Your favorite war movie?

Xracer
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(7/27/01 4:29:46 pm)
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What is your favorite war/military movie, and who was in it?

Mine: The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgins.

Of course seeing Ginger Rogers saving the White House paintings during the war of 1812 has gotta be a close second!

WyomingSwede
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(7/27/01 6:00:51 pm)
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I liked "Full Metal Jacket" directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Matthew Modine & R.Lee Ermey. Well that is ...I liked the first half of it...the basic training stuff really got to me.The rest was stupid.

I liked "Memphis Belle" with Matt Modine also. And don't forget "12 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck. 'Saving Private Ryan & The Longest Day" too.

regards swede
Wyoming Swede

44rugerfan
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(7/28/01 11:02:43 pm)
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Oh man, "Saving Private Ryan", "Patton", "The Big Red One", "Tora Tora Tora", "The Dirty Dozen", take your pick. Wait, does "Braveheart" count?
The Trademark Of Reliability

kdubaz
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(7/28/01 11:57:38 pm)
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Without a doubt - PATTON!!!!
Keep below the ridgeline!

polishshooter
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(7/29/01 6:08:14 pm)
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"Saving ..."was probably the best done effects-wise, but be serious, PATTON? They didn't even ATTEMPT to make the M48s look like Tigers or Panthers...

The one close to my heart is "Kelly's Heroes..." at least the Tigers LOOKED like Tigers...

And while not really a 'War" flick, you gotta love the use of Springfields, M1911s and the M1917 watercooled (Along with the Model 97 and 12 Riot guns!) in "The Wild Bunch..."
Eibar Pimp. "Pssst! 'Ay Meester..."

kdubaz
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(7/29/01 10:00:30 pm)
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PATTON - PATTON - PATTON!!!!
Keep below the ridgeline!

WyomingSwede
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(7/29/01 10:50:10 pm)
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Polish...you touch my heart..."The Wild Bunch" is one of my favorite movies. regards swede
Wyoming Swede

cointoss 2
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(7/30/01 10:02:09 am)
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I'm with you Polishshooter on "Kelley's Heroes", but "Stalingrad", has to be one of my favorites for realism.
cointoss2

LIKTOSHOOT
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(7/30/01 10:41:42 am)
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Gotta say, though not a war movie...The Wild Bunch, the original long version, with the slow motion action shots. I would not pitch Saving Private Ryan, outside of the graphic bullet holes in people.....the movie was little more, and to know that Hanks cries about the hard fought freedoms Americans gave they`re lives for, then funnels millions to remove those very rights from American`s. I consider him as two faced as they come. LTS



ps/ "The Great Escape" wasn`t bad either.........COOLER!!! 30 days........
"am not" R2

Edited by: LIKTOSHOOT at: 7/30/01 11:43:29 am

rayra
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(7/30/01 11:59:28 pm)
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man oh man, will be typing for hours...

Kelly's Heroes
Wild Bunch (just on AMC the other day)
The Longest Day
Great Escape
Stalag 17 (#?)
Bridges at Toko Ri
Von Ryan's Express
Guns of Navarone
The Blue Max
Midway
Sands of Iwo Jima
In Harm's Way
Sayonara (no combat, more 50s social commentary, but great 'Film')
Patton (for the grandeur of it)
A Bridge Too Far
Private Ryan

man, I'll be back to this

and for anyone who doesn't already know about it, the Internet Movie Database is a great online movie resource - us.imdb.com

rich

edit - ooh! Battle of the Bulge!

double edit - ooh! ooh! Away All Boats & Merrill's Marauders (Jeff Chandler was in a few good ones)

Edited by: rayra at: 7/31/01 1:04:12 am

Xracer
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(7/31/01 7:50:57 am)
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Well.......actually it's a play within a movie, but...."Springtime for Hitler".

"Springtime for Hitler and Germany...

winter for Poland and France...."

17th FA Bn
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(7/31/01 11:32:23 am)
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Did any body see the remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front" staring the guy who played John Boy Walton? I think it was a made for TV movie in the late 70's or early 80's. My history prof. really capped on it but I thought it was much better than the original which was to much like a play. I may be wrong but I believe the original won the 1st academy award for best picture.


I thought "Saving Private Ryan" was pretty good, the action scenes were great, but why they ( the U.S. troops) did some of the things they did didn't make much sense. People tell me they had a hard time watching the battle scenes. I can see or here anything and not get sick (pissed off is different). Now if they had smell a vision it would have been different.

The two scenes that choaked me up were:
1. When the staff car pulls up to tell Mom that the boys are dead, Mother Ryan looks out and sees the car pull up and collapses. In W.W. II any body who had boys in the service new what that meant. My grand father worked on the R.R. in WW II. They told him at work that my uncle had been killed in action, and he was supposed to tell my grandmother when he got home. It took him three days to tell her, he just didn't know how, she knew something was wrong.
2. At the end of the movie when the now elderly Private Ryan collapses at the grave of Captain (the officer played by Tom Hanks?) and asks his wife "have I been a good man?" That is something all of us could think of in our daily lives. Think of all the sacrifices made for each of us, not just those of our service men, but our parents, and others who gave up much so we all could have a good life.

Like I said before the action scenes were great but:
1. Why leave your sniper and observer in the tower after the action gets going? A fundamental rule of action is don't stay in one place to long.
2. If you are trying to stop the tanks why fight on the far side of the river? When the enemy shows up blow it up and make your stand with it to your front and not your rear.

rayra
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(7/31/01 2:03:42 pm)
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thought in the movie they were trying / supposed to hold that bridge, and blowing it was a last resort?

watching "Flying Leathernecks" right now.
Not the best, but being a Former Marine, I gotta watch

rich

polishshooter
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(7/31/01 10:21:02 pm)
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My problem at the end was the sitting around reminiscing, and then when they hear the tanks, start scrambling to finish working, wiring the charges, and running ammo around. And why not have the belted .30 already AT the only two 1919s they had, instead of running around on the ground???

And with like 5 rounds left for the bazookas, why weren't they in action FIRST before the "sticky bombs?"

The 60mm mortar rounds as grenades was cool though, that actually happened enough to be not uncommon.

When they charged the MG though, to "get it when the barrel overheated" was pretty hokey... ESPECIALLY making your sniper leave the 03A4 behind and make an assault...seems to me he could have helped in support...

But you gotta admit, IMA did a great job with the MG42s, even if they had to put mikes on the floor to catch the sound of the links, That creaking cooling barrel was a nice touch...
Eibar Pimp. "Pssst! 'Ay Meester..."

rayra
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(7/31/01 10:47:35 pm)
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Those were some of the most compelling things about Private Ryan - the 'depth' of sound.
Just close your eyes during the first 10mins, and listen to the veritable hail of bullets striking steel girders, helmets, flesh, etc. Chilling, even without the gore.


Go For Broke!
&
Battle Cry

were also decently made, if 2-dimensional (hey, you said 'favorite', not 'best'


AntiqueDr
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(8/1/01 6:07:15 am)
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Thank God! According to my wife, I am the only living person who likes "Kelly's Heroes." Thanks, folks!

Oh, and "The Fighting Seabees" with John Wayne.


We Buy Guns! 1 - 100, Antique or Modern!
www.apaxenterprises.com

Mesen
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(8/1/01 7:30:35 am)
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"The Dogs of War" good movie, great realism except for the bogus John Wayne scene where they charge the main gate of the compound and let loose a few mags full-auto for the cameras all clustered and in the open
IF YOU VALUE YOUR FREEDOM, THANK A VET!

reedbuster
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(8/1/01 10:07:57 pm)
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Gettysburg for me, Awesome on the big screen on the third Day. When those Virginians step out of the woods and begin the mile walk into the Union lines, the whole time under fire from the Union long artillery. Also like the action in the Devils Den and Lil' Round Top Where Col. Chamberlain and his Co. of Maine Vols. hold back wave after wave of Southern offensive and then charge!!!!! And Ya Gotta love Sam Elliott as Col. Bufford on the first day. All Star cast,
Martin Sheen, Tom Berringer, Sam Elliott



Also Enjoyed the AMC Theater production of Andersonville. (Book by MacKinlay Kantor, also wrote Spirit Lake, a must read for Iowans)



MO JENKINS
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(8/4/01 7:57:51 pm)
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Cross of Iron, BABY! I can't believe none of you guys even put it on your lists! And then of coarse, Sam's other masterpeice, The Wild Bunch! Followed by Enemy At The Gate, The Seige of Fire Base Gloria, Platoon (so what if Stone's a commie lib, it's still a great movie) ,Apocalypse! Heck I could go on long after you guys were fast asleep!
MO JENKINS

17th FA Bn
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(8/6/01 7:37:37 am)
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Reedbuster I also loved "Gettysburg". My only complaint with it was Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. He is a good actor, but doesn't have the look of Lee. I see Lee as a respected older Uncle, and Sheen is to much of a pretty boy. Sam Elliot as Col. Bufford has the look of a hero.

boeboe1
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(8/9/01 7:07:34 pm)
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17th AF Bn, Maybe the fought with their backs to the bridge because they were trying to save it for our equipment to come across...but the sniper and observer, I have no clue.

Be interesting to see what "Band of Brothers" will be like.

obelix2
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(8/11/01 7:23:41 pm)
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when you've been away for a while, but here are my modest 14 comments:

Xracer: The Enemy Below -- Works well as a game of chess between Mitchum and Jurgens. They gave Mitchum a real DE (though the original was a British corvette, as in The Cruel Sea (recommended). Note that, as in all WWII movies that portray decent Germans, there has to be a despised Nazi around.
The Producers: One and one are two.
Two and three are four.
And I'm feeling so blue
'Cause I'm losing the war.

Wyoming: Full Metal Jacket. While it doesn't have the impact or the unity of the two Oliver Stone Vietname films, I agree with you about the first episode. Brings back some unpleasant memories, now diluted.

44ruger: Braveheart. If it IS a war movie, I'm with you. A fine effort at truth, not discounting the impossible liaison with the Princess of Wales. But you've got to have some uplift in the ending -- ie your hero can't be drawn and quartered without some recompense -- and I've seen much less effective films with more distortion of history.

Kdub: Patton. I hate to agree with Richard Nixon, but it is one of the finest war films ever made, due much to fine performances by George Scott and Karl Malden.

Polish: Patton. The tanks are false, but the picture isn't. The Wild Bunch (arguably a Mexican Revolution film): Love the weapons, too. Ryan: I wondered about that ammo carrier myself. He wasn't even needed. There's a scene where Hanks effortlessly translates an Edith Piaf song. So what was he there for -- to show a nice coward turning into a mean one? Also, I'm really uncertain about those sticky bombs. Is everyone sure that Spielberg got that right? He was definitely wrong about bullets hitting wounded men ten feet underwater, and I've voiced other objections in previous posts.

cointoss: Stalingrad. I love to argue, but no argument here.

lts: The Great Escape. A magnificent escape picture, if not a war picture, but none of them hold a candle to 1937's La grande illusion.

rayra: Sorry, you've got too many on the list to allow me to comment.

17th: All Quiet on the Western Front. Well, it was the third movie to win best picture from the Academy, but to me it remains one of the best all-time war pictures. I admit I haven't seen the remake, though Milestone made war pictures into the 60s -- his Porkchop Hill is probably the best on Korea.

Antique Dr and Mesen: I blush to say I haven't seen either Kelly's Heroes or The Dogs of War. I'm open to persuasion, though.

reedbuster: Gettysburg. It suffers from the same faults as the novel on which it's based: overemphasis on certain facets of an enormously complicated battled, and overreliance on the self-promotion of Chamberlain, whose T-shirts hereabouts are inescapable. I think also that budgetary reliance on reenactors made the battle far less horrifying than it really was. I do applaud the effort, though.

Mo: Cross of Iron. As a fellow Peckinpavian, I have to recuse myself.

boeboe: Ryan again: Ignoring where Ryan's outfit turned up, there was no necessary bridge across anything. And the one in question -- hardly a Renault's width wide -- was hardly worth saving. If we wanted one there, our engineers could have built a better one in three hours. The only reason for killing everyone off was Spielberg's cinematic need to have something even close to his opening sequences in impact.

dixi

obelix2
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(8/11/01 7:32:27 pm)
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Zulu -- second half, after the drunken missionary has been sent packing. The most intense and realistic (I know, some of the 24th in the rear ranks are using bolt-action rifles, but budget is budget) war movie on record.

LIKTOSHOOT
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(8/11/01 8:51:12 pm)
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O2, good to see you back and around. Just saw Zulu a week or so back.....some things are best left alone. LTS
"am not" R2

rayra
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(8/12/01 12:41:49 am)
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liked Zulu as well.

'too many in my post to comment' heck, ya used a page & 1/2 anyway

anybody say 'Das Boot', yet?

rich

Xracer
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(8/12/01 8:37:16 am)
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rayra...."Das Boot" is a wonderful film. I preferred the "The Enemy Below" because it showed the action topside as well as below.....and the interplay between the hunter and the hunted. And which was the hunter...and who was the hunted. Both excellent films.

obelix.....I'd kill to be able to see the new Broadway version of "The Producers".....my favorite comedy film of all time.

"I was born in Dusseldorf....

That is why they call me Rolf."

obelix2
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(8/12/01 8:45:51 am)
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But that's the problem with being away. People forget you're a loudmouth (that's "you" as in "me"). I'd love to discuss belligerently any film on your list (more comfortably with those I've seen), but I felt I had to deal with about 20 posts.

obelix2
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(8/20/01 5:29:09 pm)
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I don't want to kill off a topic as promising as this one. For those who don't know me, I love to argue. About anything. As proof of my sincerity, I'll even argue with someone who likes "Titanic".

rayra
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(8/21/01 12:25:34 am)
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Love to argue. No you don't!

eh, I get enough 'battle' elsewhere, come here to relax / share info.

"Where Eagles Dare" & "Guns of Navarone" are both pretty good 'commando' films.

Rich

[Sasha88]

One is Red Badge of Courage with Audie Murphy.

[LibbyJS4]

I think that watching "Band Of Brothers" should be a prerequisite to graduating high school in the United States.....

[TranterUK]

Love and Death with Woody Allen

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by LibbyJS4

I think that watching "Band Of Brothers" should be a prerequisite to graduating high school in the United States.....

+1. That is a great mini series. I've watched it through 3 times in 2008, and I almost started it again yesterday.

[LibbyJS4]

Originally Posted by CampingJosh

+1. That is a great mini series. I've watched it through 3 times in 2008, and I almost started it again yesterday.

o yeah. winters was an amazing leader. gotta admit i have a little crush on him haha

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by TranterUK

Love and Death with Woody Allen

I'm shocked, Tranter! I thought for sure it would be "Where Eagles Dare" with Richard Burton, the quintessential British actor, or perhaps "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" (inaccurate film though it was) with Alec Guinness.

[RunningOnMT]

Despite being a Marine, there are two army movies that I consider my favorites. "Hamburger Hill" and "Blackhawk Down". Very good movies depicting true events and about as accurate as Hollywood gets. When I watch them it's not so much for entertainment as it is to remember the brave men that made the supreme sacrifice in both impossible circumstances.

[deerlope]

War is hell guys. I don't like any of them. I am totally DAV.

[jpmccr]

I have few that you guys have already listed. More than I can put here but here some:

1 - We Were Soldiers
2 - Patton
3 - Midway
4 - Where Eagles Dare
5 - Dirty Dozen
6 - Saving Private Ryan
7 - Green Berets
8 - Guns Of Navarone
9 - Force 10 From Navarone
10- U-571
11 -Das Boot
12- A Bridge Too Far
13- The Longest Day
14- Enemy At The Gates
15- The Patriot

Oh, the list can get a lot longer if I sit here long enough . . . .

[jacksonco]

"The Longest day", about Normandy Invasion
"Das Boot" (the Boat) was really good about WWII German U-boat.
"Enemy at the Gate" was a face off between Russian and German snipers during WWII
"Ride With the Devil" about a group of Confederate Irregulars during the Civil War
"The Green Beret" about the Army Special Forces in Vietnam

These are only a few but I kike a lot of different War movies from different eras in history.

[artabr]

Originally Posted by LibbyJS4

o yeah. winters was an amazing leader. gotta admit i have a little crush on him haha

I believe he has a book out. I need the check it out. Stephen Ambrose teaching at UNO was One of the few good things that have come out of New Orleans in years.
This link is a site that is trying to have Dick Winters DSC upgraded to Congressional Medal of Honor.
http://www.majordickwinters.com/index.html

All of the D-Day movies.
A Bridge Too Far
The Great Escape
Das Boot
Enemy at the Gates
Black Hawk Down
We Were Soldiers
The Sand Pebbles
The Patriot
Gettysburg
Any John Wayne flick
I love the old Britsh movies also, The Battle of Britain and a couple of others whos names escape me (it's 4:15 am ).

Basicly I like them all, even the cheesey ones.



Art

[jacksonco]

If anyone here has not seen "Ride With The Devil" you are missing an excellent period piece about Missouri Confederate Irregulars during the Civil War. Toby Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and Jewel are a couple of the actors. The movie includes the raid on Lawrance Kansas to avange the deaths of the Southern Woman that died during a fire while being held in detention. The movie has been airing lately on AMC. If you can catch it you should do so.

[USMC-03]

A few that have already been mentioned:

The Guns of Navarone; the book is also very good and not very different from the movie.
The Great Escape; you can't go wrong with a cast like that.
The Patriot; the Battle of Cowpens is one of my favorite studies in battle tactics along with being a good movie (Jason Isaacs is a fantastic antagonist).
The Dirty Dozen; again, what a cast, and I actually liked the movie a little better than the book.
The Sand Pebbles; I'm a big Steve McQueen fan, enough said.

Some lesser known not so far mentioned:

The Siege of Firebase Gloria; This is what has been called a war movie made by grunts for grunts, and how can you beat R. Lee Ermey as a Marine Sergeant Major.
ANZACS; great movie about Aussie and NZ troops during the Great War with a then little known Paul Hogan in a supporting role.
Rough Riders; Tom Beranger does an exceptional portrayal as Teddy Roosevelt.
Kelly's Heroes; all star cast and the best Tiger tank mock up I've seen.

[Pistolenschutze]

"Sands of Iwo Jima" was pretty good, but then I have always been a John Wayne fan. One of the very best, in my opinion, and one that I don't believe has been mentioned, was "To Hell and Back" starring Audie Murphy. He played himself in that film, and according to what I have read, there were a couple of scenes where he nearly lost it when he reenacted them. As I am sure everyone knows, Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of WWII, and a Medal of Honor winner.

[USMC-03]

[QUOTE=Pistolenschutze;379006As I am sure everyone knows, Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of WWII, and a Medal of Honor winner.[/QUOTE]

As a quick aside... Pistol is correct, Audy Murphy was the most decorated service member from WWII. But who was the most decorated serviceman to serve in WWII?

[citydesk175]

I loved "Band of Brothers" and my hero is Winters but so is Sobel. I met David Schwimmer in Chicago and thanked him for his portrayal of Sobel becaus Sobel was responsible for Easy's eventual success. Like my airborne buddy told me "If it ain't raining, you ain't Training". Come to think of it, Capt Dale Dye is another hero of mine just for that training program he ran for the cast.

Schwimmer confirmed that HBO and the core people of BoB are doing a sequel to cover the Pacific War

Other favorites include Breaker Morant and Path of Glory for an obvious reason/

Favorite Television story about wwII: Mary Tyler Moore at a party. Woman at party bursts into tears. Mary asks whats wrong, "I just heard my husband say the best years of his life were in the Army." Mary responded that many men felt that way.

"I know but he spent 4 years in a Japanese prison camp"

Regards
Citydesk175

[ms6852]

Bridge on the River Kwai
Patton
Midway
We Were Soldiers
The Green Berets
MASH

[dge479]

Patton is great, I think its my favorite. I like Apocolypse Now, Mostly because I like Robert Duval. His charecter is great in it, but not a very realistic flick.
Band Of brothers is excellent

[RunningOnMT]

Originally Posted by USMC-03

As a quick aside... Pistol is correct, Audy Murphy was the most decorated service member from WWII. But who was the most decorated serviceman to serve in WWII?

I'm not quite sure of this but I would have to think "Manila" John Basilone would be in the running.

Wait a min....What is the difference between "the most decorated service member from WWII" and "the most decorated serviceman to serve in WWII"?

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

Wait a min....What is the difference between "the most decorated service member from WWII" and "the most decorated serviceman to serve in WWII"?

I would guess it has to do with when the said serviceman got "decorated." Perhaps there was someone who got a great number of awards in other conflicts, too.

[artabr]

Originally Posted by USMC-03

As a quick aside... Pistol is correct, Audy Murphy was the most decorated service member from WWII. But who was the most decorated serviceman to serve in WWII?

I'm going to take a S.W.A.G. and say Chesty Puller.


Art

[USMC-03]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

I'm not quite sure of this but I would have to think "Manila" John Basilone would be in the running.

Other than the Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal, Manila John actually won relatively few awards before being killed in action on Iwo Jima.

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

Wait a min....What is the difference between "the most decorated service member from WWII" and "the most decorated serviceman to serve in WWII"?

"The most decorated service member from WWII" meaning that all of the awards in question were won during WWII.

Originally Posted by CampingJosh

I would guess it has to do with when the said serviceman got "decorated." Perhaps there was someone who got a great number of awards in other conflicts, too.

You're on track Josh. I'm also talking about the largest number of separate decorations, not multiple awards of the same medal.

Originally Posted by artabr

I'm going to take a S.W.A.G. and say Chesty Puller.

Art

Great guess Art. Chesty won five Navy Crosses, but never the Medal of Honor.

The man I'm referring to won every award available to a U.S. infantryman (not the Distinguished Flying Cross, etc.) including the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre.

Edit: I may be incorrect about the Bronze Star since it was established so late in the war; my fingers were typing faster than my brain was thinking...

[RunningOnMT]

Oh you know I was thinking wrong. I was under the mistaken impression that John Basilone received two medals of honor in WWII. I looked it up and discovered that he recived a medal of honor for guadlcanal and the navy cross on Iwo Jima.

I now know the answer to your question but I wont give it since I cheated. Interesting that the name didn't ring a bell as I would have expected.

Just as a side note, even though we all tend to say someone "won" the medal of honor, I saw someone corrected by several people on another forum one time for using that word. They said it is not a carnival prize to be won but something that was awarded for extraordinary gallantry. Not sure I see the difference but it was important to those commenting.

[USMC-03]

Let's see if we're on the same track RunningOnMT. Here's a hint; Henry Fonda portrayed him in one of the above mentioned films.