# Movies that show the reality of  war



## hypochondriac (Jun 30, 2019)

I'd like to ask the veterans here which war movies they like if they like any at all that is.
Ive never been in the military by the way.
recently I read the book _ All Quiet on the Western Front_ and was absolutely in awe. Great book, great writing and then I watched the 1979 tv miniseries with Ernest Borgnine and John Boy from the Waltons. Understated and powerful was my impression. Am I easily impressed?
I liked Platoon too.


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## Butterfly (Jul 4, 2019)

My husband, who was in Vietnam, could not watch any Vietnam war movies.  Whether they were true to life or not, they all set him off.  He had very severe PTSD, which was sometimes well controlled, sometimes not; but if he got into any of those Vietnam movies, it was like BOOM! he was right back there.


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## hypochondriac (Jul 4, 2019)

So war veterans generally dont watch war movies?


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## Tommy (Jul 4, 2019)

You seem to be asking two separate questions here:  "Which films do war veteran like to watch?" and "Which films most accurately depict the terrible realities of war?"   I could be wrong, but I suspect you won't find many who were actively involved in actual ground combat who would enjoy watching such films.  Those who were there are living with their own memories and would be unlikely to enjoy reliving those times via a film.


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## Pappy (Jul 4, 2019)

*I was in the service, but never saw war...thank God. One of my favorite war movies is Hamburger Hill. *


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## Trade (Jul 4, 2019)

I was an Air Force REMF medic in Vietnam. My tour was split between the big bases at Cam Rahn Bay and Danang. So I didn't see any combat unless you count cowering on the floor while Charlie lobbed in a handful of rockets every now and then to harass us as combat. The funny thing is that in Vietnam about 90% of us were rear echelon support troops like myself, while only about 10% were in combat. Yet these days, when I encounter Vietnam vets it seems to be the other way around. About 90% of them claim to have been in combat and only about 10% say they were support troops. What's up with that?

My favorite Vietnam War movie is Full Metal Jacket.
Was it realistic? You would have to ask a Marine that.


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## Butterfly (Jul 4, 2019)

hypochondriac said:


> So war veterans generally dont watch war movies?



I dunno about most veterans.  I just know that my husband could not watch Vietnam movies.


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## Ruthanne (Jul 4, 2019)

My father was in combat duty during WWII.  He watched war movies, documentaries, shows all the time.  I never questioned him about it; not sure why he wanted to watch those.


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## 911 (Jul 4, 2019)

“Apocalypse Now” I also like watching Full Metal Jacket, Heartbreak Ridge And Platoon. 

I wish that I would have met Chris Kyle.


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## Trade (Jul 4, 2019)

This is now the 48th anniversary of the closest I came to getting killed in Vietnam.

The barracks that got hit where 5 guys were killed and 38 wounded was 70 yards from where I was. July 5th, 1971. It was just after midnight. I had just finished a 3-11 shift and was in the base library which was always open. To me rockets hitting always sounded like a giant metal door being slammed. I have read accounts where it said there where only 5 of them that hit us that night, but it seemed more like 10. Like I said before all I did was hit the floor and cower. And it seemed to me that each one was getting closer than the last. I kept expected the next one to come through the roof and up my ass. I remember feeling scared and pissed at the same time, thinking that I was going to die this far from home with only 44 days to go. My DEROS was 18 August. The last one, that took out the barracks 70 yards away from me sounded like it landed right next to me.

https://sites.google.com/site/peterbseelsite/home/creative-work/vietnam-portfolio-1970-1971
_"Just after midnight on July 5, 1971, I was literally knocked out of my bunk in DaNang by a huge explosion. The barracks next door had taken a direct hit from a V.C. 140 mm rocket.  I grabbed my camera and ran outside to document the attack.  Tragically, five airmen died in the attack that night and 38 were wounded.  We recently heard from David Tomblin of Wilkinson, West Virginia -- then an aircraft maintenance specialist with the 366th TFW -- who was injured when the rocket landed right next to his bunk area. DaNang Air Base was known as "rocket city" for the number of attacks that occurred there between 1965 and 1973.  A summary of these attacks can be found on the Web site of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing..The barracks burned to the ground after the rocket attack "


_

https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/33322/ISRAEL-MEDINA/
_"At 15 minutes after midnight on July 5, 1971, Da Nang Air Base, Quang Nam Province, RVN, was the site of a standoff attack when five enemy rockets hit the base, killing five airmen from the Air Force’s 366th Field Maintenance Squadron and wounding 38 others. The five lost airmen included SSGT Lawrence Wilkerson, SGT Napoleon Johnson, SGT Gilbert Ledger, TSGT Windol W. McNutt, and SGT Isreal Medina." _


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## fmdog44 (Jul 4, 2019)

Give some reasons for watching war movies. They all are trash.


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## hypochondriac (Jul 4, 2019)

fmdog44 said:


> Give some reasons for watching war movies. They all are trash.


who me?
im not into watching violence.
I think a soldier has a unique insight into the meaning of life and death.
Its easy for me to be philosophical because ive never been to war.
I admire courage of course but also decency and integrity.  i read in all quiet on the WF that a soldier can feel closer to his mates than his wife or parents.
And always I wonder how i could possibly face killing someone else.
There are so many moral dilemmas. it is a gold mine for writers if that doesnt sound too insensitive.


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## 911 (Jul 6, 2019)

hypochondriac said:


> who me?
> im not into watching violence.
> I think a soldier has a unique insight into the meaning of life and death.
> Its easy for me to be philosophical because ive never been to war.
> ...



At that particular time, young men 18+ had to sign up for the draft. I turned 18 while I was a senior in high school. I enlisted in the Marines before graduation. Two weeks after I graduated from high school, I received my orders to report to Paris Island to begin my basic training. After graduation, I was given a short leave and then went to Camp Lejeune before being shipped out to Vietnam. 

I don’t know much about courage. I do know that I did whatever was necessary to stay alive. I don’t know how to describe what it felt like to kill someone, especially that first one. We were on patrol along the Mekong River looking for either a door to a tunnel or Charlie. Suddenly, a shot rang out and I watched a fellow in our patrol go down. I thought he was killed. I saw the sniper in the tree and fired my M-16. He fell from the tree landing flat on his back. Then, 2 more shots were fired and we scattered. There were 7 of us in our patrol. I didn’t know where or which direction the shots came from, so I just laid still. After about 5 minutes, the Sgt. said it was clear. He said they must have scattered and also because there probably was only the 2 or 3 of them. Our Sgt. was on his second tour. Yeah, he was really into this war. 

When we walked up to the body of the fellow that I had shot, I felt strange. Almost like I was now a different person. The other guys patted me on the back, but I didn’t understand that either. The Marine that was shot was shot in the side of his hip. We got him back to camp and they airlifted him to a hospital ship, or so we were told. I never saw him again. I thought about the fellow I had shot and I wondered if he had a family and how will they know that he was killed. Strange thoughts went through my mind. To this day, I can still see his face. 

From that day on, I tried to stay close to the guy carrying the Bazooka. Again, I don’t know why. I just felt safer.


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## hypochondriac (Jul 6, 2019)

thanks 911. i feel privileged to read your post


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## Lc jones (Jul 20, 2019)

hypochondriac said:


> So war veterans generally dont watch war movies?


My husband watches them all the time and he’s a combat veteran


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## Lc jones (Jul 20, 2019)

The Band of Brothers mini series is his favorite


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## RadishRose (Jul 20, 2019)

My father's glider was shot down over France during a first wave of D-Day. He was wounded. Previously, he was in Belgium and England but never killed anybody that he was aware of.

He watched war docs all the time. I'll never forget "The Big Picture" reruns on TV

My ex husband was in Nam.  He was never that interested in war movies


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## win231 (Jul 20, 2019)

I wasn't in the military.  My dad was but he never did any fighting.  Maybe that's why he LOVED war movies; it probably brought back good memories for him.
My favorite war movie was "Born on the 4th of July."  I liked the fact that the real veteran (Ron Kovic) was a consultant on the movie & wanted 100% accuracy.


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## hypochondriac (Jul 21, 2019)

Trade said:


> I was an Air Force REMF medic in Vietnam. My tour was split between the big bases at Cam Rahn Bay and Danang. So I didn't see any combat unless you count cowering on the floor while Charlie lobbed in a handful of rockets every now and then to harass us as combat. The funny thing is that in Vietnam about 90% of us were rear echelon support troops like myself, while only about 10% were in combat. Yet these days, when I encounter Vietnam vets it seems to be the other way around. About 90% of them claim to have been in combat and only about 10% say they were support troops. What's up with that?
> 
> My favorite Vietnam War movie is Full Metal Jacket.
> Was it realistic? You would have to ask a Marine that.


sorry i missed this post. interesting and informative trade.


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## fuzzybuddy (Jul 21, 2019)

I was never in any peril when I was in the US Navy. My dad's ship was kamikazed in 1945. He was standing about 20 feet where the plane struck the ship. My dad's best friend was standing on that very spot. It took my dad years for him to tell that. My dad was then in his 80s. It took a while for my dad to adjust to civilian life, my mom had to be careful how she woke him up- he thought he was back in the war. All my 4 uncles were in WWII, and never spoke about it-even among themselves. I can't recall ever siting with my dad and watching a war movie.


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## charry (Jul 21, 2019)

The Deer hunter, was a very sad war Film......


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## oldman (Jul 21, 2019)

fuzzybuddy said:


> I was never in any peril when I was in the US Navy. My dad's ship was kamikazed in 1945. He was standing about 20 feet where the plane struck the ship. My dad's best friend was standing on that very spot. It took my dad years for him to tell that. My dad was then in his 80s. It took a while for my dad to adjust to civilian life, my mom had to be careful how she woke him up- he thought he was back in the war. All my 4 uncles were in WWII, and never spoke about it-even among themselves. I can't recall ever siting with my dad and watching a war movie.



I wasn’t sure that I wanted to post the following, but here goes: 

I don’t mean any disrespect. Please believe that. But, I never used to understand why it took some veterans so long to get past the events that they (we) were involved in during war. I had some bad experiences like so many others over in Vietnam. My unit was involved in a few battles and unfortunately, we lost two men during the whole 14 months we were there. I took a hit in my left shoulder that I thought I was going to lose my whole left arm from the shoulder down. 

It must be PTSD that I hear so much about. I never heard that term during the Vietnam War. This disease allows a person to function with day to day duties, but it’s something that’s always there. Triggers can cause flashbacks and that begins the episodes of anxiety in the mind of the sufferer. 

From what I have read, it also states that many women who are abused by their husbands or boyfriends may also suffer from PTSD. This brings me to my questions; 1. Is there any cure? 2. Does it ever go away?


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## squatting dog (Jul 22, 2019)

We didn't have the term PTSD, but I imagine most of us suffered from it at one time or another and probably still do. War changes you, no way around it. Some cope better than others. Myself, took a long time but I may finally be leaving it behind. That said, the movie Platoon had parts that closely resembled my time and area in country. Not all mind you (Hollywood always has to embellish). Years ago, I thought I had put it behind me when I happened to see the movie More American Graffiti, and for some reason, the shot of and sound of Huey's flying over the river brought on the most horrifying nightmares that I'd ever had. For that reason alone, I have no desire to view war movies because one never knows what the trigger is.


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## Trade (Jul 22, 2019)

I was in the Air Force. 

We had to deal with hardship too.


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## oldman (Jul 22, 2019)

squatting dog said:


> We didn't have the term PTSD, but I imagine most of us suffered from it at one time or another and probably still do. War changes you, no way around it. Some cope better than others. Myself, took a long time but I may finally be leaving it behind. That said, the movie Platoon had parts that closely resembled my time and area in country. Not all mind you (Hollywood always has to embellish). Years ago, I thought I had put it behind me when I happened to see the movie More American Graffiti, and for some reason, the shot of and sound of Huey's flying over the river brought on the most horrifying nightmares that I'd ever had. For that reason alone, I have no desire to view war movies because one never knows what the trigger is.



Once you hear the sound of Huey’s, you never forget it. They sound different than regular helicopters. They had different versions, depending on  what they were being used for.


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## win231 (Jul 22, 2019)

oldman said:


> I wasn’t sure that I wanted to post the following, but here goes:
> 
> I don’t mean any disrespect. Please believe that. But, I never used to understand why it took some veterans so long to get past the events that they (we) were involved in during war. I had some bad experiences like so many others over in Vietnam. My unit was involved in a few battles and unfortunately, we lost two men during the whole 14 months we were there. I took a hit in my left shoulder that I thought I was going to lose my whole left arm from the shoulder down.
> 
> ...


Maybe some people are emotionally tougher & can get past it & some aren't.  Maybe it has nothing to do with "inner strength."


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## Trade (Jul 25, 2019)

I always liked this one when I was a kid.

Guadalcanal Diary.






Especially William Bendix's prayer when the Japanese planes were bombing the crap out of them.

https://warstoriesandveteranshistories.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/im-no-hero-im-just-a-guy/

_



			I’m no hero, I’m just a guy. I come out here because somebody had to come. I don’t want no medals, I just wanna get this thing over with and go back home I’m just like everybody else, and I’m tellin’ you I don’t like it. Except maybe I guess there’s nothin’ I can do about it. I can’t tell them bums to head somewhere else. Like I said before, it’s up to somebody bigger than me, bigger than anybody. What I mean is I … I guess it’s up to God. But I’m not kiddin’ when I say I sure hope he knows how I feel. I’m not gonna say I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. Maybe I am and maybe I’m not. When you’re scared like this, the first thing you do is start tryin’ to square things. If I get out of this alive, I’ll probably go out and do the same things all over again, so what’s the use of kiddin’ myself? The only thing I know is I … I didn’t ask to get into this spot. If we get it – and it sure looks that way now – well then I only hope he figures we done the best we could and lets it go at that. Maybe this is a funny kind of prayin’ to you guys, but … it’s what I’m thinkin’ and prayin’.
		
Click to expand...

_


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## 911 (Jul 25, 2019)

Wow, that really hits home. I guess I could even say that truer words were never spoken.

Whoever wrote those lines was feeling the pain.


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## Sassycakes (Jul 29, 2019)

My Husband was in the Navy during the Viet Nam war,but fortunately he never was in combat. Sadly we did lose some friends in that war and I honestly can't remember my Husband ever watching a war movie.


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## ronaldj (Jul 29, 2019)

Trade said:


> I was in the Air Force.
> 
> We had to deal with hardship too.
> 
> View attachment 73107


that one made me laugh....I was in the first picture lots of times


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## jerry old (Sep 26, 2019)

Three topics, different but related


Haven't seen any post by Brown Water Navy :Gi's or Swabies.  Talked to one...He said it was 'a grinder meat' until they got the Monitor boat's
1.  They were only unit to be disbanded In Country (per doc. on TV two years ago)
First heard the term 'grinder meat,' from civilian barbers that gave haircuts in induction camp (proper name for site where you spent a
couple weeks, getting clothing, testing.-can't remember?)  He said the safety of the ship, then cruising the rivers was, 'PTSD just waiting to happen.'

2.  Also  The Horse Whisper-the real one not the movie.  He gave sessions on how he broke horses in a corral with seats for audience.
On many occasions he had women break down sobbing... once taken to seclusion they were all victims of spouse abuse.
Someone on site had knowledge of PTSD, stated symptoms were the same.

3.  Movie The Accountant: 
Run of the mill movie, save one scene:  Concern parents attempting to place autistic son in center where hopefully, he can be helped.
The head shrink stated: ' I don't know if we can help your son or not, we know so little...we have no test that will determine what is wrong,
we have nothing...know nothing,,,'

The stance of stating out loud what is obvious (to me anyway) got my silly ass thrown out of grad school.
I would not, could not mark an intelligent, thoughtful response wrong-according to the correct responses in the textbook, or those being taught. 
I believed, still do, when exposed to chronic violence, fear laden situations (and so many other lifestyle occasions-poverty, chronic household anger, exposure to those that have what you do not possess, and having the differences pointed out to you with verbal jabs-drives your
mind to find a safe place.  The paradox is that in seeking safety, you often respond with violence and/or total withdrawal. 
You want to know why there is so much violence in ghetto's-go live there-live with uncertainty, apprehension, viewing an outside society
that HAS, while you do not. 

PTSD was with us long before the Mongel Hordes swept through Asia...We 'found'' PTSD as a diagnosis and felt so very clever.

Oops: explanation, I was on military site, but with movies listed it sort'a fits


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## Warrigal (Sep 28, 2019)

Butterfly said:


> My husband, who was in Vietnam, could not watch any Vietnam war movies.  Whether they were true to life or not, they all set him off.  He had very severe PTSD, which was sometimes well controlled, sometimes not; but if he got into any of those Vietnam movies, it was like BOOM! he was right back there.


I can well understand that reaction. We recently saw an Australian movie "Danger Close - The Battle of Long Tan" that told the story a desperate battle in a rubber plantation near Nui Dat. 

It told the story without embellishment but it brought home to me how traumatising it must be to have this experience in real life.


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## rgp (Nov 13, 2019)

911 said:


> “Apocalypse Now” I also like watching Full Metal Jacket, Heartbreak Ridge And Platoon.
> 
> I wish that I would have met Chris Kyle.




 He seemed to have some 'issues' when he returned to civilian life. That whole Jesse Ventura bit / and the never proven hold up in the gas station ??

Still the most effective sniper ever....but maybe it all got "to" him ?


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## jerry old (Nov 13, 2019)

"issues"
You do the boots on the ground bit. if so-no problem, if not armchair folk
have no knowledge to state 'issues,'


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## win231 (Nov 13, 2019)

I just remembered a bumper sticker I saw a few times in the late '60's:
"It was a war.  It wasn't a movie."


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## Autumn72 (Dec 28, 2019)

Trade said:


> I was an Air Force REMF medic in Vietnam. My tour was split between the big bases at Cam Rahn Bay and Danang. So I didn't see any combat unless you count cowering on the floor while Charlie lobbed in a handful of rockets every now and then to harass us as combat. The funny thing is that in Vietnam about 90% of us were rear echelon support troops like myself, while only about 10% were in combat. Yet these days, when I encounter Vietnam vets it seems to be the other way around. About 90% of them claim to have been in combat and only about 10% say they were support troops. What's up with that?
> 
> My favorite Vietnam War movie is Full Metal Jacket.
> Was it realistic? You would have to ask a Marine that.


My husband was stationed in Danang, one week had to leave to Chu Lai, he was on watch as he recorded taped to me I sometimes could hear in the background bombs or rockets...he was a cook there. 19 years old. A bf after years long ago passed, he had a huge picture of him and his military Rangers someone drew. Of five men together. In Vietnam. Special Rangers, three times signed up for did see combat. He told me he carried my picture I sent him always in his pocket Everytime he went until they took it from him along with his clothes and threw him in a home in the ground..... yikes, that was why he was the way he was. Mr. James Connolly. 
Special Forces. I know you can't talk about it to him...just as good.


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## fmdog44 (Dec 28, 2019)

F Troop #1


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## tbeltrans (Jan 21, 2020)

911 said:


> “Apocalypse Now” I also like watching Full Metal Jacket, Heartbreak Ridge And Platoon.
> 
> I wish that I would have met Chris Kyle.



Though I avoid war movies in general, I did see some of "Apocalypse Now".  I can't speak for other Vietnam vets, but to me, the feel of the movie captured how it felt to me, the surreal aspect of it.  It is true that there is stuff that brings it back, and I prefer to avoid that.  I started going to the VA for medical just a couple of years ago and got some service-connected ratings.  The first couple of times going there, seemed to bring a lot back for a while.  Talking to other Vietnam vets, innocently enough just waiting for a blood draw or the pharmacy tends to reawaken some of it.  I guess I am really not much for revisiting the past.  But I am sure glad the VA is there for us.

Tony


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## jerry old (Jan 21, 2020)

I've become a fan of Russian Movies, with sub-titles of course.
The Russian spent 20-50K per movie, that is war movies and drama's with ww II as a background.
There quite good, you may miss all the car chases, wrecks, sex and violence we have become used to in American.

Now, the Russians are spending more on productions trying to win viewers in Easter and Western Europe.

Might not be your cup of tea, but there free.
I'm a kindred spirit to the Russian people, especially those living  in Siberia; their govt-mercy, how have they tolerated there mess.


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## jerry old (Feb 1, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> Give some reasons for watching war movies. They all are trash.


Not true, you know that.
You watched the documentaries?


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## rgp (Feb 3, 2020)

jerry r. garner said:


> "issues"
> You do the boots on the ground bit. if so-no problem, if not armchair folk
> have no knowledge to state 'issues,'




 I have no educated/taught knowledge of 'issues' either. And no I have never been boots on the ground but.......After read a book & seeing a movie about him/his life , I came to the conclusion that he indeed developed / or previously had 'issues' . That is my opinion , and i have every right to, an opinion.


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## jerry old (Feb 3, 2020)

Go pull up: Russian documentaries o n WW II, these guys were brutal.  

WW II was the Russian's Day in the Sun, and deserved.  It was their greatest triumph;
they continue to celebrate it annually.  

Russia is not a place you would want to live, but when you fight a war and are not overly concerned with casualties, you going to be tough to beat.

Their claim to wining the war singlehanded is not far from the truth.
That the allies air forces destroyed most of the German's infrastructure is given little
credibility.
Nor could they have pushed the Axis out of Africa; they ignore the Balkan 
Countries and Italy-which was a drain on the Nazis, but overall, their push to Germany
proper, would have brought their troops in the Balkan countries and Africa home.


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