The Green Berets (1968)

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  • Before I retired, a gentleman who was in the army and stationed at Ft. Bragg during the making of "The Green Berets", told me about being an extra in the movie. He gave me a couple of prints of photos he had made that were taken with him and Duke in informal poses. They are both dressed up in their uniforms for the movie and the background is the building at the site of the big battle.
    Cheers - Jay:beer:

    Cheers - Jay:beer:
    "Not hardly!!!"

  • Lauri Törni alias Larry Thorn on whom Kirby's character was based had an unusual life. He was a captain in the Finnish army during the wars against the Soviet Union (WW2 for the rest of the world). He couldn't live with the peace treaty made and moved to Germany in 1945 (when Finland was no more an ally of Germany) to get advanced saboteur training. He was captured by Brits, and then by Finns and spent several years in jail. After release, he moved to South America and then to the North, as an illegal immigrant, but worked his way to a resident and even US army officer. He died in Vietnam, and his remains were actually found in 1999.

    I don't believe in surrenders.

  • Lauri Törni alias Larry Thorn on whom Kirby's character was based had an unusual life. He was a captain in the Finnish army during the wars against the Soviet Union (WW2 for the rest of the world). He couldn't live with the peace treaty made and moved to Germany in 1945 (when Finland was no more an ally of Germany) to get advanced saboteur training. He was captured by Brits, and then by Finns and spent several years in jail. After release, he moved to South America and then to the North, as an illegal immigrant, but worked his way to a resident and even US army officer. He died in Vietnam, and his remains were actually found in 1999.



    So, were any of the storylines in the movie based on actual events that Thorn was involved in?

    Life is hard, its even harder when your stupid!!
    -John Wayne

  • I found this much: On his first detachment Thorne was based in Chau Lang and Tinh Bien, in southern Vietnam, in the region of “Seven mountains”. He returned to Vietnam in December 1964 and was based in Phuoc Vinh, the island of Phu Quocin and Nha Trang. He died in a helicopter accident when taking part in ”Shining Brass” operation, October 1965. I forget if any of these places is mentioned in Green Berets, but I don’t believe there’s much left of his character; I haven’t read Robin Moore’s (who met Thorne in Tinh Bien) book, but I understand it is almost completely rewritten for the movie. What I’ve read about Thorne, he seems have been a fearless soldier who enjoyed war, and far less nice fellow than Col. Kirby

    I don't believe in surrenders.