Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Margaret Lindsey's avatar

When I was a teenager I started watching this film but stopped because I was afraid it would cut too close to home. In WWII my father was an 22-year-old infantry platoon leader who landed on Utah Beach. He led repeated attacks on the German line and then was critically wounded by a mine which left him permanently disabled , in pain, and badly scarred. He also had PTSD for 40 years, manifesting in terrifying nightmares about being back on the battlefield. His screams were awful. He told me that “Saving Private Ryan” (which I have not seen) was the closest depiction of his experience. He was, though, successful in his post-war life both at home and at work. He was a man of deep faith and the kindest of fathers to his many children. As a teenager I did not want to know what suffering he must have gone through. My mother tells me that I should watch “The Best Years of Our Lives”… so I’ll think about it.

Expand full comment
Joe Davison's avatar

Thank you for the recommendation. My grandfather was a WW2 prisoner of war and spent 6 months in a Nazi prison camp. After returning home, he became a violent alcoholic, and after many painful and disordered years attempting a family life, abandoned his wife and 5 children. My mother never forgave him. The painful scar of this memory remains in my family to this day. War is an ugly business. I will watch this movie with my wife and son.

Expand full comment
13 more comments...

No posts