Re: 77th Division not all from New York?
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In reply to:
Re: 77th Division not all from New York?
12/09/01
I generally agree with all you've said.I'm not really a nit-picker.Unless it is something egregious such as the scene where they have Whittlesly throw the white flag and pole like a spear back towards the German lines.The Germans probably would have shot him if he had really done that.One thing not portrayed in the movie was how close the men really were to falling apart and giving up.It's hard to portray 5 days of pure Heck in the span of a two hour movie.They may have gotten some of the facts wrong or made these common soldiers appear to be trench philosophers, but overall, I'm glad they are not letting us forget these exploits.In the end, this event was a true event.I've seen these weapons and tactics afficionados in other message boards pick apart Band of Brothers, and other war movies.I'm betting that they could watch actual Signal Corp footage of combat and pick apart the mistakes.C'est la vie.
As far as warts and all, I don't have false expectations that my relative was Alvin York.I imagine he was just one soldier doing his job.He probably drank too much when given the opportunity, and frolicked too much when waiting for orders in the French villages.Being ex-Army myself, I know that there is no platoon that doesn't have it's share of troublemakers.But, you know that when the time comes, even these troublemakers shape up and do their job.