thedrifter
01-15-07, 07:19 AM
Movie Jarhead' prompts Moss Point native Scott Burnside to pen book about real marine snipers
Monday, January 15, 2007
By BRAD CROCKER
The Mississippi Press
MOSS POINT -- With little or no electricity after Hurricane Katrina, Scott Burnside entertained himself by watching the movie, "Jarhead" on his laptop computer.
The movie depicts a group of U.S. Marine Corps snipers during the Gulf War.
Burnside, who served as a Marine scout sniper from 1992-94, said he was not amused after seeing the movie, especially actor Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Staff Sgt. Sykes, a main character, who Burnside said he knew personally during their time in Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Va.
"I watched it and I was disgusted," said Burnside, adding that the movie was fake in many aspects.
Burnside, with a bad taste left in his mouth after watching the film, decided he would set the record straight by writing a book chronicling his experience as a Marine sniper in similar situations seen in the movie.
"Goodbye Woodlands -- One Man's Memories of the Last Days of the Woodland Marine Corps" is expected to be released in about 10 weeks through Maryland-based PublishAmerica, Burnside said.
Burnside, 34, became a Marine sniper while serving a four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, which he joined in 1990 after graduating Moss Point High School.
Burnside said he enjoyed author Anthony Swofford's book, "Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles," which the movie is based on, and that he normally reads a book before seeing the film. "Jarheads" was the exception to Burnside's rule.
Burnside said Hollywood had Foxx, playing Sykes -- a Marine lifer who headed up the scout sniper program -- becoming a sniper by playing a bugle instead of the rigorous two-month physical and mental training and indoctrination exercises candidates must endure.
"Staff Sgt. Sykes was hard as nails. Jamie Foxx played a rather weak staff sergeant," Burnside said.
And Foxx's other interpretations, such as leaving troop issues unresolved, were other flaws Burnside said he found.
"Staff Sgt. Sykes didn't walk off. It's going to be resolved before he leaves," Burnside said.
Burnside said his book, like Swofford's, is "authentic to the time," as it follows the coming of age experiences of "a 17-year-old from Moss Point to a 22-year-old salty, tattooed, drinking kind of guy" Burnside became after his service.
He writes about his enlistment, boot camp and schools, and his tours of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and other places. The "action areas" of the book include missions in Somalia, Haiti and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
And along the way, Burnside features the individual sailors and Marines who make the book stronger, he said.
The only thing authentic in the movie, Burnside said, "may have been" the boot camp scenes and the struggles the snipers found re-acclimating themselves to civilian life, trials Burnside said he also had to weather.
"The purpose of this book, the reason I really wanted to write it, was to let people know the human side of servicemen who served during that time," Burnside said.
His main audience is veterans, active military personnel and their families. Burnside, known as a straight-talking opinionated person, like he showed during the 2005 Pascagoula mayoral race, also stressed that the language in the book is authentic and may not be suitable for everyone.
Ironically, though, Burnside opens his book with a quote from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who said, "The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"
Reporter Brad Crocker can be reached at bcrocker@themississippipress.com or (22 934-1431.
Ellie
Monday, January 15, 2007
By BRAD CROCKER
The Mississippi Press
MOSS POINT -- With little or no electricity after Hurricane Katrina, Scott Burnside entertained himself by watching the movie, "Jarhead" on his laptop computer.
The movie depicts a group of U.S. Marine Corps snipers during the Gulf War.
Burnside, who served as a Marine scout sniper from 1992-94, said he was not amused after seeing the movie, especially actor Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Staff Sgt. Sykes, a main character, who Burnside said he knew personally during their time in Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Va.
"I watched it and I was disgusted," said Burnside, adding that the movie was fake in many aspects.
Burnside, with a bad taste left in his mouth after watching the film, decided he would set the record straight by writing a book chronicling his experience as a Marine sniper in similar situations seen in the movie.
"Goodbye Woodlands -- One Man's Memories of the Last Days of the Woodland Marine Corps" is expected to be released in about 10 weeks through Maryland-based PublishAmerica, Burnside said.
Burnside, 34, became a Marine sniper while serving a four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, which he joined in 1990 after graduating Moss Point High School.
Burnside said he enjoyed author Anthony Swofford's book, "Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles," which the movie is based on, and that he normally reads a book before seeing the film. "Jarheads" was the exception to Burnside's rule.
Burnside said Hollywood had Foxx, playing Sykes -- a Marine lifer who headed up the scout sniper program -- becoming a sniper by playing a bugle instead of the rigorous two-month physical and mental training and indoctrination exercises candidates must endure.
"Staff Sgt. Sykes was hard as nails. Jamie Foxx played a rather weak staff sergeant," Burnside said.
And Foxx's other interpretations, such as leaving troop issues unresolved, were other flaws Burnside said he found.
"Staff Sgt. Sykes didn't walk off. It's going to be resolved before he leaves," Burnside said.
Burnside said his book, like Swofford's, is "authentic to the time," as it follows the coming of age experiences of "a 17-year-old from Moss Point to a 22-year-old salty, tattooed, drinking kind of guy" Burnside became after his service.
He writes about his enlistment, boot camp and schools, and his tours of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and other places. The "action areas" of the book include missions in Somalia, Haiti and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
And along the way, Burnside features the individual sailors and Marines who make the book stronger, he said.
The only thing authentic in the movie, Burnside said, "may have been" the boot camp scenes and the struggles the snipers found re-acclimating themselves to civilian life, trials Burnside said he also had to weather.
"The purpose of this book, the reason I really wanted to write it, was to let people know the human side of servicemen who served during that time," Burnside said.
His main audience is veterans, active military personnel and their families. Burnside, known as a straight-talking opinionated person, like he showed during the 2005 Pascagoula mayoral race, also stressed that the language in the book is authentic and may not be suitable for everyone.
Ironically, though, Burnside opens his book with a quote from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who said, "The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"
Reporter Brad Crocker can be reached at bcrocker@themississippipress.com or (22 934-1431.
Ellie