From watching the trailer, I have to say it reminded me of my time in the service. Granted, I was in the most seemingly genteel service there is, the Coast Guard, but I think if you were to do a film or miniseries about the era I served, it could come out the same way. I served from ’86 to ’90 and if you were to have taken notes of what I encountered, or what I’d said during that period, you would have heard things that were very similar for the era.
You would have heard racism, both good natured joking between different races and actual, virulent racism. Anti-Reagan comments because he cut our budget so much we had to borrow money from the Navy. (In fact, as an aside, the different unit’s budgets were separate, and while we had to use borrowed Navy money to keep our cutter running, Support Center New York was able to spend $3,000 toward putting trees around a dumpster. This sounds like something out of the very liberal MASH, but it happened). You would have heard people lamenting that we had to send Haitians back to Haiti, but every Cuban got a pass, and we would wonder if it were racism. You would see Coasties zealously persecuting the “War on Drugs” and then, back in home port, smoke enough weed to choke a Rastafarian. You would hear people making crude comments about floaters and bloaters and jumpers. I could go on and on, but this paragraph is already too long.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, take it with a grain of salt, and realize these are young men in a very bad situation. The reviewer has only seen one episode of a seven part series. As far as balance goes, who knows, there may be scenes of great heroism in future episodes. And as far as “this isn’t the Greatest Generation” goes, as someone who’s been studying WW2 since I was 10 (I’m now 42), the Greatest Generation could be just as rude, crude and cynical as the generations that came after them. Also, so many rapid, stunning victories in American history happened in spite of the military, I can’t see how some things that happened in Iraq could be much different. Wasn’t Baghdad taken before it was supposed to be? Just like Patton’s victories that took the High Command by surprise?
I don’t think I’m trying to defend what may be in this show, because, like you, I haven’t seen it yet. But I know there are a lot of people who haven’t served and have no idea what it’s like to be in the Armed Forces. I’ll never compare my Cold War service to those who’ve served in a “hot war”, but I can’t imagine they’re much different. And, you know what else? I think Marines are our country at it’s best. As far as personal experience goes, they would let us Coasties into their Devil Dog club in Gitmo and be really cool to us, but they wouldn’t allow a squid to be in there very long.
I closing, I supported the war in Iraq and I voted for Bush in ’04, and I support the continued victory now. I guess I’m just trying to make this into a conversation,. What do other veterans here think?
