… proves that they must have been pretty good soldiers – in Dispatches there is a nice fragment describing the Lurps (or LRRP, or Long Range Reconnaisance Patrol members), they were… well, special. It somehow changes the way I see both guys… Must dig out the fragment when I find time. (here it is)
From NAM. The Vietnam Experience
by Tim Page and Horst Faas:
You had to be special to be a Lurp in the Nam. Thery were loners, trained for survival. No-one, but no-one, messed with the recon teams.
… nor with people like Ssgt. Patrick Tadina
More about LRRP at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LURP
And also explains some traits of movie Elias. Individualist. Unconventional. Good strategist. Loves risk (that happy smile as he tells Chris “I move faster alone”, his tunnel action). Not necessarily a follower of rules — IMO his attitude towards the uniform alone speaks volumes.
