Production began in the United States in March 2017, and it premiered in October 2019 in Westhampton Beach, New York.[5] It was released in the U.S. by Roadside Attractions on January 24, 2020, and grossed $3 million against a $20 million budget. Its title is from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, where Lincoln honored the fallen, saying that they "gave the last full measure of devotion."[6]
Plot
The Last Full Measure centers on the true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air ForcePararescueman who personally saved over 60 men during the Vietnam War. During a rescue mission on April 11, 1966, Pits, as he was called, chose to leave the relative safety of his rescue helicopter to aid wounded soldiers under heavy fire, when others on his team declined to go. After saving many, he was ordered to leave on the last helicopter out of what became one of the war's bloodiest battles. He chose to stay, sacrificing his own life to save and defend soldiers of the U.S. Army's1st Infantry Division.
32 years later, Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman, on a career fast track, is reluctantly tasked with investigating a posthumous Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger by his parents and Tom Tulley, Pitsenbarger's partner on the fateful mission. Huffman seeks out the testimony of Army veterans who witnessed or were saved by Pitsenbarger's extraordinary valor, including Takoda, Burr and Mott, who carry their own demons from their experiences.
As Huffman learns more about Pitsenbarger's selfless courage, he uncovers a decades-long, high-level conspiracy: as of Pitsenbarger's death in combat in 1966, the Air Force had never put forth the names of enlisted personnel to receive the Medal of Honor.[a] This prompts him to put his own career on the line, potentially creating controversy around the company's former commanding officer who ordered the highly dangerous mission, and who is now a US senator seeking reelection.
When a Senate effort to award the medal fails on the floor of Congress due to unrelated political infighting, Huffman goes public with the story, and ultimately the Medal of Honor is awarded to Pitsenbarger by presidential decree. Before the award ceremony, Mott finds the courage to deliver Pitsenbarger's last letter to the airman's former love. Pitsenbarger's father, who is dying of cancer, and mother are in attendance as their son's duty, courage and sacrifice is recounted. The Air Force Secretary presents the medal to the parents, then recognizes everyone in attendance, all of whose lives were influenced by Pitsenbarger's actions, saying, "This is the power of what one person can do." The epilogue points out that as of 2019[update], of the 3,489 Medal of Honor recipients among millions of US military personnel, only three have been enlisted Air Force.
Cast
Sebastian Stan as Scott Huffman (loosely inspired by William Parker "Parker" Hayes Jr.)
It took nearly 20 years to make the movie. Todd Robinson first learned about the William H. Pitsenbarger story while researching another movie in 1999. The character of Scott Huffman is loosely based on Parker Hayes, who worked at the Airman Memorial Museum and pushed for Pitsenbarger's commendation be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.[7] The story intrigued him for several reasons, including Pitsenbarger's awarding of the Air Force Cross rather than the Medal of Honor. After he and executive producer Sidney Sherman unsuccessfully pitched the film to more than 50 production companies, Robinson decided to write the script without funding or a studio commitment.[8]
After finishing the script, Robinson and Sherman continued searching for a studio. They landed a deal with New Line Cinema in 2007, but not long after, New Line was sold to Warner Bros. and the project was canceled and was again without a backer. Robinson and Sherman spent the next decade finding funding, and production finally began in 2017.[8]
Roadside Attractions acquired the film's distribution rights in September 2018, planning a wide release in 2019.[19]
The film premiered at a special free screening for veterans in Westhampton Beach, New York on October 19, 2019,[5] and was released in the United States on January 24, 2020.[20]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Last Full Measure holds an approval rating of 60% based on 78 critics, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "The Last Full Measure struggles to capture the incidents that inspired it, but ultimately prevails thanks to strong performances in service of a remarkable true story."[22] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23]
Notes
^The US Air Force was created in 1948, so the four US Army Air Forces enlisted personnel awarded a Medal of Honor (MOH) during WWII were not from the US Air Force. All four US Air Force MOH recipients in the Korean War were officers. The first nine US Air Force MOH recipients in the Vietnam War were officers. The 14th MOH ever awarded to someone from the Air Force was the first to an enlisted serviceman, Airman First ClassJohn Levitow, received in 1970. Overall, the film's suggestion of a "high-level conspiracy" misses the fact that the MOH has rarely been awarded to Air Force personnel of any rank; as of June 2022[update], only 19 have been awarded, to 14 officers and 5 enlisted personnel. See also: List of post-Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients
^ abOprihory, Jennifer-Leigh (September 2019). Tobias Naegele (ed.). "Pitsenbarger on the Big Screen"(PDF). Air Force Magazine. Vol. 102, no. 8. Arlington, Va: Air Force Association. pp. 61–62. ISSN0730-6784.
