After dropping out of Yale University, Oliver Stone enlisted in the U.S. Army, specifically requesting combat duty in Vietnam, where he had taught English in 1965. He served from April 1967 to November 1968, and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He would eventually get a fine arts degree from New York University and begin writing screenplays. He later started directing films, including two about Vietnam that won him Academy Awards—Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Stone, 61, is widely considered one of the best directors in Hollywood—and, because of his often controversial topics, one of the most gutsy. His upcoming film, Pinkville, explores the investigation into the My Lai massacre. … Back to Article