Lieutenant Dan’s rosary has sparked a notion that he may not have intended to die in Vietnam after all – and it’s secretly brilliant.
Lieutenant Dan may never have had a death wish, according to a brilliant Forrest Gump theory, giving Gary Sinese’s iconic character an unexpected layer of depth. Forrest Gump follows the titular character as he navigates his way through nearly every major event in American history in the second half of the twentieth century. Forrest meets a lot of individuals along the way, including some well-known people, but only a few of them become true friends.
Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) is one of these guys, whom Forrest encounters while serving in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, Dan is Forrest’s platoon leader, and he comes from a military family with a long history of war deaths. Lieutenant Dan is severely wounded during a Vietcong ambush, but Forrest defies orders to leave him behind and saves his life. Lieutenant Dan’s injuries require him to have his legs amputated, and he views Forrest’s heroic act as robbing him of the opportunity to fulfil his destiny.
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Lieutenant Dan’s death wish is based on Forrest’s description of his family’s “long, great military legacy,” which includes “someone in his family having fought and perished in every single American war.” Lieutenant Dan “had a lot to live up to” in the film’s history, according to Forrest. However, a minor part of his clothing appears to imply that his death wish was always a fiction, both during the Vietnam War and after he returned home. Lieutenant Dan wears a rosary with a Saint Christopher medallion throughout the film, which has a hidden meaning that contradicts the character’s apparent death wish.
In Forrest Gump, Lieutenant Dan explains why he wants to die in battle.
The clearest example of Forrest Gump’s explicit explanation of Lieutenant Dan’s death wish comes from Forrest himself in the narrative. Lieutenant Dan Taylor’s family has a long military history, dating back to the Revolutionary War in 1778, and Dan is only the latest in a long line of military professionals, according to Forrest. Lieutenant Dan appears to be a willing participant in that tradition, as indicated by his request that Forrest leaves him behind to die when he orders an airstrike while wounded. Dan takes Forrest from his bed in the hospital after his legs are amputated, enraged that he has been “cheated” out of his “destiny.” Hearing Dan describe the nature of the sacrifice he believes he should have made only confirms his desire to die in the Vietnam conflict.
Lieutenant Dan’s war death wish is disproved by one detail.
Forrest Gump saves Lieutenant Dan despite not being able to save his best pal, Bubba. While the platoon leader initially appears resentful of his life being saved, the rosary he wears appears to indicate that he never wanted to die in the first place. Lieutenant Dan’s rosary is adorned with a Saint Christopher medallion, a charm thought to give protection to travelers. Lieutenant Dan’s Saint Christopher medallion contradicts the notion that he went to war expecting to die, as the medallion suggests that he was praying for heavenly protection.
This truly brings Lieutenant Dan’s ostensible death intention into doubt. Because Lieutenant Dan’s protective charm isn’t explained in Forrest Gump, it can only be presumed that it’s used for its stated purpose of protection. Lieutenant Dan’s Forrest Gump story takes on a new meaning as a result of this, with his emotional outburst in the hospital reframed as an attempt to reconcile his personal will to live with the obligations imposed on him by his family’s military past. Dan’s bitterness at his survival takes on a whole new meaning when you consider this. Also, Forrest’s lifesaving has caused him to rethink the ideals he was raised with, and he now has to try to create a life outside of what he’d always thought of as his “destiny.” The fact that he expects to die does not imply that he wishes to die, but the Saint Christopher medallion implies that he hopes to live, presumably confirming Forrest’s appraisal of Dan to be incorrect.
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Storm in Forrest Gump Proves Dan Wants To Live
Lieutenant Dan tries to adjust to civilian life after narrowly escaping the horrors of the Vietnam War. He does, however, assist Forrest’s shrimping venture by serving as first mate aboard his boat, the Jenny. Forrest and Lieutenant Dan find themselves out sailing in the middle of a storm after a slow and disappointing start. Dan sits boldly yelling into the waves throughout the storm, and while this may appear to illustrate the character’s death desire, his exact words—along with the Saint Christopher medallion he’s still wearing—indicate that he wants to survive.
Dan yells that the storm would “never sink this boat” and that it’s “ready for a showdown,” all the while smiling. Lieutenant Dan’s apparent lack of anxiety takes on a new meaning when you consider that Saint Christopher is also often invoked for storm protection. There’s a case to be made that Forrest Gump’s protective charm works in some way because death repeatedly misses Lieutenant Dan. Lieutenant Dan is shown to have found peace after the storm, but he is no longer wearing the rosary, proving that he only wore it when he needed protection (at war or during storms, for example).
Lieutenant Dan’s Rosary Helps to Improve His Story
Lieutenant Dan’s rosary is also significant for a behind-the-scenes cause. It belonged to Gary Sinise’s brother, who wore it while serving in the Vietnam War, drawing a link with Lieutenant Dan’s experience. Lieutenant Dan’s defining quality is having a military-related family heritage, and the real-life significance of the rosary adds another depth to the Forrest Gump notion.
Lieutenant Dan’s persona is made so much more human by the possibility that he was seeking safety from his rosary despite the weight of his family’s “custom.” Lieutenant Dan’s relationship with Forrest changes dramatically as a result of the assumption that he never genuinely had a death desire. The Saint Christopher theory suggests that Lieutenant Dan’s ambivalent views regarding Forrest Gump derive from his own internal conflict over his genuine fear of death, rather than being the unappreciative and bitter buddy he appears to be.
