Dale Dye

American actor, presenter and businessman

Dale Dye

Dye in 2008

Born|

Dale Adam Dye Jr.

(1944-10-08) October 8, 1944 (age 80)

Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S.

Education| Missouri Military Academy
Alma mater| University of Maryland University College (BA)
Occupations|

* Actor
* technical advisor
* radio personality
* writer

Years active| 1986–present
Parents|

* Dale Adam Dye Sr.
* Della Grace Koehler

Awards| Order of Saint Maurice
Military career
Allegiance| United States of America
Service / branch|  United States Marine Corps
Years of service| 1964–84
Rank|  Captain
Unit|

* 1st Battalion, 5th Marines
* 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines
* 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

Battles / wars| Vietnam War

* Tet Offensive

Lebanese Civil War
Awards|

* Bronze Star Medal w/ Combat "V"
* Purple Heart Medal (3)
* Meritorious Service Medal
* Joint Service Commendation Medal
* Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Combat "V" (2)
* Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/ Combat "V"
* Combat Action Ribbon (2)
* See more

Website| daledye.com

Dale Adam Dye Jr. (born October 8, 1944) is an American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer. A decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Dye is the founder and head of Warriors, Inc., a technical advisory company specializing in portraying realistic military action in Hollywood films. Dye has also offered his expertise to television, such as the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific, the Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, and video games, including the Medal of Honor series.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Dye was born on October 8, 1944, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Dale Adam and Della Grace (née Koehler) Dye.[1] His father was a liquor salesman in and around St. Louis and took Dale with him as he visited working-class taverns. There he heard war stories from World War II veterans. One particular story about man-to-man fighting told by a Marine who said he had fought in the Pacific Theater piqued Dale's attention. He looked up the Battle of Iwo Jima that night and made up his mind to join the U.S. Marines. Dye was educated at St. Joseph's Military Academy in Chicago and the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri.[2]

## Military career

[edit]

Dye had hoped to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, but after failing the entrance exam three times and having exhausted his family's meager funds getting through military academy, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines in January 1964.[2] His unit was among the first to deploy to Vietnam in 1965. Officers in the unit noticed his keen observational skills and literary interest, and encouraged him to reclassify as a combat correspondent. He became one of a very few Marine combat correspondents. He sent stories to military publications and to the hometown newspapers of fellow Marines.[3] As a correspondent, he saw more battles than many low-ranking infantrymen. Dye developed an immense respect for the "grunts" who took the brunt of any action.[2]

Dye was wounded during the Tet Offensive in 1968 and had to recuperate in a rear area. During this time, the 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines — the unit he had traveled with — was preparing for Operation Ford. Dye persuaded the battalion commander to let him accompany the battalion as a war correspondent. During the next week, the battalion engaged in a number of firefights with units of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). On March 18, 1968, Dye replaced an assistant machine gunner who had been killed. The machine gun position was isolated forward of the remainder of the battalion. Although he was wounded, Dye exposed himself to intense enemy fire to retrieve ammunition for the machine gun to help hold off PAVN soldiers during an all-night firefight. During other engagements, he exposed himself to enemy fire to rescue several wounded Marines and a Navy corpsman. As a result of his actions, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" for heroism.[4]

"Dye's heart is with the grunts", said Bob Rea, who worked with Dye as a combat correspondent during the worst of Tet. "He feels like he owes something to those people. He is a grunt wannabe." During three tours of duty in South Vietnam, he participated in 31 combat operations. During his 1967-to-1968 and 1969-to-1970 tours of duty, he was attached to two different battalions of the 1st Marine Division. Dye spent a total of 13 years as an enlisted Marine, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant before being appointed a warrant officer in 1976. Afterward, he entered into the Limited Duty Program and became commissioned as a captain. He is considered a "mustang", an enlisted man who receives a commission as an officer. While he was a captain, he was deployed to Beirut for duty with the Multinational Force in Lebanon in 1982 and 1983. Shortly after his return, the Marine barracks were attacked, resulting in the deaths of 241 Americans, most of whom had been stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.[citation needed]

Fellow Marine correspondent Gustav Hasford dubbed him "Daddy D.A." (as he was among the oldest of the correspondents) and included him as a character in his first semi-autobiographical Vietnam novel The Short-Timers, and more extensively in his second, The Phantom Blooper. The movie based on Hasford's first novel Full Metal Jacket included the "Daddy D.A." character (played by Keith Hodiak), though neither the character nor Dye's name is explicitly mentioned in the dialogue.[3]

In his book Dispatches, journalist Michael Herr provides a vivid picture of Dye during the chaos of the Tet Offensive and the Battle of Huế:[5]

> And there was a Marine correspondent, Sergeant Dale Dye, who sat with a tall yellow flower sticking out of his helmet cover, a really outstanding target. He was rolling his eyes around and saying, 'Oh yes, oh yes, Charlie's got his shit together here, this will be bad," and smiling happily. It was the same smile I saw a week later when a sniper's bullet tore up a wall two inches above his head, odd cause for amusement in anyone but a grunt.

## Later career

[edit]

### Technical advising

[edit]

Dye retired from the Marine Corps in 1984 and founded Warriors, Inc. The company specializes in training actors in war films to portray their roles realistically, and provides research, planning, staging and on-set consultation for directors and other film-production personnel. His company is the top military consultant to Hollywood.[3] While on active duty, Dye was a combat correspondent and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Maryland University College. After retiring, Dye became a correspondent for the Soldier of Fortune magazine. He worked for the magazine for one year, during which he worked in Central America, providing guerrilla warfare training to troops in El Salvador and Nicaragua while reporting on conflicts in the region.[6]

Dye was determined to make Hollywood's depictions of battle more realistic. After unsuccessfully offering his services to a number of directors, he pitched fellow Vietnam War veteran Oliver Stone a plan to put actors through a mock boot camp before production of the movie Platoon. Dye put the principal actors—including Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp, and Forest Whitaker—through an immersive 30-day military-style training regimen. He limited how much food and water they received; when the actors slept, he fired blanks to keep the tired actors awake.[3] Dye, who had a small role in the movie as Captain Harris, also wrote the novelization based on Stone's screenplay.

Dye also worked as a military technical adviser and personal trainer on the 1992 film Last of the Mohicans, and after working in the same capacity on the acclaimed HBO series Band of Brothers (2001), producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg called upon his expertise again for their follow-up series The Pacific (2010) and Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air (2024). In 2017 Dye was recognised as an Honorary Member of the 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment (the regiment under the command of General Robert Sink, whom Dye played in Band of Brothers) for his work in bringing a high degree of quality and realism to cinematic portrayals of combat.[citation needed]

### Acting

[edit]

After Platoon's critical success, Dye played a role in another Vietnam War movie, Casualties of War, and also prominently appeared as Colonel Robert Sink in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, on which his company also worked.

Dye appeared in Outbreak portraying Lieutenant Colonel Briggs, a U.S. Army officer. He played Theodore Roosevelt's superior officer Colonel Leonard Wood in the TNT miniseries Rough Riders. He appeared in Saving Private Ryan as an aide to General George Marshall; in Under Siege and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory as Captain Garza, an admiral's aide; in Spy Game as Commander Wiley during the rescue sequence; in Mission: Impossible as Frank Barnes of the CIA; in JFK as General Y; and in Starship Troopers as a high-ranking officer in the aftermath of the Brain Bug capture.

Dye played himself in Entourage, teaching fictional character Vincent Chase to scuba-dive in preparation for his role in Aquaman. He appeared in the 2010 film Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, and in Larry Crowne with Tom Hanks the following year. He was the technical adviser for the 1994 Oliver Stone movie Natural Born Killers, making a brief appearance as a fictionalized, police-lieutenant version of himself. Dye played Col. Porter in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies from 2011 to 2013. As of 2015[update] he was preparing to direct two films, No Better Place to Die, which he wrote, and Citizen Soldiers.[3] He had a cameo appearance as New Founding Father Donald Talbott in the 2014 film The Purge: Anarchy.

### Writing

[edit]

Dye has written several novels, including Run Between the Raindrops in 1985 (also published as Citadel) and Conduct Unbecoming (1992), and the novelization of the film Platoon. Along with wife Julia and comic-book artist Gerry Kissell, Dye created the critically acclaimed and best-selling graphic novel Code Word: Geronimo (IDW Publishing, 2011), which tells the story of the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.[citation needed]

### Radio work and video games

[edit]

During the Iraq War, Dye was hired as a military commentator by radio station KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles and given a two-hour radio show. He hosted the History Channel's documentary series The Conquerors. Dye consulted during development of the Medal of Honor video games series, and lent his voice and likeness to the character Gunnery Sergeant Jack Lauton in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun. He was featured in two tracks on Hoobastank's CD Every Man for Himself.[7] Dye reprised his role as Colonel Robert Sink in the Brothers in Arms video game series, for which he also provided his likeness.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Dye, Captain Dale & Dye, Dr. Julia (2011). Code Word: Geronimo. San Diego, California: IDW Publishing. ISBN 978-1613770979.
* Dye, Dale (1992). Conduct Unbecoming (paperback ed.). New York: Berkley Publishing Group. ISBN 0425132366.
* Dye, Dale A. (2013). Beirut File. Shake Davis Series (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0989798303.
* Dye, Dale A. (2012). Chosin File. Shake Davis Series (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0985338800.
* Dye, Dale A. (2014). Contra File. Shake Davis Series (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0989798341.
* Dye, Dale A. (2008). Laos File. Shake Davis Series (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0982167007.
* Dye, Dale A. (2013). Outrage: Author's Preferred Edition (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0985338855.
* Dye, Dale A. (2010). Peleliu File. Shake Davis Series (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0982167014.
* Dye, Dale A. (1986). Platoon. New York: Charter Books. ISBN 1121560644.
* Dye, Dale A. (1985). Run Between the Raindrops (paperback ed.). North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0989798372.
* Dye, Dale A. & Laemlein, Tom (2015). Small Arms of the Vietnam War: A Photographic Study. North Hills, California: Warriors Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0986195518.

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1986  | Platoon | Captain Harris  |
1986  | Invaders from Mars | Squad Leader  |
1988  | The Beast | Helicopter Crew Chief  |
1989  | Always | Don  |
1989  | Born on the Fourth of July | Infantry Colonel  |
1989  | Casualties of War | Captain Hill  |
1989  | The Favorite | French Officer  |
1990  | Kid | Garvey  |
1990  | Fire Birds | Colonel A.K. McNeil  |
1990  | The Fourth War | Sergeant Major  |
1990  | Spontaneous Combustion | General  |
1991  | JFK | General Y  |
1991  | Servants of Twilight | Police Officer  |
1992  | Under Siege | Captain Nick Garza  |
1993  | Heaven & Earth | Larry  |
1993  | Cover Story | Jack  |
1994  | Endangered | Ricky  |
1994  | Guarding Tess | CIA Agent Charles Ivy  |
1994  | Natural Born Killers | Officer Dale Wrigley  |
1994  | Blue Sky | Colonel Mike Anwalt  |
1994  | The Puppet Masters | Brande  |
1995  | Outbreak | Lieutenant Colonel Briggs  |
1995  | Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | Captain Nick Garza  |
1996  | Sgt. Bilko | First Engineer  |
1996  | Mission: Impossible | IMF Agent Frank Barnes  |
1997  | Trial and Error | Dr. Stone  |
1997  | Starship Troopers | Mobile Infantry General  |
1998  | Saving Private Ryan | War Department Colonel  |
1999  | A Table for One | Vernon Harpwood  |
2000  | Rules of Engagement | General Perry  |
2001  | Spy Game | Commander Wiley  |
2003  | Missing Brendan | General Temekin  |
2005  | The Great Raid | General Krueger |
2007  | Music Within | Captain Ruzicka  |
2010  | Knight and Day | Frank Jenkins  |
2011  | Naked Run | Harry  |
2011  | Larry Crowne | Cox  |
2014  | Planes: Fire & Rescue | Cabbie (voice)  |
2014  | The Purge: Anarchy | Donald Talbott, New Founding Father  |
2016  | Sniper: Special Ops | Lieutenant Colonel Jackson  |
2016  | Range 15 | President Mattis  |
2019  | The Last Full Measure | Holt  |
2021  | Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone | General Moorland  |
2023  | The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | Vice Admiral R.T. Dewey  |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1987  | Billionaire Boys Club | Defense Attorney  | Uncredited
1988  | Supercarrier | Captain Henry K. 'Hank' Madigan  |
1988  | Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Closed Set | Assistant director  | TV movie
1989  | The Neon Empire | Chief Bates  | TV movie
1990  | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Unknown  | TV movie
1991  | Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis | Major Green  | TV movie
1991  | L.A. Law | President Colonel Kenners  | Episode: "Rest in Pieces"
1992  | Raven | Colonel Paul David Mackay  | Episode: "Is Someone Crazy in Here or Is It Me"
1992  | Dead On: Relentless II | Captain Rivers  |
1995–1998  | JAG | Sergeant Major Hollis / Colonel Bill Cobb  | 2 episodes
1996  | Space: Above and Beyond | Major Jack Colquitt  | Episode: "Who Monitors the Birds?"
1996  | Within the Rock | General Hurst  | TV movie
1997  | Rough Riders | Colonel Leonard Wood  | TV miniseries
1998  | Seven Days | General Cole  | Episode: "Doppleganger: Part 1"
1998  | Operation Delta Force 2: Mayday | Captain Halsey Lang  | TV movie
1999  | Air America | Captain Gage  | Episode: "The Court-Martial of Rio Arnett"
1999–2004  | Rocket Power | Lieutenant Tice Ryan (voice)  | Recurring cast
1999  | Mutiny | Unknown  | TV movie
2000  | The Others | Captain Ken Radley  | Episode: "Souls on Board"
2001  | Band of Brothers | Colonel Robert Sink | 7 episodes
2003  | 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out | SWAT Lieutenant  | TV movie
2005–2010  | Entourage | Firearms Instructor / Scuba Instructor / Himself  | 3 episodes
2006  | Las Vegas | Sergeant Burn  | Episode: "And Here's Mike with the Weather"
2006  | Commander in Chief | General Peter Allyson  | 3 episodes
2007  | The Loop | Ralph Somkin  | Episode: "The Stranger"
2007  | Chuck | General Stanfield  | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Intersect"
2010  | Cold Case | Al Wasserlauf  | Episode: "Free Love"
2011–2013  | Falling Skies | General Porter | 11 episodes

### Video games

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1995  | Platoon (American Laser Games) (Unreleased) | Captain Harris  |
1999  | Medal of Honor | Opening Movie Narrator (voice)  |
2002  | Medal of Honor: Allied Assault | Narration in Training (voice)  |
2003  | Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | Gunnery Sergeant Jack 'Gunny' Lauton (voice)  |
2005  | Medal of Honor: European Assault | OSS Handler / Multiplayer Narrator  |
2005  | Battlefield 2: Modern Combat | Lieutenant Colonel Bob Scott (voice)  |
2007  | Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway | Colonel Robert Sink (voice)  |

## Military awards

[edit]

Dye's military decorations and awards include:[8]

| Bronze Star Medal w/ Combat "V"

|

| Purple Heart w/ two 5⁄16" Gold Stars
| Meritorious Service Medal
| Joint Service Commendation Medal

| Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Combat "V" and one 5⁄16" Gold Star
| Air Force Commendation Medal

| Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/ Combat "V"

| Combat Action Ribbon w/ one 5⁄16" Gold Star

| Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ three 3⁄16" bronze stars

| Navy Unit Commendation w/ one 3⁄16" bronze star

| Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ one 3⁄16" bronze star

| Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal w/ three 3⁄16" bronze stars
| Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
| National Defense Service Medal
| Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

| Vietnam Service Medal w/ three 3⁄16" bronze stars
| Humanitarian Service Medal

| Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ two 3⁄16" bronze stars
| Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
| Republic of Vietnam Staff Service Medal (2nd Class)
| Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross) w/ Palm
| Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Civil Actions) w/ Palm
| Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal w/ 1960– Device

## See also

[edit]

* List of notable people from Missouri
* List of notable United States Marines

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Dale Dye Biography (1944–)". filmreference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
2. ^ a b c DE JONGE, PETER (November 13, 2005). "Dale Dye Will Make a Man Out of You". The New York Times.
3. ^ a b c d e "Dale Dye Is Hollywood's Drill Sergeant". April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
4. ^ Szoldra, Paul (March 26, 2015). "Here's how Hollywood legend Dale Dye earned the Bronze Star for heroism in Vietnamm". Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
5. ^ Herr, Michael (1991). Dispatches (1st Vintage International ed.). New York: Vintage Books. pp. 73–74\. ISBN 978-0679735250.73-74&rft.edition=1st+Vintage+International&rft.pub=Vintage+Books&rft.date=1991&rft.isbn=978-0679735250&rft.aulast=Herr&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcWumjEd-HIC&pg;=PA73&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dale+Dye" class="Z3988">
6. ^ "Dale Dye Biography". daledye.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
7. ^ Rierson, Richard (March 14, 2013). "26 – Dale Dye: Author, Actor, Founder of Warriors, Inc". Dose of Leadership. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
8. ^ photo: 22 ribbons

## Further reading

[edit]

* Herr, Michael (1977). "Chapter 2: Hell Sucks". Dispatches. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 70–85.70-85&rft.pub=Alfred+A.+Knopf&rft.date=1977&rft.au=Herr,+Michael&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Dale+Dye" class="Z3988">

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dale Dye.

* Official website
* Warriors, Inc.
* Dale Dye at IMDb
* Dale Dye at LeaderNetwork.org

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