Jarhead The Movie

[recon532002]

:evilgrin: Just saw the movie Jarhead tonight, and it was Out F#!%king Standing Jamie Foxx does another Great performance in this Movie It was Frustating at times and found myself wanting to get in the S%#!t with them. And sad at times toward the end. I give this Movie two Nippers up it was worth the Money and time.

Semper FI Brothers
Recon

[eddief]

I plan on seeing it Sunday with my dad who is also a Marine.

[TAZMAN]

Also Saw It Tonite @ 2000 Totally Agree Outf*%king Standing, All Who Sees It Will Agree I Hope, Job Well Done And Then Some,b Brought Back Some Memories, Oorah!!

Semper Fi!!

[parrish03xx]

Just got done seeing it. Agree totally it is a very good flick to show so many points we see or will see during time in the Marine Corps.....

OOAH RAH

"I think God for every day he gives me in the Corp...OOAHRAH"

[BC22]

The movie was good, but it misrepresents the book. Swofford didn't enjoy his time in the Marines and was very clear about that in the book, talking about how the Marine Corps will screw you over, and how he and many of his buddies flaunted regulations when on leave/liberty, etc. The movie pretty much glossed over his dissatisfaction in his military career and became another "Oohrah" war movie.

[marinefamily5]

Myself I can't say because I haven't seen it yet, but the 2 Lcpl's I work that just got back from Iraq said that it wasn't worth the money that they paid to go see it but that is what is so great about this country is you can feel that way about stuff...........

[eddief]

I can't wait for it to come out on DVD. Me and my dad really enjoyed it.

[thedrifter]

Jarhead" probes the soldier's mind

by Eric Strelow, of the Advance Titan
Issue: Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Added: 11/9/2005 1:48:08 AM

Marines are called Jarheads due to their high and tight haircuts and the hollow emptiness underneath, according to the new film directed by Sam Mendes ("American Beauty," "Road to Perdition").

Aptly titled "Jarhead," the movie demonstrates how that emptiness is not merely within the Marines but instead is an encompassing, depressing and necessary facet of the modern war itself.

The film is based on the 2003 autobiography "Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles," by Anthony Swofford. The cinematic adaptation opened in theaters on Friday.

The story follows "Swoff" (Jake Gyllenhaal) through basic training and his six months in Iraq during the Gulf War. However, war film buffs might be hard-pressed to fit it nicely into the genre.

It is not so much about the war as it is about the hardships of being a soldier. Important here is the isolation, the bravado and the insanity that accompany fighting today's battles.

When one is merely a tool of that higher power that is the nation all one can do is try to live. Swoff's assigned spotting partner, Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), makes a point to halt all political talk at one point. That's not for them to worry about.

Swoff finds both companionship and annoyance within his sniper unit, and he remains distant, even with Troy, his closest friend.

Leading their unit is Staff Sgt. Sykes, who is played quite efficiently by Jamie Foxx ("Ray," "Collateral").

The Gulf War is a fitting backdrop and a good example of how a modern war is fought. The ground troops are portrayed as almost meaningless at times, yet they endure the heat of the desert the most.

Echoing this feeling of aimlessness is the film's fairly steady absence of violent confrontation. After all, Swoff is part of a sniper unit. Thus the gung ho rapid-fire intensity typical of a war movie is not present in "Jarhead"- not to say that the film is slow-paced.

Doubt and frustration among the troops keeps the dramatic level high throughout. A marine on night watch cooks sausage, which accidentally starts a fire. Swoff, who was supposed to be the one on watch, gets disciplined. Swoff takes it personally.

Letters from home bring good and bad news for the troops. While photos of girls back home and a baby are eagerly passed around. There is also a quickly cluttered bulletin board that displays pictures of cheating girlfriends.

Swoff worries his girl could be the next.

The desert is a lonely place. The war feels distant but always on the mind. Everyone aches for some action.

Tense scenes of threats, closecalls and discontent keep the audience on their toes. Iraqi soldiers or the Republican Guard could be hiding just beyond the next sand dune.

Horror, beauty and despair all get captured on film as the unit witnesses the oil fields burning. This darker setting contrasts the stale monotony of the endless sand. The evocative emotions of the scene break up the movie nicely.

The acting is brilliant, even if many characters are war movie stereotypes. The sergeant yells. The men are horny. The stupid one is stupid. Some sanity is lost in the madness that is war. But everything works well and evolves within the context of the story.

The viewer is allowed into the marines' mind-set. Ever so subtly, characters' points of view impress themselves upon the audience. The film does not push a message so much as illustrate the mental trials of these characters, most notably Swoff and Troy.

"Jarhead" could have dealt with more pressing controversies surrounding the States' first clash with Saddam Hussein, of which there are many. I'll fault them a bit for that, but honestly, making the film more political would drastically change the soldiers' perspective "Jarhead" seemed to be taking.

Sam Mendes appears to have done it again. "Jarhead" has an amazing and powerful cast and an equally powerful vision. Go out and give this unconventional war flick a try.

[thedrifter]

'Jarhead': Whose Stories Are They?

By DAVID CARR
November 9, 2005

Joel Turnipseed, a former marine who wrote "Baghdad Express," a memoir of the first gulf war, was sitting in Minneapolis watching "Monday Night Football" with his wife last week when a commercial for the film "Jarhead" came on the television.

"Jarhead" was directed by Sam Mendes and is based on Anthony Swofford's memoir of the first gulf war. The commercial showed marines in the desert hurrying to don their chemical protection gear. One of the characters, Troy, played by Peter Sarsgaard, put on his hood and turned to another, Swoff, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and in his best Darth Vader voice invited him to "come to the dark side."

Mr. Turnipseed said he was shocked. "I turned to my wife and said, 'Honey, there is something funny about that,' " he said in a phone interview. "That scene is in my book, not Tony's," he added, referring to Mr. Swofford.

A little later on in the game there was another commercial for the film, this one depicting a scene in which a marine colonel gives a motivational speech to soldiers under his command. Much of the scene and some of the dialogue, Mr. Turnipseed recalled, seemed to come directly from the opening pages of "Baghdad Express."

The next day, Mr. Turnipseed went to see an advance screening of the movie. He says he saw enough to convince him that his book had been used for at least part of the movie without credit.

"I turned to my friend during the movie and said, 'I have always wanted to see my book on the big screen and there it is; I just didn't get credit for it,' " said Mr. Turnipseed, who served as a truck driver with the Marine Corps for about 90 days in 1991.

William Broyles Jr., the screenwriter and former marine who adapted Mr. Swofford's book for the movie, said that Mr. Turnipseed was confusing his own experience with the received wisdom of being a marine.

"The joke about the gas mask has been told 10,000 times," Mr. Broyles said by phone. "It is not his joke or mine."

Mr. Broyles admits that there are coincidences. But he says they are just that.

In Mr. Turnipseed's book, a colonel "burst onto the stage, grabbing the microphone from its stand while still in stride, like Wayne Newton doing Patton."

In the shooting script for "Jarhead," stage directions command that "Lieutenant Colonel Kazickis mounts a makeshift stage, grabbing a microphone in mid-stride like a Vegas M.C." What follows is a profanity-laced scene of call and response that is remarkably similar in both plot and language to the scene that follows in Mr. Turnipseed's book.

Mr. Turnipseed said he was loath to raise questions about a film and a screenwriter he holds in high regard.

"There is no way that I am going to come out ahead on this," he said. "The guy who says 'you stole my stuff' is always the jerk, but this is not something that is based on a scene I did; it is verbatim dialogue."

Mr. Broyles, the screenwriter, said he was sympathetic to Mr. Turnipseed's concerns, but he was equally firm in defending the integrity of the work he did on "Jarhead."

"I feel bad that he feels bad," Mr. Broyles said, adding that he had read and admired "Baghdad Express." "Maybe some of it stuck in my mind or maybe it was already there," he said.

"I don't have any conscious memory of using anything out of his book," Mr. Broyles said. "I can remember reading it and thinking, this guy really has it down. It was one of those unintentional coincidences that is frustrating for him, but there has been no effort to take anything from him."

Stephen Sheppard, a lawyer retained by Mr. Turnipseed to look into the matter, said, "We have been engaged by Joel, and it is a case that we are taking sufficiently seriously to explore alternative approaches to resolving this."

For his part, Mr. Swofford said that there was a similar scene in his book and that many of the elements of the speech in question are common to experiences in the Marine Corps. "The speech that Bill wrote for the script is part of the great officer's opera that has gone on for generations," he said. "The repetition and variation and appropriation are part of commander-speak. Bill heard it prior to fighting in Vietnam, and I heard it numerous times fighting for the Corps."

Mr. Broyles said that in truth the scene belongs to no one and to everyone who has ever served.

"These are not my stories, not Tony Swofford's stories or Joel Turnipseed's stories," he said. "These are stories that are held in common by all marines."

[thedrifter]

'Jarhead': Whose Stories Are They?

By DAVID CARR
November 9, 2005

Joel Turnipseed, a former marine who wrote "Baghdad Express," a memoir of the first gulf war, was sitting in Minneapolis watching "Monday Night Football" with his wife last week when a commercial for the film "Jarhead" came on the television.

"Jarhead" was directed by Sam Mendes and is based on Anthony Swofford's memoir of the first gulf war. The commercial showed marines in the desert hurrying to don their chemical protection gear. One of the characters, Troy, played by Peter Sarsgaard, put on his hood and turned to another, Swoff, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and in his best Darth Vader voice invited him to "come to the dark side."

Mr. Turnipseed said he was shocked. "I turned to my wife and said, 'Honey, there is something funny about that,' " he said in a phone interview. "That scene is in my book, not Tony's," he added, referring to Mr. Swofford.

A little later on in the game there was another commercial for the film, this one depicting a scene in which a marine colonel gives a motivational speech to soldiers under his command. Much of the scene and some of the dialogue, Mr. Turnipseed recalled, seemed to come directly from the opening pages of "Baghdad Express."

The next day, Mr. Turnipseed went to see an advance screening of the movie. He says he saw enough to convince him that his book had been used for at least part of the movie without credit.

"I turned to my friend during the movie and said, 'I have always wanted to see my book on the big screen and there it is; I just didn't get credit for it,' " said Mr. Turnipseed, who served as a truck driver with the Marine Corps for about 90 days in 1991.

William Broyles Jr., the screenwriter and former marine who adapted Mr. Swofford's book for the movie, said that Mr. Turnipseed was confusing his own experience with the received wisdom of being a marine.

"The joke about the gas mask has been told 10,000 times," Mr. Broyles said by phone. "It is not his joke or mine."

Mr. Broyles admits that there are coincidences. But he says they are just that.

In Mr. Turnipseed's book, a colonel "burst onto the stage, grabbing the microphone from its stand while still in stride, like Wayne Newton doing Patton."

In the shooting script for "Jarhead," stage directions command that "Lieutenant Colonel Kazickis mounts a makeshift stage, grabbing a microphone in mid-stride like a Vegas M.C." What follows is a profanity-laced scene of call and response that is remarkably similar in both plot and language to the scene that follows in Mr. Turnipseed's book.

Mr. Turnipseed said he was loath to raise questions about a film and a screenwriter he holds in high regard.

"There is no way that I am going to come out ahead on this," he said. "The guy who says 'you stole my stuff' is always the jerk, but this is not something that is based on a scene I did; it is verbatim dialogue."

Mr. Broyles, the screenwriter, said he was sympathetic to Mr. Turnipseed's concerns, but he was equally firm in defending the integrity of the work he did on "Jarhead."

"I feel bad that he feels bad," Mr. Broyles said, adding that he had read and admired "Baghdad Express." "Maybe some of it stuck in my mind or maybe it was already there," he said.

"I don't have any conscious memory of using anything out of his book," Mr. Broyles said. "I can remember reading it and thinking, this guy really has it down. It was one of those unintentional coincidences that is frustrating for him, but there has been no effort to take anything from him."

Stephen Sheppard, a lawyer retained by Mr. Turnipseed to look into the matter, said, "We have been engaged by Joel, and it is a case that we are taking sufficiently seriously to explore alternative approaches to resolving this."

For his part, Mr. Swofford said that there was a similar scene in his book and that many of the elements of the speech in question are common to experiences in the Marine Corps. "The speech that Bill wrote for the script is part of the great officer's opera that has gone on for generations," he said. "The repetition and variation and appropriation are part of commander-speak. Bill heard it prior to fighting in Vietnam, and I heard it numerous times fighting for the Corps."

Mr. Broyles said that in truth the scene belongs to no one and to everyone who has ever served.

"These are not my stories, not Tony Swofford's stories or Joel Turnipseed's stories," he said. "These are stories that are held in common by all marines."

[MarineNoob26]

I havent seen the movie, but will really soon. Heard its awesome, but opinions differ. Guess I'll just have to check it out too! Is the book better, like in most movies?

[CplCrotty]

I did my own online review over at http://neophotog.blogspot.com/ I got a bit carried away though, wandering from the main subject.

[jinelson]

I enjoyed Jarhead and saw it in the best venue possible at the Oceanside 16 with a full theator of Marines. Really its a flick that only a Marine could totally relate too and its funny as hell. I wouldnt recommend taking your girl friend to see it but enjoy it with another Marine. OORAH!

Semper Fi

[Osotogary]

Jim,
Would you say that the movie is better than the book?
I'm thinking that if I had read the book, which I have, I'd be looking to get the same enchanted or disenchanted feeling as when I read the book, even with the creative license Hollywood film making is known for, at movies end.
If you had never read the book do you think that you would have liked this movie better?
Oceanside has that many (16) movie venues? LOL

[gus]

In my contry the movie will be there the 11th january 2006. I hope the cinema have it. because we haven't got all of american film in belgium and i want to see it a lot

[jinelson]

Gary,
I read the book too but the actors and directers didnt really follow it at all. The constant whinning is not present and it portrays things as they are in real life. I think Jamie Foxx did an outstanding job of acting in it. And yes the Oceanside 16 does have 16 screens and Jarhead was on 6 of them.

[Osotogary]

Thanks, Jim.

[Lorix]

I saw the movie a few days ago. It was alright, kind of misleading. Some of it was totally off, while other parts were pretty right on. An example was the boot camp scene. I just got out of boot camp 2 months ago, I was waiting and waiting for that DI to go off on that recruit, but he never did. He didn't yell, he "talked". The squadbay looked totally off, and there is no big chalk board. Sorry for being so analytical, I can't help it. But Jamie Foxx did a good job of representing a platoon sergeant, can't come much closer than that. Personally, I think there should of been more blood and guts, but the point of the movie was probably to show more of what's it's really like in Iraq, not everyone sees blood and guts. That's my view on the movie, in all, it was pretty good, I would go see it again (today actually), and I will buy the DVD.

[mcbud]

This is actually good news that the movie is unlike the book. The book totally turned me off -- his constant whining got on my nerves. Definitely will watch Jarhead tonight, a good thing to do on Marine Corps bday, oorrah.

[lumpkin]

I honestly don't know how to feel about this movie. I got a bias opinion before watching it, do to the remarks I heard from the book. There were times when I laughed, and other times when I was disgusted. There was a man that I assumed to be a former Marine leave the theatre before the ending credits came up. He looked pretty upset and yelled out "INSULTING!" then walked out. I could understand his point of view by the way the movie seemed to picture Marines as nothing but killers. I also read in a forum somewhere that a high School student thinking about joining the Marines was going to go watch the movie with his parents to get a better idea at what the marine corps is about. I don't know what his parents are going to tell him after seeing this movie. I'm undecided and probably will watch it again when it comes out on DVD before I make my final decision. Kudos to Jaime Foxx though. He did a great job!

[mcbud]

Having read the book (two thumbs down) and after watching the movie, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied that it was so different from the book. I recommend the movie. It will be a keeper in my DVD collection. Jamie Foxx was pretty good, and so the actor that portrayed Swoff. While some of the stuff was a little off (boot camp scenes), other things were right on the money. The only thing though that somewhat bothered me was that at the beginning you cannot help but compare it with Full Metal Jacket, and there's no one like Gunny Ermey on film, in my opinion. Other than that, enjoy the show.

[DaveDalPezzo]

Lorix:
"An example was the boot camp scene. I just got out of boot camp 2 months ago"
You can't compare the squadbay from 2 months ago with the squadbay from 1991, just as I can't compare the squadbay from 1991 against what I experienced in 1979 and others experienced at other times. We never had a "big chalk board" in '79 just as you didn't see one in the movie, and we had a DI that explained things in a whisper (which was a MUCH better attention getter than yelling, especially when he was in your face). Training materials, methods and processes change as concepts are tried, adopted, and even discarded. I'm not saying the Boot Camp scene was period correct (I wouldn't know), but unless you lived it at that time or have knowledge of what it was like then, you can't judge it. Remember, the only three things that are guaranteed are death, taxes and change.
I didn't see the movie yet, but plan to as soon as the 1 screen theater in my little "burg" brings it in.

[Old Marine]

Going to see the movie today.

If it is as good as my favorite "Full Metal Jacket" I will let you know.

[USMCgrunt0331]

My Platoon Cmdr. said he believes the movie was primarily made to discredit everything that troops are saying to the media about the war right now in Iraq, because most of the stuff you hear from troops is positive, them saying they want to be doing this and they support Bush and the war and all that stuff. He says that scene where the STA Marines are told what to say to the media and are forcibly censored is just an attempt to make everyone who watches the movie think that all the troops over there are lying and are being told what to say.

[namjarhead]

I also just saw "JARHEAD" when I got home my wife asked what I thought of it? All I could think of was "Right the F*(&k On!!" I thought it was great. A number of emotions ran through me as I watched the show.

NamJarhead

[Old Marine]

I saw the movie yesterday and these are my feelings about it.

I am really hoping that my Marine Corps has not turned into what I witnessed on the screen. The only part i thought was portrayed as the real deal was the opening scene with the D.I. raising hell. Everything after that was B.S. as far as I am concerned. When the war was over and the troops were partying and firing their rifles into the air was a real farce. Arguing with orders was another bad fault that i witnessed in this movie. Also, during my 20 years in the Corps I never saw a Corporal go after a Major as was portrayed in the movie. If things like this are going on these in my beloved Corps, then some changes need to be made very quickly. This movie was like a chinese fire drill and I came within an inch of walking out of the theatre. Maybe it is because I am a Korean/Nam era Marine and during the time in the Corps you did what you were told to do and you acted like adult Marines or someone would lock and load on you.

Up until now, Heartbreak Ridge was the worst USMC movie I had seen. This Jarhead movie is a discrace to my Corps and Country.

[Old Marine]

Oh Yea, after the movie I watched the credits on screen and not once did I see where there was a Marine Crops advisor. OK, I'm done ranting.

[Old Marine]

By the way. Don't all USMC Movies play the Marine Corps Hymn at least once during the movie? I did not hear it played at any time during this movie and thats a real shame. By now, I guess you tell I hated this movie.

[woodman]

Old Marine,

Your not alone. I went to see a movie about Marines and ended up watching a pre-schooler dressed up like a Marine pizzing and moaning for 2 hours. Without swoff I probably would have liked it.

[GySgtRet]

My wife and I went to see the Jarhead Movie, in fact it was her idea. I was embarrased by some of the scenes in the head toward when Swoford found out Jody had been with his girl. In my opinion I wasted the price of two tickets to see it. Although pretty much authentic in details. I don't think that it portrais the Marine Corps in a possitive light. Not that everyday life is all peaches and creame either but this gives the wrong impression to me. Jamie Foxx did a very good portrail of a platoon sgt, were as a corporal would never, atleast in my Marines Corps as defiant to a field grade officer such as a Major.

[wsky9er]

Hollywood: Rotten To The Corps?
- Washington Times
"It's pretty clear those making movies in Tinsel Town don't know any real men like Aaron Mankin. They apparently prefer cowardice over courage; witless whiners to real patriots; gutless wimps and hollow phonies to men who know the meaning of self-sacrifice and integrity. That's the only conclusion one can draw after seeing Hollywood's latest anti-military travesty--'Jarhead,'" writes Oliver North. http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/onorth.htm

[DevilDog0811]

The book was garbage.

I suppose the film is as well.

[Sgtj]

I agree with Jim, Taking my wife and her father and mother to see was a bit too much.

[Wyoming]

U.S. Marine Corps: The Few, the Proud, the Very Best of All
Philip V. Brennan
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005
The other day I read a piece about the state of readiness of an Iraqi military unit that is performing extremely well. After complimenting the Iraqi unit's advancement, the writer added that "of course, it's not the First Marine Division – but then, nobody is."

Right on. What the writer was saying is that the First Marine Division in its perfection stands alone among all of the world's military. The same can be said about the entire Marine Corps. It simply has no equals. Not a one.

This needs to be said in the face of the release of the film "Jarhead," a sniveling anti-war film that slanders the finest fighting force on the face of the earth as a bunch of deranged primitives living in a progressive age.

Writing in Opinion Journal Tuesday, Brendan Miniter describes the film as "a succession of deflating experiences leading up to the conclusion that war is a waste of time and it destroys all those who engage in it. ...

"What Hollywood is tossing up on the silver screen is a political strategy the left hopes to employ: using disillusioned warriors to discredit the war."


The movie, Miniter explains, "is based on a memoir by the real-life Anthony Swofferd about his experience in the Marines during the first Gulf War. But producer Sam Mendes could have just as easily have been inspired by Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" or even Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 "Apocalypse Now" – which makes a brief appearance in 'Jarhead' as a film shown to the Marines in preparation for going off to war."

Look hard enough and you can always find some malcontent who has a grievance against a person or a group with whom he had once been associated and which he imagines mistreated him or failed to recognize all the elements of his sterling character. With Swofferd that was the Marine Corps, which obviously failed miserably in his case to do what it does best: Take an ordinary man and turn him into a United States Marine, who is proud to bear that title all his life.

In Swofferd's case what came out of the Corps was an obviously disgruntled misfit who now blames his inability to fit comfortably into civilian life on the Corps – and isn't afraid to make a buck slandering his former comrades and the cause they served.

He is, of course, pretty much a sniveling voice crying in the leftist anti-war wilderness – a male Cindy Sheehan now enjoying his allotted 15 minutes of notoriety. In the end he'll find himself eternally numbered among those held in contempt as a Benedict Arnold clone by the men and women in whose proud company he once served.

Last Saturday, joined by my brother Jim, a retired Marine major, and his wife, Rita, I was honored to be a guest of the Marine Air Control Squadron 24 at their ball observing the Marine Corps' 230th birthday in Virginia Beach, Virginia.


I found myself surrounded by 400 of the finest men and women on the face of the earth. Resplendent in their dress blues, many back in the U.S. and standing tall after one or two tours of duty in Iraq – assignments they rightly viewed as badges of honor – they reminded me that there are still some extraordinary and dedicated noble warriors in America who typify everything that is, and has always been, great and decent and glorious about the United States.

Without exception, they see the war in Iraq as fully justified, and they are angered at the mainstream media for emphasizing the bad news in Iraq while ignoring all the good news about the progress of freedom and democracy, to which by their courage and compassion they have contributed so much.

It is said that Marines are born, not made. I take exception to that. We may have in our genes a potential to become Marines, and perhaps even an inborn need to become one, but we have to be made into Marines. And when we are shaped and formed by the Corps, we become Marines, and will be Marines until the day we die. It's true: Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Every fiber of our being has been transformed, as if penetrated by some extraordinary set of stem cells introduced into our bodies in the clinics called Parris Island and San Diego. Marines may not be conscious of it, but everything we think, do or say for as long as we live is colored by the formative process that turns raw recruits into United States Marines.

Marines are trained to see whatever confronts us in life as a hill that has to be taken, and we cannot rest until it is taken. Like Winston Churchill, we subscribe to the dicta "never, never, never ever give in." And as Marines have proved time and again, we don't.

That's second nature to Marines, whether they are still in active service or have returned to civilian life. It is no accident that the majority of Leathernecks, in and out of active service, are conservative in their politics, in their philosophy and in their lifestyles.

Liberals don't see obstacles as hills to be taken. They see them as pieces of real estate to be bought with taxpayers' money, or as symbols of multiculterism whose occupiers are entitled to respect for their sacred diversity. In that case, liberals either bypass the hill or simply ignore it.

Marines' conservatism is an expression of the Corps' philosophy, which more than any other reflects that of the courageous men who founded this nation. They achieved the impossible in taking on the mightiest military force on the face of the earth and, against all odds, defeating it after years of losing battle after battle. They created a system that took 13 mostly countrified colonies and made of them into the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation on the face of the earth. And they did it all in a couple hundred years.

The lives Marines live, and the many great things they achieve no matter what the odds, give the lie to the Swofferds of the world. The Marines of the Third and Fifth Divisions who lost 6,000 of their number on Iwo Jima during 30 days of some of the worst fighting in World War II, yet never gave in until they took that piece of hell, are the genuine thing.

Swofferd is just another of those cardboard characters who come and go and are quickly forgotten. If they are remembered at all, it is only because of their contemptible activities.

Thursday, November 10, is the Marine Corps' 230th birthday. Take a minute out then to say a prayer for all Marines, living or dead. You owe them that much.

Happy Birthday, fellow Marines.

And Semper Fi!


* * * * * *
Phil Brennan is a veteran journalist who writes for NewsMax.com. He is editor & publisher of Wednesday on the Web (http://www.pvbr.com) and was Washington columnist for National Review magazine in the 1960s. He also served as a staff aide for the House Republican Policy Committee and helped handle the Washington public relations operation for the Alaska Statehood Committee which won statehood for Alaska. He is also a trustee of the Lincoln Heritage Institute and a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers

[sadibenz]

Saw the movie last friday.
It was pretty good.
All in All, I'd say it's a story about a young man who feels that he got the shot end of a long stick. His story did not immediately impress my at all.
But, after sitting back and reading about him. Yeah, he had some rough times and some hard knocks. Maybe, he should have never joined the Marine Corps in the first place.
But, he bit the bullet and did his part. You can't take that away from him. He was even smart enough to write about it.
But, If he is looking for sympathy, Ha. Ha. Ha.

[Former0352]

For the people who didn't like the Movie there seems to be a theme, that it makes the Corps look bad and Swofford *****es and wines to much. The movie was good and entertaining, the book was even better.

If someone went to this movie expecting to see everyone running around yelling oorah and singing the Marine Corps hymn you have seen to many John Wayne movies. I am not sure which of you all were O3's at the time the movie takes place but I was and it is pretty damn close to what we did. The first gulf War was different then Iraq is right now. When Marines go over now they expect to see some action pretty much from the moment they get there. When we got to the gulf in September of 1990 we just sat there waiting and waiting and waiting until finally we went accross the border. We had a lot of "down time" so we fu@#ed off a lot or found ways to keep ourselves busy.

Everyones experiance were different but for what went on at that time it was a spot on portrayal of life over there for an infantryman. The *****ing, complaining, grab ass, and eveyone snapped at least once, maybe not to the extreme of sticking a weapon at another Marine or sticking the barrel in your mouth but damn close.

Sorry for the rant but I am just tired of people saying that it shows the Corps in a bad light and things like that don't go on in the Marine Corps, they did and they do. This movie is not anti-Marine Corps or anti-war, it is just Swoffords story of his time in and his view of it.

As Marines we should be happy that another Marine did good and was able to have book made into a movie.

S/F

[bigjimsr]

If that is the way it is now, glad I am out

[greensideout]

Former0352, I have not seen the movie yet, so no comment there. I do however beleive that you make a very good point---Marines in the field are not shown on posters.

Semper Fi

[Sgtj]

There is grab ass that goes around, I just think the movie lacked depth. Hell any one of us could make a movie about that crap. It was pointless, I don't care about Swoffard, I'm glad he got out and made something for himself, because he coudn't adjust in the Corps. Its too bad he went to school and became a liberal piece of **** that makes money off telling sea stories but hey, more power to the Marine, he earned the title.

I'll see the movie again, at home, not with my wife's and her parents!

[greensideout]

And I will add the, "Never happened in the Corps" thing. Ya, right!
I will share a few things that Hollywood would not even try to sell. But they are all true.

I was sitting on a three hole crapper in the Delta when a very famous war photografter took my picture. SHE then dropped her drawers and sat down beside me. "How ya doing Marine?" It was Dickey Chapeal. Do you think that Hollywood could sell that as something real?

Or how about the stupid idea of putting another crapper on a tall mound? The first and only Marine to use it came rolling down the hill with his trousers around his feet when snipers started putting holes through it. Yep, never used again. True but would be another hard sell to those standing tall in Blues.

Did a fellow Marine ever hunt me down with intent to harm? Once in Nam, once at Mt Fuji. Both chose a 1911-A1. Ya got to love Marines---Good choice.

How about Marine Officers getting slap-a$$ loaded up at thier O-Club, a parachute covered ruins of a WW-ll Jap building at Soc Trang.

My piont? Marines are a bred best kept busy. Give some slack and they would appear a little "rough around the edges", but give them the duty that they have been trained for and they "shine like no other fighting force in the world".

[Former0352]

Sgtj, Sorry to see you had such a hard time with the movie. I am not sure how much time you actually spent in the Fleet, if any, but to say it was pointless is well...kinda pointless. If you ever did go to the field for any amount of time, even just for a CAX, you might understand it. Just because someone doesn't like their time in the Corps and talks about it shouldn't make him a piece of s**t. Maybe you can write a book about being at 8th & I, and what ever else you did while you were in, Recruiting or is that just the station you came in through? I think a great read would be if some Recruiters or D.I.'s got together and wrote a book, that could be really funny.

USMCgrunt0331, As far as being told what to say, or not to say, to the media does happen all the time. While we were there we had a few reporters come out to our position and want to inteview Marines from their areas. Somehow the only Marine from Boston could not be found and the same for the the Marine from New Mexico. After the reporters left Gunny said "What are you Fu#*ing nuts? Do you think I would let you two talk to reporters After what happen in 29 Palms?"
When we were out in 29 Palms the summer of 1990 the Kid from Boston when asked by a visiting One Star General how training was going, says it is B.S. sir we sit here in the stumps for 30 days and do nothing for 27 of it because we are told our Battalion is out of money for fuel, so we do our 3 days of CAX and sit with our thumbs up our ass for the rest of the time out here.

Needless to say Gunny was ****ed but we had fuel to train with the rest of the time out there. Oh, and the Lcpl was our permanent 2200-0500 watch stander for the rest of the time out there.

[Former0352]

---Marines in the field are not shown on posters.

Couldn't have said it better.

[Old Marine]

For the people who didn't like the Movie there seems to be a theme, that it makes the Corps look bad and Swofford *****es and wines to much. The movie was good and entertaining, the book was even better.

If someone went to this movie expecting to see everyone running around yelling oorah and singing the Marine Corps hymn you have seen to many John Wayne movies. I am not sure which of you all were O3's at the time the movie takes place but I was and it is pretty damn close to what we did. The first gulf War was different then Iraq is right now. When Marines go over now they expect to see some action pretty much from the moment they get there. When we got to the gulf in September of 1990 we just sat there waiting and waiting and waiting until finally we went accross the border. We had a lot of "down time" so we fu@#ed off a lot or found ways to keep ourselves busy.

Everyones experiance were different but for what went on at that time it was a spot on portrayal of life over there for an infantryman. The *****ing, complaining, grab ass, and eveyone snapped at least once, maybe not to the extreme of sticking a weapon at another Marine or sticking the barrel in your mouth but damn close.

Sorry for the rant but I am just tired of people saying that it shows the Corps in a bad light and things like that don't go on in the Marine Corps, they did and they do. This movie is not anti-Marine Corps or anti-war, it is just Swoffords story of his time in and his view of it.

As Marines we should be happy that another Marine did good and was able to have book made into a movie.

S/F

Well, I retired from the Corps in 1973 after 20 years of service and never saw any of the crap that was portrayed in the movie. Corporal's arguing with Majors and the big celebration in the movie at the end of the war. Really makes a lot of sense to fire weapons straight up into the air. I guess those spent rounds just evaporate up there somewhere and never return to earth.

When I was on active duty Marines conducted themselves like responsible adults most of the time, not like civilians having a Chinese Fire Drill.

If this movie is a correct portrayel of the Marine Corps these day's, then I am real glad that I no longer am on active duty.

This movie was the worst of the worst.:evilgrin:

[Former0352]

If you had read the book those two things did not happen, they were two of the parts added or changed to make it more dramatic. The action with the Major in the book happen over the radio when they were trying to get permission for the shot.

[lucien2]

Saw it, reminded me of all the things we did as young Marines! Contrary to other critics, I did not think the filmaker disrespected the Marine Corps. A true life account of Marines waiting to get into the ****!

[MAJMike]

The tech advisor on Jarhead was SgtMajor James Dever (Ret) and a couple of other retired SNCOs were also involved.

For those who want to compare the portrayal of the Corps in Jarhead to WWII "classics" like "Sands of Iwo Jima" or "Guadalcanal Diary" - this is a different time and a different place. Swofford states in the opening paragraph of the book that he wanted to be anything but a Marine - yet - the book (and to some extent the movie) show that even though in many ways he was the "anti-Marine"- he still humped his ruck and did his job when the chips were down.

For those that don't think that there is censorship regarding press access- what rock have you been living under?

Just as society itslef has changed since the 1960s and 70s, so has the Corps.

[jgorosco]

I actually served during the time that Swooford served. And after watching the movie and not reading the book, I came out of the theater with my wife and told her that the movie was nothing like the real thing. I actually served with a sh*tbird that reminded me of Swofford, always trying to get out of sh*t, if you didn't want to work or serve then he shouldv'e joined the PeaceCorps or some sh*t like that. Why try and bash the Corps after they try to make you better person. Go blame Suzy rotten crotch for fvcking up your life don't blame the Corps and the brothers that believe and love the Corps. If you have an agenda great but don't try and drag all the Real Marines who actually believe in the term "BROTHERHOOD". So the movie Svcks and I am quite sure the book does too. Thank you for letting me get on this soapbox.

SEMPER FI
IYAOYAS

[GySgtRet]

double d,

I would appreciate you getting the "CORPS" correctly documented. We are not the "CORE" "CORP" or "CORPSE". The sooner you get attention to detail the better off you will be especially if you are planning on being an officer of Marines.

[Phantom Blooper]

No combat! No politics! And a naked Marine running around in a Santa hat! What kind of war movie is that?

Semper-Fi! "Never Forget" Chuck Hall