Bush should rent a good film

Being Frank, by Frank Ameduri

Thursday night, as the wind pounded against the walls of my apartment, I decided to fire up a pot of coffee and put a movie on. I settled on "Saving Private Ryan" for no particular reason other than I hadn't seen it for a while. I can still remember the first time I saw the film in the theater. The Omaha Beach landing scene that fills the opening 20 minutes or so left me with a clenched jaw and a feeling that my senses had been overwhelmed.

The overall effect the film had on me is hard to put a finger on. It can't be called an anti-war film, but it can't be compared to the pro-war schlock that was popular for several years during and following World War II -- films like John Wayne's "Green Berets." Instead, "Saving Private Ryan" is about young men who did what they had to do. War should never be glorified or romanticized, but it can sometimes be justified. Whatever real reasons prompted the United States to enter World War II, one result was the end of the Holocaust, and that is certainly a justifiable end.

"Saving Private Ryan" makes no effort to gloss over the horrible aspects of human conflict, however. It depicts young men trying to survive a waking, endless nightmare. Many of them didn't make it home, and the rest were changed forever. While I find myself feeling deep respect and admiration for those young men, I also feel a sense of loss and sorrow for them -- even for those who survived. My son was only about 10 years old when the film first came out, and he was very caught up in the romantic aspects of war. Though I knew the subject matter was strong, I took him to see "Saving Private Ryan." We talked about it before watching the film, and again right after. On the way home he said, "I hope I don't ever have to go to war, but sometimes you don't have any choice, huh?" I agreed. I've been called a dove on occasion because of my cautious approach to the use of military force. It's funny, because I am a veteran, and some who have called me soft never served. When I joined the Air Force it wasn't because I wanted to go to war -- but it was with the understanding that sometimes we have to.

I was in the Air Force when the first Gulf war broke out. I was attending the Editor's Course at the Defense Information School as the conflict approached. It's an all-services school, and many of my friends were in the Navy, Marines and Army. When the war was only talk and still distant, they were light-hearted and blustery, as young men are wont to be. As my friends began receiving their orders for deployment, the mood changed. They became serious. One of the Marines was about 20, and he came into my room and just sat down at the desk. "Are you worried?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm not afraid to go, but I'm afraid of not coming back, if that makes any sense." It did. I worried that some of my friends might not come home, too. They all did. I know some young men going off to fight the next Gulf war, too. My son is now in Navy JROTC, and he plans to serve in the Navy. I'm proud of him, but I also worry that someday he may go someplace and not come home.

The question we should be sure of before sending our sons and daughters into harm's way is, "When some of our children come home with flags draped over their caskets, will we be able to justify their deaths?" How will we ever be able to answer that question about a so-called pre-emptive war? If some of our children die attempting to prevent a tragedy that might happen, will it make us safe from all possible tragedies? Will we be a little safer in a very dangerous world, or will we be completely safe? Is it worth the life of one American soldier if we're only a little safer? No matter what you think, it's certainly worth asking the question. I can tell you, perhaps selfishly, it's not worth my son's life -- not to me, at least.

The decision to send troops to war must be a tremendous burden to any president. This president seems to have made up his mind that this war is worth the costs. Before he makes the final call, I suggest he sit down and watch "Saving Private Ryan." If he does, he'll have to consider that the decision he makes will not only change the near future for the soldiers who will fight the war, but he will change their lives forever.

Frank Ameduri is managing editor of Frontiersman.