THINGS WAR MOVIES SELDOM SHOW

       I recently read a book entitled American Soldiers:  Ground Combat in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam by Peter S. KIndsvatter.  As I read this excellent analysis of what soldiers went through, I made a list of facts about the soldier experience that are seldom touched on in war movies.  Below is my list.  If you can think of any movies that actually show the activity or problem, please comment.  We’ll put together a list of movies that you can watch to get a truer picture of soldier life.

1. fratricide – friendly fire; usually by artillery
2. digging in – soldiers using entrenching tools’
3. resupply and feeding of hot food
4. lack of sleep
5. the large amount of gear being carry
6. critters – lice in WWI, leaches in Vietnam
7. dysentery and its effects
8. filth
9. effects of artillery fire on the mental state of the receivers
10. chickenshit details
11. accidents
12. replacements and their treatment
13. the smell of death
14. involuntary urination and defecation
15. war weariness
16. religion – some soldiers become more religious, some become atheists
17. soldiers snap
18. a small percentage of soldiers are “soldier-adventurers” who enjoy combat and are good at  it

Let’s work on this project together.  I’ll get us started.

#10 – in “Platoon”, Chris has latrine duty and has to stir the shit and burn it with kerosene.