Flags of Our Liberals
A word of warning if you haven't yet seen the movie Flags of Our Fathers: don't bother. It's an anti-war, anti-herioc, borderline anti-Marine Corps piece of liberalized trash. It does not accurately portray the United States Naval service and Marine Corps, their traditions, or their history.
In fact, the movie goes out of its way to make the Marines who stormed the beaches in one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps' history look like a bunch of quailing, terrified teenagers who were concerned with nothing more than preserving their own hides. The book upon which the movie was based was written by a man who never served a day in the military, let alone the Corps, and who is self-evidently a monglophile.
If you want to understand what the real Marine Corps is about, read this:
That is a Marine -- a real one.
Don't even waste your time renting Flags of Our Fathers; the perspective of the film is twisted, distorted and disgraceful. Clint Eastwood should be ashamed that he was involved in the making of such a horrible movie.
In fact, the movie goes out of its way to make the Marines who stormed the beaches in one of the bloodiest battles in the Corps' history look like a bunch of quailing, terrified teenagers who were concerned with nothing more than preserving their own hides. The book upon which the movie was based was written by a man who never served a day in the military, let alone the Corps, and who is self-evidently a monglophile.
If you want to understand what the real Marine Corps is about, read this:
So, protected by just a helmet and standard-issue flak jacket, he began what bomb disposal officers term "the longest walk", stepping gingerly into a 5ft deep and 8ft wide crater.
The earth shifted slightly and he saw a Senao base station with a wire leading from it. He cut the wire and used his 7in knife t o probe the ground. "I found a piece of red detonating cord between my legs," he says. "That's when I knew I was screwed."
Realizing he had been sucked into a trap, Sgt Burghardt, 35, yelled at everyone to stay back. At that moment, an insurgent, probably watching through binoculars, pressed a button on his mobile phone to detonate the secondary device below the sergeant's feet "A chill went up the back of my neck and then the bomb exploded," he recalls. "As I was in the air I remember thinking, 'I don't believe they got me.' I was just ticked off they were able to do it. Then I was lying on the road, not able to feel anything from the waist down."
His colleagues cut off his trousers to see how badly he was hurt. None could believe his legs were still there. "My dad's a Vietnam vet who's paralyzed from the waist down," says Sgt Burghardt. "I was lying there thinking I didn't want to be in a wheelchair next to my dad and for him to see me like that. They started to cut away my pants and I felt a real sharp pain and blood trickling down. Then I wiggled my toes and I thought, 'Good, I 'm in business.' "As a stretcher was brought over, adrenaline and anger kicked in. "I dec ided to walk to the helicopter. I wasn't going to let my teammates see me being carried away on a stretcher." He stood and gave the insurgents who had blown him up a one-fingered salute. "I flipped them one. It was like, 'OK, I lost that round but I'll be back next week'."
That is a Marine -- a real one.
Don't even waste your time renting Flags of Our Fathers; the perspective of the film is twisted, distorted and disgraceful. Clint Eastwood should be ashamed that he was involved in the making of such a horrible movie.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 10:05
5 Comments:
"That is a Marine -- a real one"
Unlike all the "fake" Marines who've never had a boobytrap go off under their feet? Which is something like 99.9999% of all who've ever been in the corp?
I knew plenty of Marines who did not fit the "macho" image of the corps, but who were not lesser Marines for it. I guess the guys that weep like children as they lay there with a limb blown off aren't "real" Marines...
Jar(egg)Head, Let me take this one. First of all Jar(egg)head is a Marine. I am a Marine. We both served in our beloved Corps and were both in Desert Shield/Storm. We have both seen friends die in and out of combat.
Just because he presents a shining example of the Marine mentality does not discount the actions of other Marines. You have tried to twist his point that Hollywood makes up and twists historical facts to fit the liberal elite point of view. Not since the 50's has a "war" movie been made that has put the military in a good light. Read carefully before you post your opinion. Oh and if you feel so strongly about it, why are you posting anonymously?
This comment has been removed by the author.
I was raised a U.S. Army brat. My father served in Korea and two tours in Vietnam before I was born and retired as a Brigadier General. He began his military career as a NCO in the Navy. My father-in-law served in the U.S. Air Force during WWII and retired from the USAF reserves as a Lt. Colonel. My brother is a Delta Force Lt. Col in the US Army, has served 3 tours in Afghanistan, where he has been shot once and blown-up twice. He is currently serving his first tour in Iraq. My husband was the first civilian into Iraq 3 days after military forces egressed into Iraq. Nine months later, he was blown up by an IED in Kirkut, Iraq and subsequently spent 5 weeks at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center where the doctors were able to save his life, face and eyes. Every member of the joint forces he encountered told him there was no way they would be in Iraq if they were screwed like him and could not carry a weapon.
My point being, EVERY person who signs up to defend their country and fellow citizens KNOWING at some point they may be put in harms way which may result in losing their life, is a HERO. Fortunately not ALL heroes are put in a position and forced to make the FINAL sacrifice. The troop who comes home unscathed is no less brave than the one who dies on the battlefield, they are just LUCKIER.
ANYONE who attempts to denigrate, demean or dismiss the SACRIFICE made by any member of the armed forces should be drafted into the armed forces and given an up close and personal opportunity to see how difficult it is to be a hero.
I'm pleased to hear that your husband pulled through, mzchief. I lost a good friend and fellow Marine, Captain John Maloney, to an IED about 2 1/2 years ago.
Like you, I have become very, very tired of the liberal's "the only real heroes are dead heroes" mantra. Their inherent implication in making such a statement is that war is bad and never solves anything. Horse-puckey. When war does occur, it is invariably because all other options to solve the problem peacefully have been exhausted. And when it does happen, you need brave, dedicated, professional and well-trained people, such as your father and brother, to win those wars.
I served in the Marine Corps and the Army Rangers; both of my grandfathers served in WWII, where one of them was severely wounded by shrapnel; my wife's father was a WWII paratrooper who lost his leg in combat. Every one of us went on afterwards and lived normal, productive lives as accountants, engineers, plant managers, etc. To watch the movie this post references, one would think that combat Marines all end up as dead-end losers, all flag officers are heartless, rabid assholes, and that the seizure of Iwo Jima was as much just raw luck as the result of the most highly-decorated battle in Marine Corps history. It was obviously written by someone who had no real understanding of the topic, and filmed with a very obvious anti-war slant.
The proper application of violence, as you are already well aware, does indeed solve problems -- and the liberals absolutely despise that truth. But they can do nothing to change the reality of it. Professional soldiering is an honorable pursuit, and there really are real, live heroes -- no matter how much the leftists may try to hide that fact from the American public.
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