The Short-Timers
Encyclopedia
The Short-Timers is a 1979 semi-autobiographical novel by American former Marine Gustav Hasford
Gustav Hasford
Gustav Hasford was an American writer. His semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers was the basis of the film Full Metal Jacket.-Biography:...

,
about his experience in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. It was later adapted into the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...

by Hasford, Michael Herr
Michael Herr
Michael Herr is a writer and former war correspondent, best known as the author of Dispatches , a memoir of his time as a correspondent for Esquire magazine during the Vietnam War...

, and Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...

.

Plot summary

The book is divided into three sections, written in completely different styles of prose.

"The Spirit of the Bayonet" chronicles Pvt. James T. "Joker" Davis' days in the Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...

 boot camp
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...

, where a drill instructor
Drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...

 (Gunnery Sergeant Gerheim) breaks the men's spirits and then rebuilds them as brutal killers. Here Joker befriends two privates nicknamed "Cowboy" and "Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...

." The latter, whose real name is Leonard Pratt, earns the wrath of both Gerheim and the rest of the platoon through his ineptitude and weak character. Though he eventually shows great improvement and wins honors at graduation, the constant abuse has unbalanced his mind. In a final act of madness, he kills Gerheim and then himself in front of the whole platoon. This section is written in a very simple, savage style.

"Body Count" shows some of Joker's life as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...

 for the Marines in 1968. As the Tet Offensive begins, he and Rafter Man, his photographer, are dispatched from Da Nang
Da Nang Air Base
Da Nang Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War , stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there...

 to Phu Bai. Here, Joker receives a promotion from Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

 to Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

, and he and Rafter Man travel to Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...

 and find Cowboy, now assistant squad leader in the Lusthog Squad
Lusthog Squad
The Lusthog Squad is a fictional Vietnam team introduced first in The Short-Timers by Vietnam veteran Gustav Hasford. The squad was also featured in its sequel, The Phantom Blooper, albeit with most of its members changed...

. During a battle, Joker is "wounded" (actually only knocked out by an RPG
Rocket propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...

 concussion blast) and the book goes into a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

 dream sequence. After his quick recovery, Joker learns that the platoon commander was killed by a friendly
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...

 grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...

, while the squad leader went insane and attacked an NVA
Vietnam People's Army
The Vietnam People's Army is the armed forces of Vietnam. The VPA includes: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces , the Vietnam People's Navy , the Vietnam People's Air Force, and the Vietnam Marine Police.During the French Indochina War , the VPA was often referred to as the Việt...

 position with a BB gun
BB gun
BB guns are a type of air gun designed to shoot projectiles named BBs after the birdshot pellet of approximately the same size. These projectiles are usually spherical but can also be pointed; those are usually used for bird hunting. Modern day BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel, with a bore...

 only to be shot down. Later, Joker and Rafter Man battle a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....

 who killed another Lusthog Marine and an entire second squad; the battle ends with Rafter Man's first confirmed kill and Cowboy's being wounded slightly. As Joker and Rafter Man head back to their base, Rafter Man panics and dashes into the path of an oncoming tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

, which fatally crushes him. Joker is reassigned to Cowboy's squad as a rifleman for wearing an unauthorized peace button on his uniform. The writing style in "Body Count" is more complex than that in "The Spirit of the Bayonet."

"Grunts" takes place on a mission through the jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...

 with Cowboy's squad, outside of Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh is the district capital of Hướng Hoá District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located 63 km west of Đông Hà.Khe Sanh Combat Base was a United States Marine Corps outpost in South Vietnam used during the Vietnam War. The airstrip was built in September 1962...

. They encounter another sniper here, who wounds three of the men multiple times. After the company commander goes crazy and begins babbling nonsense over the radio, Cowboy decides to pull the squad back and retreat, rather than sacrifice everyone trying to save the wounded men. Animal Mother, the squad's M60 machine gun
M60 machine gun
The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...

ner, threatens Cowboy's life and refuses to retreat. Promoting Joker to squad leader, Cowboy runs in with his pistol and kills each victim with a shot to the head. However, he himself is repeatedly wounded in the process; before he can kill himself, the sniper shoots the gun out of his hand. Realizing his duty to Cowboy and the squad, Joker kills Cowboy and leads the rest of the men away. This section is written in a more complex style than the previous two, with more time spent on Joker's inner thoughts.

"Short" vs. "lifer" vs. "poge"

Joker and his fellow Marines refer to military personnel in various ways. A "short" Marine or "short-timer" is one who is approaching the end of his tour of duty
Tour of duty
In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....

 in Vietnam, usually one year. "Lifers" are distinguished not necessarily by the length of time they have served, but rather by their attitude toward the lower ranks. (Joker describes the distinction as follows: "A lifer is anybody who abuses authority he doesn't deserve to have. There are plenty of civilian lifers.") Finally, "poges" (an alternative spelling for the slang term pogue
Pogue
POG is a pejorative military slang term used to describe non-infantry, staff, and other rear-echelon or support units. "POG" frequently describes those who don't have to undergo the stresses that the infantry does, and is generally used as a diminutive for any non-infantry personnel who disagrees...

, or "Person Other than Grunt") are Marines who fill non-combat roles (i.e. cooks, clerks, mechanics); they are a favorite target of the front-line troops' derision, and vice versa.

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted into the film Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...

by Hasford, Michael Herr
Michael Herr
Michael Herr is a writer and former war correspondent, best known as the author of Dispatches , a memoir of his time as a correspondent for Esquire magazine during the Vietnam War...

, and Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...

.

The first section of the novel, "The Spirit of the Bayonet," is very faithfully reproduced in the movie. There are only minor differences of events, and names. The most profound difference is that, in the book, when Pvt. Pyle kills Gunny Gerheim (Hartman), Gerheim tells Pyle "I'm proud [of you]" before being killed, finally being assured that he turned him into a killer. Also, Pyle not only talks to his rifle, but also considers it his wife, and kills Gerheim because he looked at her funny.

The movie then combines certain elements of "Body Count" and "Grunts" for the second part of the movie. In the film the combat is in Hue, and they do take on a sniper, although the actual sequence more closely resembles the sniper battle in "Grunts". Dialog in the second part of the movie is also a mix of elements from "Body Count" and "Grunts".

Several important sequences are left out from the movie adaptation: a previous meeting between Joker and his squad at the movies, the slaughtering of rats at the camp by Joker and his friends as Rafter Man watches, Rafter Man's lapse into cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

, and a part where the tank Joker and Rafter Man ride runs over a little girl and a water buffalo. A flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 revealing the origins of Rafter Man's nickname is also omitted. His real name is Lance Corporal Compton. Also Rafter Man is later run over and killed by the same tank that ran over the little girl and water buffalo. Then Joker is demoted to a grunt for wearing his peace symbol button.

Additionally, some names are changed and certain characters in the book do not appear in the movie, and vice-versa. Several "lifers" (Capt. January, Mayor Lynch, General Motors) have been left out or been merged into one. Private Leonard Pratt in the book becomes Leonard Lawrence in the movie; Gunny Gerheim in the book becomes Gunny Hartman in the movie. The character of Alice in the book seems to have been renamed and altered slightly to Eightball in the movie. Also, in the movie, T.H.E. Rock doesn't die and Crazy Earl is killed by a booby trap. Daytona Dave, Chili Vendor and Mr. Payback are all in the movie. However in the book, Daytona Dave is described as a California surfer-type
Surf culture
Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion and life surrounding the art of surfing.The culture began early in the 20th century, spread quickly during the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to evolve. It affected fashion, music, literature, films, jargon, and more...

 while in the movie he is played by an African American. All of the three can be seen in the movie just prior to and during the Tet Offensive.

External links

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