A Time to Triumph

I remember seeing A TIME TO TRIUMPH a number of years ago although I did not know that was the name of it. Actually, I discovered the name recently when I was scrolling down the credits of Patty Duke and Joseph Bologna (the stars in this TV movie). Anyway, this is the true story of a construction worker with a wife and three children who has a heart attack and can't work anymore. In order to make ends meet, the wife joins the army and ultimately becomes a helicopter pilot. While this is a drama, there are some funny scenes. For instance, when Patty Duke is first in the army, she complains of the drill sergeant who she describes as a "23 year old woman who thinks she's John Wayne!" Also, the role reversal in the movie stood out in my mind. As time went on, Joseph Bologna eventually accepted the role of "househusband" and was busy raising the three children and handling the moves while Patty Duke was busy studying for exams etc. There was a scene that stands out in my mind where Joseph Bologna meets his old buddies and they make fun of him for being a "house husband." I like how he shouts back to the men and says basically, "Yeah, I'm a house husband and I am proud of what I do!" I think the ending was the most touching part of all in the film.

I was the 4th soldier, 4th squad, 4th platoon in the graduation scene. It was actually our graduation, B-10-2 Infantry, good thing they were filming otherwise wouldn't have been many women there...Pretty girl playing the female Drill Sergeant botched echoing her commands, but they had plenty of real soldiers in the female platoon to make them look credible. I saw Patty Duke at one point, shorter than I thought she'd be but very pretty, not just because I hadn't had any contact with women for 14 weeks either.

Movie was OK, actually above average for a TV movie of the week thing. I watched it when it originally aired, and was able to say "See Dad, there I was! I'm the guy in the BDUs..."

Did not know Patty Duke met her husband at Fort Rucker (not Benning); I thought she and John Astin were still together.

I saw this movie on AFKN while serving as division dental surgeon for the 2d Infantry Division on the DMZ. I was previously at Ft. Rucker and sure enjoyed some familiar sites I hadn't seen in nearly a year. I ran into Concetta at K-16 airbase while returning an A-22 cargo sling after an airmobile operation. She was sitting next to a patient of mine from Ft. Rucker and asked me to eval a tooth issue. She became a patient and a friend. Concetta was designated as one of a few VIP pilots with a commissioned officer navigator on board to provide air movement of dignitaries in Seoul, HQ for Eighth Army.

Based on a true story, Chuck Hassan (Joe Bologna) has a rewarding career which allows his wife Concetta (Patty Duke) to stay at home and raise the kids. When a heart attack takes him down, he survives, but is no longer deemed fit to work.

Concetta Hassan becomes the bread winner. She holds odd end jobs and continues to search. Some close calls at a night job ensue. Then one day she sees an Army recruiting stand and picks up a few brochures. While Chuck initially is against the idea of her joining, he eventually concedes.

From Basic Training to her rise in the Army, Concetta Hassan performs to the best of her ability and beyond providing well for her family. She turns the unfortunate circumstance of her husband's disability into a fighting chance to live and care for her family.

This is a different kind of military movie. Compared to most of the ones out there about fighting the enemy, the "enemy" in this movie is poverty and is the story of how one woman used the Army to better herself and her family.

Post Script (years after the movie): the real Concetta Hassan went on to serve close to thirty years in the Army. She served in Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. She retired during the latter.

"A Time to Triumph": Patty Duke portrayed that challenge very well and the person she played, Concetta Hassan prevailed at the end of a rewarding career.

Patty Duke (Concetta Hassan) is a housewife who must go to work after her construction worker husband Chuck (Joe Bologna) suffers a heart attack, and joins the Army, eventually becoming a helicopter pilot.

Duke is funny in her reactions to the Army's discipline, and is given a line `Do you know what it's like to live in fear of a 23 year old who thinks she's John Wayne?', which is interesting in the way the Army considers Concetta at 32 is old.

The teleplay by Lavina Dawson and George Yanok, based on a true story, has other funny lines with Bologna's `You actually want to join the army? You don't even like war movies', and by making Chuck a house-husband, since he is unable to work, pits his boredom against Concetta's ambition. Thankfully, Chuck realises that housework is a viable form of work, and that he has been supporting Concetta in his way by caring for their 3 children, so that Concetta doesn't have to make any sacrifices. The treatment stops once Concetta becomes a pilot, whereas what happens afterward might have yielded more drama. Director Noel Black has enough wit to present the ridiculousness of the Army's training mentality, and also doesn't make Concetta's achievement too unbearably heroic.