Random Most Memorable Portrayals Of Veterans In Film (19 items)

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  (#6) Matt Eversmann

  • Military Person

  The Battle of Mogadishu was one of the worst firefights the United States Army endured between the two wars in Iraq. The battle involved just 160 soldiers who were sent into Mogadishu, Somalia, to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the self-proclaimed leader of Somalia. The planned operation was supposed to take one hour, but due to the downing of a helicopter, several troops were stuck behind enemy lines and bogged down. The ensuing battle for survival turned into a rescue mission. Ultimately, 18 soldiers were killed, 73 were wounded, and one was captured. That battle was described in a book, and ultimately, the film Black Hawk Down.

  The film follows Staff Sergeant Matthew Eversmann, who is given his first command of Ranger Chalk Four when his lieutenant suffers a seizure and is unable to go on the mission. He and his men get stuck in the city after the Black Hawk helicopter Super Six-One is shot down by an RPG. Shortly after this, another Black Hawk helicopter, Super Six-Four, is shot down in the same manner. Eversmann manages to keep his men together while fighting off the thousands of militia that continuously engage them.

  Josh Hartnett's portrayal of Eversmann stays true to the book and the soldier himself, who survived the conflict. He eventually went on to complete 20 years of service and retired as a First Sergeant. The movie's depiction of the events may have been embellished and modified for cinematic purposes, but the portrayal of the Army Rangers and Delta Force troops were honorably and respectfully done. Black Hawk Down was a critical success, having won two Academy Awards for best film editing and sound mixing at the 74th Academy Awards.
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  (#16) Megan Leavey

  Megan Leavey is a biographical film that tells the story of the titular Marine and her combat dog named Rex. The film revolves around Corporal Leavey, a military police officer and K9 handler, and Rex, who served two combat tours in Iraq together. Their first deployment to Fallujah in 2005 was followed by one to Ramadi in 2006. During that deployment, both Leavey and Rex were wounded in combat by an improvised explosive device.

  For their actions in combat, Leavey was awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a "V" device for valor in combat. The attack left Rex with facial palsy, which ended his days as a bomb-sniffing dog. Soon after Rex was removed from service, Leavey spent a great deal of time petitioning the USMC so she could adopt her companion. With the aid of Senator Chuck Schumer, she managed to do so, and the pair lived together until Rex passed away in 2012.

  The film is a realistic account of Leavey and her experiences, and Kate Mara's performance as the titular character is emotional and true-to-life. In many ways, she honors Corporal Leavey by depicting her in such a positive way. The film went on to receive the Truly Moving Picture Award at the Heartland Film Festival. 
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  (#4) James T. "Joker" Davis

  • Film character

  Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket tells the story of James T. "Joker" Davis from his entry into basic training at Parris Island, SC, to his time serving in Vietnam. When the film begins, he is a private who garners the attention of his drill instructor by uttering the phrase, "Is that you, John Wayne? Is this me?" After this, he's branded "Joker" for the remainder of the film. During basic training, he is put in a position to help and watch over another private who is constantly picked on. That recruit ultimately kills himself and the drill instructor, closing out the first half of the film.

  The next scene takes place in Vietnam, where Joker is exposed to the brutality of war. He and his fellow Marines find themselves pinned down by a sniper. After losing several men, Joker manages to shoot the enemy. When it turns out to be a young girl, the horror of war is palpable. Joker maintains a stance on the duality of humankind by wearing a "peace" symbol on his jacket, while his helmet sports the phrase "Born to Kill." That duality is expressed throughout the film, and thanks to Matthew Modine's incredible portrayal of Joker, it's conveyed through his expressions and actions in a way only Kubrick could direct.

  Full Metal Jacket is a fictional account of the Tet Offensive, which was a series of battles that took place in early 1968. It was based on the book The Short-Timers, which was adapted by Kubrick, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford, who wrote the book. The film received a single Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay, and was chosen by the American Film Institute as the 95th choice in their "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills" list.
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  (#15) Ron Kovic

  Born on the Fourth of July tells the true story of Staff Sergeant Ron Kovic, a veteran who went on to become one of the most outspoken critics of the Vietnam War. In the film, Tom Cruise plays Kovic, a man who has spent his entire life preparing for military service as a proud American patriot. The title refers to Kovic's birthday - July 4, 1946 - and its relation to patriotic virtue in regards to the United States Declaration of Independence. As the movie begins, it's clear Kovic is a proud American, but when he deploys to Vietnam, the horrors of that conflict quickly demonstrate that war is nothing like he imagined military service to be.

  In one scene, he accidentally kills one of his own men after mistaking him for an enemy soldier. This event would go on to haunt Kovic for the rest of his life. Shortly after the friendly fire occurs, he is involved in another engagement, which results in his being wounded. He's shot in the foot and torso, which ultimately paralyzes him from the mid-chest down. After recovering from his injuries, he returns home in 1969 and becomes an alcoholic, clearly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He goes on to become an outspoken anti-war activist, and after publishing his autobiography, delivers an address at the Democratic National Convention in 1976.

  Cruise's portrayal of Kovic is memorable for a number of reasons. While much of the film revolves around Kovic's time leading up to and following his military service, we see him struggle with his choices, the war, and its aftermath. Cruise spent an entire year preparing for the role, which included visiting veterans' hospitals, reading books on the war, and practicing being in a wheelchair. Born on the Fourth of July was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and took home two: for best director (Oliver Stone) and film editing.
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  (#12) The Hurt Locker

  • Film

  Typically, great war movies don't find release until long after a conflict has come to an end, and it's only rarely that this "rule" is broken. The Hurt Locker defied convention and found release in 2008 during the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The film follows a three-man Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team working to eradicate dangerous roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices throughout their area of operations.

  At the center of the film is Jeremy Renner's Sergeant First Class William James, a newly deployed soldier in 2004. He has come to replace Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson, who was killed in Baghdad when an IED exploded. James' squad gets into several skirmishes, as well as an incident involving the same kind of bomb that took out his predecessor - although this time, the victim is forced to wear an IED vest they cannot remove. Ultimately, James survives only to return to Iraq for another tour of duty, which concludes the film with a 365-day countdown beginning all over again.

  The film was praised by critics, but decried by a number of veterans for some of the depictions of Army unit activities. One of the biggest complaints involved the three-man team splitting up to "cover more ground" while not having any communications equipment to speak of. Despite these complaints, Renner's performance was given high praise, and his depiction of an EOD soldier working to dispose of dangerous IEDs made for exciting and frightening viewing.

  Though the movie is fictional, it was written by Mark Boal, a freelance journalist who was embedded with an EOD team in 2004 for two weeks. His experiences helped to craft the structure of the film, though the movie itself isn't autobiographical in any way. The Hurt Locker made less than $50 million at the worldwide box office, but it received six of the nine Academy Awards it was nominated for, including best director, picture, and original screenplay.
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  (#3) Sergeant Thomas Highway

  • Fictional Character

  Heartbreak Ridge is a fictional story inspired by real-life events related to the 1983 US invasion of Grenada. The title comes from the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War, in which Gunnery Sergeant Highway took part and received the Medal of Honor for his actions. Now a much older man who is facing mandatory retirement, the grizzled USMC Korean War veteran is tasked with training a new generation of recruits. They prove much easier to deal with than Highway's new operations officer, an Annapolis graduate who believes he knows more than the MoH recipient training his Marines.

  When it comes time for the 22nd Marine Amphibious Unit to deploy for the invasion of Grenada, Highway and his men are dropped by helicopter into the water and advance on the beach. They engage in several firefights, and after their radioman is killed, the unit's lieutenant comes up with a plan to use a payphone to make a long-distance call to Camp Lejeune for air support. The trick works, and eventually, Highway leads his men to victory.

  Clint Eastwood has never had a hard time portraying a member of the United States Armed Forces, which likely stems from his own time as a soldier during the Korean War, though he didn't serve in the conflict. The film was inspired by the real-life account of Marines using a payphone to call for air support in Grenada, but it's otherwise a fictional story. Eastwood's performance was true-to-life, and the film went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for best sound.

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