I saw the movie this weekend, too. Absolutely terrific & heartbreaking at the same time. I wonder how many of our military guys have guilty consciences because they didn’t disobey orders & just GO.
I am betting the guys on standby weren’t even told what the situation really was on the ground. They were told to load up, standby, and stand down. One piece of air to ground ordnance would have been enough to stop the fight. It’s pathetic to leave these guys without help for that long when it is a short hop across the Med.