Presley was in the US Army as the movie showed — but he did not enlist. Still, there are mixed accounts on how Presley's time in Germany came to be. According to the Presley biography "The Last Train in Memphis" by Peter Guralnick, Presley was drafted and devastated when he received his letter. Then, he and Parker agreed he would not be in Special Services and instead be treated like any other soldier. But according to Nash, Parker "instigated that whole thing," which is more similar to what happened in the movie. Here is where this account differs from the movie the most: Nash claims the reason Parker wanted this clean-cut image was because both he and Presley thought rock 'n' roll would pass by the time he returned.