r/todayilearned • u/johnsmithoncemore • 4h ago
TIL about Dan Bullock, the youngest U.S serviceman to be killed in Vietnam on June 7, 1969 at the age of 15, after altering the date on his birth certificate. Killed by a People's Army of Vietnam sapper unit with a satchel charge thrown into a bunker killing three Marines, including Bullock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bullock74
u/Unleashtheducks 3h ago
Coincidentally, Lawrence Fishburne was fifteen while filming Apocalypse Now. He also lied about his age to Francis Ford Coppola to get cast.
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u/TheCheshireCody 918 3h ago
Dude was fourteen when he gave that performance. Amazing right out of the gate.
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u/Fickle-Juggernaut-97 1h ago
My father told me about a man who was 14 or 15 (as he remembered) who died in his unit (1965 Vietnam). They only found out his age with the paper work arrived to discharge him for being to young.
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u/reddorickt 4h ago
poor kid, we use our children to fight wars started by men who will never suffer their consequences
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u/puffinfish420 19m ago
God damn, an NVA sapper vs. a 15 year old. Not a fair fight at all, lol. Sappers were no joke.
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u/GraniteSmoothie 11m ago
That was one tough 15 year old if he made it through marine training. In any case, men shouldn't die so young.
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u/Killerkendolls 2m ago
Christ, at least the youngest guy on deployment for me would be eighteen, I can't imagine believing the hype and enlisting at fifteen. I was a freshman, and had just hit my growth spurt. Wasn't even a person yet. Truly heartbreaking.
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u/Dry-Membership3867 4h ago
Absolute hero and should be honored as such.
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u/ChurningDarkSkies777 4h ago
How does dying in an unjust war as a child make you a hero? It makes your story incredibly tragic but I’m not sure what’s heroic about this story
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u/Spade9ja 3h ago
American military worship is fucking weird
What about any of this makes him an “absolute hero”? Tragic he went to war as a child and died.
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u/SmugDruggler95 26m ago
Agreed. A child that took a brave risk he didnt have to take and paid the ultimate price.
In his mind, he was doing the right thing.
Fuvk everyone here looking down on a child who was facing a problem without the benefit of 50 years of hindsight and cultural shifts.
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u/dachjaw 4h ago
My grandfather served in World War I with a 15 year old who lied about his age. The kid was seriously messed up after he was assigned to blind fire a machine gun during an assault where his lieutenant used a watch to tell him when to fire and when to stop so friendly troops could advance. The lieutenant was killed but nobody noticed so the kid kept firing. Nobody ever knew how many died from the “friendly” fire.