« Speaking of Justice... | Main | Quote of the Day »
May 28, 2004
Heroism
Stephen Den Beste writes about the film Battle of Britain. Not a review of the film, as such, nor of the DVD (as I did last August). No, he writes the sort of review I wish I'd written.
It's about why men fight, and about heroes:
Real heroes feel pride, but it is not pride in being an unusual man, better than those around him. Far more often it is pride in having been part of an unusual group. If you press them, you'll find that they will say that their fellows were better than they were. They will brag about the achievements of other men they served with, but will downplay their own.I'm put in mind of something said at the conclusion of the documentary We Stand Alone Together, the recollections of the real men of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, whose story was told in the mini-series Band of Brothers. Richard D. Winters, who commanded Easy Company from D-Day through Operation Market Garden, recalls part of a letter he received from one of his men many years after the war:
I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day, when he said "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Grandpa said "No, but I served with a company of heroes."I received the DVD set of Band of Brothers for my birthday. I know how I'll be spending my Memorial Day.
Posted by Russ at 11:50 AM, May 28, 2004 in Nat'l Security
Imperial Department of Hegemony By Force
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.emersons.net/mt/mt-pingback.cgi/455
Comments
I would like to send a letter to
sir Richard D Winters, but I can't find
his address.
please, if you can, help me.
my e-mail is:
jan_van_gyseghem_2@hotmail.com
thank you
Posted by: Jan Van Gyseghem at August 26, 2005 06:42 AM