Legion documentary now available on DVD | The American Legion | Veterans Serving Veterans

Legion documentary now available on DVD | The American Legion | Veterans Serving Veterans.

Review of “Everyman’s War”

This evening, I watched the independent film “Everyman’s War”, which deals with World War II. This film, put out by Virgil Films, Inc. and One Eighty Films, Inc. tells the story of several soldiers in the 94th Infantry Division, including Don Smith, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It received the award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 GI Film Festival, which lends great credibility to director Thad Smith’s project.

The film begins with a stirring, but jolting scene from the 94th’s participation in the Battle of the Bulge, near Nennig, Germany, in January, 1945. It shows Don Smith attempting to evade German forces, while seeking to reach headquarters and make them aware of the dire situation for his men, who are facing down the 11th Panzer Division. It then fades to a now elderly Smith reflecting upon his service, while reading a letter informing him that one of his comrades recently passed.

It proceeds to 1943 in Kansas, where a Robert Fuller leaves his family farm for the Army. Other characters that will later interact with Smith are introduced at home, including colorful Angelo Benedetto, who was forced into the Army to avoid prison, and carried his criminal ways to the service, much to the chagrin of Corporal Starks, who became a mentor to Don Smith. German-American Karl Heinrick, faces down bigotry and suspicion to prove himself a loyal and proud American. The impression is given that Smith and most others in his squad are drafted.

The focus on the film is on Don Smith, who was working in a mill in Oregon, while seeming to attend college (he mentioned studying when not working), before the war. He begins a love interest with Dorine, but has to report before he can solidify a relationship. Fuller, Smith, and Benedetto all meet Corporal Starks, a married man from New York, who will become a father while overseas.

The combat for these men begin in northern France in late 1944, protecting coastal batteries in the wake of the D-Day invasion. Benedetto continues criminal activity, which eventually lands him in trouble. Smith and Starks create a strong bond of friendship, which is shattered when Starks is killed, thrusting Smith into leadership, which he proves himself adept at. As the men enter the winter of 1944 and the eventual Battle of the Bulge, the squad is joined by Heinrick, who is brought in as a replacement.

The men enter the town of Nennig to relieve comrades. Smith and his squad in M Company soon face attack from the 11th Panzer “Ghost’ Division, which inflicts casualties, forcing Smith to seek the command post to save his men. In the process his is wounded, but returns to duty several weeks later, only to find most of his buddies are not there, either dead, wounded, or captured. Smith encounters some of the horrors of post-war Germany, including a prisoner taking his life in front of Smith. Smith attempts to piece together what he experienced and saw when he returns home as well as in old age.

This is a story that will touch veterans’ hearts, as they may be able to relate to Smith. Viewers will appreciate the sacrifice of those who fought in World War II. The battle scenes were well-done, and the back-stories on each character exemplified the diverse nature of the American army during the war, ranging from the average men in Smith and Fuller, to those using the military to escape punishment (Benedetto), to those seeking to serve to prove themselves in a time of tribulation (Heinrick). You appreciate the bonds formed by the men, and the heartbreak they suffer, as they lose friends and witness the horrors of war. Based on the true actions of the 94th Infantry Division in Europe, I strongly recommend Everyman’s War for your viewing and give it my seal of approval.

Click here to order Everyman’s War

Review of “The Battle of Bunker Hill”

Cross-posted to Frontier Battles

This film is the first in a planned series under the title of America: Her People, Her Stories, which is produced by Tony Malanowski, who seeks to creat positive, family friendly productions that present a more positive outlook on American history. The film features a docudrama and a section providing the historical context, presented through interviews with historians. Having had a couple of weeks to reflect on the production since viewing it, I have found both positives and negatives within it.

First, as a historian, I want to commend Mr. Malanowski for his idea, as presenting history in an interesting light for children is always good. Despite covering a violent subject, like war, he presents the battle in a way that younger children can learn without being frightened. In addition, despite limitations he was able to pull off an over two-hour production rather well.

The film consisted of two main parts, a docudrama and a historical perspective. The docudrama part consisted of a movie reenactment of the battle, focusing on two fathers and sons, living in the area. The historical perspective placed the battle and the Revolutionary War within the larger context of early American history, incorporating interviews with three, as the film puts it, “historical experts.” Gregory J. W. Urwin is a scholar of both the Revolution and Civil War at Temple University who has written many works. Richard Patterson is the director of the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, NJ, while William Chemerka has written several books on Texas history and has appeared on History Channel documentaries. My only problem is that Urwin is the only scholar working in the field covered by the film. Patterson is a good choice given his public history work at Trenton, but Chemerka seems out-of-place, as I could find no information related to any work he did on the Revolution. Though this is merely a difference of historical outlook, I had to mention it.

That said, the docudrama was an interesting work. The battle scenes were  well done, given the budgetary issues. It was portrayed well for an audience geared towards younger children and makes the colonial militia out to be heroic, which is good. My only observation was that the acting seemed a little over done at the beginning. The sons portrayed in the film present an interesting issue, as they seem to be fourteen or so. Their presence at the battle is a conundrum, as if old enough to come and help, they likely would have been allowed to stay and fight, as they would have known how to use a musket. Further, what about leaving the son home to tend the farm? Again, this is my observation and reflects training and a slightly different outlook.

The historical perspective was rather good and placed the battle in context, which is very important. Despite my concern over the experts chosen, they did well. In addition to the two main parts, a few extra features were added, including Reagan’s farewell address, which I enjoyed immensely.

Now, the only real artistic difference I would note is that I would have chosen a battle involving George Washington, likely Trenton, as while Bunker Hill was a significant engagement, the struggle of the army under Washington, especially at Trenton would have better achieved the goals of Mr. Malanowski.

Overall, the docudrama is a good program for families with young children to engage them in history. However, as I always state with any film, be sure to supplement the viewing with proper books and documents, as reading is always good. Get children reading the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other primary documents. I look forward to seeing more from this project.

Click here to learn more about the film and to order a copy.

Book Talk on the 164th Infantry Regiment in World War II

This evening, I attended a book talk at the library, where Dr. Terry Shoptaugh of Minnesota State University Moorhead, presented the story of the 164th Infantry Regiment, which is the subject of his new book They Were Ready: The 164th Infantry in the Pacific War, 1942-1945. Shoptaugh presented a wonderful talk, with an illustrative slide show, chronicling several different and interesting stories of the men who served in the regiment, focusing on the regiment’s exploits at Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and the Philippines. After the talk, Shoptaugh answered questions from the audience and signed copies of his book, which is available at the UND Bookstore. At a future date, this blog will review the book. Here are some useful links:

164th Infantry collection at the Chester Fritz Library www.library.und.edu/Collections/164inf.html

164th Infantry, K Company home page www.dickinsonlibrary.org/companyk/links.html

Hopefully, this work will be a catalyst for more studies on National Guard units in World War II.

FOXNews.com – New Bio of Executed WWII Pastor/Spy Reveals U.S. Influence

FOXNews.com – New Bio of Executed WWII Pastor/Spy Reveals U.S. Influence

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