Four Great Military Films to Enjoy this Summer

The past two weeks have seen both Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day in the US. Meanwhile, our close ally Canada has Armed Forces Day this weekend. I have honored my own brothers and sisters in arms already and will do so with my Canadian family in arms on my other blog. Today, I had a different idea. I will summarize my four favorite military films. I highly recommend these to anyone looking for good military cinema.

So, to begin, in no particular order:

Band of Brothers

This miniseries is an in-depth, and fairly realistic, look at a group of men who trained together and then fought in WWII. There is much violence, but the film quality is superb and historically accurate. A great film, and great honor to the Airborne (even if it was the 101st :P). HOOAH!!!

We Were Soldiers

Based on the bestselling book by retired Lieutenant-General Hal Moore, the film tells the story of the exploits of the Americans in the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry, lead by then-Lieutenant-Colonel Moore, in the early days of America's involvement in Vietnam. His unit of just 450 men survived and repelled a vastly greater force of Viet Cong. Though events were changed and dramatized from history, the still mostly-true story of this tiny group of warriors is an inspiration to all who have worn the uniform, and also to all who have ever felt great pride in their country.

Also important is how the treatment of the book and movie on two topics. A dark era in our history that so many folks refuse to acknowledge, and the truth of how folks return from war. People have this idea, starting to get corrected in recent years, that folks come home and are just fine. That is so far off-base. The scars war stay with you, for all of your time in this world.

The movie also casts light on how horribly these heroes were treated. Let us resolve to NEVER treat our Servicemembers like this again.

Behind Enemy Lines

During the 1990's peace-keeping efforts in the Balkans/Serbia/Eastern Europe, US military faced boredom broken by life-and-death situations. Some grew disillusioned. The movie tells the story of one young warrior who grew jaded, and thought the mission a joke. That is, until he got shot down and was desperately trying to evade capture until he could be rescued, as well as saving evidence of war crimes.

Sergeant York

A touch campy in some places, but still quite fun to watch, the dramatized biopic is the story of the most-highly decorated American soldier in WWI. Alvin York was a rowdy drunkard who was redeemed by Christ's blood, and dedicated himself to serving God. Yet when America entered WWI, he couldn't avoid the draft forever.

Then he had to wrestle with the fact that he felt pacifism was most in line with Scripture. Could he serve, and even kill, and yet stay right with God? The movie tells us the answers he reached, and shares his testimony. Gary Cooper is marvelous as the title role.

Movies, like all stories, inspire us, and move us to either greatness or banality. They can detail our past, present, or dreams of the future; our hopes and ideals. This is not at all comprehensive, as there are so many other films. Patton, Sands of Iwo Jima, and many others. These are a few of my favorites, and I hope you give them a try. You won't regret it.


Any comments appreciated as always. God bless all. HOOAH!!!