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Do You Agree With Actor Val Kilmer About Most Vietnam Vets?"I understand it more. It’s an actor’s job. A guy who’s lived through the horror of Vietnam has not spent his life preparing his mind for it. He’s some punk. Most guys were borderline criminal or poor, and that’s why they got sent to Vietnam. It was all the poor, wretched kids who got beat up by their dads, guys who didn’t get on the football team, couldn’t finagle a scholarship. They didn’t have the emotional equipment to handle that experience. But this is what an actor trains to do. I can more effectively represent that kid in Vietnam than a guy who was there."
I think it's WAY WAY overstated...Hollywood 'hype', like so many other things. Those who get drafted (as was still going on then) and sent to war DO tend to represent the middle class and below; that's just a fact of life. The rich and the 'privileged' are rarely drawn to a life of military service, and many affluent guys COULD postpone the draft indefinitely.
That being said, this was basically a 'blue collar' bunch, not 'criminals or misfits'. Many were minorities; many were not. Few were "rich".
I'd say Kilmer's assertion is a sensational exaggeration....(like those of MANY entertainers and public figures, eager to bolster their case by overstating it).
I just added him to my ever growing "pay no mind" list.
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