The Last Full Measure

Murphman0526 Your claim that it is illegal to depict military uniforms, insignia, etc. accurately in a film is a myth created by Hollywood, which is simply too lazy and uncaring to get it right.

There is not and never has been such a law or regulation. Please stop spreading nonsense as an excuse for production companies' shoddy research and sloppy costume design.

P.S. I am a retired 30 year Air Force colonel and was an executive producer myself. I know of what I speak from both sides.

Politicians start the wars and our children die in them. A movie about values, bravery, tragedy and a man struggling to do the right thing. No "buzz" about this movies but certainly worth every minute n tear.

Sebastian Stan is a lawyer for the Pentagon. He's smart, driven, ambitious, politically savvy and looking for his next job. His last assignment at his current position is to look into the file of William H. Pitsenbarger, Jr., an airman killed in Vietnam twenty-two earlier. Members of his unit, soldiers whose lives he saved under the fire that killed him, his dying parents (Christopher Plummer in his final screen appearance, Diane Ladd) have petitioned to have his Air Force Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor he was originally recommended for. As he travels to interview the people, we hear the things they are not saying more clearly, and Stan does too, gradually becoming convinced that Pitsenbarger must have his medal of honor, even though he is not sure why, and the fight may make him enemies he can ill afford.

It's a heartfelt and meaningful response to the question posed in the movie -- and almost a century ago, in BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN -- as to what a piece of ribbon is worth. It's a distinguished cast, including Peter Fonda (also in his last screen role), Samuel L. Jackson, William Hurt, and Ed Harris. Highly recommended.

As a US Air Force Veteran who served in classified Intel overseas, I did not serve in-country Vietnam. I was at the cusp of the War, referred to as a Vietnam War Era Veteran. I have had friends and colleagues who did serve. We never discussed it. I respect that. If THEY wanted to talk about it, that was different. But, the rule of thumb among most Military Veterans was not (is not) to ask.

Until this movie, I was unaware of the Pitsenberger story. It is common for such movies to stir my emotions, deeply. This one surely did. The ugliness and senselessness of war, especially this war, were telegraphed across the screen with intensity. Yet, the spirit and compassion of Pitsenberger reveals a young man who was full of heart; and, love for others.

Again, as an Air Force Veteran, I feel honored to have learned about Airman Pitsenberger, superbly represented by Jeremy Irvine. The movie ended exactly as I had hoped it would. The cast of characters includes some of the best actors in the theater profession. Kudos!

The title of this movie derives from something Abe Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address all those years ago, "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion."

The event in question happened in Vietnam in 1966, 21-yr-old Airman William H. Pitsenbarger, Jr., a medic, decided on his own to scramble down into the fray upon realizing the unit's medic was the one wounded. He had been recommended for the Medal of Honor but it never went through, we learn because the paperwork routing went awry. It was eventually awarded on December 8th, 2000 during the Presidency of Bill Clinton.

Several really good veteran actors are the the roles of men who fought with Pitsenbarger, plus during the end credits we see and hear from several of the actual men who were involved during the 1960s.

Good movie, I watched it at home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped. Maybe 20% of the movie is recreated battle scenes, the rest in modern (1990s) times during the search to find out what happened and what needed to be done to get the award finalized.