I was one of the lucky ones in 1965 when I had my 3 years in but I talked with friends who were drafted and got so many different stories that I finally figured out that no one battle or movie for that matter could depict a country-wide war. A friend at work was drafted in '70 and spent his time in the Ashaw Valley. He said that he fired at one guy who was aiming an RPG at the helicopter with a "20 round burst" and the guy was still there, he missed. A buddy of his fired one shot and killed the VC before he could fire. He said, other than that, he didn't have a close encounter but a lot of firing at the jungle. He was 82nd Airborne.
My next door neighbor who was 18 joined about the same time and went to NCO school to be an APC team leader. He was under constant fire until his vehicle was hit, also by an RPG. The last time I saw him. they were still removing fragments from his back. He and one other trooper made it out alive.
A High School buddy was drafted in '67 and said he burned waste from the latrines for about six months, among other details, and was thrown into combat where he saw light action but no hand to hand or close encounters.
I guess I'm saying that different people would write totally different books or movies depending on where they were. The Marines who were attacked during the TET offensive can make the hair stand up on the nape of your neck with their experiences.
We Were Soldiers had to be close.