Posted on 08/27/2005 7:51:00 PM PDT by doug from upland
Well done, with a great juxtaposition of Honor vs Dishonor and Justice vs. Mercy.
I still have the DVD here, I might watch it again today.
How so? I loved the movie, but don't know the history behind it. Could you explain?
Thanks.
The great charge right toward the end. The main problem I had with the book and the movie was little mention at all of LT Miram. He was the only Medal of Honor winner that day. He came by North Georgia College while he was at the Mountain Ranger camp and talked to us. A year later, the poor guy looked and acted like he was still in shock.
I don't think I used the word "felon". As I said, you are on some crusade which is fine but there's a time and a place for everything, including non-spontaneous political outbursts that accomplish nothing.
bawk, bawk:>
Well if you don't want to read about and adventure with Frito, Goodgulf, Moxie, and Pepsi, it is your lost. You had your chance.
thanks for the tip though:>
Awwww, try in anyway, it won't hurt a bit, I promise.
PS: The checks in the mail.
You're right. The folks who made "The Great Raid" came as close as they could to history.
Before I went to see the movie I got out my copy of Shelby Stanton's World War II Order of Battle book. The table of organization and equipment of a World War II Ranger battalion showed that no M1 carbines were assigned to it. The Rangers carried Thompsons, Garands, BARs, and 2.36" rocket launchers. The 6th Rangers had Browning .30 cal. machine guns assigned, but I don't believe they used any on the raid, since they had to travel light and move fast. I'm guessing that Col. Mucci borrowed an '03 from one of the Filipino guerrillas.
I saw only one or two M1 carbines in the entire movie, and those might have been carried by Alamo Scouts. So the moviemakers got the weapons right (for a change).
This old tanker agrees that Rangers lead the way.
But this is HISTORY. What you're saying is that Oliver Stone did nothing wrong with his "JFK" or "Alexander." Someone compared this to LOTR, but LOTR is fiction. A lot of people, and most kids, get all their history from the movies. I agree the ending with the film footage was terrific, only two people out of about 150 left before that ended. But history is history.
As far as the women go, there WAS a woman at the center of the underground. Her name was Claire Phillips (nicknamed "Highpockets") and she took great risks for the prisoners and was ultimately captured and tortured by the Japanese. Why not stick to THAT story? Sorry. Historical fiction is OK by me, but not fictional history. The movie was OK but could have been much better.
The battle of Ia Drang was actually TWO battles. I haven't read the book in a while, but after they get mauled in the first great fight, the soldiers are marching to their pickup area when they get attacked again. What was wrong with the ending in the movie was that there was no final victory over the North Vietnamese army they faced that day. It was a bit of a stalemate, although we clearly gave more than we got. The big heroic charge into the VN headquarters simply did not happen. I'm looking around here for the book to give you a better answer, but I can't find it amongst the hundreds on the bookshelves. Homeschoolers, you know.
Anyway, I believe there are a couple of Freepers who were at Ia Drang. I don't remember which ones. Maybe Aloha Ronnie? Not sure.
This is another fiction in the movie. Mucci never fired a shot, and certainly never went near the bridge where Captain Pajota and his Filipino guerrillas made their great stand. It's believe they killed over 500 Japanese at that bridge.
"This is another fiction in the movie. Mucci never fired a shot, and certainly never went near the bridge where Captain Pajota and his Filipino guerrillas made their great stand. It's believe they killed over 500 Japanese at that bridge."
The screenwriters probably felt that their lead actor had to squeeze off a few rounds to reinforce his warrior status. I'm sure Col. Mucci was a great officer, and by all accounts his men respected him, but it seems like Captain Prince could have led the mission by himself without the battalion commander looking over his shoulder. Just an old soldier's humble opinion.
Sorry, but the reason The Great Raid didn't do well is because it's not a very good movie. Even reviews by conservatives pointed that out. It is very boring until the end, the love story doesn't work, and there is scant character development. The subject (the rescue) is outstanding. The movie doesn't do it justice.
BTW, We Were Soldiers did quite well.
Hey get her involved in FR and that problem is solved.
Just ask my hubby,I won't leave my computer on my days off.LOL
I'm glad you shared that story told to you by your father. Those who still have living WW2 veteran fathers should draw more of these stories out so they will live on. My father told me some but belatedly I wish I had written it down.
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