Happy belated Veterans Day!
I watched The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)–one of the best movies about veterans ever made and well worth watching almost 80 years later.
Over a million American service members have laid down their lives for the country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten. Here’s one veteran’s story.
As you know Veterans Day was yesterday and as usual I gave it some thought. I think a lot of Boomers like myself are fascinated with WWII because we grew up with so many WWII veterans–fathers and grandfathers–ordinary men who did extraordinary things.
So I was doing some research about a local man who became an “Ace in a day” on August 7, 1942 at Guadalcanal. Courtney Shands was awarded the Navy Cross for “extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron SEVENTY-ONE (VF-71), attached to the U.S.S. WASP (CV-7), in action against enemy Japanese forces on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 7 August 1942. Leading his fighter squadron in the initial air assault on Japanese positions on the Solomon Islands, Lieutenant Commander Shands’ flight destroyed seven enemy fighters and 15 patrol planes. This victory eliminated all local air opposition in the area, thus greatly contributing to the successful occupation of the islands by American ground forces. Lieutenant Commander Shands personally shot down four Japanese fighters and two patrol planes. His outstanding courage, daring airmanship and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
A month later in September 1942 Shands was commander of the USS Wasp’s air group when the aircraft carrier was torpedoed and sank in shark-infested waters. The descriptions of this disaster are blood-curdling. At one point Shands was “floating in the water in his “Mae West” life preserver and holding on to an injured man when he saw Lieutenant Ray Conklin helping a wounded sailor down one of the lines and into the ocean. While towing a wounded man toward one of the life crafts, Shands was amazed that Conklin towed his casualty past him “on the double.” The reason for Conklin’s Olympic speed? A shark was following him.”
Courtney Shands from Kirkwood, MO (KHS class of 1923) went on to become a Rear Admiral in the USN.
Lest we forget.
And what do they fight for? This:
*John H. Eastwood, WWII Army Air Corps Chaplain
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We should rejoice and be thankful, despite our manifold sins and general wickedness, all year round, but I especially do at this time of year. As always, it is the little things that stand out for me, such as the chip fest we enjoyed on Saturday night when the boy dropped off Lottie while the wee bud went to a birthday party. (Their Mom was in Dallas this weekend.)
Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined the OM and Lottie and me to watch The Gnome-Mobile (1967)–a vintage Disney film in which a multi-millionaire lumberman (Walter Brennan) and his two young grandchildren (played by the kids from Mary Poppins) encounter two gnomes in the Redwood forest of California who are supposedly the last of their kind. Hilarity ensues. Although there is no princess in this film, I think Lottie enjoyed it. At least now she knows what a gnome is.
On Sunday we all went to Sunday School, but then the boy took Lottie to a birthday party and the bud stayed with us through church. He came over to our house after church to hang out with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith who joined us for total depravity casserole. Of course, Lottie had told her brother all about The Gnome-Mobile (including the car chase) and he wanted to watch it, but I was like, um no, not right now.
The boy and Lottie came over after her party. We hung out on the driveway for awhile, probably for the last time til next year.
It was another beautiful weekend.
And Mizzou beat the pants off Tennessee! Hometowner Cody Schrader, a graduate of Lutheran South, was the star of the game. According to the AP, “Cody Schrader put together one of the most impressive performances in Missouri history Saturday night, running for 205 yards and a touchdown, catching five passes for 116 yards, and leading the No. 16 Tigers to a 36-7 rout of No. 14 Tennessee.” Normally I could care less about Mizzou football, much less watch a game, but Matt Mitchell gives them so much grief for being in the SEC, I have become an interested partisan. Anyway, I was pleased that they won.
In honor of Veterans Day we watched Gettysburg (1993) which is based on Michael Shaara’s fine book The Killer Angels. It is a good movie, except for the miscast Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. But I much prefer old Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain anyway. As you know, he is a hero of mine.
This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new, this has not happened much, in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, not divided by a line between slave states and free – all the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it’s not the land, there’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value – you and me. What we are fighting for, in the end, we’re fighting for each other. Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach. …Gentlemen, I think if we lose this fight we lose the war, so if you choose to join us I will be personally very grateful.
(Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain)
Well, continue to cultivate gratitude, appreciate your freedom and enjoy your Monday.
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
(Psalm 47:1-4)
Today is Veterans Day. Originally known as Armistice Day, it is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11 when we honor military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. In typical fashion, I like to show my respect by watching a war movie. Here are fourteen good suggestions. (I have limited my choices to American movies dealing with American soldiers.)
Back to Bataan (1945) Directed by Edward Dmytryk. With John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli. In 1942, after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden stays behind to organize the local resistance against the Japanese invaders.
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949 Directed by Allan Dwan and starring Oscar-nominated John Wayne, the film follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Also featuring John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, it was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant.
Air Force (1943) The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines. Directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, and Harry Carey.
They Were Expendable ((1945) Directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42) in World War II .
Twelve O’Clock High (1949) Directed by Henry King, this movie tells the story of a hard-as-nails general (Oscar-nominated Gregory Peck) who takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
Objective Burma (1945) Starring Errol Flynn and directed by Raoul Walsh, this movie is about a platoon of special ops who are ordered to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station. Getting out isn’t easy.
Run Silent Run Deep (1958) A U.S. sub commander (Clark Gable), obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer (Burt Lancaster) and crew. Directed by Robert Wise.
The Great Escape (1963) Loosely based on the true story of an ambitious escape by Allied prisoners of war during World War II, the film is directed by John Sturges and stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and a large international cast.
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Andrew Garfield stars as Seventh-day Adventist WWII hero Desmond T. Doss, who saved 75 men at the Battle of Okinawa without ever firing a weapon. Directed by Mel Gibson.
And if you are not in the mood for a WWII movie, here are a few more suggestions:
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and the rest of the Ford crew, it is the second film in Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy,” along with Fort Apache (1948) and Rio Grande (1950).
The Horse Soldiers (1958) Set during the American Civil War, this fact-based story about a Union mission to destroy a railroad junction deep within Confederate territory is directed by John Ford and stars John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers.
The Sand Pebbles (1966) tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy machinist’s mate, first class, aboard the fictional river gunboat USS San Pablo, on Yangtze Patrol in 1920s China. Directed by Robert Wise and stars Oscar-nominated Steve McQueen.
Glory (1989) Directed by Edward Zwick, this film is about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army ‘s earliest African-American regiments in the American Civil War. Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher star.
American Sniper (2014) Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind. Directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper.
There are lots of other good choices–these are just my favorites. How will you celebrate our brave veterans? What movie will you watch?
*”So here they are: the dog-faced soldiers, the regulars, the fifty-cents-a-day professionals… riding the outposts of a nation. From Fort Reno to Fort Apache – from Sheridan to Startle – they were all the same: men in dirty-shirt blue and only a cold page in the history books to mark their passing. But wherever they rode – and whatever they fought for – that place became the United States.” (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
We know it is November because the Christmas Cactus is throwing out buds like crazy! So excitiing!
In other news, I was talking to the boy one day last week and we were discussing my blogpost about my Top 10 favorite/best films. He asked me why I hadn’t included To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and I said, Oh my gosh, because I forgot it! It definitely belongs in the Top 10, maybe Top 5.
So I’ll have to revise my Top 10 and move To Have and Have Not down to 11-15. Sheesh. I am getting old. He also questioned my exclusion of The Professionals (1967) and I said it would definitely be in the top 20 list. So I guess I will start working on a Top 11-20 list. We are such nerds. But I am thankful that I have a son with whom I can discuss movies.
Since it is Veterans Day, which we should all acknowledge, I propose to watch one of my favorite war movies. I looked up on the AFI website to see if they had a top 100 war movies list, but they do not. In fact, there are only six war movies in their top 100 list! Of course, only one of them is a favorite of mine: #37 The Best Years of Their Lives (1946).
The other five are: #52 From Here to Eternity (1953); #54 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930); $79 The Deer Hunter (1978); #83 Platoon (1986); #89 Patton (1970). Not terrible movies, but not favorites of mine.
No, I would suggest watching one of these WWII movies in memory of WWII Guy: They Were Expendable (1945); 12 O’Clock High (1949); Air Force (1943); or The Great Escape (1962).
If you’re not in the mood for WWII, I suggest: Drums Along the Mohawk (1939); She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949); The Horse Soldiers (1959); The Sand Pebbles (1966); or Glory (1989).
I ain’t much about no prayin’, now. I ain’t never had no family, and… Well, I just… Y’all’s the onliest family I got. I love the 54th. Ain’t even much a matter what happens tomorrow, ’cause we men, ain’t we?
Today the Lutheran Church celebrates the feast day of Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish writer, philosopher and theologian, who died on this day in 1855. That is interesting considering Kierkegaard was extremely critical of the practice of Christianity as a state religion, particularly the Church of Denmark. But I’m okay with old Soren, so let us pray one of his prayers:
O Lord, calm the waves of this heart; and calm its tempests. Calm yourself, O my soul, so that the divine can act in you. Calm yourself, O my soul, so that God is able to repose in you, so that his peace may cover you. Yes, Father in Heaven, often have I found that the world around me cannot give me peace, O but make me feel that you are able to give me peace. Let me know the truth of your promise, that the whole world may not take away your peace. Amen.
I think this is true.
And I can’t tell you how much watching this reminds me of my mother. What do you think the Queen carries in her purse?
Finally, here is a poem “To the Son” by Jorge Luis Borges:
It was not I who begot you. It was the dead—
my father, and his father, and their forebears,
all those who through a labyrinth of loves
descend from Adam and the desert wastes
of Cain and Abel, in a dawn so ancient
it has become mythology by now,
to arrive, blood and marrow, at this day
in the future, in which I now beget you.
I feed their multitudes. They are who we are,
and you among us, you and the the sons to come
that you will beget. The latest in the line
and in red Adam’s line. I too am those others.
Eternity is present in the things
of time and its impatient happenings
–translated by Alistair Reid
Enjoy the day! Read a poem.
I have a busy weekend ahead, which follows a very busy week. I was on the radio yesterday–interviewed on the local “classical” station about our flyover institute! Also, an old friend was in town for our Veterans Day event today and I had lunch with him. Then daughter #1 drove into town because she was leaving early this morning to go to a wedding in D.C. We watched The Magnificent Seven together! Sometimes when it rains, it pours!
Tonight the OM and the boy and I are going to see Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder at the Sheldon, which is a relatively small venue that we like very much. It should be a rip-roarin’ good show.
On Sunday I have tickets to see the STL Winter Opera production of The Student Prince! It is cultural overload this weekend, right?
I grew up listening to the Mario Lanza LP, so I am well versed in this light opera. Remember that album cover? Remember this song?
Good stuff. Anyway, two musical events in one weekend is way more than my usual quota.
And as I mentioned, Veterans Day is tomorrow and we should all have a thought and a prayer for all those men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Here’s a prayer:
Gracious God, we give thanks for military men and women, both from the past and present, and for their courageous service and sacrifice to our country and its people to secure the blessings of life, liberty, and justice for all. May our remembrance be a timely reminder that our freedom was purchased at high cost, and should not be taken for granted. Give us resolve to labor in faithful service to you until all share the benefits of freedom, justice, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
And here are a few great scenes: from Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) with John Wayne as Sgt. Stryker
…and Gregory Peck in Twelve O’Clock High (1949):
…and from Life Is Beautiful (1997):
How and why we fight.
Have a good weekend.
Today in 1921 the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated by President Warren G. Harding at Arlington Cemetery.
And today is Veterans Day. So we remember American veterans, known and unknown.
Guy Russell Chamberlin and Arthur Newell Chamberlin at home in Burlington, Vermont pre-WWI
Here’s to two brothers who went to war–one came back and the other did not.
We’ll toast our grandfather Arthur and his brother Guy, our father Newell, all our other ancestors who served their country, and indeed, all veterans.
O Lord God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect the [military] of our country. Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–BCP, 1928
Let’s all take a moment.
*Siegfried Sassoon, “Dreamers”
dual personalities 