Sept 25, 2007

Dear Sis~
I'm sitting on my bunk watching Ken Burns' PBS documentary called The War, a 10-hour film essay on World War II (from America's perspective, anyway). It's particularly interesting to watch the parts illustrating those battles which Dad fought in. As you know, Dad was in the 82nd Airborne even prior to Pearl Harbor and he jumped and fought at all of the 82nd Airborne's major (and minor) battles, from North Africa to Sicily to Italy to Normandy, to Holland where he lost his leg. These old black and white newsreels often show paratroopers streaming out of their transports, or huddled on their planes prior to jumping, and I often look at those pictures wondering if Dad was in that crowd. Anyway, this is an excellent documentary (as you'd expect from Ken Burns), very sobering and devoid of your typical rah-rah, flag-waving jingoism. It reminds you of the one undeniable truth: War is Hell.
Light & Love,
Bill