My Top 10 Black and White Memorial Day Weekend Movies

It was tough picking out my top ten black and white Memorial Day weekend movies. There are so many movies to choose from, but these ten really do the job for me. These movies cause me to reflect on what our boys must have gone through, and why we have a Memorial Day in the first place. Here are my picks:

1. The Longest Day (1962). This is the epic story of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The cast is huge with stars such as John Wayne, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, and many more. If you only watch one movie on the list, this is it.

2. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). This movie covers the events leading up to the attack on Tokyo by Colonel Jimmy Doolittle (played by legendary actor Spencer Tracy) and his force of B-25 bombers. The attack shattered Japan's feeling of invincibility and gave America its first taste of revenge after Pearl Harbor.

3. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). John Wayne as Sgt. John Stryker, battle-hardened veteran squad leader who must mold his replacements into fighting Marines. Do you need more? Okay how about this? Three of the men who actually raised the flag on Mount Suribachi star in the movie as the flag raisers.

4. Twelve O'Clock High (1949). Gregory Peck takes over a B-17 bomber group in England which is low on morale and suffering from a lack of leadership. His style alienates the men, but he turns them around in the end. Actual B-17s are crashed in this movie for the battle damage scenes.

5. They Were Expendable (1945). Robert Montgomery and John Wayne run PT boats in desperate sea battles against the Japanese invading the Philippines. Outnumbered, low on ammunition, supplies and eventually boats, these men fought a valiant but futile delaying action that ended with their flight to Australia.

6. The Fighting Seabees (1944). John Wayne as Wedge Donovan, construction man who helps form the first of the Navy's "construction battalions" or "CB"s. He's not real good at following orders, but he'll get the job done.....Japanese or no Japanese. It's very fictionalized, but the basic plot is true to life.

7. Operation Pacific (1951). John Wayne as Duke (yes, "Duke") Gifford, a submariner with two problems. One, his torpedoes won't explode properly. Two, he's trying to get his ex-wife (Patricia Neal) back. The technical advisor for the film was Charles Lockwood, who as an admiral commanded all submarines in the Pacific during the war. Much of the combat in the movies is based on actual incidents.

8. Run Silent Run Deep (1958). This submarine war movie stars Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, among quite a few stars in the film. Gable plays an obsessed sub commander, single-mindedly hunting for the Japanese destroyer that sank his first sub. There isn't much room for consideration of his boat or his crew; he wants that destroyer!

9. Flying Tigers (1942). John Wayne as Capt. Jim Gordon, leading the Flying Tigers of the American Volunteer Group in China. Fighting the Japanese, lack of planes, spare parts, and sometimes each other, the ragtag bunch of aviators put a major dent in the Japanese air operations over China.

10. Pork Chop Hill (1959). The only movie on the list set in the Korean War; it is quite an illustration of the dogged will of our fighting men. Gregory Peck and George Peppard lead an ensemble cast portraying the men of the 7^th Infantry Division who are fighting a much larger Chinese force for a hill whose importance nobody can seem to explain. Based on a very real and very bloody actual battle in 1953 which resulted in two posthumous Medals of Honor.

All these movies show the fighting spirit with which our fallen heroes defended our country in its time of need. Load up on snacks and maybe a history book or two, and watch these movies.

Move out, soldier!