The end....When De Niro and Gooding are walking
When De Niro and Gooding are walking together to the courthouse at the end of the movie. It is one of the great moments in movie history. You just gotta look at the two of their faces.
shareill agree to that, i even love the part right before when cuba is getting dressed and you see the flag waving and then he looks out the window and sees a disabled father meeting his family again. and then it cuts to cuba and he smiles. and it's like he's thinking about his family and that he couldve been out of the navy so long ago and gotten back with them, especially now with his handicap, but he wants to press on and become what he always wanted. and the music playing and then him and de niro walking,, i love this movie. great story.
shareYeah, it was pretty fcking stupid, putting his diving before his family. Such a stupid not moving at ALL story. Horrible movie.
shareblake,
Before I launch into my answer to your post, let me tell you who I am.
I am a "cracker", whose family is from north eastern Arkansas. I have served in the US Army ... the active Army, not the Reserves, or National Guard, for over 18 years. I married my one, only and still wife (we married 4 years before I enlisted (as in, I am not an officer(I will carry her to bed when I finish this post))). I have served my country in Panama, Korea, Germany, and Iraq (in 2004, with the First Infantry Division (The Big Red One)). I have EARNED the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Superior Unit Award, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (5 times), the Army Achievement Medal (5 times), the National Defense Service Medal (2 times), the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Korean Defense Service Medal. I am a card holding member of the VFW, and a life-long member of the Association of the the First Infantry Division.
Also, my maternal grandfather was a tenant farmer like Carl Brashear's father. In fact, my "cracker" grandfather was a tenant farmer until the man who owned the property he lived on died ... in the 1980's.
You don't have any clue, do you?
In the early 1960's, it was State law, in most southern states that ...
Oh, just grow the *beep* up and read any book on the matter. Learn your nation's history.
Carl Brashear broke a color barrier, like Jackie Robinson did (but then, again, you probably have no idea who he was either).
Like Jackie, and the Tuskegee Airmen, they broke the color barrier not because they were black and belligerent. They broke the color barrier because they were not only Black, but because they were the BEST at what they set out to do.
Men of Honor is the story of how Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, given his background, color, and time in history, should NEVER have attained his job qualifications, or his rank. BUT HE DID IT ANYWAY!!!
He VOLUNTEERED to be in the Navy, in time, in the US where most black men were being drafted into the Army.
Once in the Navy, he ... the only way he could have gone as far in the Navy was with the support of his family. They had to believe in what he believed in!
I guess it all comes down to this: (follow me for a bit, there is a timeline)
I married my wife in 1985.
After a long and heated discussion(she was for it, before I was), I enlisted in the Army in 1989.
At times, she has been more supportive of my career, than I have. Let's see there was:
the 9 month separation while I went through Basic Training, and Advanced Individual Training in 1989-1990.
The 30 day separation in 1991, while I went in my first noncommisioned officer school.
The 120 day separation in 1994 when I went through my second noncommissioned officer school.
The 9 month separation in 1995, when I transferred to Panama, and waited for housing to put us in.
The 12 months I went to Korea, and couldn't take her from June 2002, to June 2003.
Whereupon, I yanked her, and our family from Oklahoma to Germany, and started prepping to deploy to Iraq in February of '04.
Then, from Feb of '04 to late Feb of '05, I was in Iraq, and she was in Germany.
We spent a fairly quiet 18 months in Germany, and then, kind of, settled at Fort Lewis, in Washington State to retire.
OKAY.
Have you followed all of my timeline, so far, puppy?
Compared to the real Carl Brashear, I have had a pretty easy military life.
For the first 10 years of my military life, my wife made more money than I did.
When I was in Iraq, this is one of the movies that were shown, on a regular basis, that made us (black, white, hispanic, whatever ...) that made us feel good about ourselves. No matter the service. I was Army, but I dealt with Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force ...
I've seen them all, men whose kleenex's you are not worthy to police up, get teary-eyed at this movie.
You know why?
We believe.
We believe in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, "the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave", ... that if we try, and work hard enough, that our lives can be better than we imagined, and if we instill that in our children, then their lives will be so much better than we can imagine.
I just wanted to tell you that you are wonderful and thank you for putting the feelings into words. Some people will never understand and don't want to.
"I've got a thumb, I've got a middle finger..."
Wow you posted this four years ago so I have no idea if you will ever see my response but I wanted to say I thank you for all of your service to our Country and for a really wonderful post. :)
shareI am white and a veteran of Vietnam (2tours, '67-69 at Danang. I served proudly for a period of almost ten years. You Sir, are right on the money! People like Blake can never understand what motivates us. Thank you for your service.
William Callen
Frmr S/Sgt, USAF.
We believe.
We believe in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, "the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave", ... that if we try, and work hard enough, that our lives can be better than we imagined, and if we instill that in our children, then their lives will be so much better than we can imagine.
Thank you for your service & sacrifice to our Country and her citizens. Thank you also for an excellent post!
share
Thanks!
The post you replied to is rather old.
I retired from the Army in October of 2012, after 23 years of service. (I had 18 years of service at the time of my post.)
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9 years (or so) down the line, I still stand behind EVERYTHING I wrote.
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To finish as I started:
Thank you.
My "service" was a privilege.
And I appreciate your kind words about my post.
Carl Brashear is, still, one of my "heroes".
Regarding ssglinus - Yes, totally appropriate that you give us your credibility quotient by which we can know the background and context from which you are speaking. And you have demonstrated the respect due the real people (or composites) in the movie that represent the best and the worst of humanity. The racism presented in the movie is absolutely realistic, and the resolution of the hatred of the Sunday character for Brashear is absolutely possible. Ideally, we resonate when individuals demonstrate moral courage, and we sorrow when people live inhumanely.
Thanks for your overview and commentary.
Oorah wardog. What's interesting to me is I know now as a combat veteran, had I watched this movie when it first came out(I'd have been a Lance Corporal or Corporal at the time), I could never appreciate then as I do now.
share[deleted]