1968 Pre-Tet Offensive, Vietnam

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2010)

I was there as Oliver Stone was in 1968, 25th Infantry Division, Dau Tieng, S. Vietnam (of the Tropic Lightning Division). Oliver was a PFC (E-3) in the 3rd Brigade (Infantry) and I was a PFC in D, 65th Engineer Bn... both units based in Dau Teing.
The setting of the movie is over by the Cambodia border on Search and Destroy missions, January 1968, just before the 1968 Tet Offensive (February 1968). I was a Combat Engineer in direct support of the Infantry (3rd Brigade) and went everywhere that the Infantry went and fought along side each other during combat action.
The movie was about pre-Tet Offensive combat action during Operation Yellowstone, January 1968. Oliver did an excellent job of rein-acting the combat action. He labels the movie as "fiction", but it is NOT. Oliver did change a few things, though. 1) he changed the time-frame of the big battle to the last part of the movie. Actually, the battle took place earlier, January 2, 1968, at Forward Fire Support Base Burt. Oliver had to do that in order to make sure the climax of the movie was the last action to take place. That would have been premature in the sequence of the movie to have it upfront in the movie. The battle was called the Battle of Soui Cut. And, 2) the enemy was NOT North Vietnamese Army (Regulars, (NVA)). They were strictly Viet Cong (VC). I walked over the dead bodies of about 382 enemy Viet Cong soldiers. There were zero (0) NVA soldiers fighting at this battle, only VC. I suppose Oliver changed that because NVA soldiers may seem more combat worthy, more dynamic and exciting for the movie. With those two changes, yes, it was fiction, but everything else was non-fiction and factual. About 30 US soldiers died that night with a few hundred wounded in-action.
The meaning of the movie was how soldiers interact with one another during highly stressful combat, day after day. Its not pretty. I saw the same thing as soldier fought with one another. Thats reality.
Hats off to Oliver Stone for finally making the movie in 1986, 18 years after his Vietnam experience. I always thought that I would write a book or something about my experience, but never did.
I have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) since my Army experience, 1968, Vietnam... as many other combat soldiers have. I'm 63 years old now and still have day and nightmares.