i knew the story of the Sullivan brothers, not the other. thanks for that info.

@@YoureMrLebowski that story is even more fantastic. It turns out the oldest brother, who was a pilot that got shot down, was still alive. He spent the last few years of the war as a Japanese POW, he and other prisoners escaped the after the Japanese deserted the camp. The channel History Buffs goes into great detail in their video of this movie and I highly recommend watching it

History Buffs "Saving Private Ryan" kzfaq.info/get/bejne/npeReqtns8jGqXk.html

I am a Desert Storm veteran, nephew of a Korean & Vietnam war veterans grandson and great grandson of WWII veterans. I saw this on a Tuesday afternoon. There were 12 in the theater. All of us were veterans. End of film one old gentleman stood up and said of all of the war films he'd seen, that was the most accurate he'd ever seen. As for the real D-Day, it didn't come close. His hat justified his expertise - " D-Day Survivor, Purple Heart, Omaha Beach" I have always deferred to his opinion. As bad as the movie seemed, it was actually worse. And no. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Ps: The original USS The Sullivans (named for the Sullivan brothers mentioned) is permanently moored in Buffalo NY at the Naval and Servicemen's Museum. I live about an hour from there. If you are in the area take time to check out the museum

@@steveg5933 thanks for that story. i can't imagine what it was like.

Thank You for Your Service and May God Bless You!

Thank you my service brother

@@douggresham2821 I truly appreciate the sentiment.

​@@johnadams2313 I truly appreciate the sentiment.

God bless you sir. Thank you for your service.

Pretty much the reason Europe and Japan were so quickly rebuilt after the war. The Marshall Plan.

Later accused of communism. Joe McCarthy was that stink of a shit

Great acting by Harve Presnell as Army Chief of Staff Marshall. Marshall was an amazing man; too old and too valuable to FDR to be out in the field. He was the puppet-master who made the big, tough decisions on a day-to-day basis. After the end of WWII, he was tasked with economically and socially rebuilding (West) Germany & Europe to help prevent the rise of another evil government like Germany became between 1918 and 1939. The "Marshall Plan" was a great success, in spite of it's limitations due to the cold war with Stalin & the communists.

The end scene where you find the identity of the old man just beats it for a gut punch for me, but this is still immense

Yes, and combine it with the old man visiting the immense graveyard in Normandy with his wife and children and the reality of war hits you in the gut

@@MorrisseyMuse I honestly have to skip that scene because it's too sad. I don't even watch the opening either. Just skip right to D-Day and end when the transition begins.

One huge stain on him, in 1946 Truman sent him to stop Chiang and the Nationalists from beating Mao and the Communists. Marshall complied, stopping Chiang from finishing off the Communists. Given time to rebuild thanks to Stalin and Kim in N. Korea, Mao's forces recovered and beat Chiang, who idiot Truman had cutoff.

@@richardmeo2503 That is not a stain on Marshall, it is a stain on Truman. Marshall ALWAYS put aside his own ideas and followed orders to the best of his ability.

Marshall was one of the greatest Americans to ever live. Everyone should read 'George Marshall: Defender of the Republic' - David Roll Marshall's ability as a staff officer was unsurpassed. He also saw WWII coming probably 5 years in advance, and single-handedly set about getting the US Army ready. He was personally responsible for re-shaping the tactics and training programs (Ft. Benning, GA) for the US Army, and getting the military ready to fight the first mechanized war. As soon as he become Chief of Staff (the day Germany invaded Poland...how is that for timing) he started a massive house cleaning of the General Officer Corps. He basically fired 2/3 of the US Generals, because he knew they were not well suited to what was to come. Marshall was personally responsible for selecting the top level officers that would run WWII. In fact, Ike was still a Lt. Colonel at Ft. Lewis in Washington when Marshall put him down on a short list as potential Generals with the right abilities to be Supreme Allied Commander. 4 years before Ike was eventually chosen to lead Overlord! Marshalls foresight and ability to promote the right people was astonishing. He also never voted. He believed that as a military officer, you must completely disconnect yourself from political issues. By never voting or engaging in any political discussions, he maintained credibility and influence with all politicians. This was critical to FDRs success in passing Congressional funding for mobilization.

It’s Kane and Welles

@@richardmeo2503 So to review, he followed orders to the tee, completed the mission he was given successfully, and that is somehow a stain on HIM? Clearly you have never served to say such a disrespectful thing. Delete this comment to regain any shred of respectability.

🤣 you're gd right. 😎

That exact thing happened when I watched American Sniper.

Same experience (Schindler's List the same). People I saw later that day asked me about the movie. All I could say was go see it, you just have to see it.

Absolutely

I always tell people that this is what happened at the end of "Platoon" just stunned silence as people slowly left the theatre, in the Bronx, NY and we're not known for our silence.

I had a similar experience. It was a full theater...popcorn, candy and soda in everyone's possession. After the first 15 min, after the beach...SILENCE. Not one morsel of popcorn being eaten, not one candy bar being opened, not one soda being drank...utter silence. I looked around, and there wasn't a dry eye, including mine. We were all in complete awe.

a great man.

Gen. Marshall did not create the Marshall plan. He did, however, like it, allowed his name to be attached to it (which carried considerable weight), and helped sell it to congress. Gen. Marshall was one of our better military men.

@@servantofmelian9966 General Marshall was the inspiration behind the plan, and gave the speech in which the idea of it was introduced. He was key to its creation. It wasn't as if his name was just slapped onto the plan.

My father, a 23-year US Army combat veteran, also served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and he could never watch a so-called "war movie" or any media broadcast regarding 'war' in the few short years he was with us. He never EVER talked about combat even though (years later) I found out he was decorated repeatedly for his actions in those "theaters of war." When the movie First Blood came out, I had never heard of the Vietnam War. I was only nine or ten years old, and it was never talked about in our family or in school. As time went on, more and more movies were released regarding 'Nam. When I tried to get my father to watch First Blood, I observed his demeanor during the opening scenes. For the most part, he was silent unless I asked him about certain details that were mentioned in the movie, like "Agent Orange." For the most part, he had no opinion about the story until the "jail torture" scenes. Suddenly, my father left the room and refused to watch the movie anymore. It wasn't until the very last part of Rambo's confession of hurt and loss that I could fathom what my father was experiencing. Without any preamble, I gave him a hug after the movie was over. Still, I didn't or couldn't understand what was so "terrible" about 'Nam. Then the movies Platoon and Hamburger Hill came out. By this time, I was a little older and knew more about 'Nam, and the trials and tribulations veterans experienced. I must admit I felt conflicted. We were the good guys, "Why did everyone treat the vets like bad guys?" A few years later, I joined the US Army as a Combat Medical Specialist. I was the third generation within our family to serve in the military willingly. Only then could I understand what my maternal grandfather experienced in WW2, my father in Korea and Vietnam, and my two brothers, who also served during the Vietnam conflict, felt then and later in life.

By the way, I honor my father by using his very last DoD military photo as my avatar.

i haven't seen all the reactions to SPR, so if you watch one and think its worth a look i'd appreciate a heads up. thanks for the comment.

I’d echo that by saying that it is perhaps the most important part of the film because it sets everything in motion. It was definitely the part in which I became most emotional when I first saw the film. Simply beautiful.

I've read similar letters to the wives, mothers, and children of men I served alongside.

Abraham Lincoln has always had a way to make words sound so elegant where of all the hero presidents gone we’re all the true patriots gone the ones that held up the ramparts… I was always peace love and joy to you and yours

It was not just for OUR liberty and freedom, it was for the liberty and freedom of 300 Million other people in Europe, and even more in Asia. If you are truly going to hold liberty and freedom as being of the greatest value, you have to protect it for others, not just yourselves.

@@shooter7a True. But it was far more than the American's fighting for that liberty and freedom. There were five beaches at Normandy; Omaha, (American) Utah, (American) Gold, (British) Juno (Canadian) and Sword (British) - and all the rest had been at war since Sept of 1939, not Dec 7th of '41. That's kind of important to remember too.

@@Holdfast1812 my comment was meant to illustrate the selfishness of many people who talk about liberty in the US today. We often talk about freedom like America has a monopoly on it, and we seem only to care about our own. If you truly believe in liberty, freedom, self determination, you have to defend that for others as well. Going even beyond your good point, the majority of troops who landed on the D-Day beaches were from the United Kingdom, Canada and the US. However, troops from many other countries participated in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy: Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland...

@@shooter7a On that, I could not possibly agree more. And the Polish were abandoned by the Allies the second the war was over and sent back home to be enslaved by the Russians.

@@Holdfast1812 The Poles have always been in an awful position, stuck between to aggressive larger neighbors.

These were conscripts who were forced to go to war, to kill and to die. Please don't group them with the armed forces of today who choose to do it as a job. Totally different people and worlds.

To me, in a film full of heroic acts, nothing compares to the dignified bravery of Mrs. Ryan as she turns from the sink and walks to the front door.

@@williamberven-ph5ig Agree

Indeed

i did not no that at all about the Arizona. 👍🏼

After a brutally sparse childhood as kids of the depression.

Very well put. Not quite the Bixby Letter, but heartfelt. Putting the human in human emotion.

Thanks, appreciated.

thanks. you're the first to actually mention it. i enjoyed "popup videos", a shiw on VH1 back in the day. way back.

thank you, always nice to get a compliment. a very powerful scene. i always get moved when he begins reciting from memory, every single time.

@@YoureMrLebowski Yes. This was an amazing edit. This movie always brings me to tears. It reminds me of my time in the USMC. I served from 1989 to 2099, Master Gunnery Sergeant, retired. My grandfather and grand uncles served in the USMC. They stormed the beaches at Normandy all the way to Berlin. They were Italy before that and the Pacific after. My oldest son is a 5th generation Marine.

Right? Especially if you love movies. But I'm grateful they have not seen this classic. Shocked but glad.

Indeed. The ending with the old man is truly heartwrenching. It makes me think about the German fighter pilot that spared the lives of a whole B-17 crew

No disrespect intended so please don’t misinterpret me but as a proud Aussie I had family on those beaches as well it wasn’t your flag they fought under it was for the liberty and freedom of us all

"good on ya", my first Austrailian attaboy!

@@YoureMrLebowski you know it 😆

thank you 🙏🏼

of course it is. you're in it! 👍🏼❤️😎 i just discovered the @channel tip, glad to know it works.

hello che! outstanding performance, you're popping up in all kinds of movies.... let's see, this war movie and another war movie. be careful you don't get typecast. 😘

thanks. i thought it appropriate for Memorial Day weekend.

People are always human. Only difference is which facet of their nature is being displayed.

thanks. learning.

thanks for your comment. i'm always curious how Lincoln is viewed outside the states.

@@YoureMrLebowski I think that most of my fellow countrymenwhom have taken the time and effort to look into his life and his values could not help but be bowled over by his ,I was going to say genius but I think ""humanity" is a more appropriate word to use.He was a very very special human being.Thanks for enquiring Mr Lebowski.Hows the cardigan by the way?🤣😁👍👍👍👍

@@shaundavenport621 abiding 😎

@@YoureMrLebowski hahaha excellent. Thanks for being a smile supplier today!😁👍👍👍👏

@@YoureMrLebowski As a USAF member I was stationed in England at RAF Upper Heyford from '77 to '86. I traveled all over Europe and found Memorials to Lincoln in many Cities and Countries!

Her statement about not having any first cousins made me lose it.

excellent comment!

Able Company. My apologies. P.B.R. got in the way. Helps me with the nightmares.

It sure is tough. But if logistically you can spare some soldiers to break off the main mission to do this, that also makes sense. Because all of them were fighting to secure a brighter future for that mother's family along with all the families at home, whether they were part of the main force or in a special mission to save one. Those who stayed home and those who were fighting were worth being that one to be saved. Well, at least that's how I look at it.

@@kumbawolf i always thought the whole "why risk our lives for one life?" had one overlooked aspect... what would they be doing that WASN'T risking their lives? they just got to france!

They were kids during the Depression. They became warriors when called to serve. They rebuilt the peacetime economy when they came home.

very strong contender. hell, at least 20% of the movie would qualify.

@@YoureMrLebowski Indeed. here's another idea: quite a few reactors have done the KZfaq video called "The Fallen of WWII" which lays out the casualty figures using a very good graphic presentation style. The moment where they get onto the Soviet figures is usually the 'money shot' for reactors' jaws hitting the floor.

@@MrHws5mp dude, great idea. I hadn't even considered that and it is perfect. Kudos. If any stand out let me know.