Douglas Hanson over at American Thinker calls attention to some of the flawed messages of the movie Flags of Our Fathers. He reminds us of the movie making this point:
Right off the bat, viewers endure a clumsy and historically inaccurate attempt to weave in a comparison to the Vietnam War. During the first interview, Dave Severance, played by Harve Presnell (who portrayed Gen. George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan), says that from the moment the photo was published of a Vietnamese officer shooting a VC in the head, that the war was lost, and that “we just pretended otherwise” until our withdrawal from Southeast Asia. Likewise, he says, the Joe Rosenthal picture of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi won the war for the US.
This is simply propagandizing to a new generation of Americans without providing context or any modicum of historical accuracy. That the shooter was the town’s sheriff, who was understandably enraged that the VC he executed was part of a unit that
I witnessed this kind of propagandized introduction myself. Like Hanson, I too took offense at the distorted Vietnam generational interpretation of Flags. The racism directed at Ira Hayes in the movie also seemed a bit Hollywood. Hanson goes on to mention similarities between Saving Private Ryan and Flags. Private Ryan centered around an exaggerated scenario of finding one man. The thought of this being the single focus of a platoon commander during World War II trivializes the scope of the war. Yet, Private Ryan did much to remind us of the sacrifices made for our freedom. The Band of Brothers series from HBO presents the most accurate look at the war in the European theater from a purist's stand point. Hanson goes on and gives the redeeming quality of Flags when he suggests:
The Corpsman’s son narration finally makes some sense of this mess, and it never hurts to remind Americans about the sacrifices of our service men and women both past and present. At this, Flags does very well, even if it saves this important message until the end
I brought this message home with me and quickly forgot about the rest. And if the reminder of the price paid for freedom helps young people further understand the greatness of this country then Flags of Our Fathers is worth viewing.
on new Blu-ray releases including Gran Tarino. In fact this compelling Clint Eastwood movie is well worth the money. Gran Tarino delivers a powerful moral message. 
