6 Hollywood Classics Worth a Watch This Memorial Day Weekend

On Memorial Day, we honor the Americans who have died protecting and serving this country in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. It is a time when all of us should—no matter who we are, where we come from, or where we fall along the political spectrum—forget about politics and our differences and remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion to our great republic and remember what unites us as a people. 

Memorial Day became an official holiday in 1971, but it started in 1868 as Decoration Day. It began as an effort to remember those who died in the Civil War, the bloody brother-against-brother conflict that killed and wounded more Americans than any other war in our history. In fact, it was because of the Recent Unpleasantness Between the States, as it was sometimes referred to by gentile Southern ladies, that we established the first national military cemeteries like Arlington Cemetery in Virginia.   

The idea of decorating those sacred grave sites with flowers and reciting prayers for the fallen is attributed to Gen. John A. “Blackjack” Logan. Logan was a Union Army general from Illinois who fought at Bull Run and numerous other battles. He became the head of a Union Army veterans’ group after the end of the war. 

All of us celebrate Memorial Day in different ways. But as an aficionado of classic Hollywood movies, I have put together a list of war movies that may be fitting to watch this Memorial Day Weekend. I limited my choice to six movies that you can cover in a binge-watch in one day. They were hard to choose because Hollywood has made so many. The one factor common to all these films is that they are all based—although sometimes very loosely—on real incidents. 

Since Decoration—now Memorial—Day was started to commemorate those who died in the Civil War, I am starting with two movies about that conflict. 

The Civil War 

“The Horse Soldiers”—This 1959 movie by the great director John Ford stars John Wayne and William Holden. Wayne plays the colonel in charge of a Union cavalry brigade sent on a raid deep behind Confederate lines to destroy a railroad supply depot that is helping Vicksburg resist Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s siege. Holden plays the surgeon assigned to accompany the brigade who is in constant conflict with Wayne. Along the way, they pick up the mistress of a Southern plantation who is forced to accompany them after she overhears their plans, as they are pursued by Southern forces.   

The movie is based on the daring 1863 cavalry raid led by Col. Benjamin Grierson that destroyed Confederate supply lines from Tennessee to Louisiana during the Vicksburg campaign. A terrific movie with an ending you’ll always remember. 

“Gettysburg”—This 1993 movie is probably the most realistic portrayal of what happened in the pivotal battle of the Civil War. It not only has an all-star cast, including Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, and many others, but parts were actually staged on the Gettysburg Battlefield, the first time a movie about the battle was ever filmed there.   

That included filming in the Devil’s Den and on Little Round Top, locations I have visited that sent shivers down my spine as I thought about those who fought and died there. One of the reasons the movie is so good is because it is based on the outstanding book written by Michael Shaara, “The Killer Angels.” 

World War I 

“Sergeant York”—The 1941 movie about the real Sgt. Alvin York was directed by Howard Hawks, one of the top directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age. It stars Gary Cooper as the poor Tennessee farmer, a crack shot, who became one of the most decorated soldiers of World War I, including receiving the Medal of Honor, despite starting out as a conscientious objector due to his religious beliefs.  

The movie about how York went from the back hills of Tennessee to the bloody battlefields of France is actually based on his diary. The modesty of York that Gary Cooper portrays in the film was also a reality. York was so resistant to a film being made about him that he was only persuaded after Hawks agreed to help fund a small Bible school in his hometown in East Tennessee. 

World War II 

“They Were Expendable”—Director John Ford made a movie in 1945 about the little-known exploits of a PT boat squadron in the Battle of the Philippines in 1941-1942 that fought against overwhelming Japanese naval forces. It stars John Wayne and Robert Montgomery portraying two real PT boat commanders, one of whom won the Medal of Honor. Montgomery himself actually commanded a PT boat during the war. 

The movie, shot with a semi-documentary feel, includes the evacuation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his family from the Philippines by PT boat before the U.S. Army’s surrender to the Japanese. 

“Twelve O’Clock High”—With this 1949 movie directed by Henry King, we move from the naval war in the Pacific to the air war in Europe. The film tells the story of B-17 bomber crews flying out of England over Nazi-occupied Europe. It stars Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, and Dean Jagger. The story and the characters are based on the real exploits and officers of the 306^th Bomber Group of the 8^th Army Air Force, which suffered very high causalities and whose young crews experienced severe mental, emotional, and physical stress and trauma. The movie spawned a TV show that ran from 1964-1967. This tense movie gives you a taste of what these brave young Americans went through to help win the war in Europe. 

Korea 

“The Bridges at Toko-Ri”—This movie about the air war in Korea and a mission to destroy heavily defended bridges in North Korea was made in 1954, only a year after the war ended. It stars William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, and Mickey Rooney as a helicopter pilot charged with rescuing downed pilots. Holden plays a reserve Navy officer called back to duty as an aviator.  

Veteran actor Fredric March, as the admiral in charge of the Navy Carrier Task Force, has a memorable line for Holden, who resents being forced to leave his civilian job, a line that every veteran can appreciate: “All through history, men have had to fight the wrong war in the wrong places, but that’s the one they’re stuck with.”   

The movie is based on a book by James Michener, who based his book on attacks carried out during the winter of 1951-1952 on railroad bridges at Majon-ni and Samdong-ni in North Korea by Navy pilots flying off the USS Essex and USS Oriskany.  

Vietnam 

“We Were Soldiers”—Forget the movies everyone refers to when talking about Vietnam like “The Deer Hunter” or “Apocalypse Now.” The best and most realistic movie about Vietnam according to veterans I have spoken with is this 2002 movie starring Mel Gibson and Sam Elliot, directed by Randall Wallace. It is a true story based on a riveting book, “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young,” written by Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and former UPI reporter Joseph Galloway. Moore was the commander of one of the first Army Air Cavalry Units and the movie follows him and his men from their initial training in the states to the Battle of la Drang on Nov. 14, 1965.   

Moore and his 400 men were dropped into the la Drang Valley, unaware that there were over 4,000 veteran North Vietnamese army troops there. Galloway actually went in with Moore and was awarded a Bronze Star for his gallantry—as a reporter—for helping wounded soldiers. The movie depicts the ferocious battle that ensued, with the American troops coming close to being overwhelmed by enemy forces, and captures both the horror, and the gallantry faced and displayed by both sides. 

None of these movies glorify war. What they do is show the courage, bravery, and sacrifice of American soldiers, often against great odds and under horrific conditions, in many different eras through many different generations. They illustrate the moral dilemmas faced by men who didn’t like violence, didn’t want to kill, but were forced to do so in order that the greater good would triumph over the evils of their time. 

My salute goes out today to the many Americans all over the world in our military who are the guardians at the gates, standing at their posts, protecting our homeland while we peacefully enjoy our homes and families and commemorate their brothers and sisters who protected us in the past. 

May God Bless America. 

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