Dale Dye served three tours as Marine in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Purple Heart three times, and was a recipient of the Bronze Star. According to the United States military, the prestigious award is bestowed upon worthy beneficiaries for “heroic and meritorious achievement or service”.

Dale’s story certainly fits that criteria, as you’ll hear in the audio above which was told to We Are The Mighty‘s Paul Szoldra.

By the way, if the man looks familiar it’s because he’s also an accomplished actor (Entourage, Band of Brothers) and very much an authority in Hollywood — especially when it has to do with war movies. His consultant work on timeless films like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan has changed the way combat is portrayed over the big and small screen forever.

He’s even lent his expertise to the makers of the über-popular video game Medal of Honor.