Platoon has always been very near and dear to Oliver Stone's heart. This is because the script was based on his experiences in Vietnam, Chris Taylor a cinematic version of the young Oliver himself. (Source)

By the time the shooting of Platoon wrapped, all of the actors were trained killers. Well, sort of. In order to make things a little bit more realistic, Stone had all of the actors go through an actual 2-week boot camp. Yikes. Maybe that's why they're so skinny. (Source)

Elias' death really happened. Okay, not really, but sort of really. The famous Christ-like, arms-out pose we see when he dies (and that is the film's unofficial logo), was based on this famous photograph from the war. (Source)

Dig this: Oliver Stone was the first Vietnam veteran to win an Oscar. (Source)