Casualties of War is an American motion picture, directed by Brian De Palma and released in 1989. It stars Michael J. Fox as Private First Class Max Eriksson and Sean Penn as Sergeant Tony Meserve.

The film is presented as a series of flashbacks experienced by Eriksson, after his return home from a tour of duty in Vietnam. The opening scenes depict Eriksson’s platoon and their experiences while patrolling Vietnam’s Central Highlands. They encounter Viet Cong attacks and ambushes. During one attack Eriksson falls into a collapsing Viet Cong tunnel before Sergeant Meserve rescues him. Meserve is a capable soldier who is concerned about the welfare of his men, though he has a low regard for the local population.

Meserve’s temper worsens after the platoon’s radio operator is killed by a Viet Cong sniper. Denied leave and given a dangerous reconnaissance mission, Meserve decides that his platoon is entitled to some “entertainment”. He orders his men to kidnap a woman from a local village; she will be taken on their mission as a sex slave. Eriksson objects but is overruled and ridiculed by Meserve.

The soldiers kidnap and gang rape a young woman, Than Thi Oanh, but Eriksson refuses to participate. Than is murdered by the soldiers and Eriksson is assaulted by Meserve when he tries to intervene. Back at base, Eriksson attempts to report the incident. His superiors, however, prefer that it be covered up, so they browbeat and threaten Eriksson. Meserve and his collaborators are eventually sent to court-martial and given prison terms.

Casualties of War is based on a true story. In November 1966, a group of American soldiers kidnapped, gang raped and murdered a Vietnamese woman in Binh Dinh province. The incident was reported by Private First Class Robert Storeby but his superiors initially preferred that no action be taken. Storeby persevered, however, and four of his squad members were eventually brought to justice. The story was later publicised in a series of press articles, a 1970 book (Incident on Hill 192 by Daniel Lang) and a West German film.

Casualties of War is a close depiction of this incident. It is a morality play that focuses on a specific war crime rather than the larger conflict. It also depicts some of the pressures endured by American soldiers and their conflicting attitudes, both to the war and the local population in Vietnam.

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