SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW!
In 1966, actor Robert Mitchum was flown to Vietnam on a government plane for a USO tour. At first, he stayed in Saigon, where he ate fancy meals, met important military leaders, and enjoyed the tropical setting.
Then they took him to hospitals, where he met young American soldiers badly hurt in the war — some missing arms, legs, or with faces badly injured. Seeing the pain and damage made it hard for Mitchum to stay neutral about the war.
He also visited villages where American troops were doing good work — putting in sewers, building schools. Mitchum was amazed by the kindness he saw and got angry that none of this was shown on the news back home.
Most of his two-week trip was spent flying by helicopter and small planes, visiting camps all across the jungles north of Saigon. At each stop, he would shake hands, chat with the soldiers, and encourage them. He took pictures, signed autographs, and collected phone numbers and messages from the young guys who wanted him to tell their families they were okay.
When he got home, Mitchum had tons of little scraps of paper with names and numbers. He spent days calling every single one — talking to moms, dads, wives — saying things like, “I just saw your son. He looks good and sends his love.”
One day during his trip, a Navy sailor tried to rush Mitchum to catch a helicopter. Mitchum just laughed and said, “Relax, man. Anyone got a drink around here?” They found a little homemade bar made out of ammo boxes and old Playboy pictures.
Mitchum asked how much a drink cost, then asked how much it would be to buy the whole bar. When they gave him a number, he pulled out a big roll of cash and paid. Drinks were free for the soldiers for months after that.
Mitchum played some craps, lost most of his money, and moved on. He loved the soldiers so much that he signed up for another tour. In February 1967, he went back to Vietnam for another two weeks to visit more troops and hospitals.
