I'm placing this cache to commemorate my retirement from the Army
Reserve after twenty plus years (and two deployments). Since the
cache has a military theme, I wanted to give an unfair advantage to
those with some Army movie knowledge. Below is a list of some of my
favorite war movies. If you've seen the movie the answers to the
questions are simple. If you haven't, then it should be pretty hard
to guess. Use your answers to find the coordinates using:
N 37° A.BC W 121° D.EF
Please try to bring swap items with a military theme (or at
least an outdoor theme)!
STRIPES (1981): This movie combined with the Be All You
Can Be commercials contributed to my joining the military in 1983
(no seriously). A funny take on the Army deserving of two
questions. In the movie, the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle (think
combat motor home) takes a test run accidentally into what Iron
Curtain country?
- Czechoslovakia: A= 10
- East Germany: A= 11
Earlier in the movie, Bill Murray says to the platoon, "An Army
without leaders is like _________."
- A chicken with its head cut off: B= 4
- A foot without a big toe: B= 1
PLATOON (1986): A great war movie that really
personalizes the Vietnam experience. In the movie, Tom Berenger
plays Staff Sgt. Barnes and William Dafoe plays Sgt. Elias. Which
one is the bad guy?
- Berenger: C= 91
- Dafoe: C= 45
FULL METAL JACKET (1987): OK, OK, this is a movie about
Marines and not the Army, but the first half is a great glimpse
into Boot Camp (Basic Training to us Army types) during the Vietnam
War. In the movie, Matthew Modine plays Pvt. Joker. What's his job
in the second half of the movie?
- Radioman for his commander: D= 50
- Correspondent for Stars & Stripes: D= 51
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998): Turn up your surround-sound
and the first 30-minutes of this WWII movie transports you onto the
battlefield. In the movie, Tom Hanks plays CPT John Miller leading
a squad searching for PVT Ryan. According to CPT Miller who do
CPT's gripe to?
- Sergeants: E= 6
- Majors: E= 4
WE WERE SOLDIERS (2002): Saw this one while deployed to
Kosovo. Great look at a battalion trying to survive one of the
first battles in Vietnam. In the movie, a taxi driver delivers
Western Union telegrams containing:
- Draft notices sending young men to Vietnam: F= 74
- "We regret to inform you…" letters to family members: F=
05
The cache originally contained the following:
- Log Book and Pen w/subdued Geocaching Patch for FTF
- Disposable camera - please take your picture!
- Three Travel Bugs! RTW Rambo (TBG2HQ), RTW Sgt Hawk (TBG14J)and
RTW Beetle Bailey (TBG27H) competing against each other to travel
eastward and complete a Round The World trip. Winner is the first
to return to the San Fran bay area.
- Subdued MAJ rank
- Camouflage bandana
- Sleep hood for the only part that is exposed in your mummy
sleeping bag
- 1st ID pin (served with them in both Bosnia and Kosovo)
- 81st ARCOM commander's coin
- Beetle Bailey cartoon book
- GTA (graphical training aid) 5-5-7 Soils Field Identification
(from my combat engineer days)
- Army Patch: 81st ARCOM (x2) oldest unit patch in the Army
- Army Patch: 94th ARCOM * Army Patch: US Flag worn in
Kosovo
- Army Patch: US Army BDU tape (x3)
- Small toy tank
- Non-violent Politically Correct version of the card game WAR
(for the non-military types)
- 75-piece jigsaw puzzle of the Mostar Bridge in Yugoslavia that
I've had since I was a kid. The bridge was destroyed in the war.
One piece missing from the puzzle, but it's faired better than
Yugoslavia has over the years!
- A few P-38's (Army can openers for those that can remember the
old C-rations)
- A couple toy soldiers tossed in the bottom
Haven't seen the movies? Try the Internet.