Ed. Note: Starting Sunday, March 14th, HBO begins its 10-part miniseries “The Pacific,” which follows the United States Marine Corps through WWII in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. This $100 million production re-teams a number of those (including Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg) involved in HBO’s unforgettable 2001 miniseries, “Band of Brothers,” which many, including myself, consider to be one of the finest productions about WWII made for television or any other medium.

I’ve asked Michael Broderick, an actor, former Marine, and top-notch writer to be Big Hollywood’s point man on this project. He’ll be snagging whatever interviews he can, reviewing many if not all of the episodes, and keeping the Big Hollywood community up to date and informed on what is sure to be a seminal moment in television, a terrific piece of entertainment, and a worthy tribute to our Veterans. — JN

The Pacific:  An Interview with Jon Seda

What a long, strange trip it’s been.

I entered the Marine Corps in nineteen eighty *cough* at the tender age of seventeen, secure in the knowledge that upon completion of my four year hitch, I would move to Hollywood and become a popular and sought after actor.

Instead, I fell in lust and, upon leaving the Corps, followed my John Thomas to New York City.  That was okay.  They have actors in New York, right?

No contacts, no formal training and no idea what I was doing, I ended up in a fantastic little rock and roll band instead.  We made a good run of it through the 90s.  In fact, I met my wife while I was playing CBGB in 1998.

Flash forward to November 2001.  HBO’s “Band of Brothers” had recently aired its final episode and it was beginning to really sink in.  “It” being the realization that the United States could be entering another long and bloody war.  I came to realize the importance of this series.  It honored those who sacrificed on behalf of their countrymen but did not shy away from illustrating the horror of combat.

About two years later, I got word that Spielberg, Hanks and Co. (I would certainly never address them using their last names to their face, it just sounds better) were planning a new series based on the Marines in the Pacific Theater.  I had already started shifting priorities in my life (a couple of skyscrapers getting knocked down on a few thousand of your neighbors tends to focus the mind) and decided to have a sit-down with the wife.

My wife, a beautiful, intelligent and tough Italian girl from Jersey (are there any other kind?) is not shy with her opinions.  A year earlier, very pregnant with our only child, on a business trip to Los Angeles, she’d said, “I could never live out here” and I was about to drop a bomb on her.

“You want to move where?”   We had only recently purchased a cozy Greenwich Village apartment and were settling in.

It took some convincing but my wife has always been one to back her man’s play.  We put the apartment up for sale.  Within a few months and with family in tow, I was finally coming to Hollywood to become an actor.  I was going to get an audition for “The Pacific” if it killed me.

So, how does a greenhorn actor wrangle his way into one of the top casting agencies for a role in, perhaps, the most important project of the new decade?

Well, frankly, I don’t know.  I wasn’t able to do it.

Regardless, I’ve been looking forward to the premiere of “The Pacific” for a long time.  When John Nolte asked me to cover it for Big Hollywood, I simply couldn’t refuse.  So, I’ll be following the series as it progresses and you can keep up with it, right here.  If fortune smiles upon me, perhaps Mr. Spielberg or Mr. Hanks will agree to chat with me a bit and I can bring that to you, too.  Who knows?  I’m still new at this, so I’ll try anything.  To quote Captain Dale Dye, “You can do a lot of things people tell you are impossible when you’re blissfully ignorant”.

With that in mind, and on Capt Dye’s recommendation, I contacted the wonderful Mara Mikialian at HBO and she was kind enough to put me in touch with actor Jon Seda who plays GySgt “Manila” John Basilone.

John Basilone is the hero of Raritan, New Jersey.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal and remains a fixture in Marine Corps history.  I won’t go too much into his story, as it will be explored in the series.

Like Basilone, Jon Seda is a New Jersey native and was an amateur boxer, as well.  He made his screen debut as a fighter in “Gladiator.”  In 1996, Jon received critical acclaim for his role as Blue in “The Sunchaser” opposite Woody Harrelson at the Cannes Film Festival and has enjoyed numerous roles on popular television shows, including “Kevin Hill”, “Ghost Whisperer” and HBO’s “Oz”.

I also reached out to Dale Dye to get his take.  Although extremely busy with the roll out of the series, both men made time to answer some questions I had via email.  For that, I’m very grateful.

 ———-

Michael Broderick:  HBO’s “Band of Brothers” was a huge success and resonated with people all over the world.  It’s inevitable that comparisons will be made.  How do you think “The Pacific” stacks up?

Jon Seda: I know it’s inevitable that there will be those who compare “The Pacific” to “Band of Brothers”.  For years, the Pacific theater of war was not talked about as much as the European theater, yet it was part of the same War.  What was accomplished in “Band of Brothers” was incredible, from the writing and producing to the performances of the actors who honored all those men that fought bravely and gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today.  To me, that’s what it’s all about.  With “The Pacific”, we’re just trying to do the same thing, continue to honor and make sure the real heroes aren’t forgotten!

MB: You play the part of “Manila” John Basilone, recipient of the  Medal of Honor and one of the most famous Marines of all time.  Can you tell us a little bit about the role?

JS: Words can’t express how humbled I am in being given the privilege to portray Gunnery Sergeant Basilone!  John was born in New York like me and grew up in New Jersey like me.  We both had a passion for boxing.  John came from a big loving family and was with the Army first…but really found his niche with the Marines.  He was a Jersey boy who loved being a Marine…he was tough but also well respected by his men.  They all loved him and he never called himself a hero, he would just say he was doing what he was supposed to do.  I could only pray that I would have had an ounce of the same courage he had!

MB: Did your boxing experience come into play during the shoot?

JS: I think the boxing training I’ve experienced in the past definitely helped me physically with the role, but if anything, it helped me more mentally, because it gave me the mindset to not quit, to keep fighting when I was tired, to get up if I was knocked down!

Dale Dye: If I had to point to the heart of the training unit for “The Pacific”, it would be Jon.  James Badge Dale (Leckie) may be the brain and Joe Mazzello (Sledge) may be the guts, but Jon Seda was definitely the heart of the unit.  He was motivated for all the right reasons all the time.

Jon understood the concept of tough, mentally, physically and psychologically.  We’d finish one grueling exercise after another and he’d be just standing there sweating and hurting, asking me what’s next.  I once told him to slow down and he fired right back at me:  “Did those Marines on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima slow down?”  That’s Jon through and through. 

MB: Did you find any particular source helpful in your preparation for the role?

JS: In regards to preparation…I mean, how does one prepare to portray someone like Manila John?  I did a fair amount of research of facts by watching documentaries and reading books including, “I’m Staying With My Boys,” by Jim Proser, and “Red Blood, Black Sand” by Chuck Tatum.  Tatum, a Marine who served on Iwo Jima with Basilone, is portrayed in “The Pacific”, and is someone I was able to meet with.  At the end of the day, I stored all that in my head somewhere.

MB:  Was there any one thing about the man that really clicked with you?

JS: I just concentrated on the fact that Basilone was a just a guy from Jersey who turned out to be a darn good Marine and who found himself in extraordinary circumstances, did what he trained to do and rose to the occasion!

MB: Captain Dale Dye was on board, once again, as Senior Military Advisor.  His “boot camps” are legendary in the industry.  What did you take away from that experience?

JS: I would never try to disrespect our men and women Marines by saying that the Boot Camp we endured was equal to theirs!  That said, we needed something to give us a foundation to build on and that foundation came from Captain Dale Dye!  He assembled a Boot Camp that taught us the ins and outs of the weapons used in WWII, and he had us go through tactical combat scenarios to at least give us a small insight to what it was like for these men.

DD: Seda actually became a technically proficient machine-gunner.  He understood the functioning and the employment of those old thirty-caliber guns as well as anyone I’ve ever taught.  About midway through training he could do head-space and timing without help and I rarely had to tell him to displace in covering infantry assaults.  He knew when the time was right and just did it.  He rapidly became a very functional machine gun section leader.

JS: Of course, we could never really know what it was like but if we were going to be the voice for these men we had to have something to draw from.   I think the greatest thing we got from the Boot Camp was the camaraderie we developed with each other and we were able to keep this with us throughout the year of filming…hopefully it shows.

MB:  What’s the most unexpected thing that you’re taking away from this experience?

JS: I thought I had a pretty good appreciation of everyday life before my experience with “The Pacific”, but I sure do now!  I hope that’s what all who watch get out of it!

DD: Probably one of my most impactful moments during training for the Pacific came after our final field exercise, which involved an assault from the sea on a fortified enemy beach.  Jon Seda walked up to me and said, “Skipper, you know that thing Semper Fidelis?  I understand it now.”  And he does.  It shows in every scene of his performance.

———- 

I’d like to thank Jon Seda, Captain Dale Dye and Mara Mikialian at HBO for their time in helping me kick this off.  Thank you, John Nolte, for asking me to take it on.  Lastly, thank you for reading.  I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

See you back here after the March 14th premiere of HBO’s “The Pacific.”

—–

The Wall Street Journal:

The ensemble cast of actors in HBO miniseries “The Pacific” all have a similar look…dirty.

“In my memory I was dirty for a year. I could not get the dirt off of me. The entire time I was in Australia I had dirt in some part of my body. I was dirty and damp and soiled. It was just disgusting,” says Ashton Holmes, the actor who plays Marine Sidney Phillips.

To play the members of the 1st Marine Division that fought in the Pacific theater during World War II, the actors spent more than ten months shooting in the jungles of Northern Australia at a price tag of $195 million. Producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman wanted to capture the isolation and physical demands of jungle warfare so they kept actors as uncomfortable as possible. They all went through a ten-day boot camp taught by a retired Marine captain. Special-effects bombs, mortars and gunfire may have been written into the script but it still came as a shock to many actors.

“If we looked scared it’s because we were,” Holmes says. “It’s all choreographed and blocked out but when there’s an explosion ten feet from you it’s scary and it’s jarring.”

Holmes had an advantage since he grew up hearing stories about his grandfather who served in the Army during World War II. He passed away in December and did not get to see his grandson in the finished movie. “He shared a lot of his experiences about the war and it helped define who he was,” Holmes says. “He shared with me that the war really defined his generation and, in turn, defined the generations to come.”

Read the full article here.

Director Oliver Stone’s upcoming Showtime documentary miniseries “Secret History of America” promises to put mass murderers such as Stalin and Hitler “in context.”

“Stalin, Hitler, Mao, McCarthy — these people have been vilified pretty thoroughly by history,” Stone told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour in Pasadena.

“Stalin has a complete other story,” Stone said. “Not to paint him as a hero, but to tell a more factual representation. He fought the German war machine more than any single person. We can’t judge people as only ‘bad’ or ‘good.’ Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and its been used cheaply. He’s the product of a series of actions. It’s cause and effect … People in America don’t know the connection between WWI and WWII … I’ve been able to walk in Stalin’s shoes and Hitler’s shoes to understand their point of view. We’re going to educate our minds and liberalize them and broaden them. We want to move beyond opinions … Go into the funding of the Nazi party. How many American corporations were involved, from GM through IBM. Hitler is just a man who could have easily been assassinated.”

~~~

“You cannot approach history unless you have empathy for the person you may hate,” Stone said during the show’s trailer, which promised to put historical villains “in context.”

~~~

Stone also warned that the same military industrial complex forces that he’s explored in movies such as “JFK” and in “Secret History,” are now corrupting Barack Obama.

~~~

“My father was a voracious New York Times reader,” he said.  “We consider that in The Middle. Sarah Palin would disagree.”

~~~

Much more here.

“Even World War II is cast as a false model for American military domination.”

Los Angeles Times:

“Class division is a drumbeat throughout “The People Speak,” which is a primer of liberal ideology with a decided bent toward socialism; no one’s reading a few rousing passages of Ayn Rand’s, for instance. The letters and journals and speeches selected cover the American timeline, from the abolitionists through AIDS activists, but the theme of personal and political enfranchisement, tolerance, peace and American humility is the consistent theme. Equal rights, protection of workers, protection of children, even rent control are celebrated while concepts such as patriotism — the last refuge of scoundrels, according to pacifist and anarchist Emma Goldman — and national security are portrayed as the whip and cattle prod used by the power elite. Even World War II is cast as a false model for American military domination.”

At the UCLA event, producer Chris Moore said something about “The People Speak” being “two hours of anti-WWII programming.”

The bottom of yesterday’s New York Times’ review confirms the most troubling news:

The filmmakers are developing school curriculum materials for the film and releasing an extended version on DVD.

Just remember, the happiest leftist you’ll ever see is one planted firmly between parent and child. They consider it their God-given Mother Earth-given right to move every mountain in their pop culture and education kingdoms to brainwash.

Bringing together his usual strengths as a director of intense performances from sterling casts, an amazing score pasted together from classic scores of past films, incredibly sharp and catchy dialogue and a warped time frame that that will throw viewers through a satisfying series of loops, Tarantino has easily made his best film since “Pulp Fiction.” Coming off a humiliating misfire with 2007’s “Death Proof,” which was half of the box-office disaster known as “Grindhouse,” Tarantino has admitted that he felt the need to double down on his strengths and prove that he was just as relevant and inventive as ever. 

With “Basterds,” a dream project of Tarantino’s for the past decade, he has accomplished all that and more.  The result is a (mostly) fast-paced, multi-layered and entertainingly violent film that has the audacity to completely reinvent the way WWII went down in flames for the Germans and get away with it. 

The film’s innovative structure tells the story in five distinct chapters, using the first three to establish the main characters in their own storylines. This serves all the better to make the fast action and double-crosses that make up the final two sections more emotionally involving and edge-of-your-seat exciting since by the time things really kick in, you’re fully invested in all the characters. 

“Basterds” opens with ace Nazi Col. Landa (in a star-making and likely Oscar-nominated performance by Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, in his American film debut) squaring off against a French farmer he suspects is harboring a Jewish family beneath his floorboards. The conversation between the two surpasses the classic discussion of hamburgers and foot rubs that Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta shared en route to a hit job in “Pulp Fiction,” for while its dialogue is perfectly etched and delivered, it also reveals layer after layer of the depravity in Landa’s soul and creates the tension of a ever-worsening life-and-death situation almost exclusively through the words expressed rather than overblown violence. 

The second chapter opens with the now-ubiquitous scene of Pitt’s Aldo Raine challenging a team of Jewish American soldiers to take down all the Nazis they can, and collect 100 Nazi scalps each, and brings the heroes to vibrant, darkly humorous life. The third chapter guides us into the subtly building tension of a young, secretly Jewish woman named Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) who escaped Col. Landa three years earlier and now operates a Parisian cinema. 

As she tries to fend off the attentions of a slimy yet handsome young Nazi war hero named Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), Shosanna comes to realize that his request to show the premiere of a propagandistic war film about his exploits that he stars in will offer her the chance to have hundreds of Nazi leaders including Hitler himself seated together in the dark of her theater. And so it is that in the fourth and fifth chapters, Shosanna teams with Aldo Raine’s men to set up the perfect revenge and perhaps end the war itself.

“Inglourious Basterds” wildly re-imagines the way in which the Nazis were defeated in WWII, but its unhinged take on historic events still proves to be immensely entertaining and there are no blatant anti-American messages stuck into the film’s script as in many other modern war movies. Pitt and his men are unabashed heroes you want to root for. Every performer appears to be having a blast, both in their often over-the-top action scenes and in the extensive dialogue and planning scenes that put all the pieces of the plot puzzle into place. And one more good aspect to note is that Tarantino has learned to curb his worst impulses of graphic violence and excessive profanity to make a film that has some of both but in a more restrained level than his usual. 

The only fault to be found is that some of the dialogue scenes stretch the talking almost to the limit of attention spans, especially among viewers who were led to believe by the simplified, Pitt-centered commercials that the movie is composed of wall-to-wall Nazi-killing. Having to follow many of these scenes in subtitles might turn off some prospective viewers, especially those who might otherwise seek out repeated viewings of an ass-kicking flick, but for those who appreciate quality filmmaking to go with a rousing good time, “Inglourious Basterds” easily fills the bill.

On Dec 7th 1941 many Heroes were made. John Finn received the Medal of Honor for his bravery on that day. He says he doesn’t deserve it and simply holds it for all the others who fought and died that December day. I disagree. On that December morning John held his position firing on the enemy for over two hours even though he himself had been hit 21 times. Several of his wounds were serious. Once the skies were quiet he sought medical help only after being ordered to. He then returned to help rearm the remaining airplanes at Kanoehe Bay. Because Kanoehe was hit five minutes before Pearl Harbor, many believe that John Finn is the first man to earn the Medal of Honor during WW2. But when you sit and listen to his stories he will tell you of his men, not of himself. Even at 100-years-old his mind is sharp and he loves to share his stories with those who will listen. And if you get the chance to meet Mr. Finn, listen to his stories for they are truly amazing.

John, my son Anthony, and I

I had the very humbling honor of sitting with him for several hours this past April at the Gainesville, TX Medal of Honor Week. In those hours I not only heard the stories of history from a man who lived it, I made a friend. While talking to his caretaker, Francis, I was stating how I can no longer take care of my son who was killed in Iraq and now feel it is my duty to take care of my son’s brothers in arms. Mr. Finn stopped in the middle of his conversation, pointed at me and said, “I like you missy. You get it.” He told me, “We can only mourn those who have fallen in war. We must honor them by taking care of those who come home, especially our wounded.” This put into words what my mission for the past year and a half.

Happy Birthday, John. I hope you have many more to come. You are truly a gift to this nation and me.

Thank you for being so unselfish to fight for freedom for me.

I admire your devotion and bravery.

I think of you often and every time I see a flag

I ask God to protect you and then I brag,

“THE U.S.A. HAS THE BEST MILITARY IN THE WORLD!”

Thank you.

Dad on his car (1950).

My Dad was in the army at the end of WWII.  He didn’t have to fight.  He was lucky, the war was just ending.  He was stationed in Japan.  He worked on his handstands.  He could hand-walk up and down stairs!  He must have had a lot of Japanese girlfriends because the only words he remembers are “Watta-kushi-wa Ana-tyo Aishimasu.” (spelled phonetically). It means, “I love you!”

I feel less of a man because I did not lead my platoon through a leech infested swamp in the Pacific as my Uncle Lawrence did.  I feel like a wuss because I did not, as my Uncle Zig did, capture an entire division of German soldiers.

My father was an Army sniper, his father was a member of the last active Cavalry unit, my other grandfather developed missile guidance systems.  Cousins, uncles, great uncles, great-great uncles all served our country or currently serve.

Yet, despite this amazing bravery, this amazing willingness to self-sacrifice, the men in my family rarely talk about it.  No bragging.  No boasting.  No condescension to the other “dandy lads” in the family like myself who have never had the honor of wearing our nation’s uniform.

We didn’t even know the accomplishments of my Uncle Zig until his funeral.  Men we had never met, never heard of showed up to pay their respects.  They were men in his platoon who’s lives he had saved.  They shared stories of his bravery with us and Zig’s partner of 40 years, Ed.  But Zig never shared these stories.  I suspect it wasn’t because they were too painful or dramatic, but because he didn’t think much of it.  It was “the right thing to do” the only thing to do when freedom and liberty are on the line.

The concept of the Troopathon is amazing.  It’s so obviously a worthwhile cause one wonders why there aren’t events like this once a month.  Heck, why not once a week?

It’s probably because the brave men and women in the military don’t ask for it.  In fact, they don’t ask for anything.  You know the old adage:  “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”  Well, what if the wheel doesn’t make a peep?  What if the wheel selflessly risks its life on a daily basis for your freedom, my freedom, and the freedom of people around the world?

World War II was different.  Even my family remembered it almost fondly.  Soldiers back then seemed like the real thing, thanks largely to the patriotic black-and-white movies of the 1940s – still played repeatedly on our rabbit ear TV.  Hard to believe, but once upon a time, Hollywood actually pitched in to the war effort – stars like Bette Davis, John Garfield, Carole Lombard, Betty Grable, even Marlene Dietrich, all went out of their way to boost the national morale.

“We Can Do It!”  “Loose Lips SInk Ships.”  “We Are Now In This War, We Are All In It All the Way.”  Soldiers (and women!) in old propaganda posters never seemed like victims; they were either smiling or fierce, but always proud - and unapologetically strong.

No one was ashamed of that war.  No one denigrated it.  Decades later, WW2 still enjoyed the afterglow of a beloved bedtime story.

The 1990 Persian Gulf War, on the other hand, seemed like a mini-series.  No offense to anyone who served, but the glamorized network coverage here at home imbued the battle with the aura of a fictional TV “event” – complete with snazzy graphics, a musical score, and Tom Brokaw.  The actual content was a let-down: endless blurry night shots of abstract rocket fire, as if we were fighting in a colossal video game by remote – from a great, safe distance.

The commercialization - and exploitation – of the Gulf War struck even me as shameful, trivializing.  While we weren’t exactly demeaning the effort directly, we were too busy celebrating the new technology that allowed so much of it to be televised live.  As entertainment, a little went a long way.

We were getting lazy.  Tempting fate.

On 9/11, real war roared back with a vengeance – right in our own backyard.  This was no channel-changer shot through a telephoto lens; this was horror, up close and personal (until the networks stopped showing the blood and falling bodies, and opted for a more “objective” bird’s eye view).

That’s when we finally saw soldiers again – as real men and women - firefighters and police officers and military personnel all working together, the best of human nature on spontaneous display, surprising and selfless.  That’s when we witnessed the triumph of the flag again, without embarrassment or excuses, hoisted up as a beacon in the midst of apocalyptic chaos and sorrow.

That’s when ordinary Americans, like me, who never knew real war or much suffering, began to understand what was truly at stake.  That’s when, for many of us, “soldier” took on a new meaning.  Soldiers were no longer just toys or the pathetic pawns of a ruthless war machine; they were fellow citizens of integrity and courage, brave individuals from diverse backgrounds, willing to go places most Americans would never dream of going – often because their consciences told them to.

These were men and women who cared enough to risk everything for others, and to stand proudly for an ideal.

I never knew any soldiers.  I never had to.  I was always safely ensconced at home, free to live my life and pursue whatever interests I wanted .  The closest I came to knowing a soldier was an NYPD cop, a friend who lost his wife in the World Trade Center attack.  Despite the constant stress of his job, the long hours and bad weather and petty violence he saw on his beat – and the agony of his loss – I never once heard him say an unkind or demeaning word about anyone, of any race, or any religion.

On the contrary, I heard him say, quite matter of factly, that if he died on the job, it would be worth it, if it prevented more misery from happening.  He was willing to give up his own life as part of his job.  How many of us would ever consider, could ever fathom, such a commitment?

That’s a hero.  That’s a soldier.  And it’s no fairy tale – it comes from having a mind, a heart, and a spine.

God bless the men and women who share those attributes, and move forward everyday, knowing it could be their last.  We are so grateful you really do exist.

My high school pal Parker Swan and I would go to the Translux Theater in Boston which featured non-stop newsreel coverage of the war. When bombings of German cities were shown, we’d cheer. After V-E day, when the battle moved to the Pacific, newsreels featured G.I.s using flame throwers to dig Japanese soldiers out of their caves on Iwo Jima and Wake Island. When the enemy came screaming from his dugout, Parker and I would cheer. I sold newspapers, The Globe and Herald, in Harvard Square by the entrance to the subway station. When the A-bomb, about which we had been told nothing, was dropped on Hiroshima, the headline read New Kind of Bomb Devastates Japanese City. Everyone was elated.

War was a way of life for Americans in the early forties. Heroism was expected. Only one soldier was ever executed for cowardice. The year after the conflict ended, I graduated from high school and turned 18. Immediately, I joined the army and, after a few months of basic training, I took a troop train across the country to San Francisco, where I lost my virginity at “Brown’s Hotel… Where You Can Always Get In” and then shipped out for Yokohama. It was late December and we were crowded into a Victory Boat, a converted cargo ship which featured stacks of hammocks four high. I was in the bottom one so there were three young dog faces above me. We sailed along the coast of the Aleutian Islands. The storms were ferocious. The ship would rise up and then slam down. Almost all of us were seasick. The first couple of days out, I was afraid I would die.  The next few, I was afraid I wouldn’t. The compartment I slept in was next to the mess. The few G.I.s and crew members who weren’t sick lined up alongside my bunk, waiting to get into the mess hall to eat my food as well as theirs. Some of them whistled cheerfully. As I looked up at their faces I was filled with hatred. I wanted to kill them for the crime of not being as sick as I was.

I managed to get up above board as often as possible, so I could breathe the fresh air and get away from the aromas of the mess hall. They showed a movie every night on deck in the freezing cold. It was “The Black Dahlia starring Dan Duryea. Someone had screwed up and loaded only one film aboard for the six or seven day trip.” I watched it every night. Sometime during the night of December 24th, we crossed the international dateline and woke up on the 26th. That’s the kind of trip it was. The Red Cross gave each of us a little box containing two cookies and a tooth brush.

I spent a year of occupation duty in a devastated Japan, then sailed home and was mustered out. I never had to fire my carbine in anger but my experience in the army and my evenings with Parker Swan watching newsreels at the Translux Theater created profound respect in me for those who had done so. My wife, actress Alley Mills, and I have shown up at the USO station at Los Angeles Airport to say hello to the boys who are passing through on their way somewhere. They love to have their pictures taken with her: “Oh wow, the mom from ‘The Wonder Years!’”

On this day of Troop-A-Thon, I am especially grateful to our service people and will be sure to say an extra little prayer for all of them tonight.