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Anyone Watching "The War" on PBS This Week?


Chargerz
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I've really been enjoying this series all week. Burns' way of "humanizing" historic events keeps it interesting and thought-provoking. I liked his documentaries on the Civil War and baseball too, but this might be his best effort yet.

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I've been watching. Pretty good for the most part, although I honestly didn't think it has been as compelling as I thought it would be.

 

The Civil War was mesmerizing. Pretty much the perfect documentary, so maybe I was just hoping for too much. At least it's been better than Baseball, which I thought was bloated.

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I've caught bits and pieces this week. Hopefully I'll get to see it again from the start. So far its been both captivating and sad for us. My father in law's brother was murdered by the Japanese during the Bataan death march, so that hit home pretty hard.

It was also interesting to hear names of some small villages in France that rang a bell. My late uncle was a tank commander in that area and told me many stories of how they chased the Germans from town to town. The fought alongside Easy company in a few battles too if i recall. He left us a map of their tour and battles that's all marked with notes of what happened, how many men they lost and what other companies they were supporting. It's pretty cool but sad at the same time.

 

I'm sure we all have parents and grandparents that have similar stories or that gave their lives for us. It really humbles me when i see things like this.

They really were the greatest generation :D

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I'm sure we all have parents and grandparents that have similar stories or that gave their lives for us. It really humbles me when i see things like this.

They really were the greatest generation :D

They really were. My dad and his two brothers all fought in the Pacific and survived. Amazing stories by all of them, especially how terrified my dad was of the Kamikazes.

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I've seen most of it and I agree with Doc about his way of humanizing history. Just saw/heard the scene about the Marine cutting gold teeth out of a nearly dead Japanese soldier. Brutal as war is, you still have to be shocked by the total dehumanizing effects it has on those in the thick of it.

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Another memorable interview was the American soldier who said surviving in war doesn't depend on strength or speed or training but basically pure luck. "If it's your time to die, there's nothing you can do about it." Fatalistic and sobering. :D

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I've caught bits and pieces this week. Hopefully I'll get to see it again from the start. So far its been both captivating and sad for us. My father in law's brother was murdered by the Japanese during the Bataan death march, so that hit home pretty hard.

 

My father was a survivor of the Bataan death march.

 

Have not been able to catch much of the series, but definately have plans on watching it when I get the chance.

Edited by stoperat
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It just finished tonight. The last episode chronicles the GIs returning home and not feeling they could share what they saw and heard with their civilian family members and friends. I can't imagine holding all of the horrors of war inside for all these years. Even today alot of them are reduced to tears just dredging up the violent memories during interviews.

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It just finished tonight. The last episode chronicles the GIs returning home and not feeling they could share what they saw and heard with their civilian family members and friends. I can't imagine holding all of the horrors of war inside for all these years. Even today alot of them are reduced to tears just dredging up the violent memories during interviews.

 

 

I caught a bit of that (didn't want to watch too much out of order on the DVR) and it really brings home the saying "support the troops" . That saying seems a bit cliche since its on every bumper sticker anymore. I can't imagine coming home from war unless the world considered me a hero and all the support that comes with it (as opposed to "baby-killer" after Vietnam).

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