In Memoriam - Warriors Remembered

Do you want to live forever? - Valeria to Conan

We went to see a movie today. (Obviously inside. ;->)

Troy - Back when war was up close and personal. When it involved various clever pointed sticks and metal meeted out in proximity.

Perhaps it should still be this way, but Pandora's Box is opened and the ability to precision bomb from 20k-ft. has changed the face of war. For now, the enemy doesn't have to have a face.

The movie depicts champions representing their king, fighting to determine the outcome without the bloody loss of the entire army. A novel concept in today's world, but not without merit.

Still it is also a depiction of massive armies arrayed against one another. The precursor of what ravaged Europe for centuries to come.

In this "retelling" of the Iliad Achilles wishes immortality through his exploits. Not only did he get it, he was off by a couple of millennia when he predicts how long men would remember the battles.

Memorial day was originally about remembering soldiers who gave their all for their country. And in the present situation, there will be many of those added to the list.

I heard Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaking on Tony Snow's show about his new book. Brothers In Arms:The Epic Story of the 761St Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes was inspired by his Father's friend and partner. It was not until Abdul-Jabbar was an adult that he heard the story of the older man's WWII experiences. Sound familiar?

As I said last Thursday, The Greatest Generation. And we lose more and more of them every day.

God Bless and Keep them One and All.