Patton Vs. the Victors

Patton and The Victors have both taught me more than I previously knew about World War II. Coming into this class, I really did not know much about the war. Everything I have learned about war was enough to hold a decent conversation. I am anti-war so getting into the book and movie was extremely hard for me. I do not think fighting is the solution to problems, but I also know sometimes war is what needs to be done. Though the book and movie were best sellers and academy award winners, they were pretty graphic for me. Graphic is not always negative, but reading and seeing people get shot and murdered is not quite what I prefer to imagine.

The Victors includes stories of individual battles, acts of courage and suffering, and explanation of the opening hours of D-Day. I learned more about bravery from these soldiers than I have in my own life. Their strength and will to fight harder as time passed was very inspiring. Every battle these soldiers fought gave them more and more confidence each day. These acts were very admirable. The way they continue each day even though it could have been their last. I do not think I could ever fight in a war for more than a day and the way these soldiers kept fighting made me open my eyes and realize how courageous a person can be.

The movie, Patton, was very informational also. This movie was very graphic to see. Every scene seemed to be more and more realistic. I was very naive to the fact of how gory war is, and this movie really made me see what it was like to be in a war. In the movie, the soldiers were very dedicated to fighting well. They showed me how dedication can really make you grow stronger as a person. Patton was a harsh, cruel man but yet an admirable war hero. Patton may have seemed uncaring but he cared about his troops. At times he was nasty, but he was in the Army because he loved it, not to make friends. His actions seemed a little callous, for instance when he slapped an enlisted man, but he had to do what needed to be done to fight and win.

The knowledge I obtained from The Victors I remember more than what I saw in the movie, Patton; therefore, I believe I learned more from The Victors. The book follows events of the war from D-Day through the final days when allied soldiers pushed German troops out of France, chased them across Germany and destroyed the Nazi Regime. The book taught me a lot about D-Day. D-Day was fought on June 6, 1945. I learned that D-Day was fought by kids who grew into men just from fighting in the war. This really made me see that this could have been me or even any of my family or friends and that scared me. Kids my age and even younger were fighting for our country and I thought this was huge. One event about these kids on D-Day really stuck with me. It was when a solider looked at a young kid named Danny Brotheridge and realized that all their training was a waste because it only lasted a matter of seconds and this poor, young kid was dead. He could have been graduating high school or college,