Shatner said he was buying “the rights to Gritz’s life story”. But by paying before the “POW rescue” raid happened, while Gritz was actively & openly fund-raising for the raid, was he basically helping to fund the raid?

Perhaps less surprisingly, Clint Eastwood also chipped in $30,000.

And even less surprisingly, the raid was a complete failure and Gritz was never able to provide any evidence whatsoever of US POWs in South East Asia after the end of the US-Vietnam War.

Gritz was supposedly an inspiration for fictional characters including John Rambo and Hannibal Smith of The A-Team… and later became involved in various far-right activities (including becoming the “unwitting” presidential running mate of KKK leader David Duke), more conspiracy fantasies & setting up his own religious/military commune.

More info:

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
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    8 days ago

    That is the story line of a Gene Hackman movie called Uncommon Valor that was released in 1983.

    I wonder if they bought the rights from Shatner and company?