The AMU recently shared this image taken in the summer of 1967 when John Wayne was at the Home of Champions filming “The Green Berets” movie.
The US Army Fort Benning Soldier with the legendary actor is Sgt. Richard L. Foronato, who was part of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Shotgun Team.
The scene filmed at Hook range was when Col. Lamar Asbury “Bill” Welch, the actual commander of the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning in 1967, makes a brief cameo shooting trap with John Wayne. Welch wears a 1960s U.S. Army Fatigue Baseball Cap (common issue during the Vietnam War) in the scene while the actors wear green berets. The Soldiers exercising on the drill field – who Wayne shouts to – were actual Army airborne recruits in training.
Yeah, I’ve seen the question to where it was filmed and a lot of it was on Ft Benning, GA.
You can tell they are on LAAF during the, “was my Petersan bwave” scene…
When I was in 3/75 we actually set up an objective on a hilltop that everyone called John Wayne hill on a northern training area. There was nothing there to indicate it, but it was where the Firebase battle supposedly was filmed. I was just a private but all the NCOs seemed to know all about it.
Small little snippets of history.
So fucking badass! May he rest in peace.. America!
I thought so too, till I checked him up. He seemed to make a point of doing everything he could to avoid any kind of service during the war, even John Ford got on his case ( Ford an old man went into combat filming)
James Stewart ( the wimpy actor) joined the Air Force and insisted on serving in combat, and went on to serve in the Koren and Vietnam wars, and wouldn’t talk about it – he was bad ass
Ronald Reagan never saw combat combat and I’m pretty sure Mark Wahlberg and Bradley Cooper never served a day.
Not sure what your point is.
Not sure of your point either? He was an actor, and he promoted American patriotism, while supporting the military and veterans…. unlike 99% of most actors or anyone or anything to come out of Hollywood.
In his public life he promoted himself (not in his movies) as this and that, but in reality did what ever he could to avoid doing anything of substance- we are talking WW2 here a big deal at the time. I have half a dozen of his movies, but I understand he was only a tough guy on screen
Some people have to be contrarians. God bless em.
That old SF A Camp was the M-47 Dragon range about 30 years ago.
We had a picture of The Duke in his tiger stripes with barbed wire around the frame- the barbs are plastic– it is wire made for movies!
John Wayne also went to Vietnam and spent some time with A teams in their camps, and was given a silver friendship bracelet presented by a Montagnard Strike Force unit, made up of indigenous Vietnamese soldiers. The bracelet was bent to fit his wrist, and he wore it for the rest of his life.
Anytime we talk about the Duke there are those who take shots at him. He never claimed to be anything other than what he was, an actor and an American.