Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 2/16

I brought out the heavy artillery today - four hardcover Danielle Steel novels. She has always attracted attention for me and did so again, as a nice Russian lady, thrilled at not having to deal with the library, bought one. Spasiba, madam. And thanks to Frank, who grew up around the corner from me on Bay 38th, who sent me a mail order for Adjustments and A Hitch in Twilight, completing the Fortezza trifecta.
I watched the final two episodes of The Pacific last night, courtesy of Netflix. In case you don't know, it is the companion piece to the fabulous Band of Brothers, which dealt with action in the European theater of operation during World War II. It is just as powerful. It follows the experiences of three men chiefly, Leckie, Sledge and Basilone. The series has a great pedigree, as Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks served as executive producers. They, of course, teamed on one of the greatest war films of all time, Saving Private Ryan. The depiction of the dehumanizing brutality of combat in the TV series does not take a back seat to that great film. Viewing it, I wondered how anyone survived the carnage, psychologically as well as mortally. Leckie and Sledge made it home and lived long, productive lives. Basilone, who grew up in Raritan, New Jersey, did not. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism on Guadalcanal, where he and two other Marines held off 3000 Japanese soldiers. He was then taken out of combat to do bond raising tours. He petitioned to return to the field and eventually was granted his wish. He was killed the first day of action on Iwo Jima, but not before earning the service's second highest honor, the Navy Cross. He gets my vote as the greatest Italian-American who ever lived.
At the end of the last episode, the face of each principal is showed individually, the actor followed by the real life counterpart, and a brief history is given. I wanted to stand and salute, a lump in my throat. In the final episode, Sledge's mom criticizes him for not getting on with his life, for sitting around and doing nothing. Her husband pulls her aside and says she has no idea what those men went through. None of us do. No film, no matter how powerful, can convey the actual experience. Americans will be forever indebted to its combat veterans, especially of World War II. They were our greatest generation.
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