Dumbo Drop — Operation

: Although set in Vietnam, the film was primarily shot in Thailand .

: Unlike the movie's happy ending, the real story was tragic; the elephants were ultimately too small for the heavy labor required and were killed by the Viet Cong shortly after the operation. The 1995 Film

The film is loosely based on a 1968 mission known as , documented by retired U.S. Army Major Jim Morris. Operation Dumbo Drop

: The elephants were intended to support a sawmill project to improve local living conditions and secure the loyalty of villagers near the Ho Chi Minh Trail , a vital North Vietnamese supply route.

refers to both a 1995 Walt Disney Pictures family adventure film and the real-world military missions that inspired it. While the movie is a lighthearted comedy, the true events were rooted in complex U.S. Army "civic action" operations during the Vietnam War. The True Story: Operation Barroom : Although set in Vietnam, the film was

: U.S. Special Forces were tasked with transporting two elephants, named Bonnie and Clyde, from the village of Ban Don to Tra Bong.

: In real life, the elephants were tranquilized and airlifted using heavy-lift helicopters (CH-47 Chinooks) rather than parachuting out of a cargo plane as depicted in the film. Army Major Jim Morris

: Green Beret Captain Sam Cahill (Danny Glover) and his successor, Captain T.C. Doyle (Ray Liotta), lead a misfit team to deliver an elephant to a remote village after the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) kills the village's original elephant. Production :