Top Gun was produced in collaboration with the Pentagon to rebrand the US military’s image post-Vietnam war, and attract new Navy recruits. Top Gun was the first full-blown collaboration between Hollywood and the US military.
Vietnam war
Project 100000 was a recruitment effort…
Project 100000 was a recruitment effort during Vietnam that brought in mentally and physically unfit people for service to fill the ranks. Many brought in had a 5th grade level education and were considered mentally challenged.
In 1973, during his stay in Vietnam…
In 1973, during his stay in Vietnam, Henry Moak was issued a combat ration that included a can of pound cake, manufactured in 1969. He vowed to eat the pound cake when he retired from the Army. On July 24, 2009, Colonel Moak opened the forty-year-old can and kept his word.
According to unclassified audio tapes of president…
According to unclassified audio tapes of president Johnson, Nixon prolonged Vietnam War for political gain and Johnson knew about it.
30,000 American draft dodgers went to Canada…
30,000 American draft dodgers went to Canada during the Vietnam War, while 30,000 Canadians joined the US military to fight in the Vietnam War.
A lot of famous directors begin their careers by making…
A lot of famous directors begin their careers by making weird, experimental films. For instance, there’s the case of Martin Scorsese and his odd, six-minute film The Big Shave that he made in 1967. It had an alternative title, Viet ’67, because it was apparently a metaphor for the war in Vietnam, even though the entire film involves a guy shaving.
According to Slate.com, “the director conceived of the film after emerging from a ‘spell of deep depression,’ during which he apparently had trouble shaving.”
Over at Cinephilia & Beyond, they’ve posted Scorsese’s original script for the film.
In 2011, the singer Dave Hause made a music video that recreated the scenes from the film.
On his second day in office, President…
On his second day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned all evaders of the Vietnam War drafts.
In 1975 $10 million worth of Huey helicopters had…
In 1975 $10 million worth of Huey helicopters had to be pushed off the flight deck of the USS Midway and into the sea to make way for the emergency landing of an aircraft with Vietnamese evacuees on board.
The former Prime Minister of Vietnam moved…
The former Prime Minister of Vietnam moved to Orange County after the war, where he opened and ran a liquor store.
A US cargo plane crashed while moving children from Vietnam…
A US cargo plane crashed while moving children from Vietnam. American businessman Robert Macauley heard that it would take over a week to evacuate the survivors, so he chartered a Boeing 747 and arranged for 300 orphaned children to leave the country, paying for the trip by mortgaging his house.