This actor made war movies more authentic. Beaufort film fest is saying ‘thanks’

The Beaufort International Film Festival will honor character actor Dale Dye with the inaugural Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award, organizers announced in a news release.

The event is scheduled for Feb. 21-25.

“If you look at his body of work in the film industry over the past three decades, read the stories from the directors he has worked with like Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg and Oliver Stone, you’ll see why we’re so very honored to present the first Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award to Hollywood legend Dale Dye,” Beaufort Film Society President Ron Tucker said in the release.

Author Pat Conroy was a longtime resident of Beaufort before his death in March 2016.

“Beaufort’s long film history began with Pat when his novel ‘The Great Santini’ was made into a feature film and shot right here in Beaufort,” Rebecca Tucker, co-director of the Beaufort International Film Festival, said in the release.

Dye, 73, a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, was the military adviser on three productions shot in the Beaufort area — “Forrest Gump,” “Rules of Engagement” and the television pilot “Semper Fi.”

In the military, he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor and three Purple Hearts for wounds suffered in combat, according to IMDB.com. In Hollywood, he earned acclaim as Capt. Harris in “Platoon” and as Col. Robert F. Sink on the television mini-series “Band of Brothers.” He also appeared in “Saving Private Ryan.”

After retiring from active duty in 1984, Dye wanted to see if he could help make war movies more realistic and authentic, he told Stars and Stripes earlier this year in an article about “No Better Place to Die,” a screenplay he wrote and hopes to produce.

He founded Warriors Inc., to change the way movies were made.

To date his firm has worked on more than 50 movies and TV shows, according to the festival news release.

Dye also founded Warriors Publishing Group, which publishes military-themed books written by veterans.

For more information about the Beaufort International Film Festival, visit beaufortfilmfestival.com.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 10:53 AM with the headline "This actor made war movies more authentic. Beaufort film fest is saying ‘thanks’."