Gran Torino was, I think, Eastwood's crowning achievement. Subtle, politically incorrect, yet ultimately celebrating humanity.
Heartbreak Ridge, one of my all time favorites, is a blast from the past. It reminds us of the bad old days of the post-Vietnam Carter years, when we were supposed to be in decline. The military was a joke, and many of the leaders coming up were REMFs trying to grab some glory the easy way.
Gunny Sergeant Highway was a war hero who rocked it old school, and he wasn't appreciated by peacetime desk jockeys. Many despised our military back then. Hard to imagine in this post-9/11 world.
Remember Grenada?
We had a president with balls who was not afraid to make a stand. We sent the Cubans (the ones who survived) packing back to their gulag on the Caribbean, and put some starch back in our step.
The US Military I retired from was much improved over the one I entered in the early 80's. Some whine about the billions spend and that we have dissipated our power over the past 9 years, but that's bull. Our military is leaps and bound over what it was in 2000. Yes, we have spent a ton of money, but we still possess the most powerful economic engine in the world and the greatest workforce on the planet.
America is great because her people are great.
