia



http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-32564.html
 
So it wasn't a crypto-anything, but an actual portrayal of the Way Things Were. Interesting.
 
Beerina said:
So it wasn't a crypto-anything, but an actual portrayal of the Way Things Were. Interesting.
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Of course not. Stone's films are notoriously riddled with errors and complete fabrications. Stone's commentary on the DVD attempts to explain his creative choices as factual events. Even Dale Dye, who played Captain Harris and also served as military technical advisor for the movie, has never endorsed Stone's recollections of APC units sporting Swastikas.

Stone even has Barnes and Elias using Defender I COLD STEEL Knives in Platoon when the company didn't even exist until 1980.

Barnes and Elias also use the Colt Model 653 which was not available until 1973.

Barnes's helmet band has two sewn-on reflective patches. These "cat's eyes" are of 1980's vintage.
 
I saw many american units in Vietnam but never a Nazi flag...plenty of skulls and other stuff that made them look like Biker gangs...I am very skeptical that a Nazi flag would ever have been used.
 
Southerners flew a lot of Confederate flags in Viet Nam.
 
a_unique_person said:
Real skulls? I read "Chickenhawk", and IIRC, they had the skull of someone hanging over a bar.
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Can't say I ever recall seeing a real skull. Some units boozers were like redneck bars. all wild west stuff. Some units bars were like opium dens.....

I generally found that the more "toughguy" stuff all over the unit the less effective they were.

It was really common for units to adopt unofficial emblems, skulls, grim reapers....other such stuff. Most US units I saw were professionally turned out, just occasionally you would come across a unit that looked more like something from Pirate movies.. Most often ....for all the bravado the pirate movie units they were crap.



Marines always imressed me, very motivated and individually very skilled....high standard of Junior officers too. In contact the pirate movie mobs would make a lot of noise, yell a lot, expend tons of ammunition then go home. The marines would go to ground and then slowly push forward looking for enemy. They would co-ordinate fire well and not do a lot of pointless yelling and yahooing and wildly firing way high..... The Marines would keep hold of the enemy unit like a bull terrier. Always looking for trouble, not looking for a nicedepression behind something solid to have a quiet smoko..
 
Off topic I know Fool, but would love to hear more of your Vietnam stories (I am of a similar vintage BTW), but I suppose many vets just don't want to talk about that part of their life. Would make a great thread "Vietnam tales".
 
lionking said:
Off topic I know Fool, but would love to hear more of your Vietnam stories (I am of a similar vintage BTW), but I suppose many vets just don't want to talk about that part of their life. Would make a great thread "Vietnam tales".
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I had a pretty easy time there compared to most. Initially I was in a rifle platoon but after a while I was moved to BHQ as a messenger boy and general assistant to the CO or 2IC or the Adjutant or the RSM or whoever had some wierd job. I was also tagged on to Liason officers which was interesting because we were often with ARVN units or US units. well away from the Australian Task force. Vietnam was sliced up into areas of responsibility, which was very wise because if you are going to get friendly fire it is much more likely between different Nationalities. You need to be able to shell where your troops are not located, (a very sound Idea) this is very hard if US and Australian and ARVN patrols are operating without good knowledge of each others positions and no common radio nets etc.

It was only a wide eyed kid in the middle of a huge circus. I normally don't bring it up much because its rarely relevant and my military experience was short and a long time ago. Warfare is a very very different world now. Our methods in Vietnam were virtually WW2 era, Riflemen to get the Machine gun in a position to do all the dammage. Good accurate light and medium artillary...Agressive patrolling outside your fixed positions... things we had learned from Malaya and to a lesser extent from the Japanese in WW2.

To get back to the OP...I just can't imagine any US soldier putting up a nazi image. Some other US soldier would probably shove it up thier arse.....
 
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TF,

Thanks for your posts in this thread. The theory that the flag was ever used there seems to be debunked.
 
Cicero said:
Of course not. Stone's films are notoriously riddled with errors and complete fabrications. Stone's commentary on the DVD attempts to explain his creative choices as factual events. Even Dale Dye, who played Captain Harris and also served as military technical advisor for the movie, has never endorsed Stone's recollections of APC units sporting Swastikas.

Stone even has Barnes and Elias using Defender I COLD STEEL Knives in Platoon when the company didn't even exist until 1980.

Barnes and Elias also use the Colt Model 653 which was not available until 1973.

Barnes's helmet band has two sewn-on reflective patches. These "cat's eyes" are of 1980's vintage.
Click to expand...



That is nothing compared to the pure Bullcrap that is "JFK".
It's a well made film, but so was "Triumph Of The Will".
 
Undesired Walrus said:
The film would have been a floating turd if it hadn't been for its use of Adagio For Strings.
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When it sticks to showing the hardships of being a infantryman in Vietnam it's pretty good, but when it gets into Stone's whole Psychodrama plotline, it sucks.
WIth it's flaws, "Full Metal Jacket" was a better film about Nam.
Oddly enough most ex Grunts I have spoken too say a small budget film called "Hamburger Hill" is the most realistic of all the Nam films.
 
dudalb said:
When it sticks to showing the hardships of being a infantryman in Vietnam it's pretty good, but when it gets into Stone's whole Psychodrama plotline, it sucks.
WIth it's flaws, "Full Metal Jacket" was a better film about Nam.
Oddly enough most ex Grunts I have spoken too say a small budget film called "Hamburger Hill" is the most realistic of all the Nam films.
Click to expand...

Every Hollywood Vietnam War film is either some absurd allegorical fantasy like the "Deer Hunter," "Apocalypse Now," or political poppycock, like "Platoon," "Uncommon Valor," "The Green Berets," etc.

If you want to see footage of the Vietnam War without the infusion of the ideology of some director with an agenda, I suggest the 1999 documentary series "Battlefield Vietnam."
 
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