I’ve always been amazed that Murphy would make a war movie. My dad saw combat in the South Pacific during WWII and would not talk of it. His stories were only about his buddies and funny stuff.
My father in law was a B24 waist gunner. He rarely talked about combat. But everybody is different. A good actor goes into his role as somebody else, forgetting who he really is.
Although Mr Murphy did play himself in the movie about him.
My Dad flew in WW2, Korea and Vietnam. Before he left for Vietnam, I asked him what combat was really like. He had never talked about it.
“You’re always cold. You’re always tired. But you have a job to do and you do it.”
Then he got up and left the room. Refused to say more. He died in Vietnam.