thedrifter
11-22-05, 01:00 PM
Marines’ mother critical of ‘Jarhead’
By Ryan Jeltema - Daily News staff writer
GREENVILLE — To Greenville residents Diane and Charles Eldridge, author Anthony Swofford lost his head when he wrote “Jarhead,” a novel detailing his combat experiences during the first Gulf War.
They are even more upset about a movie by the same title, which hit theaters, including Greenville Cinemas, on Nov. 4.
Diane Eldridge’s son, U.S. Marines Lance Cpl. Troy Collier, served alongside Swofford in a Marines sniper unit in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s. “Jarhead” doesn’t specifically name a Troy Collier, but the Eldridges say characters named Allen Troy in the book and Lance Cpl. Alan Troy in the movie are based on him.
Diana Eldridge says the book is rife with inaccuracies and lies about Collier.
“I don’t care for the book. To me it’s fictional,” she said. “I got really angry (reading the book for the first time). I could probably write a better book than (Swofford) could and I wasn’t even there.”
She believes the movie was just as bad. Although parts of it portray her son as a good Marine, she said the end unfairly casts him as a drug user. In the last scenes, the actor apparently portraying Collier’s character makes a statement about wanting to sell drugs when he gets out of the military. The movie then cuts to a shot of Troy in his casket a few minutes later without any explanation.
Charles Eldridge, Collier’s stepfather, said the sequence could lead viewers to infer Troy died from drug abuse.
“When you saw it, that’s what you thought,” he said. “It didn’t go through any explanation.”
In reality, Collier, a 1987 Greenville High School graduate, died in a car accident in February 1992 on Zahm Road south of Belding. He apparently hit a patch of ice and lost control, striking several trees along the road.
Diane Eldridge said Collier was merely being facetious about selling drugs.
“I know my son was joking because I know my son,” she said, adding that Collier was not a drug user and he was not drunk the morning of his accident. “Troy hit black ice. He had not driven in winter. All his driving was in California. I just want people to know it wasn’t drugs. It was just an accident.”
Diane Eldridge also said the movie unfairly portrays her son as an atheist when he actually had a personal relationship with God.
“All I heard from Troy was that ‘God knows.’ I thought that was good,” she said of his religion. “I never heard Troy say a bad thing about anyone. He was a good person. If only they knew who the real Troy was.”
Charles Eldridge said the couple was not consulted by Swofford or the movie’s producers at any time. They didn’t even know about the book until they received an anonymous phone call after it was published.
“Nobody has told us anything,” he said.
Book publisher Simon & Schuster of New York City and movie producer Universal Pictures of Universal City, Calif., did not return messages seeking comment.
Diane Eldridge said the couple has consulted with a Greenville attorney about filing a lawsuit against Swofford and Simon & Schuster, but the attorney advised against legal action. She said they may try to find another attorney to represent them.
“I’d love to sue that guy,” she said. “It’s not my place to tell someone they can’t tell a story, but when it’s supposed to be true …”
Diana Eldridge said she would love to let Swofford know how she feels.
“I would like to get a hold of him just to ask him why he wrote what he did,” she said. “I don’t dislike this man. I just dislike some of the things he said. I would like to know why on a few questions.”
Staff writer Ryan Jeltema can be reached at rjeltema@staffordgroup.com or (616) 754-9303 ext. 3039.
Ellie
By Ryan Jeltema - Daily News staff writer
GREENVILLE — To Greenville residents Diane and Charles Eldridge, author Anthony Swofford lost his head when he wrote “Jarhead,” a novel detailing his combat experiences during the first Gulf War.
They are even more upset about a movie by the same title, which hit theaters, including Greenville Cinemas, on Nov. 4.
Diane Eldridge’s son, U.S. Marines Lance Cpl. Troy Collier, served alongside Swofford in a Marines sniper unit in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s. “Jarhead” doesn’t specifically name a Troy Collier, but the Eldridges say characters named Allen Troy in the book and Lance Cpl. Alan Troy in the movie are based on him.
Diana Eldridge says the book is rife with inaccuracies and lies about Collier.
“I don’t care for the book. To me it’s fictional,” she said. “I got really angry (reading the book for the first time). I could probably write a better book than (Swofford) could and I wasn’t even there.”
She believes the movie was just as bad. Although parts of it portray her son as a good Marine, she said the end unfairly casts him as a drug user. In the last scenes, the actor apparently portraying Collier’s character makes a statement about wanting to sell drugs when he gets out of the military. The movie then cuts to a shot of Troy in his casket a few minutes later without any explanation.
Charles Eldridge, Collier’s stepfather, said the sequence could lead viewers to infer Troy died from drug abuse.
“When you saw it, that’s what you thought,” he said. “It didn’t go through any explanation.”
In reality, Collier, a 1987 Greenville High School graduate, died in a car accident in February 1992 on Zahm Road south of Belding. He apparently hit a patch of ice and lost control, striking several trees along the road.
Diane Eldridge said Collier was merely being facetious about selling drugs.
“I know my son was joking because I know my son,” she said, adding that Collier was not a drug user and he was not drunk the morning of his accident. “Troy hit black ice. He had not driven in winter. All his driving was in California. I just want people to know it wasn’t drugs. It was just an accident.”
Diane Eldridge also said the movie unfairly portrays her son as an atheist when he actually had a personal relationship with God.
“All I heard from Troy was that ‘God knows.’ I thought that was good,” she said of his religion. “I never heard Troy say a bad thing about anyone. He was a good person. If only they knew who the real Troy was.”
Charles Eldridge said the couple was not consulted by Swofford or the movie’s producers at any time. They didn’t even know about the book until they received an anonymous phone call after it was published.
“Nobody has told us anything,” he said.
Book publisher Simon & Schuster of New York City and movie producer Universal Pictures of Universal City, Calif., did not return messages seeking comment.
Diane Eldridge said the couple has consulted with a Greenville attorney about filing a lawsuit against Swofford and Simon & Schuster, but the attorney advised against legal action. She said they may try to find another attorney to represent them.
“I’d love to sue that guy,” she said. “It’s not my place to tell someone they can’t tell a story, but when it’s supposed to be true …”
Diana Eldridge said she would love to let Swofford know how she feels.
“I would like to get a hold of him just to ask him why he wrote what he did,” she said. “I don’t dislike this man. I just dislike some of the things he said. I would like to know why on a few questions.”
Staff writer Ryan Jeltema can be reached at rjeltema@staffordgroup.com or (616) 754-9303 ext. 3039.
Ellie