Last week, Uncle Pete sent me a box full of history.  Books, photos, news clippings and the granddaddy of them all… a scrapbook meticulously prepared and maintained by an Australian girl during the war and sent to Uncle Pete’s mother.  That, however, is a story for next week.

As I carefully made my way through the contents of this box, I realized that I was holding history in my hands.  It was quite a feeling let me tell you.  I hope to share some of the items as the weeks commence.

PFC Pete Cavo with 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division

Episode two returns us to Guadalcanal.  The Marines have been here a while and they are tired, hungry and low on supplies.  I’m beginning to recognize some of these guys.  Marines at rest are an amusing bunch.  It’s an attitude that’s difficult to capture and almost impossible to reproduce.  Too often, Hollywood goes for the stereotypes.  Director David Nutter handles the men in these situations deftly.

The age-old rivalry between the US Army and Marines made me chuckle.  Marines have always been asked to do more with less and that is a tradition that continues today.  The pride that is instilled in every Marine is demonstrated by Chesty Puller’s order that all personnel be freshly shaved upon the arrival of the Army.  Then, rather than call attention to their tattered uniforms, Puller praises his “raggedy-ass Marines,” declaring that they “look this way for a reason.” (more…)

Every so often, my father-in-law, Angelo, will bust my chops saying, “Hey, Mike!  I talked to a real Marine today!”  Then he’ll clap me on the shoulder and chuckle in that Jersey City “you’re a good kid” kind of way.

Full disclosure:  I served for four years as an enlisted man in a helicopter squadron at the tail end of the Cold War.  My time was spent in the necessary but unglamorous world of logistics and embarkation.  I never had to fire my weapon in anger and was never fired upon.  Hence, the “real Marine” jab.  Hell, with what the Marines today are doing, I sometimes don’t feel like a “real Marine.”  I’m sure there are some other peacetime vets out there who know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, when Angelo hits me with the jab, it means he’s been talking to Uncle Pete.  My wife’s great-uncle Pete Cavo joined the Marines in 1940.  He served as a rifleman in 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.  I called Uncle Pete Sunday afternoon to talk to him about his time in the Corps.  He answered the phone and his thick, jovial Jersey accent triggered a sharp pang of longing for my old home state. (more…)

During the Cold War, a slew of movies came out that dealt with the possibility of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. This is not surprising since the atom and hydrogen bombs were the most powerful weapons ever devised by man. Well, almost.

I’ll get to that somewhat nervy assertion in a bit, but first a little background.

Among the cinematic slew released during those years of cold, are two of my favorite films, Dr. Strangelove and Fail-Safe. Both dealt with strikingly similar themes, unintentional nuclear holocaust, yet in entirely different tones.  But cold war themes weren’t that varied by their very nature, since inevitably the worst case scenario was the best case plot device and nothing brings down the house like bringing down the house.

With that said, still, there’s so much similarity between the two stories that law suits were indeed filed and production schedules slowed. This worked out to Stanley Kubrick’s advantage as his Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was released almost a year ahead of Sidney Lumet’s Fail-Safe. In my opinion Kubrick’s is a better film than Lumet’s and not due to slowed schedules, either. But both are magnificent, and because of their approaches to the topic, very different  and essential part of the genre. (more…)