it's because they don't have much of it, so thier trying to make what they do have seem as good as possible.

A bit like a balding chap going with a comb over then?

Everyone knows that Errol Flynn beat the Japs in Burma ..

and what about that Yank on the motorbike obtruded into The Great Escape ..

The irritating thing is that there were some honourable Yanks who came and signed up before Roosevelt belatedly (with a slight prod from the Japs) got his act together. For instance, try & get hold of a copy of 'Yankee RN' or see the plaque in the corner of the deck in the Painted Hall at Greenwich. Also, there was a Yank in the Catalina that made a crucial sighting of the Bismarck in the Atlantic in May 1941.

There were in fact thousands of American troops in Burma

The USarmy QM Corps
The AVG
The Air Commando
The US Army Air Corp
The Long Range Penatration Regiment, (Merrill's Marauders)

see "Defeat into Victory" Field Marshal Viscount Slim

My late uncle was in 36 Div under Stilwell .. but I think I'll stop there.

Fcuk - you just broke my Sarcasm-Meter!

...really. Never seen 'The Big Red One'?.

Edit: As already mentioned. Just read the whole thread.

Another real good read is "The Generals, from victory to Defeat"by Robert Layman, gives a good insight into the FarEast war on both sides, the bits about the Japs are realy interesting

I'm just reading 'D-Day, Forgotten Voices' and something i didn't know was just how many British troops, including naval types were actually involved on the American beaches. Never noticed them in 'Shaving Ryan's privates'

Pearl Harbour was cr@p on an epic scale

Seconded. Not even uber-posh totty Kate Bekinsdale could make it worth watching...

I believe the American Navy said something similar, round about 3pm on the 7th. May well have been stronger words, actually.

The Yanks could have bombed Tokyo on the next day, from the Phillipines, if Mac Arthur had not been such a prat, they had a fare few B17s there but they allowed the Japs to take ths initiative.

Yum yum, Kate....... must watch the Underworld DVD's again just for that black PVC body suit.....

WTF would you know?

There were you?

Also portrayed I think...in the 1980 lee marvin film 'The Big Red One'...anyway that's all of no consequence...its big in 'Medal of Honour' and as I slot all the 'Boxheads' its a win win all round...

I don't know what the film is called but I spotted a new Vietnam war film DVD in HMV last monday.

The blurb on the back did say it was a Vietnam war film but the US soldier in the picture on the front of the box was carrying a WW2 vintage M1 carbine, while the helicopter whizzing past in the background was a Blackhawk FFS!



Thought I'd give that a miss and treated myself to a copy of MASH instead...

Rodney2q

They certainly were there but in the same way the British Pacific fleet was 'there' at the end of the war. The Yanks did all the work in the latter but were also-rans in the Burma War.

We (the Generals) did queer things a bit, by miss using the chindits, once Wingate was killed though

I recall this is the one that Flynn himself raised some objections to them putting Yanks fictitiously in the forefront. It got booed by British troops and the few Yanks actually involved. I recall enjoying it as a nipper.

The Septics are not alone in nationalistic war flick narcissism. I can't recall a British or Australian WWII far East movie that fully acknowledge that Indians did a lot of hard of the fighting. Or for that matter Canadians and Poles in the Western theater. The Poles pop up occasionally but more as ethnic color than major actors. Russians and Chinese rarely get an even shake despite doing most of the dying.

As to drivel: What's that one where yerman Owen Wilson ditches in Serbia and solves all the problems of the Balkans???

A little historical accuracy would be nice. It might be a change to the Allies (heroically) getting their arses handed to them by Eastern front seasoned Wehrmacht troops in France while the population get slaughtered in crossfire.

Incidentally I recommend The Boys Crusade to anyone with Band Of Brothers type delusions about the greatest generations martial qualities. Brave they were but mostly under trained, often badly led and out matched by the enemy.

VERY true about the Indian troops, they were just ethnic add-ons in ours as well despite being the massive bulk of the army. 3rd army still got the sh1t end of the stick regards publicity though and the Chindits were rock hard. No films of them at all as I remember!