greatest generation

Will you see HBO’s Hemingway & Gellhorn on May 28th?

The film, directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen as Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, is a love story played against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

I’m intrigued by the premise of the film, but I haven’t been too thrilled with Hollywood’s handling of the Spanish Civil War…except, of course, For Whom The Bell Tolls. We will see…HBO usually does a great job with military history.

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As a veteran of combat in Vietnam, I am often asked about current wars. Recently I have been asked about soldiers posing with corpses or urinating on corpses in Afghanistan. The “patriotic” media wants us to understand what it is like to be a soldier in war, not to condone the conduct but to ask “who are we to judge?” They want to know about rules of war: “Are there rules about taking pictures with dead bodies?” When I see these pictures, I am not shocked. I have similar pictures from Vietnam. And I’m in them. Such pictures are part of our warrior culture. Not everyone takes them, but they are not in any way unusual. (via Why are we still in ‘Vietghanistan?’)

While this blog focuses exclusively on World War II, I thought it was important to share this thought-provoking piece on war and what happens to young men confronted with the harsh realities of death, carnage, and fear. 

If you are a fan of history - particularly military history - this is a must read. Please share with your followers!

maynrd:

I spent many a summer like this…

Inspired by grandfathers everywhere…

"To become an executioner, somebody cold and analytical, to be trained to kill, and then to come back into civilian life and be alone in the crowd—it takes an awful long time to get over it. Fear and depression come over you."

— Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier from WWII

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Iwo Jima flag raiser John Bradley with John Wayne during the filming of Wayne’s classic war film, The Sands of Iwo Jima. Bradley, along with Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon, played himself in the movie. His son would go on to write Flags of Our Fathers. Clint Eastwood directed the movie based on the book.

Bradley, a medic and civilian mortician, struggled with PTSD his entire adult life and rarely talked about the war after the film was released. This suffering veteran, directly linked to our country’s greatest war actors, symbolizes the void between Hollywood and the sad realities of war.

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An American chaplain, his bodyguards, and a Jeep somewhere in France in 1944

gunsandposes:

Jeremy Davies in Saving Private Ryan (1998).

"It’s hard to believe that I’m still alive, but this is just a note to let you in on the fact and to tell you that I am back in England for a few more days, having a tiny sliver of shrapnel taken out of my arm. A mortar shell landed right behind me, knocked me flat on my face, took off my helmet, and cut me in just one spot. Since the battalion aid station was only around the corner, I dropped in for repairs. They passed me on and on and out of France on an L.S.T. I hope to go back soon, for I owe the Germans several bullets and as many hand grenades as I can throw."

— David Webster