'The Big Red One'

Again, all kudos to the late, great Lee Marvin. The guy was a beast of an actor and he was a total true badass (having served in World War II and getting shot in the ass ... as previously reported on this blog ... and the rest of the Internet).

The guy was extremely good and he probably has a total of 40 lines in every film. "The Big Red One" does not refer to say a person, but instead an actual numeral, one (1) and the U.S. Army's First Infantry Division (which wore a big red 1 on its sleeve).

It's a surprising film given that it was released in 1980 (actually, one day after my actual date of birth) and probably had some of the most realistic battle scenes in cinema. Granted, it was no Saving Private Ryan, but the scenes are very chaotic and violent.

It also stars Mark Hamill during a time when a majority of human beings knew him as Luke Skywalker.

While watching it, I thought about when we were kids and we'd discuss which branch of the armed services we'd join if we were forced or decided to do it.

I can't really swim. Well, I swim better now than I ever used to so it seemed that the navy and marines seemed out of the question. In fact, I asked a recruiter in high school whether you needed to know how to swim to join the army. He said you didn't, but I only assumed he was lying because he was speaking to a library full of promising recruits and if all it took was a little white lie to get me join the ranks, then so be it.

All things equal, I think the navy seems pretty cool. I could probably get a lot of satisfaction out of touring the world and living on a submarine or battleship. However, I think it comes down to the army. They stick to solid ground a lot, the air force seems too hoi polloi and the marines are so stuck up. Army it is.