Mr. Lee -- I appreciated your post and its sentiments. I would caution you, however, not to take words from us veterans as any Higher Truth than that of poets and garbage collectors. We ALL have our experiences and points of view, and what I love most is the communication with people like me and completely unlike me.
It sure touched me when you said that 'Morant' is your favorite flick. Don't you find that when you mention it to people they look at you like you're from Mars? Nobody's heard of it! I saw it, went back to the theatre the next day to see it again, and rented it three times to show three different people, all of whom went, 'Wow,' when it was done. It's sure a good one to show your sons. It's got the VERY civilized man who does some horrible things in war. It's got the young guy who believes in the system (the almighty 'Empire'). It's got the Boer who turns traitor and is now seen not as a monster but as a 'handsome fellow.' It's got how politics (which is what war is about, after all) going beyond the needs or justice of individual soldiers. Damn, I think I need to put it on Netflix and see it again.
My personal fave, as I said, is 'Spartacus,' and I encourage you and your sons to see it, if you haven't; however, it's a straight-line movie. Slaves fighting for freedom. Great, but perhaps not exactly what you want to impart to your boys. First of all, I would impress on my own sons (if I had any -- I,and my wife and former wife, never had children) that THE OTHER SIDE ARE PEOPLE AS WELL. To be honest, to be a good soldier (or whatever) you MUST forget this fact, and kill as if your enemy were mere vermin. You have to believe your side is right, and it all makes sense.
So, again, I would recommend 'The Battle of Algiers,' and 'Paths of Glory.' I've seen each, and introduced others to each, at least 10 times (and like 'Breaker Morant' I feel like I want to see them again). Tell them also that they can prove their manhood by mountain climbing or spelunking or going into dangerous neighborhoods to serve food to the helpless. (Here in New York city a guy was killed doing that a couple of weeks ago.) They don't have to be in the military. The madness, sweat, shit and pain don't change through the centuries. Just the weapons. Tell them it's not fun. Tell them it sucks. If they want to believe something from a vet's mouth, (and I LOVED the Marine Corps, and I LOVE my country), tell them to believe that. War sucks.
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