Old and Young Soldiers Fading Away

I was very moved upon visiting Arlington National Cemetery. I found myself standing in awe at memorial, and pondering the sacrifice, the loss, the horror, and the dashed dreams of those who inhabit this National Memorial and this "Garden of Stone". Perhaps, as a veteran, I have a different spin upon visiting a place like this, and perhaps this also this lends itself to the feelings that I experienced when watching this video.

A veteran crew highlight this film along with (then - 1987) promising newcomers added to the cast. Francis Ford Coppola has created a masterpiece that follows everyday life in extraordinary times, where you can feel the tension mounting as the story progresses. The film is studded with brilliant acting, particularly James Earl Jones and James Caan. Anjelica Huston is very convincing in her role as a journalist, who is somewhat left of center, getting a very up close and personal view of the military, and the people who fill its ranks.

The story takes place during the Vietnam War and follows the daily life of members of "The Old Guard" the unit that is called upon for ceremonial duties, and also provide honor guards at military funerals in time of war. This is characterized as a combat unit, but of course these soldiers while they are in this unit will not be in the fighting zone. However, in time of war any day can bring the orders that will call a soldier from a place that is peaceful to a place that is not peaceful.

The soldiers in the Old Guard go through the motions of the military funerals. Though for the grieving family the myriad of emotions that would be coursing through their body and mind on that terrible day, which is also marked by precise beauty and ritual, for the soldiers of the honor guard it is merely another day. "Ashes to Ashes dust to dust, get this over, and let's get on the bus", is the cry of the young soldiers who perform their duty too many times during a war, where the sacred nature of the moment is changed, to one that is drudgery and commonplace.

That many of these soldiers may themselves enter into the "Gardens of Stone" is not on their mind, for they are young, and like the young they are not convinced fully of their own mortality. They do not recognize that in a war your youth is not in any way a deferment from calamity and death. So they are filled with the thoughts of the young as they go through their rituals of regular army life, compounded by their duties as honor guards for the recent casualties.

As a veteran who served in a combat unit, I find that many of these emotions common to the ones that I experienced. Day by day as soldiers we went through our duty, and though we knew there was a possibility of war, it always seemed remote, and when we were activated and made ready to deploy, it seemed rather surreal, and the idea that nothing would happen was how you maintained your sense of sanity in a rather insane situation.

These are some of the emotions that run through the movie, and certain characters in the cast. Rick Washburn does an admirable job as a young sergeant who is promoted to lieutenant, and volunteers to go fight in Viet Nam. Mary Stuart Masterson in one of her earlier roles plays a minor character as his wife. She is the prototypical general's daughter (not at all like the one of recent note)in love and devoted, and definitely above the young man's station. James Caan and James Earl Jones are two veteran soldiers who have seen it all, and felt it all, and know that this war is bad. Bad for the troops, and bad for their family, which is the US Army. They are cast perfectly in this role. They epitomize the professional corp of non commissioned officers who instruct the younger soldiers in their craft, and who are career oriented. Anjelica Huston is a journalist who is very much opposed to the war, and rather open about it. She begins a passionate love affair with Caan, who is opposed to the war for much different reasons.

The movie is well conceived, and is not really a war movie, as it takes place far from the fighting. However, the effects of the war are seen everyday in this moving, intelligently directed film. The acting as mentioned is passionate. The characters are engaging. Coppola and his cast have created a little known gem.