I just read Valis' "review" of Saving Private Ryan. Sounds pretty depressing - especially going to a coffee bar afterwords. I haven't seen the movie but I thought I'd like to share some thoughts about the sentimentality associated with WW II, and perhaps Spielberg's motivation. My dad was a front-line grunt (infantryman) who, at 19, was fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. He never, ever, spoke about his experiences in great detail, despite my prodding, and I have never pushed him to tell me. Though I'd say his politics are conservative (but thoughtful), he NEVER embellished his war experiences in patriotic terms - in fact he never went in for the flag-waving VFW stuff. A few years back, he finally made some comments about this latter point. He said that when your under fire, your only concern is about staying alive and your concern for your buddy - all the other grander ideals don't mean anything. You live for the moment; 99% of your time is spent trying to stave off the mind-numbing discomforts of cold, hunger and boredom. Despite the US army's vaunted logistical support, they sent my dad and his division to the line in with summer boots!!! My dad got frozen feet; he didn't have a bath or shower for a stretch of 6 weeks as they moved through Belgium and into Germany; often his squad would get a bit a head that they couldn't get k-rations. One time, he told me how they came upon a farmhous where the German's had just abandoned and they found a fresh loaf of bread. My dad was starving and just devoured it, despite having been told that it might be poisoned. These are the few types of stories he has told me. As a kid growing up, I was always very proud of my dad' having fought in the last "noble war" - even though he never, ever, expressed such pride. He was just grateful to get through the experience in one piece, and saw death come too early to his buddies that did not come back. I don't know if this is accurate, but of the millions of US soldiers that served in WW II, only about 800,000 actually experienced combat duty (in the European theatre). Why is Spielberg making this movie at this time? Perhaps because we are about to lose this generation, and he wants to remember something good and grand about America? I don't know if his movie accomplishes this. Maybe they should make a movie just of interviews of just infantrymen who have served in all the US wars. Just let them speak for themselves and let all these idiots in Congress listen. Maybe that would have some impact on them. Peace, Jason
