Dave and I just got home from the movie. We went to see "Fury" with Brad Pitt. Dave's choice this time - no romantic comedy, a hard-hitting, in your face WWII movie. Set in April 1945, toward the end of the war in Europe, it shows one tank crew's battle against the Germans on German soil. The story unfolds in a short period of time from a very personal perspective.
I can't say how accurate it was….but it was very difficult to watch. It was believable, thought provoking and so, so sad. My Dad and his brother were in the Navy during WWII. Dad was on one of the first ships to dock near Hiroshima after we dropped the bomb. He never talked about his experiences. My uncle flew from an aircraft carrier and I seem to remember that he was shot down….but he made it back home. Dave's father was an officer in the Army and fought during the Battle of the Bulge. I never met him because he died when Dave was only 16, but I'm not sure that he shared many war "stories" with his family either.
I've always thought, that if there is such a thing as a necessary war……WWII was the one. How could the US and its Allies turn their backs on what was happening in Germany and on Hitler's drive for expansion? It took us a long time to get into that war….but it seems, when we went, we sent the best of our troops and they gave their all to help end the conflict.
To me the WWII issues have always been pretty "black and white"….understandable even though I am not a student of history. But now we seem to live in much more of a "grey" world - a world with many small and large conflicts going on at the same time. And going on….and going on.
Watching "Fury" made me think.
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