Jack Carr's take on 'Uncommon Valor,' which premiered on this day, December 16, 1983: 'Semper Fidelis'
Bestselling author of upcoming ‘Targeted’ nonfiction series reflects on 'never leaving a man behind'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Uncommon Valor," one of my all-time favorites as a kid, premiered on this day in history, Dec. 16, in 1983.
I was able to watch the filming of the opening scene in a field on Kauai, Hawaii, when I was nine years old.
On that same trip, I first visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and the Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I encourage every American to visit those hallowed grounds.
On one level, the film "Uncommon Valor" was about never leaving a man behind.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jack Carr (left) along with an image from "Uncommon Valor," the 1983 military action film. "This was one of the first movies to feature the storyline of a return to Vietnam to rescue MIA/POWs," notes Carr. (Jack Carr; Getty Images)
On another, it was about healing, or at least acknowledging, the wounds and lessons of Vietnam.
This was one of the first movies to feature the storyline of a return to Vietnam to rescue MIA/POWs.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It would be followed by "Missing in Action" starring Chuck Norris, and "Rambo: First Blood Part II" starring Sylvester Stallone.
Through the medium of movies, television and commercial fiction, America could re-fight the war — this time with a different outcome.
"Uncommon Valor" was released on Dec. 16, 1983, directed by Ted Kotcheff. (Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images)
One of the most impactful novels I read during that period of my life was "Mission MIA" by J.C. Pollock.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was one of the many books that cemented my resolve to both serve in Special Operations and then write thrillers.
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The score for the opening scene for "Uncommon Valor" remains hauntingly vivid in my memory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The title of the film comes from the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington Ridge Park near Arlington National Cemetery.
A scene from "Uncommon Valor," out on this day in history, Dec. 16, 1983. (Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images)
Its inscription reads: "Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue – Semper Fidelis."
(Follow Jack Carr on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jackcarrusa.)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More about ‘Uncommon Valor’
"Ten years after his son went M.I.A. in Vietnam, U.S. Marine retired Colonel Jason Rhodes assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos," noted IMDB about the film.
Among the stars of the film: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze and Robert Stack.
In "Uncommon Valor," which was released in 1983, "Col. Cal Rhodes (Gene Hackman), a retired Marine officer, holds out hope that his son, believed to be a prisoner of war in Laos, is still alive." (Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images)
"Col. Cal Rhodes (Gene Hackman), a retired Marine officer, holds out hope that his son, believed to be a prisoner of war in Laos, is still alive," notes Rotten Tomatoes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Despite the government's refusal to help Rhodes, he assembles a group to find and rescue his son, including skilled soldiers such as Wilkes (Fred Ward) and Sailor (Randall "Tex" Cobb). Funded by MacGregor (Robert Stack), a wealthy executive also looking for his son, Rhodes leads his men on a dangerous mission into the jungles of Laos."
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The filming of "Uncommon Valor" started on June 6, 1983, according to James V. D'Arc in his 2010 book, "When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah" (Gibbs Smith).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jack Carr recalls watching the filming of the opening scene of "Unspoken Valor" in a field on Kauai, Hawaii, when he was nine years old. He is a former Navy SEAL Task Unit commander and sniper with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. His upcoming nonfiction work, "Targeted: Beirut - The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing: The Untold True Origin Story of the War on Terror," with co-author, military historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist James Scott, will be published in 2024. (Jack Carr)
"The Laotian POW camp [that's featured in] the climax of the film was built on a private ranch in the Lumahai Valley on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, and was filmed in early August 1983," he also noted.
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In addition, wrote D'Arc, "The opening scene depicting the Vietnam War was filmed a short distance away in a rice paddy, two miles from central Hanalei, Hawaii, and 200 yards from the Kuhio Highway (Route 56)."
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Other parts of the film were shot in Salt Lake City, Utah; Sun Valley, California; and Castaic, California, "which served as the training camp," the book also noted.
Fox News Digital staff contributed reporting.
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