Fred Rexer

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Fred Ludwig Rexer, Jr. (November 30, 1946 - August 27, 2021) was a U.S. Army Vietnam combat veteran and Hollywood actor and screenwriter.

Biography

He was best known as the military advisor for

Walter Hill. Milius has named Rexer as the real-life prototype of Captain Willard, the protagonist of Apocalypse Now.[1] Rexer was a federally licensed machine gun dealer, who held a Class 3 Dealer's license from the BATFE (of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury at the time), selling items listed under the National Firearms Act of 1934, from his Texas business, and he engaged in that business through at least through the 1970s.[2]

Rexer died August 27, 2021, in Texas. His obituary cited the following military service: 38 months in Vietnam from 1965 to 1968, including two tours with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), as well as a tour with the 120th Assault Helicopter Company (AHC), "Razorbacks."[3] His awards included the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star with Valor and oak leaf cluster, 21 Air Medals, and 6 Purple Hearts.[4]

Publications

  • Fred L. Rexer, Jr., Machine Guns: Silencers and Counterinsurgency Weapons, Illustrated Catalogs & Reference Guides Nos. 1, 2, and 3, Houston, TX, 1974
  • Fred L. Rexer, Jr., Submachine Guns, Calibre 9mm & .45 ACP, Ingram M10 , Houston, TX: Anubis Press, 1977
  • Fred L. Rexer, Jr., Dead or Alive: A Textbook on Self-Defense with the .45 Automatic, Houston, TX: IDHAC Publishing, 1977
  • Fred L. Rexer, Jr., Brass Knuckle Bible: A Manual of Concealed Weapons, Shreveport, LA: Delta Press, 1978
  • Fred L. Rexer, Jr., Bridge City, Shreveport, LA: Delta Press, 1978
  • Fred L. Rexer, Jr., U.S.A. The Urban Survival Arsenal, Shreveport, LA: Delta Press, 1980
  • Richard Dobbins, Evan Slawson, Deric Washburn, and Harry Kleiner (screenplay); John Milius, Fred Rexer (story), Extreme Prejudice, Pocket Books, New York NY, 1987, ()

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Rexer, Fred (1975). Machine Guns: Silencers and Counterinsurgency Weapons, Illustrated Catalogs & Reference Guides No. 3. Anubis Press.
  3. ^ "Narrative 4 | The Razorbacks Gunships". Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  4. ^ "Fred L. Rexer, Jr". Fort Bend Herald. August 30, 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-16.

External links

  • Fred Rexer at
    IMDb
  • [1] A personal tribute to Fred Rexer, explaining and quoting his tactical and cinematic contributions
  • Gunship Mission by John A. Cash in Seven Firefights in Vietnam Archived 2013-11-05 at the
    Office of the Chief of Military History
    - an account that illustrates some of the methods used by the gunship fire teams, featuring Fred Rexer