USA - Honoring fallen soldiers - Memorial Day - Monday, May 25, 2026

[Lori Dee ✅]

I served two tours in the Big Red One (1st Infantry Division - Forward), so that is a good one. A Bridge Too Far was a favorite growing up.

If you want something a bit more modern and has a heist involved, check out
Three Kings with George Clooney. Who doesn't like stealing gold bars? Unrealistic, but based on a true story.

[Northern Star Girl ✅]

                  World War2 movies on my frequent viewing list:

Midway (1976)
    Every Memorial Day this is the very first movie on my list  (original 1976 movie)
The movie is based on the American Navy victory off of Midway Island in the Pacific.
Large international cast in includes:  Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda,James Coburn,
                                          Glenn Ford, Ed Nelson, Hal Holbrook, Robert Webber,
                                          Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson,
                                          Robert Wagner, Pat Morita, Dabney Coleman,
                                          Erik Estrada and Tom Selleck.

Patton (1970)  Patton is an American epic biographical war film about US General George S. Patton during World War II.
It stars George C. Scott as Patton and Karl Malden ..."Patton" tells the tale of General George S. Patton,
famous tank commander of World War II. The film begins with Patton's career in North Africa and progresses
through the invasion of Germany and the fall of the Third Reich.
               
      The Great Escape (1963)  (Paul Newman) [Allied soldiers are intent on breaking out of a POW camp

              The Big Red One (1980)(Lee Marvin) [U.S. 1st Infantry Division]
                                        A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit
                                        try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle
                                        throughout Europe.

                    Pearl Harbor (2001) [The attack on Pearl Harbor and the stories involved with
                                  the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF)- eventually became the USAF

                          In Harms Way (1965)  (John Wayne and Kirk Douglas)  [US Navy in the Pacific]

                                Operation Pacific (1951(US Navy Submarine movie) (John Wayne)
     
                                    MacArthur  [1977]  (Gregory Peck)
                                          The story of General of the US Army, Douglas MacArthur,
                                          Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and United Nations
                                          Commander for the Korean War.                             
                            "MacArthur" begins in 1942, following the fall of Phillipines, and covers the
                              remarkable career of this military legend up through and  including the Korean War
                              and into MacArthur's days of forced retirement after being dismissed from his
                              post by President Truman.

There are more for sure.....
Danielle [Northern Star Girl}

[Lori Dee ✅]

I forgot about Midway! I have that one too.

Patton is one of my favorites, as he was my favorite Tank Commander. He did so much for the Tank Corps that nobody really knows about. Little things like the uniqueness of our uniforms, to battle strategies that were virtually unknown on the modern battlefield.

[Lori Dee ✅]

A World War II veteran had no one left to bury him. Then 1,500 strangers showed up.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/world-war-ii-veteran-1500-strangers/ 🔗
CBS News - David Begnaud
May 25, 2026 / 3:23 PM EDT

John Bernard Arnold III knew loss before he knew much else. His mom died when he was young, and he grew up in foster care before serving in World War II for the Navy.

His great love in life was making people laugh; he was a passionate magician who never married or had any children. When he died on May 6, there was no one left to bury him.

That is, until Terrance O'Keefe of Hanover-Hanson Veteran Services put out a call to give Arnold a proper send-off. "We planned for the entire state to at least show up," he said.

The community delivered.

Arnold had planned his funeral more than a decade ago, and his instructions were clear: a Catholic Mass, no eulogy. He just wanted people to know that he believed and he served.

At the cemetery, Arnold was sent off under a cloudless sky with bagpipes and a gun salute. The flag from his casket was given to the man who ran the veterans home where Arnold spent his final years.

And one more twist: The story spread, and Arnold's great-nephew, Joe Durban, recognized his name and flew to Massachusetts to receive Arnold's flag and visit his family member's grave.

Arnold may not have wanted a eulogy, but he got 1,500 souls instead.

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[ChrissyRyan]

We should often remember our fallen soldiers.  They gave it all.


Thank you men and women.


Chrissy

[Stottie Girl]

I'm not normally a big fan of war movies, but that one was a classic.  I remember watching it at the university's Friday Flix not long after it first came out.

Somehow I had a feeling you would have liked that one. It has the best aerial photography ever! A hell of a cast too. I've lost count how many times I've watched it.

[Stottie Girl]

I served two tours in the Big Red One (1st Infantry Division - Forward), so that is a good one. A Bridge Too Far was a favorite growing up.

If you want something a bit more modern and has a heist involved, check out
Three Kings with George Clooney. Who doesn't like stealing gold bars? Unrealistic, but based on a true story.

Agreed, Three Kings was fun, kind of a modern Kellys Heroes

[Stottie Girl]

There was a wonderful story back in 2019 regarding a memorial service for the crew of a US B-17 bomber that crashed in an urban park during the war.

A little boy who saw the plane crash had been going back to the site and tending to a memorial ever since, he was 82 in 2019 and was still doing it.

UK TV presenter Dan Walker was out walking his dog in the park and got chatting to him and was so moved by the story he arranged for a full military honours service and a Flypast from both the RAF and the USAF. The USAF did that beautiful thing where one jet peels off out of formation up into to the sky. It was very moving. We never forget what happened and the sacrifice so many made.