Lt. Dan believes that your destiny is set in stone and can't or shouldn't be changed, this is shown by his story of his family dying in each war and later when he's rescued, batting at Forrest and telling him this isn't his destiny.
I think he told Forrest and Bubba when they got there these two. One “Don't salute” and two “Keep on dry socks.” “There are two standing orders in this platoon. One, take good care of your feet, and two, try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed.”
The film, "Forrest Gump", deals with finding the true meaning of the life despite facing numerous hurdles. It encourages never to stop and cry over the past experiences. The story is about a man named Forrest Gump. He was born with disabled legs and had a very low IQ of 75.
After some small talk, the officer tells them that there is one item of GI gear that can be the “difference between a live grunt and a dead grunt.” He then say “socks” and he stresses the importance of keeping their feet dry when out on patrol. Clearly Lt. Dan was a student of history.
After a while, Dan got mad at Forrest because he believed Forrest ruined his "destiny". Eventually, the two became friends and Forrest took care of Dan, who had lost his legs in battle. Later, Dan became Forrest's first mate and co-worker in the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and made them wealthy.
Playing Lt. Dan in 'Forrest Gump' Changed Gary Sinise's Destiny
Why did Lieutenant Dan stand up for Forrest?
He fell into a depression, surrounding himself with no friends and meaningless flings. He drank and blamed Forrest for all of his misfortunes. Lt. Dan is standing up because he is wearing Prosthetic legs after losing them in the Vietnam War.
Gump was supposedly portrayed as someone with ID (intellectual disability) with an IQ of 75. He is definitely not autistic but the resemblance to a real person with 75 IQ is conveniently overlooked whenever necessary. The two criteria you mention are also not uncommon traits of those with ID.
While they hang, Forrest says he's going to find some money to buy a shrimping boat because he made a promise to Bubba. Lt. Dan sneeringly says that he'll happily be the first mate if Forrest Gump ever becomes a shrimp boat captain.
Laying in the hospital after having his legs amputated, an emotional Dan drags Forrest from his bed, upset that he had been"cheated" out of his "destiny". Hearing Dan describe the nature of the sacrifice he believes he should have made only furthers the idea that he wanted to die in combat in Vietnam.
Forrest Gump was a major hit, grossing $678 million worldwide and winning six Academy Awards. The CGI removal of Lieutenant Dan's legs required meticulous frame-by-frame painting and the specially made wheelchair helped hide Gary Sinise's legs.
The feather represents Forrest's approach to life — it just floats through the world in whichever direction the wind takes it. A lot of what happens is up to chance — for good and for bad.
Jenny however is a representation of true America, she is flawed and ultimately broken, we see throughtout the story Forrest chases after her but he can never reach her, he doesn't see her for who she is.
Why did Jenny leave Forrest before he went on the long run? She recognised the innocence and purity of Forrest and all his actions and due to her childhood trauma that had caused her to have a tough life she did not want to burden Forrest with the same suffering.
What happened to Lieutenant Dan after Forrest Gump?
His portrayal of Lt. Dan Taylor in the landmark film Forrest Gump formed an enduring connection with servicemen and women throughout the military community. In 2003, after several USO handshake tours, he formed the “Lt. Dan Band” and began entertaining troops serving at home and abroad.
What advice did Lieutenant Dan give Forrest and Bubba?
Lt. Dan gives them some advice about staying alive in Vietnam, saying that the most important thing to remember is to keep their socks dry all of the time.
Dan seems to have be lifted out of his previous gloominess and finds something to live for, he becomes happier and although not thanking Gump directly he hints that he's grateful for his life. At the end of the movie Lt. Dan gets new legs and is getting married, now content with his life and thankful to Gump, Lt.
He ends up sliding into brutal depression and alcoholism, and he adopts just about every abusive personality trait you can imagine. But, Lt. Dan is a man of his word. You might say that he does what he says he will.
After calming down a bit, Lt. Dan then confesses to Forrest that he was destined to die honorably in the field, like his ancestors, which Forrest had cheated him out of.
Although Forrest Gump wasn't a real person, there's a high possibility that he was partly inspired by veteran Sammy Lee Lewis, whose Vietnam War story is very similar to that of Gump's.
In the book that's the sequel to Forrest Gump, Gump and Co., author Winston Groom reveals that Jenny died of hepatitis C, a bloodborne illness which would probably have been the result of her intravenous drug use during her hippie years.
In the movie, it was said the duo purchased around three-percent of the then-fledgling company. According to Benzinga, Gump's three-percent stake in Apple would be worth a whopping $90 billion in this day in age. With that amount, Gump and Dan would be the 13th richest people in the world.
The wedding is attended by Lt. Dan, who now has prosthetic legs and a fiancee. Jenny dies soon afterward. The film ends with father and son waiting for the school bus on little Forrest's first day of school.
Forrest asks Jenny and Forrest Jr. to live with him, and Jenny proposes to Forrest. The two marry in the backyard. After some time of living together as a family, Jenny dies at age 32. Her illness is never explicitly stated, though screenwriter Eric Roth confirmed in a 2019 interview that she died of AIDS.
Bubba, a Southern Black man with Autism-spectrum disorder, appears in the most substantially fleshed out historical event in Forrest Gump: the Vietnam War. After enlisting in the 47th Infantry Regiment in 1967, Forrest is onboard the bus to basic training when he meets Bubba, who offers him a seat.
The two leading theories suggest Gump had either a mild case of cerebral palsy or polio. Unfortunately for curious fans, the need for Gump's leg braces remains officially undiagnosed.
