“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”
– President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 27 November 1941

Each Memorial Day it is important to take a moment to reflect on our history and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  While Veterans Day celebrates the contributions of all those who have chosen to serve in our nation’s armed forces, Memorial Day honors those who gave their lives so that our freedoms and rights could be preserved.  For this we should be forever grateful.

While this weekend is popular for barbecues, it is also a time we can revisit the fields upon which this nation was grown.  Here is a collection of American military films categorized by conflict:

American Revolution
– The Spirit of ’76 (1917)
– America (1924)
– Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
– The Scarlet Coat (1955)
– Johnny Tremain (1957)
– The Devil’s Disciple (1959)
– 1776 (1972)
– Revolution (1985)
– April Morning (1988)
– Mary Silliman’s War (1994)
– The Patriot (2000)
– The Crossing (2003)
– John Adams (2008)
– All For Liberty (2009)

War of 1812
– Old Ironsides (1926)
– Brave Warrior (1952)
– Mutiny (1952)
– The Buccaneer (1958)
– First Invasion: The War of 1812 (2004)

Mexican-American War
– North and South (1985)
– One Man’s Hero (1999)

American Civil War
– Gone with the Wind (1939)
– The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
– How the West Was Won (1963)
– Shenandoah (1965)
– North and South (1985)
– Glory (1989)
– Dances with Wolves (1990)
– Gettysburg (1993)
– Cold Mountain (2003)
– Gods and Generals (2003)
– Lincoln (2012)

Spanish-American War
– A Message to Garcia (1936)
– Santiago (1956)
– This Bloody Blundering Business (1971)
– Rough Riders (1997)
– Baler (2008)

World War I
– The Lost Battalion (1919)
– All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
– A Farewell to Arms (1932)
– The Fighting 69th (1940)
– Sergeant York (1941)
– Paths of Glory (1957)
– Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
– The Blue Max (1966)
– The Red Baron (1971)
– Gallipoli (1981)
– A Very Long Engagement (2004)
– Flyboys (2006)
– My Boy Jack (2007)
– War Horse (2011)

World War II
– Casablanca (1942)
– Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
– The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
– The Longest Day (1962)
– The Great Escape (1963)
– Battle of the Bulge (1965)
– The Dirty Dozen (1967)
– Patton (1970)
– Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
– A Bridge Too Far (1977)
– The Big Red One (1980)
– Saving Private Ryan (1998)
– The Thin Red Line (1998)
– U-571 (2000)
– Band of Brothers (2001)
– Pearl Harbor (2001)
– Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
– Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
– The Pacific (2010)

Korean War
– Crusade in the Pacific: America at War (1951)
– The Bridges of Toko-Ri (1954)
– M*A*S*H (1970)
– Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
– 71: Into the Fire (2010)
– The Front Line (2011)

Vietnam War
– The Deer Hunter (1978)
– Apocalypse Now (1979)
– Platoon (1986)
– Full Metal Jacket (1987)
– Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
– Hamburger Hill (1987)
– Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
– Forrest Gump (1994)
– We Were Soldiers (2002)

Gulf War
– Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998)
– Live from Baghdad (2002)
– Jarhead (2005)

Wars in Iraq & Afganistan
– In the Valley of Elah (2007)
– Generation Kill (2008)
– The Hurt Locker (2008)
– Stop-Loss (2008)
– Brothers (2009)
– Green Zone (2010)
– American Sniper (2014)

You can find additional films in this Wikipedia database.  The History Channel app and documentaries are also great sources to learn more about our military history.

Remember what this day is about.  It’s not about barbecues, nor long weekends, nor parades.  It is about our fallen, who defended our country with their lives.  They fought for the very privileges we enjoy.  Today, we think of them.  We pray for them.  We honor them.

“Dear Lord, lest I continue my complacent way, help me to remember somehow out there a man died for me today.  As long as there be war I then must ask and answer: am I worth dying for?” 
Poem Eleanor Roosevelt carried during World War II