Musings on Ken Burns

I'm a huge fan of Ken Burns. I love his documentaries and I rate his "The Civil War" and "The West" as two of my favourites. If you haven't seen them, get thee to a video store or an online dvd rental subscription and watch them.

I love history. I always have and I always will. The interesting thing is that I haven't been overly interested in 20th Century history. To me, the older the better. I love the Classical World (ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome), Church, British and American history.

I know about World War I and II. I studied them in high school. I remember reading Barbara Tuchman's excellent book, "The Guns of August" in Grade eleven. My Dad was a huge fan of war movies and I grew up watching lots of bits and pieces of war movies. I know the circumstances that led to World War II. I know when it started (September 1st, 1939) and that it ended in May 1945 (V.E.) and August 1945 (V.J.) respectively. My parents, growing up in Britain during the War, told stories of some of the hardships they faced. I love the fashions of the 30's and 40's and the music. I adore big band, especially Glen Miller. "The Glen Miller Story" with James Stewart and June Allyson is one of my all-time favourite movies and I have Glen Miller playing in the background as I type this.

So, when I finally got a hold of a copy of Ken Burns' "The War" I pounced on it and we watched all the episodes that we had on hand. Watching it, I found hard to get my mind around a time when, basically, the whole world had gone insane. I just can't imagine the whole world at war. I knew about the Battle of Midway, knew of General Douglas MacArthur, General Patton, etc. I knew about the Nazi attrocities; I knew about DDay and I've seen what veterans consider the most authentic depiction of DDay in "Saving Private Ryan". I've seen "Schindler's List" and cried my eyes out. Some of the images from those movies will haunt me forever. I knew my "Uncle Ben" fought in India. But, seeing the stories told by veterans did something to me. Hearing the letters read aloud that were sent home was emotional. Some of the recipients were crying as they read them. Some of the photos and video were graphic. You saw people being shot and I often winced, knowing this was not a Hollywood movie; that was someone's son/brother/husband/sweetheart, etc. that was killed. I'm sure I've seen it/heard it all before, but this did something to me. Perhaps because Ken Burns has put a human face on it. It's easy to dismiss a lot of war movies as "just Hollywood". I mean, we all know it's Tom Hanks ("Saving Private Ryan") or Henry Fonda ("Midway") or John Wayne ("Sands of Iwo Jima" and "Back to Bataan")up there on the screen.

Ken Burns tells the story from the American perspective; that's all right, That's what he does best - Americana. He doesn't do it obnoxiously. He shows America's involvement, warts and all. He shows that some white Americans weren't too happy working side-by-side with Blacks in the shipyards and in their military units; that some Blacks were turned down for military service; that Japanese-Americans weren't allowed to join the army after Pearl Harbor (Japanese-Americans were eventually granted their own military unit). Kids in high school should watch his documentaries as part of history curriculum.

It's not that I was blind to what transpired sixty plus years ago. I observe Remembrance Day every year and proudly wear my poppy. Yet somehow that just doesn't seem enough. To all those that served: British, Canadian, Australian, American - everyone - a heart felt "thank you". Those of us that came after you can never repay the debt we owe you.