Posts from chester7777 in thread „The Green Berets (1968)“

  • The Green Berets (1968)

    Quote from etsija

    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.


    Quote from SXViper

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


    Quote from SXViper

    I actually found a site that has all the information anybody might want about him. He sounded like an incredible man. Check it out!!!

    http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/t/t375.htm


    Quote from etsija

    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


    etsija and SXViper,


    I want to thank both of you for adding this fascinating dimension to the discussion. Somehow I totally missed it the first time around, and I figure if someone who's around here as much as I am missed it, maybe there are others.


    Thanks again!


    Chester :newyear:

  • The Green Berets (1968)

    I would agree that this is a solid, well-acted movie, and the heck with the critics!


    While many people in the United States felt we were doing the right thing going into Vietnam, and helping them combat Communism, not many realized how much effort was really made by our military to help the Vietnamese and not just kill them. John Wayne did his best in this movie to try to convey that message.


    Chester :newyear:


    P.S. Available at, among other places,
    Amazon


    Deep Discount DVD (cheaper again!! :lol: )