Vietnam, 1967. Firebase Ladybird is nearly over-run in a night-time assault by a large force of North Vietnamese Army. The next morning, Sgt. Anderson and Captain Wallace are perturbed, and alarmed, by the fact that these were NVA and not the Viet Cong. The NVA have not been reported this far south in the country, until now. Sgt. Anderson is sent to Chu Lai with this information and to bring back some recruits to replace the men that were killed. Anderson handpicks a squad fresh in country, including the patriotic Corporal Purcell, the hot-headed Bronx native Ruiz, the big softie-surfer Baker, the cocky Lawrence and the war objector and pacifist Horn, who refuses to pick up a rifle but Anderson takes him on account of a mutual interest in the harmonica and the fact that Horn is from Chicago and claims to know the greats. Anderson also meets his new lieutenant; Lt. Goldman, fresh out of officer school, and the son of a Medal of Honour winner at the Battle of the Bulge in WW2. Goldman has aspirations and is as by-the-book as they come, but he is going to have to rely on his sergeant and change his attitude if he is to lead these men in Vietnam and survive. The new men are highly undisciplined and untried, but it won't be long before that all changes. At Ladybird, the men are welcomed by the seasoned Taylor and Johnson, and in response to the recent assault on Ladybird, battalion has ordered a large bait-and-trap operation deep in the jungle to lure the NVA out and fight them on American terms, and hopefully take a few prisoners. Goldman's platoon inadvertently stumble upon the main supply-dump of this NVA battalion deep in the jungle, and they are in for one serious baptism of fire... The "Pilot" to "Tour of Duty" is as action-packed as any episode in the series and is a fine introduction to the most prominent characters in the show. This is my third time watching this episode now and I always enjoy watching Goldman's initial reaction to Anderson and his prim-and-proper, gung-ho approach. Made only a year after Oliver Stone's "Platoon", you can really see the influence of it here. The opening attack on Firebase Ladybird is reminiscent of the final battle in "Platoon". "Tour of Duty" started off very well, and by following the lead of "Platoon" it certainly chose the best Vietnam War depiction in cinema to follow. 5/5
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