Heartbreak Ridge

Question: Why are the new recruits not wearing their dog tags? Dog tags are issued at boot camp.

Question: Why was the platoon making such a big deal about wearing shirts during their exercises? I would think they would be better off wearing shirts so they would not get a sunburn. So what was the big deal?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: Gunny Highway insisted that they all wear the same shirts as he himself was wearing. If they showed up in a different one, he made them go shirtless. The reasons for this were 1) to break through their rebellious attitudes and teach them to follow his orders, 2) to make them look and feel unified, and 3) to develop resourcefulness and adaptability in them.

Chanteuse66

To also display esprit de corp to other units gaining them respect from those units as well as command leadership.

Question: Towards the end of the movie when Gunny Highway's men first learn that he is a Medal of Honor recipient they are all suitably impressed. Yet when he first reports to take over the platoon he is wearing parade uniform with all of his medal ribbons displayed. The very first ribbon looks like the one appropriate for a MoH - surely the young marines should have been able to recognise it? Is the MoH insignia able to be noticed on his uniform?

david barlow

Chosen answer: I can personally attest, when you see someone in dress uniform, the first thing you look at is their rank. No one really pays much attention to the ribbons, and not many people know what more than a handful of them mean. When you add the fact that Highway put the fear of Gunny into them at the first meeting and that none of them are all that bright, it could easily be overlooked. One thing that is wrong, is as an MOH recipient, Gunny Highway is entitled to a salute from anyone short of the President. Granted he is not the type to point out his awards either.

Grumpy Scot

Question: Why is it that the recon unit Gunny Highway leads is comprised of nearly 20 guys (early fall outs) and when they head off to battle the unit only has the 6-8 main characters?

bnemirow

Answer: It's because it's a movie. The plot could not ably handle the stories of twenty different characters while maintaining the action's pace and a cohesive story line within a two-hour time frame. It instead focuses on a few key characters.

raywest

Factual error: Calendar date at the very beginning of the film (in the police station), shows the dates of Saturday 20th/Sunday 21st July 1983. However the 20th and 21st July 1983 fell on Wednesday and Thursday.

More mistakes in Heartbreak Ridge

Gunnery Seargant Thomas Highway: The United States Marines is lookin' for a few good men - and you ain't it.

More quotes from Heartbreak Ridge

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