unfortunately that would make liberals (the ones that called guys like this a baby killer) the villains. And Hollywood doesn't like calling liberals, villains.
Still say he should have earned an Oscar on this alone. Young heads always think it’s just a shoot em up action flick. Then you watch it from beginning to end and it was so much more than that. The rest were indeed money grabs (it is Hollywood after all). But this scene is powerful art.
I agree.It’s a powerful scene,how he couldn’t get over the death of his buddy who was blown up by that rigged shoeshine box in Saigon.As I said in a previous post,it’s a shame he turned Rambos story into a franchise.First Blood is the best of the lot.First Blood 2 wasn’t bad,but the rest…no!
The second one tried to recapture that ending with another monologue. It wasn’t awful, but it clearly was a one-time thing for First Blood. You can’t recapture the impact of that scene, and it’s the reason why this Rambo will always be remembered the most.
Sylvester Stallone’s performance is so incredible it’s easy to overlook Richard Crenna’s amazing performance as a man who wants to also break down in tears but tries to maintain his military bearing
Richard Crenna's performance conveys a lot of things. Over the course of the film he's been bragging about how Rambo is a deadly machine he created. In this scene, you can see the guilt on his face as he realises what he's done to a human being
Stallone at his absolute best.I saw this when it came out in 1982,and loved Stallones performance.It’s just so sad that he turned it into a franchise like Rocky and The Expendables.
As the Son of a Vietnam veteran I would often ask my Father about his time there. While he wasn't in the same situation as the Rambo character he did of course lose friends and face his own mortality on a few occasions. While at a Base known as Hill 55 about 10 miles Southwest of Da Nang he was asked to grab a sheet of Plywood from a nearby pile to use as a makeshift table. Lugging the wood up the hill across his back he heard a series of thwip sounds followed by a "pinging" noise. Turns out he was being snipped from the Jungle nearby and that ping he heard was a shot hitting a nearby metal fencing, the thwips were rounds hitting the ground. A guy wearing camouflage and a hat with a feather stuck in the brim shouted at him to get for cover before grabbing his own rifle to return fire. That guy as it turned out was famed Vietnam war sniper Carlos Hathcock known as White Feather.
Unfortunately my father was in that same position as Rambo, and years later I was in that same position, My brother John was in that same position, my brother Brandon was in that same position (He's a Command Sergeant Major now, and my cousin Rondelle was in that same position (he was killed in combat). I retired a Master Chief (Seabee) with 24 years of service, but unfortunately today I'm suffering from a brain tumor that developed from being around burn pits.
My dad was a medic over there. He never would tell me anything about it. I can imagine the stuff he saw. Spent the rest of his life as a surgical assistant.
Man... It really hits hard watching the women cry at the end of Rambo, because THIS monologue is the whole point of the movie. PTSD was in its baby steps when they movie came out.
Nah. We've known the symptoms for decades before that. It just had other names. "Battle fatigue", "shell shock", etc. But what it's always been is real truama. Not the "truama" people claim when mean things are Saud about them online. Or being disciplined by their parents and calling it truama.
@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamerfuck you its trauma you fucking asshole i can hear fucking voices in my fucking head whenever i do something my piece of shit family wouldent approve of. Just because no one shot at me doesnt mean a fucking abusive curcomstance cant do the same thing.
17 years, here (11 active. six as a contractor). I still instantly drop into a defensive stance, fist cocked, if someone surprises me; you're right, you don't just turn it off
PTSD is a real thing, my uncle served in Vietnam and was never the same. In his time there was no real help for a lot of those guys. I watched him struggle until the end and the last time I saw him smile, we were putting him in the ground. I hold a huge amount of respect for war vets.
Stallone's soliloquy still resonates - heartbreaking, profound and necessary - totally humanizes John Rambo and also showed a world that Vietnam vets who suffered PTSD needed to be taken seriously. Such a cinematic moment.
I love he called out the vile protesters. Boys come back to their fellow countrymen spitting on them for doing a job many didn't even want to do. The same is true today with protesters. Most don't know much of anything about what they are even protesting.
The way those military trumpets somberly play as he's hugging Trautman feels like they're quietly serenading a casualty of war. And he may not be dead, but he's still very much a casualty, and not just of the war, but of unjust societal judgement.
This single performance is one of thee greatest performances of all time. I grew up in the 60's, my brother was drafted before he graduated - and this is graduating high school. He returned with PTSD that wasn't diagnosed till after 1977 because the US Gov didn't 'recognize it' as a 'real affliction' until then! What this movie did not tell you was that those within the ranks that had PTSD were at times bullied/brutalized while with the affliction and serving!
I remember watching Ken Burns PBS series about the Vietnam War and one episode showed Vietnam Veterans throwing their medals away outside the White House.Vietnam veterans were treated like shit by both the public and the government at that time and Stallone talking about the treatment he got,especially at the airport and being called a baby killer is true.Thank God the treatment of veterans is so much better and people go up to veterans today and thank them for their service.
When I was a kid I used to see Rambo as an action icon. They made cartoons, action figures, comic boos about the character. Growing up, I realized "First Blood" was a drama, it was really about PTSD, loneliness and being rejected by society. Stallone did a very good job here. Then they decided to turn the character into the immortal action hero in the sequels. I'll be honest, it would have worked much better if they'd never made any sequels.
Newer audiences to this film, having heard about the character and/or the franchise for years, are in for a shock when they get to this part of the first film, the best of the series. It's in a class all by itself because of this scene. It sets itself apart from every other "action" film of it's time.
I am Japanese, and when I saw this movie 40 years ago, I was 20 years old and did not think that deeply about war. After seeing this last scene, I began to think deeply about what war does to soldiers. Now, it is very valuable for young people to see this film and have the same thoughts as I did.
My father was a green beret viet war vet, he really hated having to talk about the war, in fact, every time he tried to, he would start smoking heavily, he showed on occasion PTSD, by zoning out but he was also later on showing signs of Parkinson's, it was getting so bad I, with my mother, had to quickly move out, without him getting too possessive, not out of fear of his PTSD, but he was showing the signs that he couldn't recognize me as his son. Now, the question is do I hate him? Not entirely, more like I pity him, do I miss him? No, I don't. Am I proud that he tried fighting for his country? Yes, but I wished that one day, he would understand that he did everything he could but he was never home with me growing up in the 90s, he was either working with computers or out flying, this was before he retired and started chain smoking.
As someone who used to really struggle with PTSD, I'd say this is pretty accurate. You're always tense, on guard, startled easily. Those memories...they cling to you like a parasite. Haunt you every day, all the time, in your sleep. A certain smell, sound or touch can instantly pull you back into *that* place; wherever it was, whatever happened. People look at you differently, they don't understand why you are this way. It is hell. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Exactly my wife can't understand sometimes why I am so paranoid..why I never sit with my back facing a door...why I have to be able to see my surroundings at all times..Why I am always observing everything everyone does around me...why I am paranoid about making sure everything is secured and locked constantly...it isn't pleasant in the slightest. Like you said you get the "why are you like this??" Response to these behaviors and you can't even begin to say why....
An hour after Jim Minarik was discharged from the army, two persons spat on his olive, drab uniform as he walked along a street in Oakland California. Just returned from Vietnam and having no civilian clothes, Minarik wore his uniform again that night when he chose a good San Francisco restaurant to celebrate his: safe return stateside. He was denied entrance to the restaurant, and told that he was a war criminal. That was on Dec. 10, 1968, and Minarik solved the problem bý purchasing a civilian suit. "It was not a very good welcome back to America." the former paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division said yesterday. Washington Post 6-2-71
Its a myth. It was a meme of the time, everyone heard someone who's friend's cousin got spit on. Reporters looked for exact specific instances and couldn't track any down.
I was recently waiting at a bank to speak with loan an officer, there was a Vietnam vet sitting across from me. We got talking and he told me he had, had 13 operations that he had caught some shrapnel, and they could not get all of it out he still had some in him and spoke of how painful it was sometimes, he walked with a cane. He explained how he still had nightmares and had to moved out of his home because he was afraid, he might hurt his wife, he said they trained me to kill and kill quick.
One of those rare occasions when the movie gets it better than the book. This was a powerful message for how wrong the Vietnam era veterans were treated. In the war, by the government, by their own countrymen, when most of them were draftees, not voluntary forces. They get home, trying to do the best they could, turned away most everywhere they went... and even still, to this day, held up and used as a prop for political clout.
My father was in the 4th marine division in WW2 and was in the battle at Iwo Jima. He was there 10 days before he was hit with shrapnel from a mortar and almost lost his left leg. I can't imagine the horrors he witnessed In those ten days which probably felt like ten years. He, and the other men and women who made it home from that war, were at least treated as heroes. The way the returning vets from Vietnam were treated was absolutely disgusting and an insult. You may not agree with a war some vets have to serve in, but they're human beings just like you and should be treated with respect. You may think you know but you will NEVER know what they've been through and experienced. Thank you to all veterans.🇺🇸
I had a good friend, force recon, scout. He's a great guy, but self-destructive. Smokes a lot of weed. Says it helps, because while he's high, he can't smell his friends burning. This wasn't Vietnam, it was Enduring Freedom and Afghanistan. Nothing ever changes.
I would never hate a soldier for fighting in an unpopular war. They sacrificed their time in the military to get better just so they can protect our country, but they are honor-bound to follow orders of their superiors. It is not their fault they fought people they were told were our enemy because that is what they are trained for. Of course, there are situations that they should question the legality of, but an entire war? They can't fight against the call.
I saw Rambo 2 before First Blood. I was shocked by this scene because Rambo 2 was a straight up action flick with bits and pieces of the originals heart. And his breakdown at the end reaching for Trautman was my first glimpse at PTSD and what it can do to a person. Years later it’s still a powerful scene in a powerful movie.
For all of you who want to know what Vietnam was like I have a friend who was in Vietnam. He said to see Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and The Boys of Company C.
Honest to god Sly should have gotten an Oscar nomination for this movie. Which the exception of Creed and Rocky 1 this is his best performance of all time. The final scene when he talks about how horrifying the Vietnam War was still makes me cry to this day. Also he very wisely had the ending changed as well as him killing no one directly. In the original book First Blood Rambo actually completely snaps and goes on a killing spree and the book ends with Colonel Trautman shooting and killing Rambo like he was putting down a rabid animal. But Stallone in his amazing foresight knew this character needed sequels so he encouraged the director and the studio to have him kill no cops or guardsmen and have him arrested instead of killed off.
The first reaction video of JustTrustAsh’s channel I ever watched was Rambo-and it was Hannah’s sweetness and empathy for Rambo at the end that made me subscribe. 💜
At the time, there was no diagnosis for PTSD. Vers were considered crazy and locked them up. There were no programs, no groups, no one to do anything for anyone. Vets also had a hard time getting and keeping jobs because of the PTSD. Just wasn't a good time for vets.
for those wondering what punishment he got, see First Blood part 2, it wasn't good. sentenced to 30 years hard labor. He gives an equally moving soliloquy at the end of it too (I've heard that veterans in the theaters were giving standing ovations).
Stallones finest acting performance. Highlights the plight of veterans who came home from Vietnam and were treated terribly by the nation and all the PTSD that most soldiers suffered from, where nothing is over and the memories and things they experienced continued to haunt them all.
"Congratulations!", they said, "You've got what it takes!" They sent him back into the rat race without any brakes They took a clean-cut kid A d they made a killer out of him is what they did. - Bob Dylan
Another Well chosen segment from a memorable video. That video and Rocky really started it for Sky. Btw, happens to be my first name from 61 years ago.😊
For anyone who never saw the sequel. Rambo ended up in prison, with a very long sentence. A particular prison that Trautman did his best to keep him out of. No extensive therapy of any kind. Just left to mostly deal with things on his own. In the sequel, Rambo gets chosen for a propaganda mission that he believes is an early rescue mission for POWs. If he agrees to go on the mission, he gets a full pardon. Trautman returns. But Rambo soon suspects something is wrong. But he goes on the mission anyway. Also, in the original ending to the first Rambo film, Trautman is holding a pistol as Rambo has his breakdown. At the end, instead of going in for the hug, Rambo rushes in, grabs the weapon and shots himself. Ending his own existence.
I knew many Vietnam Vets and this was written all over their faces every day. Almost every one of them had addiction problems, drugs, alcohol and PTSD untreated. They're all gone now, all dead from cancer, agent orange, untreated. Flags on their Coffins. I'm a grown man crying at this scene. I have a military coat from WWII and when you hold it up you only realize then how young these guys were to be treated this way, to witness and do the things they were forced to do. F'n heartbreaking!
A common negative image of the soldier in Vietnam is that he smoked pot and injected heroin to dull the horrors of combat. However, except for the last couple of years of the war, drug usage among GIs in Vietnam was lower than for U.S. troops stationed elsewhere. When drug rates started to rise in 1971 and 1972, almost 90 percent of the men who served in Vietnam had already come and gone. A study after the war by the VA showed drug usage of veterans and non-veterans to be about the same. And marijuana -- not heroin -- was the drug used in 75 percent of the cases. Of those addicted, 88 percent kicked the habit within three years of returning. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures). During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958. As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between ’95 and ’00. That’s 390 per day. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain. I very much doubt you ever even met a Vietnam Vet much less knew one very well.
@@cyclone8974 You can put out all the bullshit numbers you want, My father in Law was a Vietnam Vet, my Uncle Jim was a Vietnam Vet just to name two. They are both passed, one drank himself to death, he barely ever ate, the other died from Agent Orange induced Cancer that was passed on to my wife, he was a Heroin Addict and treated for Hep C, the Asian strain, while he was undergoing Chemo in my home in the early 2000's where he passed in a bedroom on my second floor when his Grandson was only 2 years old. You can fukk off..
This ending wasn't the original ending where Rambo gets arrested. It was the second ending they shot and was the ending that made in theaters the real ending, which was from the book as well, yeah this movie is based on a book where Rambo tells Colonel Trautman that he can't live a normal life since society would never accept him and gives him a gun saying you created me you kill me then he begs him to shoot him but the colonel until Rambo forces him to pull the trigger killing him but the producers, as well as the test audience, hated that ending so they changed it where Rambo gets arrested you can see this ending on the DVD as an alternate ending, but that ending was the original ending in the book and movie.
Some veterans suffer in silence. I'm a USMC vet myself, but I never saw true combat. My dad DID see combat........two tours of duty in Vietnam, also as a Marine. Growing up, I was aware of Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD (Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, documentaries about vets, seminars about PTSD while I was on active duty, etc). But I always had the impression that my dad wasn't affected. In the last year, I've found out that for the last 54 years, my dad has slept with a gun under his pillow. He's startled easily by loud noises. He still has nightmares about jungle warfare. Most of the typical problems. I always felt "lucky" that my dad didn't suffer like others did. To know that he has been suffering all of these years while telling no one is very painful for me.
The movie that proves Stallone can act. Of course there are others, but for people that thinks he is only an action star, this is the movie to show there is more
As I see in the comments, I am also the son of a Vietnam veteran. Though he never went this far, my father was never the same after. This is hard to watch.
Stallone is definitely not just about muscles, gun shots and punches. He's a great actor. Rocky 6 has 3 great emotional scenes, one of him teaching his son a lesson, another of him talking to the boxing committee, and another of him venting to Paulie about the "stuff in the basement", this last one made me cry. Great actor!
Everyone says "thank you for your service" to vets of any war, my old man said if you ever see a vietnam vet, do not thank him for his service (you can if you want but) tell them "welcome home", because no one did when they came back, the few i said it to were so greatful and happy, they shook my hand, i continue that gesture to this day...welcome home vietnam vets, thank you!!!
As an Afghanistan veteran I personally cried when we pulled out. I knew all those people would be slaughtered. They knew while the Americans were there they’d all be fine. As soon as we left all hell broke loose.
This was an incredibly powerful scene. Many people consider Stallone's acting skills as laughable, some thinks he does a really good job. Whatever the opinions are about it, Sly really did an amazing performance in this entire scene. It was very raw, emotional, and just gives you goosebumps.
PTSD really became visible with the Vietnam War. In previous wars, the soldiers retuning home, the journey could take weeks or months. During that travel time, soldiers had the opportunity to decompress and share their experiences with others (usually men in their unit and/or other units aboard the ship) who also understood their pain; basically, the best form of therapy for them. We saw this with the return of WWI and WWII veterans, but that doesn't mean it worked with everyone. With Vietnam, returning vets didn't get that. Most were flown home, a trip that would take hours (not weeks or months) so there was no time to decompress. And they'd be lucky if they were sent back home with anybody they knew. If not, they were on their own with the trauma. I learned a story about one of my relatives (Reginald Hart, 3rd Army Infantry, 30.cal Gun Crew, Gunner) back in WWII from my Dad, of 12 who'd served. My dad managed to track down a member of his unit and wrote to him. The letter sent back told us of one time my relative (Hart) and he were in a bombed-out house, using it as a machine gun nest. The letter said that it was dark and raining, but eventually they could hear Germans coming up the road. The man wrote simply, "He waited until the shadows were barely visible, probably no more than 15' or 20' in front of us, and he must have widowed 20 to 30 German women that night." No one in our family ever knew this, until we had gotten the letter. I have another relative named Cleavland O. Petty, from Tennessee. If you've ever watched the series Band of Brothers, you might've heard of him.
Everyone here is like, "He needs help... therapy... support"... Us fans are like, "Nope. 5 years hard time is coming smashing bolders with a sledge hammer in the blazing heat!"
Because as far as the government was concerned he was a former soldier turned criminal. They washed their hands of him till they needed the soldier again.
In a few clips, when Rambo says “parking cars”, the word “parking” was silenced. Did the censors think that he said “fuc-king”? If they did, that means that they thought that he said “I can’t even hold a job fuc-king cars!”
This is a reality for most military veterans in the US . We are the highest homeless and suicidal rates and it’s a situation I’m going through now . Lots of civilians don’t understand what we go through and it’s hard to hold down employment and most don’t care or are disrespectful especially this younger generation .
One of my neighbors was a Vietnam vet, and he would never allow grass to grow around his house; he would rake the ground every day so he could see if the "enemy" had left footprints. He was extremely paranoid and eventually committed suicide. I hated for it to come to that because he was a great guy, but the PTSD was too much. So sad...
People think Rambo is an action movie when it's really about PTSD and the horrors of what war can do to the mind of a person on the field. It should have gotten far more awards for what it tried to get the world to know about
For all the reviewers, I feel your pain the first time I saw saw this scene. It really gets to the heart. It's the study of many Vietnam Vets who suffered from PTSD and mental breakdowns .
@Cowboykillerz The 70s? That early? I thought it was later. Assuming you are right, then I would be incorrect. I guess, then, that it didn't enter the common lexicon until later. I know it wasn't used in Firefox the next year when the condition is referenced even as badly as it was. "It manifests in civilian life, not battle conditions ". (One the few flaws of that movie.) 1982. First Blood, 1982.
Rambo is highlighting a very real reality of military life that extends to modern day. As a military member, you are entrusted with millions of tax-payer dollars worth of equipment in order to complete whatever mission your unit is given. Be it driving a tank, leading a platoon of infantry, flying a helicopter gunship, or steering an aircraft carrier. Once you leave the service and all that responsibility is no longer available to you, it’s a nearly impossible pill to swallow to have to lower yourself to a simple job like parking cars.
And it was like this. Nobody gave a damn about the Vietnam War veterans. I knew an ex Green Beret sergeant platoon leader who did two tours in the Vietnam War, and who had the Purple Heart Medal and Star, meaning that he was wounded on two separate occasions. On his second tour, he was passing along a straight road through a town with his platoon. A man in a white T shirt passed across the road and then a fire fight began. He lost three men from his platoon, and sixteen North Vietnamese soldiers died. My friend was wounded three times, and lost a lot of his upper muscle mass on his right arm. The path of the rifle bullet could still be clearly seen. For years he could not talk about his experiences in Vietnam, suffering flash backs and PTSD. He could not even talk to his wife about his experiences as they were too horrific to recount. In around 2000 he told me that I was the first person he had ever really told what actually happened. My friend was a good good man. One of two out of an intake of 100 wannabes to pass the Green Beret selection course. That's how elite the Green Beret's are. You have to be someone special to enter their ranks, and they are a force to be reckoned with. My friend was over six foot tall and even in his old age bodily built strong.
Honestly one of the most important scenes in any action movie and the best part is that we weren’t expecting it. It gave this whole movie a new purpose for its existence and it screamed into our faces the horrible reality for those who came back from Vietnam. Did it make up for all the mistreatment and silence those Vietnam vets got when they did what they had to do to get home? No, but at least we now listen.
I grew up in the 80s and of course we knew about Vietnam. But still it was seen in bits and pieces, in photos and maybe a few movies. We saw homeless Vietnam vets on the roadside with cardboard signs and we still somewhat subconsciously disregarded them as "crazy" I think. So the societal abuse and dismissal of their service continued long after the war was over. This was before we knew the term PTSD or the psychological toll that wars take on our veterans. It continues today with our recent war vets obviously. History continues to paint the picture of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. If we focus and learn about how these countries have changed in the succeeding years of wars we seemingly "lost", there are positives shown thought the passage of time. Vietnam suffered greatly in the hands of the communists after we left. Look at Afghanistan now, the Taliban is now restricting the rights of all men, now that we have left. Iraq is a fairly stable country now. Incidentally, William Calley who was convicted for My Lai massacre died earlier this year. This one incident did the most to tarnish the service of others.
This scene kills me every time. I may not have served, But I will always have major respect for every man and woman who are/were willing to risk their lives to protect us and this country (American). And it makes me SICK when a bunch of ungrateful people curse, spit at, and call soldiers' monsters and murderers just because they wanted to protect their country! Those fools will never understand what horrors a lot of them have seen or saw, how it haunts some of them. For every soldier who's served or currently serving: You all are worthy of respect, and I'd gladly shake your hands. 🙂
Stallion should’ve won an Oscar just for this scene.
its Stallone 😂
@@Life_Is_AdventureeIt is, but he is also Stallion. The Italian Stallion.
Isn't that right, Apollo? (RIP Carl Weathers)
unfortunately that would make liberals (the ones that called guys like this a baby killer) the villains. And Hollywood doesn't like calling liberals, villains.
OK boomer @@Kissfan96dr
@@orion351us lol it was the boomers that were doing that.
Still say he should have earned an Oscar on this alone. Young heads always think it’s just a shoot em up action flick. Then you watch it from beginning to end and it was so much more than that. The rest were indeed money grabs (it is Hollywood after all). But this scene is powerful art.
I agree.It’s a powerful scene,how he couldn’t get over the death of his buddy who was blown up by that rigged shoeshine box in Saigon.As I said in a previous post,it’s a shame he turned Rambos story into a franchise.First Blood is the best of the lot.First Blood 2 wasn’t bad,but the rest…no!
The second one tried to recapture that ending with another monologue. It wasn’t awful, but it clearly was a one-time thing for First Blood. You can’t recapture the impact of that scene, and it’s the reason why this Rambo will always be remembered the most.
@@dastemplar9681
Agreed
Remember
All Rambo wanted was something to eat
He just wanted to eat and his own country's people discriminate him
Sylvester Stallone’s performance is so incredible it’s easy to overlook Richard Crenna’s amazing performance as a man who wants to also break down in tears but tries to maintain his military bearing
Richard Crenna's performance conveys a lot of things. Over the course of the film he's been bragging about how Rambo is a deadly machine he created. In this scene, you can see the guilt on his face as he realises what he's done to a human being
Stallone at his absolute best.I saw this when it came out in 1982,and loved Stallones performance.It’s just so sad that he turned it into a franchise like Rocky and The Expendables.
As the Son of a Vietnam veteran I would often ask my Father about his time there. While he wasn't in the same situation as the Rambo character he did of course lose friends and face his own mortality on a few occasions. While at a Base known as Hill 55 about 10 miles Southwest of Da Nang he was asked to grab a sheet of Plywood from a nearby pile to use as a makeshift table. Lugging the wood up the hill across his back he heard a series of thwip sounds followed by a "pinging" noise. Turns out he was being snipped from the Jungle nearby and that ping he heard was a shot hitting a nearby metal fencing, the thwips were rounds hitting the ground. A guy wearing camouflage and a hat with a feather stuck in the brim shouted at him to get for cover before grabbing his own rifle to return fire. That guy as it turned out was famed Vietnam war sniper Carlos Hathcock known as White Feather.
AND EVERYBODY CLAPPED 👏 👏 👏
Unfortunately my father was in that same position as Rambo, and years later I was in that same position, My brother John was in that same position, my brother Brandon was in that same position (He's a Command Sergeant Major now, and my cousin Rondelle was in that same position (he was killed in combat).
I retired a Master Chief (Seabee) with 24 years of service, but unfortunately today I'm suffering from a brain tumor that developed from being around burn pits.
I was in rehab with white feathers grandson. I met him once. He was amazing.
Im also the son of a Vietnam Veteran. I salute all I encounter. My father told us his stories NIONSTOP for first 20 years of my life.
My dad was a medic over there. He never would tell me anything about it. I can imagine the stuff he saw. Spent the rest of his life as a surgical assistant.
Man... It really hits hard watching the women cry at the end of Rambo, because THIS monologue is the whole point of the movie.
PTSD was in its baby steps when they movie came out.
Nah. We've known the symptoms for decades before that. It just had other names. "Battle fatigue", "shell shock", etc.
But what it's always been is real truama. Not the "truama" people claim when mean things are Saud about them online. Or being disciplined by their parents and calling it truama.
@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamerthank you
@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamerfuck you its trauma you fucking asshole
i can hear fucking voices in my fucking head whenever i do something my piece of shit family wouldent approve of.
Just because no one shot at me doesnt mean a fucking abusive curcomstance cant do the same thing.
@@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer Love the user name my man
I served for 22 years. This is so true. You just don't turn it off.
17 years, here (11 active. six as a contractor). I still instantly drop into a defensive stance, fist cocked, if someone surprises me; you're right, you don't just turn it off
What time period and branch did you serve breakfast in?
PTSD is a real thing, my uncle served in Vietnam and was never the same. In his time there was no real help for a lot of those guys. I watched him struggle until the end and the last time I saw him smile, we were putting him in the ground. I hold a huge amount of respect for war vets.
Stallone's soliloquy still resonates - heartbreaking, profound and necessary - totally humanizes John Rambo and also showed a world that Vietnam vets who suffered PTSD needed to be taken seriously. Such a cinematic moment.
I love he called out the vile protesters. Boys come back to their fellow countrymen spitting on them for doing a job many didn't even want to do.
The same is true today with protesters. Most don't know much of anything about what they are even protesting.
Amen brother. Amen.
We turned them into weapons and then turned our back on them. We failed as a country
Nearly all Vietnam vets got a lot of hatred they didn't deserve.
at that time PTSD wasn't even a thing. I think this movie and this scene brought a lot of attention to it.
The way those military trumpets somberly play as he's hugging Trautman feels like they're quietly serenading a casualty of war. And he may not be dead, but he's still very much a casualty, and not just of the war, but of unjust societal judgement.
Well said. Another amazing work by one of the GOATs for movie scores, Jerry Goldsmith.
By far, the best acting Stallone ever did. ❤
Rocky and Copland say hi...
@Jaydogg222 Both great movies. But they don't even come close. The last 5 minutes of this movie blows them all away.
@@toxicrevenuegaming Nope
Stallone is a GREAT actor
We often regard him as just an action hero and a muscle head.
But the man is an amazing actor and an amazing writter
@@Mugthrakaikr? An amazing actor, always will be one of my favourites personally.
This single performance is one of thee greatest performances of all time. I grew up in the 60's, my brother was drafted before he graduated - and this is graduating high school. He returned with PTSD that wasn't diagnosed till after 1977 because the US Gov didn't 'recognize it' as a 'real affliction' until then! What this movie did not tell you was that those within the ranks that had PTSD were at times bullied/brutalized while with the affliction and serving!
I remember watching Ken Burns PBS series about the Vietnam War and one episode showed Vietnam Veterans throwing their medals away outside the White House.Vietnam veterans were treated like shit by both the public and the government at that time and Stallone talking about the treatment he got,especially at the airport and being called a baby killer is true.Thank God the treatment of veterans is so much better and people go up to veterans today and thank them for their service.
Stallone at the least should have been nominated for an Oscar for this.
When I was a kid I used to see Rambo as an action icon. They made cartoons, action figures, comic boos about the character. Growing up, I realized "First Blood" was a drama, it was really about PTSD, loneliness and being rejected by society. Stallone did a very good job here. Then they decided to turn the character into the immortal action hero in the sequels. I'll be honest, it would have worked much better if they'd never made any sequels.
I was called a "baby killer" when I first came home from deployment. I was a Medic. I saved kids. Lol. It hurt so bad.
Newer audiences to this film, having heard about the character and/or the franchise for years, are in for a shock when they get to this part of the first film, the best of the series. It's in a class all by itself because of this scene. It sets itself apart from every other "action" film of it's time.
The sequels miss the entire point of the movie.
@@Traye76100%
I am Japanese, and when I saw this movie 40 years ago, I was 20 years old and did not think that deeply about war.
After seeing this last scene, I began to think deeply about what war does to soldiers.
Now, it is very valuable for young people to see this film and have the same thoughts as I did.
Here's some sayings about war you might find interesting:
"Battle is an orgy of chaos"
"War never changes, but always changes people"
The last line in the movie:
“I can’t get *it* out of my mind”
Summed up *everything*
Sly is an underrated writer.
I read that surviving vets from Vietnam War stated that Sly stated the truth of what they are going thru back then and still going thru today!
My dad is a 77 y/o Marine Corps Vietnam vet & he still suffers from PTSD to this day, as well as the effects of Agent Orange exposure.
I am a viet vet usmc . this is absolutely true.
@@tmorris53 Thank you for your service and God Bless!
My father was a green beret viet war vet, he really hated having to talk about the war, in fact, every time he tried to, he would start smoking heavily, he showed on occasion PTSD, by zoning out but he was also later on showing signs of Parkinson's, it was getting so bad I, with my mother, had to quickly move out, without him getting too possessive, not out of fear of his PTSD, but he was showing the signs that he couldn't recognize me as his son. Now, the question is do I hate him? Not entirely, more like I pity him, do I miss him? No, I don't. Am I proud that he tried fighting for his country? Yes, but I wished that one day, he would understand that he did everything he could but he was never home with me growing up in the 90s, he was either working with computers or out flying, this was before he retired and started chain smoking.
This scene always gets me.
One of Stallone's stellar acting performances.
As someone who used to really struggle with PTSD, I'd say this is pretty accurate. You're always tense, on guard, startled easily. Those memories...they cling to you like a parasite. Haunt you every day, all the time, in your sleep. A certain smell, sound or touch can instantly pull you back into *that* place; wherever it was, whatever happened. People look at you differently, they don't understand why you are this way. It is hell. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Exactly my wife can't understand sometimes why I am so paranoid..why I never sit with my back facing a door...why I have to be able to see my surroundings at all times..Why I am always observing everything everyone does around me...why I am paranoid about making sure everything is secured and locked constantly...it isn't pleasant in the slightest. Like you said you get the "why are you like this??" Response to these behaviors and you can't even begin to say why....
This was & still is the best of the Rambo films.
In Top 10 action films of all time
Stallone should have won at least one award for this monologue.
An hour after Jim Minarik was discharged from the army, two persons spat on his olive, drab uniform as he walked along a street in Oakland California. Just returned from Vietnam and having no civilian clothes, Minarik wore his uniform again that night when he chose a good San Francisco restaurant to celebrate his: safe return stateside. He was denied entrance to the restaurant, and told that he was a war criminal. That was on Dec. 10, 1968, and Minarik solved the problem bý purchasing a civilian suit. "It was not a very good welcome back to America." the former paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division said yesterday.
Washington Post 6-2-71
Its a myth. It was a meme of the time, everyone heard someone who's friend's cousin got spit on. Reporters looked for exact specific instances and couldn't track any down.
@@vorpalrobot Can you read? Jim Minarik is an example of an exact specific instance.
It was in the Washington Post 6-2-71.
@@cyclone8974 yeah they look into those sources and it's still all hearsay.
@@vorpalrobotYou’re a pot stirring kid-fucker.
To all of those reactors who said "he just needs somebody". Youre somebody.
As long as we keep the important stories alive, we are all somebody.
I love how this movie went from major badass action to very depressingly real
I was recently waiting at a bank to speak with loan an officer, there was a Vietnam vet sitting across from me. We got talking and he told me he had, had 13 operations that he had caught some shrapnel, and they could not get all of it out he still had some in him and spoke of how painful it was sometimes, he walked with a cane.
He explained how he still had nightmares and had to moved out of his home because he was afraid, he might hurt his wife, he said they trained me to kill and kill quick.
This is one hell of a great scene. Makes me tear up because of what Vietnam veterans actually came back home to.
As much as Stallone is known for being an action hero, at heart he's really drama actor underneath all those muscles.
One of those rare occasions when the movie gets it better than the book. This was a powerful message for how wrong the Vietnam era veterans were treated. In the war, by the government, by their own countrymen, when most of them were draftees, not voluntary forces. They get home, trying to do the best they could, turned away most everywhere they went... and even still, to this day, held up and used as a prop for political clout.
My father was in the 4th marine division in WW2 and was in the battle at Iwo Jima. He was there 10 days before he was hit with shrapnel from a mortar and almost lost his left leg. I can't imagine the horrors he witnessed In those ten days which probably felt like ten years. He, and the other men and women who made it home from that war, were at least treated as heroes. The way the returning vets from Vietnam were treated was absolutely disgusting and an insult. You may not agree with a war some vets have to serve in, but they're human beings just like you and should be treated with respect. You may think you know but you will NEVER know what they've been through and experienced. Thank you to all veterans.🇺🇸
Sometimes it's easy to forget that Stallone is capable of some damn good acting if the script is good enough.
He wrote this part of the script.
I had a good friend, force recon, scout. He's a great guy, but self-destructive. Smokes a lot of weed. Says it helps, because while he's high, he can't smell his friends burning. This wasn't Vietnam, it was Enduring Freedom and Afghanistan. Nothing ever changes.
I would never hate a soldier for fighting in an unpopular war. They sacrificed their time in the military to get better just so they can protect our country, but they are honor-bound to follow orders of their superiors. It is not their fault they fought people they were told were our enemy because that is what they are trained for. Of course, there are situations that they should question the legality of, but an entire war? They can't fight against the call.
I saw Rambo 2 before First Blood. I was shocked by this scene because Rambo 2 was a straight up action flick with bits and pieces of the originals heart. And his breakdown at the end reaching for Trautman was my first glimpse at PTSD and what it can do to a person. Years later it’s still a powerful scene in a powerful movie.
For all of you who want to know what Vietnam was like I have a friend who was in Vietnam. He said to see Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and The Boys of Company C.
I agree with you 100%! The Boys in Company C is severely underrated.
Honest to god Sly should have gotten an Oscar nomination for this movie. Which the exception of Creed and Rocky 1 this is his best performance of all time. The final scene when he talks about how horrifying the Vietnam War was still makes me cry to this day.
Also he very wisely had the ending changed as well as him killing no one directly. In the original book First Blood Rambo actually completely snaps and goes on a killing spree and the book ends with Colonel Trautman shooting and killing Rambo like he was putting down a rabid animal. But Stallone in his amazing foresight knew this character needed sequels so he encouraged the director and the studio to have him kill no cops or guardsmen and have him arrested instead of killed off.
Stallone had an amazing one-two punch to the start of his career with Rocky and First Blood.
This is what War actually does to people who served and it truly is sad.
Everyone censored him when he threw the gun. He said word for word, " I cant even hold a job parking cars!!" Lol why is it censored?
Maybe they thought he said 'fucking' cars?
Because many people think he's saying "f***ing" instead. What kind of job do they think involves someone f***ing cars?! 🤣
@@OnTheWall81 Ask an OF girl. I'm sure they could answer that.
😂😂😂😂😂@@AB-ez4rm
The first reaction video of JustTrustAsh’s channel I ever watched was Rambo-and it was Hannah’s sweetness and empathy for Rambo at the end that made me subscribe. 💜
At the time, there was no diagnosis for PTSD. Vers were considered crazy and locked them up. There were no programs, no groups, no one to do anything for anyone. Vets also had a hard time getting and keeping jobs because of the PTSD. Just wasn't a good time for vets.
for those wondering what punishment he got, see First Blood part 2, it wasn't good. sentenced to 30 years hard labor. He gives an equally moving soliloquy at the end of it too (I've heard that veterans in the theaters were giving standing ovations).
He got offered the medal of honor and rambo said he didn't want it, he wanted his country to love him as much as he loved his country.
@@NicholasSarsby Before that Trautman said "don't hate your country" and Rambo replied, "hate it? I'd die for it" Besides he already had a CMH.
Stallones finest acting performance. Highlights the plight of veterans who came home from Vietnam and were treated terribly by the nation and all the PTSD that most soldiers suffered from, where nothing is over and the memories and things they experienced continued to haunt them all.
"Congratulations!", they said, "You've got what it takes!"
They sent him back into the rat race without any brakes
They took a clean-cut kid
A d they made a killer out of him is what they did.
- Bob Dylan
I think this was Sylvester Stallone's best role, if only for the last ten minutes; he did a phenomenal job.
Another Well chosen segment from a memorable video. That video and Rocky really started it for Sky. Btw, happens to be my first name from 61 years ago.😊
For anyone who never saw the sequel. Rambo ended up in prison, with a very long sentence. A particular prison that Trautman did his best to keep him out of. No extensive therapy of any kind. Just left to mostly deal with things on his own.
In the sequel, Rambo gets chosen for a propaganda mission that he believes is an early rescue mission for POWs. If he agrees to go on the mission, he gets a full pardon. Trautman returns. But Rambo soon suspects something is wrong. But he goes on the mission anyway.
Also, in the original ending to the first Rambo film, Trautman is holding a pistol as Rambo has his breakdown. At the end, instead of going in for the hug, Rambo rushes in, grabs the weapon and shots himself. Ending his own existence.
They keep bleeping out that line when he says, "I can't even get a job PARKING cars!"
I think this guy who did the mashup did it, and I think it's just he mis-heard it is all. Eh.
It hits so hard when he says,”And nobody would help!”
The performance from Stallone at the last few minutes of this movie was awesome!
I knew many Vietnam Vets and this was written all over their faces every day. Almost every one of them had addiction problems, drugs, alcohol and PTSD untreated. They're all gone now, all dead from cancer, agent orange, untreated. Flags on their Coffins. I'm a grown man crying at this scene. I have a military coat from WWII and when you hold it up you only realize then how young these guys were to be treated this way, to witness and do the things they were forced to do. F'n heartbreaking!
A common negative image of the soldier in Vietnam is that he smoked pot and injected heroin to dull the horrors of combat. However, except for the last couple of years of the war, drug usage among GIs in Vietnam was lower than for U.S. troops stationed elsewhere.
When drug rates started to rise in 1971 and 1972, almost 90 percent of the men who served in Vietnam had already come and gone. A study after the war by the VA showed drug usage of veterans and non-veterans to be about the same. And marijuana -- not heroin -- was the drug used in 75 percent of the cases. Of those addicted, 88 percent kicked the habit within three years of returning.
1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures).
During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served was: 9,492,958.
As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between ’95 and ’00. That’s 390 per day. During this Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT. This makes calculations of those alive, even in 2017, difficult to maintain.
I very much doubt you ever even met a Vietnam Vet much less knew one very well.
@@cyclone8974 You can put out all the bullshit numbers you want, My father in Law was a Vietnam Vet, my Uncle Jim was a Vietnam Vet just to name two. They are both passed, one drank himself to death, he barely ever ate, the other died from Agent Orange induced Cancer that was passed on to my wife, he was a Heroin Addict and treated for Hep C, the Asian strain, while he was undergoing Chemo in my home in the early 2000's where he passed in a bedroom on my second floor when his Grandson was only 2 years old. You can fukk off..
This ending wasn't the original ending where Rambo gets arrested. It was the second ending they shot and was the ending that made in theaters the real ending, which was from the book as well, yeah this movie is based on a book where Rambo tells Colonel Trautman that he can't live a normal life since society would never accept him and gives him a gun saying you created me you kill me then he begs him to shoot him but the colonel until Rambo forces him to pull the trigger killing him but the producers, as well as the test audience, hated that ending so they changed it where Rambo gets arrested you can see this ending on the DVD as an alternate ending, but that ending was the original ending in the book and movie.
Punctuation. PLEASE.
@@todderickson2435 No one asked you.
@@todderickson2435👀🤣😂☠️☠️
Stallone was the reason they changed the ending. He wrote that entire part of the movie himself.
Some veterans suffer in silence.
I'm a USMC vet myself, but I never saw true combat. My dad DID see combat........two tours of duty in Vietnam, also as a Marine. Growing up, I was aware of Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD (Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, documentaries about vets, seminars about PTSD while I was on active duty, etc). But I always had the impression that my dad wasn't affected. In the last year, I've found out that for the last 54 years, my dad has slept with a gun under his pillow. He's startled easily by loud noises. He still has nightmares about jungle warfare. Most of the typical problems.
I always felt "lucky" that my dad didn't suffer like others did. To know that he has been suffering all of these years while telling no one is very painful for me.
My grandfather was in WWII and was captured and held in Germany for almost 2 years as a POW. He NEVER talked about it, very rare if he did.
Wow, he would've experienced some nasty shit. Not as bad a being a prisoner of the Vietcong, but still..
@aaronbarlow4376 that had to be horrible to.
Rambo First Blood is fantastic Movie Forever ❤
My grand father was in WW2 we all found out when it showed up on his obit. Never talked about it and never told a soul.
This is why you don't mess with a broken soldier.
Exactly you will never know what they would do next
The movie that proves Stallone can act. Of course there are others, but for people that thinks he is only an action star, this is the movie to show there is more
There's also Cop Land.
As I see in the comments, I am also the son of a Vietnam veteran. Though he never went this far, my father was never the same after. This is hard to watch.
Stallone is definitely not just about muscles, gun shots and punches. He's a great actor. Rocky 6 has 3 great emotional scenes, one of him teaching his son a lesson, another of him talking to the boxing committee, and another of him venting to Paulie about the "stuff in the basement", this last one made me cry. Great actor!
He just needed a hug
Please never forget what our Soldiers and Veterans have done for this country. They will always be heroes to me!
Our father struggled for years with his nightmares and trauma! 😔
It took decades to get the help he needed to confront those memories 😢
This is ptsd man . Filmed & acted so well x
They always cut out the part when he says "I can't hold a job PARKING CARS!" 😅😅😅
Everyone says "thank you for your service" to vets of any war, my old man said if you ever see a vietnam vet, do not thank him for his service (you can if you want but) tell them "welcome home", because no one did when they came back, the few i said it to were so greatful and happy, they shook my hand, i continue that gesture to this day...welcome home vietnam vets, thank you!!!
I thank Vietnam vets, because as a different era vet, I know people overcompensate us, for their guilt over them.
As an Afghanistan veteran I personally cried when we pulled out. I knew all those people would be slaughtered. They knew while the Americans were there they’d all be fine. As soon as we left all hell broke loose.
This was an incredibly powerful scene. Many people consider Stallone's acting skills as laughable, some thinks he does a really good job. Whatever the opinions are about it, Sly really did an amazing performance in this entire scene. It was very raw, emotional, and just gives you goosebumps.
PTSD really became visible with the Vietnam War.
In previous wars, the soldiers retuning home, the journey could take weeks or months. During that travel time, soldiers had the opportunity to decompress and share their experiences with others (usually men in their unit and/or other units aboard the ship) who also understood their pain; basically, the best form of therapy for them. We saw this with the return of WWI and WWII veterans, but that doesn't mean it worked with everyone.
With Vietnam, returning vets didn't get that. Most were flown home, a trip that would take hours (not weeks or months) so there was no time to decompress. And they'd be lucky if they were sent back home with anybody they knew. If not, they were on their own with the trauma.
I learned a story about one of my relatives (Reginald Hart, 3rd Army Infantry, 30.cal Gun Crew, Gunner) back in WWII from my Dad, of 12 who'd served. My dad managed to track down a member of his unit and wrote to him. The letter sent back told us of one time my relative (Hart) and he were in a bombed-out house, using it as a machine gun nest.
The letter said that it was dark and raining, but eventually they could hear Germans coming up the road. The man wrote simply, "He waited until the shadows were barely visible, probably no more than 15' or 20' in front of us, and he must have widowed 20 to 30 German women that night."
No one in our family ever knew this, until we had gotten the letter.
I have another relative named Cleavland O. Petty, from Tennessee. If you've ever watched the series Band of Brothers, you might've heard of him.
It grinds my mgear when people say Stallone isn't a good actor. he's amazing
I see that line getting censored. "Back here I can't get a job [CENSORED] cars!" The actual line is "Back here I can't get a job, parking cars!"
Everyone here is like, "He needs help... therapy... support"...
Us fans are like, "Nope. 5 years hard time is coming smashing bolders with a sledge hammer in the blazing heat!"
Because as far as the government was concerned he was a former soldier turned criminal. They washed their hands of him till they needed the soldier again.
In a few clips, when Rambo says “parking cars”, the word “parking” was silenced. Did the censors think that he said “fuc-king”? If they did, that means that they thought that he said “I can’t even hold a job fuc-king cars!”
😆😂🤣
prolly cus it souds like hes saying cant get a job at a fuking garage
For years my father would smoke cigarettes while he took a shower. I Didn't realize to much later in life what he was going through.
Masterpiece ever.
Ash really laughed and tried to come back from it..*laugh's " he turned into Michael Jackson..3 seconds later " ohhhh this broke me ...nice try
I always fast forward past them when it's their turn.
Fantastic performance by Stallone, you feel the turmoil of his mind.
This is a reality for most military veterans in the US . We are the highest homeless and suicidal rates and it’s a situation I’m going through now . Lots of civilians don’t understand what we go through and it’s hard to hold down employment and most don’t care or are disrespectful especially this younger generation .
One of my neighbors was a Vietnam vet, and he would never allow grass to grow around his house; he would rake the ground every day so he could see if the "enemy" had left footprints. He was extremely paranoid and eventually committed suicide. I hated for it to come to that because he was a great guy, but the PTSD was too much. So sad...
One of the best monologues ever. Stallone shows his class! 🎉
GREAT MOVIE ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE ACTORS WELL HE IS MY #1 He reminds me of my father 🇮🇹
People think Rambo is an action movie when it's really about PTSD and the horrors of what war can do to the mind of a person on the field.
It should have gotten far more awards for what it tried to get the world to know about
man, I haven't watched the full RAMBO movie in so many years I totally forgot how sad the ending was great movie great franchise 👍
For all the reviewers, I feel your pain the first time I saw saw this scene. It really gets to the heart. It's the study of many Vietnam Vets who suffered from PTSD and mental breakdowns .
MY COUSIN SERVED IN VIETNAM... HE WAS NEVER THE SAME WHEN HE GOT HOME. GOD BLESS ALL OUR VETS!
One of the greatest scenes in cinema history.
His performance here is spot on to real veteran trauma! Spot on
And remember, back when this was filmed, PTSD, the term, did not yet exist.
@Svensk7119 PTSD was first being used in the 1970s when was the movie filmed?
@Cowboykillerz The 70s? That early? I thought it was later. Assuming you are right, then I would be incorrect. I guess, then, that it didn't enter the common lexicon until later. I know it wasn't used in Firefox the next year when the condition is referenced even as badly as it was. "It manifests in civilian life, not battle conditions ". (One the few flaws of that movie.)
1982. First Blood, 1982.
Rambo is highlighting a very real reality of military life that extends to modern day. As a military member, you are entrusted with millions of tax-payer dollars worth of equipment in order to complete whatever mission your unit is given. Be it driving a tank, leading a platoon of infantry, flying a helicopter gunship, or steering an aircraft carrier.
Once you leave the service and all that responsibility is no longer available to you, it’s a nearly impossible pill to swallow to have to lower yourself to a simple job like parking cars.
No one is ever ready for Stallone’a masterful performance in this movie
Once you see and feel hell, there is no fixing it. You can only ignore it for a time or try your damnest to silence it.
And it was like this. Nobody gave a damn about the Vietnam War veterans. I knew an ex Green Beret sergeant platoon leader who did two tours in the Vietnam War, and who had the Purple Heart Medal and Star, meaning that he was wounded on two separate occasions. On his second tour, he was passing along a straight road through a town with his platoon. A man in a white T shirt passed across the road and then a fire fight began. He lost three men from his platoon, and sixteen North Vietnamese soldiers died. My friend was wounded three times, and lost a lot of his upper muscle mass on his right arm. The path of the rifle bullet could still be clearly seen. For years he could not talk about his experiences in Vietnam, suffering flash backs and PTSD. He could not even talk to his wife about his experiences as they were too horrific to recount. In around 2000 he told me that I was the first person he had ever really told what actually happened. My friend was a good good man. One of two out of an intake of 100 wannabes to pass the Green Beret selection course. That's how elite the Green Beret's are. You have to be someone special to enter their ranks, and they are a force to be reckoned with. My friend was over six foot tall and even in his old age bodily built strong.
"Some men can leave war behind, but for many it follows them home."
The classic movie🔥🔥🔥🔥
Honestly one of the most important scenes in any action movie and the best part is that we weren’t expecting it. It gave this whole movie a new purpose for its existence and it screamed into our faces the horrible reality for those who came back from Vietnam. Did it make up for all the mistreatment and silence those Vietnam vets got when they did what they had to do to get home? No, but at least we now listen.
This isn't a criticism of any other Sly movie when I say this, but for me, First Blood is his best performance ever. It is absolutely first class.
I grew up in the 80s and of course we knew about Vietnam. But still it was seen in bits and pieces, in photos and maybe a few movies. We saw homeless Vietnam vets on the roadside with cardboard signs and we still somewhat subconsciously disregarded them as "crazy" I think. So the societal abuse and dismissal of their service continued long after the war was over. This was before we knew the term PTSD or the psychological toll that wars take on our veterans. It continues today with our recent war vets obviously. History continues to paint the picture of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. If we focus and learn about how these countries have changed in the succeeding years of wars we seemingly "lost", there are positives shown thought the passage of time. Vietnam suffered greatly in the hands of the communists after we left. Look at Afghanistan now, the Taliban is now restricting the rights of all men, now that we have left. Iraq is a fairly stable country now. Incidentally, William Calley who was convicted for My Lai massacre died earlier this year. This one incident did the most to tarnish the service of others.
StruggleNation represent
The perfect representation of the life of a man, who thugs it out everyday 😞😮💨😕
Aww, Dasha’s heart really broke for Johnny. Bless her.❤️
This scene kills me every time. I may not have served, But I will always have major respect for every man and woman who are/were willing to risk their lives to protect us and this country (American). And it makes me SICK when a bunch of ungrateful people curse, spit at, and call soldiers' monsters and murderers just because they wanted to protect their country! Those fools will never understand what horrors a lot of them have seen or saw, how it haunts some of them.
For every soldier who's served or currently serving: You all are worthy of respect, and I'd gladly shake your hands. 🙂