Continuity mistake: In the scene where Bunny kills the one legged Vietnamese with the butt of his gun, watch the cigarette in Sgt. O'Neill's mouth. In a shot after the kid is dead, the cigarette in O'Neill's mouth is short. When it shows him again, the cigarette has mysteriously grown. (00:50:00)
Continuity mistake: Bunny carries a shotgun throughout the entire film. In the final big battle scene, Bunny is seen firing his shotgun at the enemy while Junior cowers in the fox hole. When Junior runs out of the hole and Bunny turns around to yell at him, Bunny is suddenly holding an M-16 rifle. The scene cuts to Junior smacking into a tree and then quickly cuts back to Bunny, who is now holding his shotgun. As Bunny begins to turn toward the enemy, he still has shotgun in hand. When Bunny completes the turn and is shot by the NVA soldier, he is again holding the M-16. (01:42:05)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Tom Berenger is near death and dares Charlie Sheen to shoot him, the first time Sgt. Barnes turns over on his back to face Sheen, his T-shirt is in pretty presentable shape. A few frames later when we see the good Sergeant his T-shirt is ripped and shredded. (01:49:05)
Continuity mistake: After the napalm has been dropped and Charlie Sheen is blackened from the fire (and others are dead and burned), the vegetation is all still green and unscathed. Shouldn't that also be burned and destroyed from the napalm?
Continuity mistake: In one scene as they are walking towards a village a shot shows them walking next to a river. Whilst it is meant to be raining and the troops are wearing raincoats have a look at the river. There is no splashing as droplets land, indicating that it wasn't raining at that particular moment. The rain was merely water sprayed in front of the camera.
Continuity mistake: Just prior to the last battle "King" is informed that he is going home. He places two bandoliers of M-60 machine gun ammo over his right shoulder as he is saying goodbye to Sheen.In the next shot (as he continues to say good bye)the bandoliers have been changed; they are now cris-crossed to the left and right of his neck.
Continuity mistake: When Barnes overhears the squad talking about fragging him, he stands up, walks toward the post and his scar disappears for a moment. When he asks if anyone knows what death is, the scar returns.
Continuity mistake: When Sandy and Sal are in the tent looking at all the papers in the ammo crate look at the guy smoking a cigar. It goes from 2 inches to a brand new one in at least 10-15 seconds.
Suggested correction: It doesn't take very long to put a new cigar in your mouth.
Continuity mistake: When Tubby Gardner is killed, they try to bandage him up, but he dies before anything can really be done. The bandage on his chest isn't fixed properly when he dies, when the shot goes and comes back to him lying dead, the bandage is fixed properly around his chest.
Continuity mistake: In the very beginning when the transport plane carrying Taylor and the other replacements arrive, the propellers on the plane are not moving and it appears it's being towed. An army truck drives in front of the plane, momentarily blocking the view of the plane, and the propellers are spinning as soon as the truck passes.
Continuity mistake: The "M" that the medic wipes onto Gardners' forehead disappears after a few shots.
Continuity mistake: When O'Neill hides behind the body of the dead soldier his eyes are tight shut. When O'Neill peers out from behind the body his eyes are now wide open.
Continuity mistake: After the last battle, a character stabs himself in his right leg in order to get a medical discharge. When they show him on the helicopter leaving, his left leg is bandaged, and his right leg has no bandage.
Continuity mistake: When the Platoon arrive at the church, Elias wears a black headband. While he is running in the jungle gunning down a couple of Vietcong he is wearing a camouflage headband, when Barnes is about to betray him, he mysteriously then is wearing a headband that says "air born" after that in his famous death scene, he wears a green headband.
