Sunday, May 14, 1:30 PM, Rotunda Cinematheque
1
Director: Tom Putnam
Cast: Bill Jones, Andy Petrus
Country: USA
Year: 2006
Running Time: 92:00 minutes
Format: Beta SP
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During World War II, in the wake of the Pearl
Harbor attack, the Japanese army invaded and occupied an
American territory in preparation for a larger invasion
of the United States. The American public was not told of
the invasion. To the soldiers sent on a secret mission to
take the land back, though, this little-known part of World
War II history has haunted them for more than 60 years.
In May of 1943, on the remote Alaskan island of Attu, nearly
4,000 soldiers lost their lives over the course of 18 days
of fierce combat, grueling weather, and dangerous terrain
which the American soldiers were seriously unprepared for.
In this documentary, two American veterans of the Battle
of Attu, Bill Jones and Andy Petrus, the last surviving
members of their squad, return to Attu to revisit the battlefield,
recount their stories, and sadly discover the battle is
not over for them. On the spot where many of Jones and Petrus'
fellow soldiers lost their lives to a horrific Japanese
banzai attack, they are shocked to find a 22-ton monument
placed by the Japanese government as a memorial to all the
soldiers who died in the battle. For Jones, having the monument
removed becomes a new personal mission, but making people
understand the seriousness of his quest requires constant
sharing of the horrific details of a battle that most people
have never heard about.
Besides giving a much needed history lesson, Red White
Black & Blue shows a unique friendship between two aging
veterans and their efforts to properly memorialize their
important past. Battlefields are recreated through use of
archival footage, then-and-now photo comparisons, and on-screen
tour guides, bringing the harsh realities of war into clearer
vision for those who have never experienced it firsthand.
-- Skizz Cyzyk
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