An Afternoon Matinee.....

On Saturday Dave and I went to our local cinema to see "Midway". Based on a true story, the Japanese attack on Midway Island and the American plan to turn the tide of war in the Pacific, it was an amazing film. And a hard one to watch. The tension begins to build from the opening scenes focusing on the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor and it doesn't end until the final credits. I found myself half covering my eyes at some points and holding back tears over and over again.

And it seems to me, looking back a few days later, that it was a perfect movie to see just prior to Veterans Day. It made me think about my dad and my uncle, both serving in the Navy in the Pacific. They were on different ships. The only story Dad ever mentioned (or someone in the family did) was that his was one of the first ships to dock near Hiroshima after the bomb. He never, never described what he saw there, but we had a small Japanese sculpture standing on our bookcase at home. It was about eight inches tall and sort of "melted". He brought it home with him.

And the only story I ever heard about my uncle was that, as a pilot, he was shot down and obviously rescued. Again.....no details were ever shared. I only remember him saying that he'd never eat canned pineapple again because he'd had so much of it while serving in the Navy.

Watching the battle scenes portrayed in the movie I wondered over and over again....just how does anyone find the courage to do what those men did? How do you fly toward a Japanese battleship and keep on going with full scale anti-aircraft bullets and flak flying up to greet you. How does anyone complete the mission?

At the very end the credits showed a photo of the actor portraying each of the main characters and then the photo of the real man who served....and the story of what happened to him after the battle at Midway.

A handful of brave men turned the tide....and the movie does them justice. But it's so hard to watch, so hard to think about, so hard to see the film show how many didn't make it home.

A salute to all of our Veterans who serve in any capacity. And a salute to the people who brought this one story to the screen in 2019.