Bill Petro

WHY WE FIGHT

The world is different than it was even a few years ago as we celebrate Memorial Day. We now are fighting a war, and we now remember why we fight. The History Channel re-runs the HBO series “Band of Brothers,” the adaptation of the Stephen Ambrose book about a company of men from the landing at Normandy through the end of the World War II.

During WWII my father crossed paths a couple of times with the Company E mentioned in “Band of Brothers”. Once at the Battle of the Bulge and later while liberating the death camp Dachau.

My father’s story is told in part on HBO’s website regarding the episode on the liberation of Dachau at: http://www.hbo.com/band/landing/why_we_fight.html.

Dachau gate: “Work Makes Free”

My father had seen a lot of action during the war and later was in charge of three P.O.W. camps for German prisoners, but nothing prepared him for what he saw at Dachau. He said that he watched his commanders vomit when they saw the camps. Those who were liberated were like the dead, they could not believe that they were finally being freed.

When I stood before this plaque attached to the tunnel leading up to the gate shown above, even with the school children running around playing in the yard on field day, I wept as I considered the bravery of my father’s group, Rainbow Division, one of three to liberate the camp.

These gruesome images must never be forgotten. It must never be forgotten what barbarism that man is capable of committing toward fellow men. But some may say, “I don’t want to think about it, surely no one believes that these atrocities were justified, that they’d ever be repeated.” But only two decades ago, an organization asked to use University of California conference grounds property for a meeting. This request was later denied when it was learned that the organization requesting the facilities believed that the Holocaust was a hoax, that it did not really occur. There was also a corresponding outcry that this organizations’ free speech rights were being violated.

A person who remembers the past can be grateful for the freedoms that were purchased at great cost by those who went before them. They can memorialize those who fought and died, they can honor those against whom horrors were committed. A person without this sense of history is a severed person, self-referential, cut off from the past.

On this Memorial Day, the words of George Santayana, Harvard philosopher and poet are most apt:

“Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com/johnpetro

MEMORIAL DAY

The city of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, an American village on the National Historic Register, claims to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, as does some 24 other towns in America. But Boalsburg’s claim goes back to a practice at the end of the Civil War. It does have an local museum, and a history that stretches back over two centuries. It’s claim is supported by pointing out, on a large sign near the center of town that:

The custom of decorating soldiers’ graves was begun here in October, 1864, by Emma Hunter, Sophie Keller, and Elizabeth Myers.

Named for David Boal who settled here in 1798. Village laid out in 1808. Boalsburg Tavern built in 1819. Post Office established 1820. First church erected 1827. Home community of three United States ambassadors.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

Mission: Impossible: III

I was privileged to see a private sneak preview the third installment of the Mission Impossible franchise, and what is arguably the first blockbuster popcorn movie of the summer of 2006.

Let me say from the onset that it starts with a bang and doesn’t let up. It’s non-stop action from beginning to end. It’s like watching 2 episodes in a row of the TV show 24. Total adrenalin rush. It has “video game” written all over it.

The female lead, and love of super-agent Ethan Hunt’s life is Julia, played by Michelle Monaghan, with a preternatural resemblance to Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise’s real-life fiancée. Ms. Monaghan has been seen in the films North Country, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (ironically, the title of a song in the James Bond movie Thunderball), and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Speaking of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in a scene in the first act of M:i:III, new recruit Lindsey, played by Keri Russell, and Ethan engage in “synchronized shooting” like that seen in the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie.

There were a number of other “tributes” as well. We see Ethan and Lindsey repelling on a cable like in Batman (the latest installment of which Katie Holmes was in, but that’s another subject.) The HQ role of Benji Dunn, played by Simon Pegg reminds one of James Bond’s Q, though the more eccentric one from the non-canonical Sean Connery outing Never Say Never Again.

There is skyscraper-to-skyscraper swinging, a la Spider-man. Indeed there are a number of great stunts, though it is at times difficult to believe that Tom Cruise did all of his own as claimed.

We can say that this time his hair is normal for a change. In the first installment, it was unusually short, it what many called “a bad hair day.” In the second it was quite long. In this one, it’s just right.

While this movie is back to the ensemble cast, unlike M:i-2 which was more of a “mano-a-mano” film, in this movie Ethan is not just one of the agents, as he was when he started in the first Mission: Impossible movie. Rather, he’s the leader of a group that seem more like his chorus.

Ving Rhames is a welcome return as Luther Stickell. Didn’t we see him play essentially the same role for Sean Connery in the 1999 movie Entrapment?

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is Declan the transportation expert. We don’t usually hear his natural Irish accent, but it’s evident here, and much better than the Irish accent that came and went when Tom Cruise tried it in the movie Far and Away. It’s interesting to see him play a good guy, as we’ve usually seen him do somewhat unpleasant characters earlier, as in The Magnificent Ambersons and Vanity Fair.

The Asian beauty Zhen is played by Maggie Q and has played in few English-speaking movies, though she’s a star of Hong Kong films.

Laurence Fishburne plays head of operations Brassel, though less iconic than he was in The Matrix.

The villain, and international weapons dealer is Owen Davian, played by recent Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman. It’s great to see how good he is at being bad. Quite coldblooded.

There is the usual intrigue, assumed and mistaken identities, and split-second timing we’ve come to expect of Mission: Impossible. And we’ve got the strains of the original theme music for the TV show written by Lalo Schifrin, including the military drums as the mission begins.

There were four units with filming going on all over the world, including the US, Berlin, Shanghai and Rome. Most of the Roman filming was in and around the Vatican, including Declan’s unlikely parking in the middle of the piazza of St. Peter’s.

The action is fabulous and there’s lots of eye candy – from beautiful locations to beautiful women to beautiful cars. The gadgets are improbable, but flashy. Nokia got listed in the credits (for some cool phones.) But Cisco was listed too!

The previous M:I movie came out in 2000, before the TV show 24 became a hit. There are many similarities to it in the new M:i:III movie, from hand-held camera action to the “speak or die” ultimatums. Yet somehow, this movie does not hook the viewer on a visceral level like 24. Kiefer Sutherland brings an angst to his role of Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer that Cruise does not for his character. Rather he brings intensity, passion and fear. This is not as engaging, the audience does not care for his character like they do for Jack.

Final take: the movie is a bit formulaic. By that I don’t mean to say that it’s derivative of other spy movies, though it is, but rather I mean that they include the most successful elements of highly popular movies, mix them together in a winning formula, put it in a blender, set it on “cacophonous,” press all the right buttons, and out comes a movie that is sure to be a hit. It will please most of the movie-going public, though it’s a rollercoaster ride with little in the way of modulation or variety. But for my money, I’d give it a B. Jack Bauer needn’t worry about his job at CTU.

• You’ll like it if: mindless, senseless action with lots of gadgets is what you crave
• You won’t like it if: you are looking for plot sense, depth, plausibility, logic or character development

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood culture vulture
www.billpetro.com

CINCO DE MAYO

Cinco de Mayo is frequently regarded as the Mexican equivalent of the United States 4th of July. This is incorrect. In actuality, it is the equivalent of the 5th of May. Nevertheless, a number of important things have occurred in Mexican history on the 5th of May, indeed, on a number of different May 5ths throughout the years. One of these is the commemoration of the last Beer Bust held at Sun Microsystems. But this is relatively insignificant historically. Of greater importance is the battle of Cinco de Mayo that occurred in 1862.

Juarez, who had been Zapotec Indian minister of Justice in Juan Alvarez’ cabinet in the 1850’s, entered Mexico City on January 11, 1861 and promptly expelled the Spanish minister, the papal legate, and members of the episcopate. Additionally, he took steps to enforce the decrees of 1859 disestablishing and disendowing the church. He could not have known at this time that almost a century later, “antidisestablishmentarianism” would become the longest word in the English dictionary. Although Juarez was recognized by the United States and had received both moral and military aid from the US, there were over $80,000,000 in debts at that time to Europe alone. The Mexican Congress in July 17, 1861 decreed the suspension for 2 years of interest payments on the external national debt, and 3 months later a convention occurred between Great Britain, France, and Spain calling for joint intervention in Mexico.

As European forces advanced, and particularly the French troops, their advance was checked at Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com