Your favorite war movie?

[RunningOnMT]

I'm not sure we are. I'm not aware of Henry Fonda playing this person. I'm pretty sure it's not Admiral Nimitz whom Fonda played in Midway.

The person I found while researching this question was from my home town, Akron Ohio. According to one article he also had the distinction of being awarded more medals at any one time than anyone ever (7). There was a newsreel of Harry Truman awarding them

[mrkirker]

Murphy?

[USMC-03]

We're definitely thinking of two different people.

In the Longest Day, Henry Fonda played Theodore Roosevelt Jr. He was the only general officer to land at Normandy with the first wave and won the MoH for his actions (one of only two sets of father and sons to both win it). He was also a battalion commander with the 1st Infantry Division in France during WWI where won the Distinguished Service Cross.

[artabr]

I cheated so I won't answer. All I have to say is, who would have thunk it.
He was def. a good man and a soldiers soldier.

Oop's I see you answered it.

He died in France. Heart attack.



Throughout World War II, Roosevelt suffered from health problems. He had arthritis, mostly from old World War I injuries, and walked with a cane. He also had heart trouble. One month after the landing at Utah Beach, he died of a heart attack in France. He is buried at the American cemetery in Normandy next to his brother, Lt. Quentin Roosevelt. (Quentin had been killed in France during World War I and buried at Chamery, but was exhumed and moved to the Normandy Cemetery.) When Ted Roosevelt died, he had already been selected by Eisenhower for promotion to Major General and orders had been cut placing him in command of the 90th Infantry Division.


Theodore Roosevelt Jr.'s grave marker at the American WWII cemetery in Normandy. He lies buried next to his brother, Quentin, who was killed during WW1.
[edit] Medal of Honor citation
His Medal of Honor citation reads:

For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France. After 2 verbal requests to accompany the leading assault elements in the Normandy invasion had been denied, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt's written request for this mission was approved and he landed with the first wave of the forces assaulting the enemy-held beaches. He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France.



Art

[mrkirker]

Wow.
Key word there was "led". It is better to lead 100 than to command 1,000, of course, I'm just a janitor . . . . .

[ampaterry]

1st - Patton
2nd - Patton
3rd - Patton

My Father-in-law, who was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Corigador and bounced around Bataan, Honshu, and Muk Din for the next three years, was beaten, tortured, and experimented on medically; it took 40 years after the war, but finally killed him via Cancer, among other things.
I don't know if it counts, since it was a TV series, but He LOVED Hogans Hero's. He would watch that show and laugh his BUTT off!
He never talked about the war, except after a few beers had oiled his jaw hinge a bit. Then he told some stories that would make you laugh, some that would make you cry, and all would make you proud to even know him.
I miss him a lot.
Even though when I was chasing his Daughter he scared the CRUD out of me repeatedly.

[RunningOnMT]

OK, I got this wrong. I found two headings. One that said "most decorated" and another that said "most decorated at one time". This is the guy I thought you meant:

http://www.cprofota.com/chilson


Llewellyn M.Chilson

Never before in the history of the United States military has the President of the United States pinned more medals for valor on one man at one time than Llewellyn Chilson.
Three Distinguished Service Crosses, Two Silver Stars, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star. Seven medals for valor.
By President Truman, 6 December 1946.

Here is a better link that gives more details of his award citations.

http://www.45thdivision.org/Veterans/Chilson.htm

[Anchor Clanker]

Not one of you picked the Bedford Incident.

[citydesk175]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

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.

I tend to think that a major medal is forced upon you by circumstances rather than "awarded". I know an ex Marine who "won" the Navy Cross (notice the contradiction in terms here: "know" is present tense meaning he is still alive which is not a common "go together" with Marine and Navy Cross)

Many of the Navy Cross holders were Naval aviators who survived to tell and retell their stories. In fact, I bet that the most decorated soldiers of WWII were Soviet or Luftwaffe pilots who were multiple multiple aces on the Russian Front.

In Vietnam, the definition for the Air Medal conflicted with the reality of helicopter warfare and so many medals were awarded that clusters were not enough so they had to award number pins to show how many times the medal had been won.

Regards
Citydesk175

[Terry_P]

Based on which ones I've seen the most it would have to be the HBO series "Band of Brothers" or "Platoon".

[ltcdoty]

How about the definitive Korea War movie..Pork Chop Hill..Gregory Peck, also two good WWII movies..The Victors and the Young Lions with Marlon Brando and Dean Martin. A great Vietnam War movie was Go Tell the Spartans with Burt Lancaster. Another Good old WWII movie is Sahara with Humphrey Bogart, and finally Bataan with Robert Taylor....all those Japanese soldiers crawling around in the jungle while Taylor was falling asleep manning a Model 1917 water-cooled machine gun used to scare the hell out of me when I was a kid.
Regards,
Tom D

[vytoland]

platoon

[BobR.]

"Pork Chop Hill" 1959 Korean War movie.

[firebird]

Saving Private Ryan

[TranterUK]

A Bridge too far.

Highly recommended.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by TranterUK

A Bridge too far.

Highly recommended.

A very good film, Tranter, but deplorable tactics on the part of Bernard Law Montgomery in the historical Market Garden operation the film depicts. Patton's proposed strategy was better, I think, but for political reasons more than anything else, Eisenhower chose to go with Monty's plan. Sadly, it ended in disaster for the British paras.

[TranterUK]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

A very good film, Tranter, but deplorable tactics on the part of Bernard Law Montgomery in the historical Market Garden operation the film depicts. Patton's proposed strategy was better, I think, but for political reasons more than anything else, Eisenhower chose to go with Monty's plan. Sadly, it ended in disaster for the British paras.

Indeed I have to concur. The plan was ill thought out and led to disaster. Leaving as it did lightly armed airborne troops with too much to do and for too long.

Many of our military leaders were at fault in WW2, in all armies. I often cringe when I read or see about how US Gen. Mark Clark allowed the German armies to escape encirclement so he might be the liberator of Rome. This allowed many Germans to slip away and then to form new defensive lines further north.

His glory was paid for with many American and British lives. The footnote is that his headlines were short lived and overshadowed by the Normandy landings which took place just after.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by TranterUK

Indeed I have to concur. The plan was ill thought out and led to disaster. Leaving as it did lightly armed airborne troops with too much to do and for too long.

Many of our military leaders were at fault in WW2, in all armies. I often cringe when I read or see about how US Gen. Mark Clark allowed the German armies to escape encirclement so he might be the liberator of Rome. This allowed many Germans to slip away and then to form new defensive lines further north.

His glory was paid for with many American and British lives. The footnote is that his headlines were short lived and overshadowed by the Normandy landings which took place just after.

Indeed true, Tranter. Two other incidents that quickly come to mind are the bombing and later assault of Monte Casino in Italy during the spring of 1944, and Patton's infamous Hammelburg raid against Oflag XIIIB, where his son-in-law was imprisoned by the Germans. Both of these operations were botched, or in military terms, FUBAR. By the way, my dad was at both the liberation of Rome and at Monte Cassino. He used to tell stories about both those operations.

[Teejay9]

I would venture to guess Nimitz. Right? TJ

[dtlwheels]

mine would probably be either Saving Private Ryan(Tom Hanks), We Were Soldiers(Mel Gibson), or Patriot(also Gibson)

[delta13soultaker]

The Jacket

[1shot1k]

Very good posts......

If limited to one (hard) will pick "Longest Day" cause so many its
kinda like pickin straws.

a "A" list : Platoon (been there, done that )
Thin red LIne (close, but you must read book ! wow )
Dirt Dozen
Patriot

[artabr]

I'm reading Band of Brothers.
Last week I thought about it and decided to buy the DVD set and watch it as I read it. I have 1 DVD left to watch.
I'm truly impressed. There is nothing in the series that isn't in the book. In fact, when Winters pours the pitcher of pi$$ on Nixon, they actual tone it down in the movie.
The wounds the men received are accurately depicted.
Hanks, Spielberg and the directors did an amazing job.
The only thing is when Capt. Speirs shot the German POW's. But that was supposed to be a rumor to begin with anyhow.

Edit: Just watched the last DVD. The string quartet playing in the bombed out street was a bit much but for 10 hours of video, I'll cut em a little slack.


Art

[94z07]

Originally Posted by 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.

Blackhawk Down was accurate because it wasn't made in Hollywood. There were people bitching about the racial makeup of the US forces in the film when it came out because it showed mostly whites in heroic roles. The makers of the film countered that in every case they chose an actor of the same race as the man who was actually there fighting. Think of the ad-hoc AA gunner in Pearl Harbor and you'll see Hollywood's sensitivity to the truth.

My Favorite war movie is Master and Commander.

[Big ugly]

Hell I fgured you guys all wrong. I was for shure some one here would have said "Kelly's Heroes" Thats mine any how.