I REMEMBER AMERICA

MICHAEL WESTFALLS ...THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE WORKER ^ | 6-6-2007 | JONATHAN FLORA

[carolgr]

In Washington, DC, this past Memorial Day weekend I had the privilege and honor to participate in an event recognizing a holiday whose meaning and origin is all too often overlooked and falls a distant second (if that close) to burgers and charcoal fires, picnics, and the Indy 500.

We mingled with others in the lobby before entering the auditorium to watch the first film of that day, a documentary entitled Shakey’s Hill. This is an excellent documentary by Norman Lloyd as he followed the 5th Battalion/7th Cavalry into the Cambodian jungle in 1970. And whom do I see on the screen? Several of the men I was speaking with in the lobby. And the gentleman I was walking with from the hotel was later the unit’s commander, Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Mike Rauer. Just goes to show once again, you just never know in life whom is standing next to you and what their story might be. So many powerful films and documentaries were screened from the Civil War to Iraq. In all, the GI Film Festival featured 22 film screenings. One of my favorites was by Steven Karras and Rose Lizarraga, About Face: The Story of the Jewish Refugee Soldiers of WWII. This documentary tells so many previously untold stories of thousands of Jewish immigrants. These brave individuals fled their beloved Germany in order to survive only to return in American and British uniforms to fight against the nation that betrayed them and slaughtered millions of their families and countrymen. One of the most moving films was a short film by a soldier on his way back to Iraq called, Unwelcome Home. Everyone should see this movie and remember it before they walk by a man or woman in uniform and act like they don’t see them.

[mirkwood]

[mirkwood]

“Here’s to the Army and Navy, and the battles they have won. Here’s to America’s
colors— The colors that never run!”

“May the tree of liberty flourish round the globe, and every human being partake of
its fruits.”

“May noise never excite us to battle, or confusions reduce us to defeat.”