Casualties of War is a 1989 American war drama film directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Rabe, based primarily on an article written by the late Daniel Lang for The New Yorker in 1969, which was later published as a book. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, John Leguizamo, Ving Rhames, and Thuy Thu Le.
Pvt. Max Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is stationed in Vietnam under Sgt. Tony Meserve (Sean Penn). Though Meserve saves Eriksson's life during battle, the two men clash when the callous senior officer orders the abduction of Than Thi Oanh (Thuy Thu Le), a young Vietnamese woman, to be used as a sex slave. When Eriksson refuses to take part in the abuse of Oanh, tensions between him, Meserve and the rest of the unit heat up and finally explode during a firefight with Viet Cong troops.
Victims[]
- Unnamed Male U.S. Soldier - Blown up by Vietnamese soldiers with mortars.
- Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldier - Shot by Sergeant Tony Meserve causing him to fall out off a tree.
- Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldier - Shot by Sergeant Tony Meserve.
- Specialist 4 "Brownie" Brown - Shot to death by Vietnamese soldiers.
- Two Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldiers - Shot to death by Private First Class Max Eriksson, Sergeant Tony Meserve, Corporal Thomas E. Clark, and Private First Class Herbert Hatcher.
- Private First Class Max Eriksson's Father - Died of an unknown cause off-screen, mentioned.
- Three Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldiers - Shot to death by Private First Class Max Eriksson, Private First Class Antonio Dìaz, Sergeant Tony Meserve, Corporal Thomas E. Clark, and Private First Class Herbert Hatcher.
- Two Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldiers - Shot to death by Private First Class Herbert Hatcher.
- Three Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldiers - Shot to death by Sergeant Tony Meserve.
- Than Thi Oanh - Shot to death by Sergeant Tony Meserve, Corporal Thomas E. Clark, Private First Class Herbert Hatcher, and Private First Class Antonio Dìaz after being stabbed by Private First Class Antonio Dìaz.
- Eight Unnamed Male Vietnamese Soldiers - Blown up by U.S. helicopter pilots.
- Unnamed Male U.S. Soldier - Died of an unknown cause off-screen, body seen.
- Private "Cherry" - Impaled on a booby-trap made by Vietnamese soldiers.
Deaths[]
- Total - 26
- 25 Men
- 1 Woman
Kill Counts[]
- Sergeant Tony Meserve - 11 (Imprisoned)
- Private First Class Herbert Hatcher - 8 (Imprisoned)
- Corporal Thomas E. Clark - 6 (Imprisoned)
- Private First Class Max Eriksson - 5 (Alive)
- Private First Class Antonio Dìaz - 5 (Imprisoned)