Thanks, Debbie.
If it doesn’t snow this weekend I’ll catch it.
Thanks for these recommendations, as I’d probably never go to these types of movies without your recommendations.

The_Man on January 13, 2006 at 8:34 pm

Small bit of Irony here Debbie. You do realize that Tristan & Isolde is a musical piece written by Richard Wagner who as you probably know was very much an anti-semite…I’m sure the movie has nothing to do with this however.

Avatar on January 14, 2006 at 12:12 pm

Thanks for mentioning “The Great Raid”, I read the book on which the movie was based, “Ghost Soldiers”. But, I never got around to the movie. My uncle was moved from that Philippine camp to Mitsui Mine number 17 before the rescue. He mentioned that not many people know that POWs are buried in the runway at Clark Air Force Base. They were simply buried as they died into the tarmac.
When my grandfather died, I found a picture of all the services in parade formation for Memorial Day 1941 in the Philippines. I returned it to my Uncle, too bad I didn’t make a copy. The picture was not in his binder of letters and pictures that I went through after his death a few years ago. What was in the binder was very interesting. He was sent to be the NCOIC of the Marine guard at the American Consulate in Jerusalem in 1948. I didn’t know that there body armour vests back then, but the Consulate General had one on when a sniper found a seem and killed him.
He wrote in his memoir that there was not a tear shed for the “Peckerheads” at the UN when the Stern gang blew up the first floor of the King David Hotel. Amoung his belongings were a YMCA Jerusalem card. Apparently the UN didn’t learn their lesson in Iraq, simply follow them to the nicest accomodations in a particular area and presto, there is your target. He shared cigars and cognac with then Col, Moshe Dianne and refused a ceromonial headdress from King Abdul who sent it to him in a round-a-bout way because of regulations prohibiting receiving “gifts”. The memoir is a hoot. Maybe I should post it for its historical value. Sample: “…the Jews about had a conniption because they couldn’t take over the YMCA building. They wanted it for their temporary state capital. The high tower with the musical electric bells in the top would have been a wonderful observation point overlooking the old city and surounding areas where the Arab legion had their lines of defense set up….the UN called in some of the Belgian Army for security after the Stearn gang blew up the King David Hotel. They couldn’t speak English but sure knew what those brand new American almighty twenty-dollar bills were that they got paid with every week….
The following is on his POW Medal, for the historians out there:
Cabanatuan Camp No. 3
Fort Stoutsonburg and Clarks Field, Pampanga, Philipine Islands
Cabanatuan Camp No.1 All above located in Philippine Islands 6May-5Jul44.
Japanese Feighter ship (name Unknown)
Camp No. 17 omuta, Hanshu Island, Japan 11 Sep44 thru 13Sep45

code7 on January 14, 2006 at 3:30 pm

Avatar:
Yes, I was aware–and you are correct–that “Tristan & Isolde” was originally an opera, written by Richard Wagner–a vehement anti-Semite, whose compositions the Nazis used to play as they slaughtered millions of Jews. That said, this movie–while very loosely based on Wagner’s opera–has nothing to do with Wagner. I debated whether to mention his connection, but I figured it was best not to mention him and not give him the honor, since he has nothing to do with the movie.
Debbie Schlussel

Debbie Schlussel on January 15, 2006 at 10:56 am

“WE” really liked?
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Does this mean that you’re now taken, Debbie?

JoeM on January 16, 2006 at 1:44 pm