America's Wars in the Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood portrays fictional Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway in the movie. The title of the movie comes from a famous battle in the Korean War in which Sgt. Highway won the Congressional Medal of Honor, a battle that stills haunts him. He takes a group of undisciplined soldiers and turns them into a top-notch Recon team.

They get the chance to prove their mettle when the Invasion of Grenada happens. Mario Van Peebles co-stars as one of the members of the Recon team. Eastwood also produced and directed the movie.

Answer: Civil War

"Glory" takes place during the Civil War and tells the true story of the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment made up of volunteer African-Americans. Members of the regiment include - Thomas Searles an educated, free black man who was Shaw's friend from before the war (played by Andre Braugher), John Rawlins, the gravedigger who helped a wounded Shaw at the battle of Antietam (played by Morgan Freeman), and Trip an escaped slave (played by Denzel Washington).

The movie culminates with an assault on Fort Wagner, in which Shaw and half of his men are killed.

Although the assault fails, the bravery of the 54th spurs the creation of other African-American regiments, leading to 180,000 men under arms by the end of the war.

Answer: Patton

"Patton" tells the true story of one of the most flamboyant and charismatic generals of World War II. It follows his exploits from North Africa through Sicily, to his eventual banishment, and finally to his redemption on the battlefields of France, Belgium, and Germany.

Besides the Oscar for Best Actor, the movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Art Direction. The movie co-stars Karl Malden. The script was co-written by Francis Ford Coppola who would go on to direct one of the best Vietnam era war movies - "Apocalypse Now".

Answer: World War I - Lafayette Escadrille in France

"Flyboys" follows the fictional story of Blaine Rawlings (played by James Franco) and his fellow aviators in WWI France. Rawlings is a Texas cowboy, Lowry is there to live up to his family's honor, and Skinner is an African-American fighting because France accepted him when America did not.

Although the story is fictional, the Lafayette Escadrille was a true unit of expatriate Americans who flew for the French before the US entered the war. When the US did join the fight, the unit was transferred to American control.

Answer: Henry Fonda

"Fort Apache" is a fictional story in which Henry Fonda plays Lt. Col. Thursday and John Wayne plays Capt. York. Lt. Col. Thursday is a no-nonsense military man from back East, with no understanding of Indian warfare. Capt. York is an experienced combat veteran from the Civil War, with experience dealing with the Indians. Thursday won't listen to York and gets half his command wiped out in the ensuing battle with the Indians, by fighting on their terms.

The only thing he does right is returning to die with his men who have been cut off. York assumes command after Thursday's death.

Answer: World War II

"Saving Private Ryan" is a fictional account of a rescue mission during the first days of the Battle of Normandy. Tom Hanks is Capt. John Miller, commander of a company of Rangers who leads a small detachment on a mission to rescue the sole surviving member of the four Ryan brothers, the other three all being killed on D-Day. Private Ryan is a member of the 101st Airborne who parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day. Joining Capt. Miller are Tech Sgt. Horvath (played by Tom Sizemore), Private First Class Reiben (played by Ed Burns), Technician Fifth Grade Upham (played by Jeremy Davies), Private Jackson (played by Barry Pepper), Private Mellish (played by Adam Goldberg), Private First Class Caparz (played by Vin Diesel), and Medic Wade (played by Giovanni Ribisi).

Although fictional, the story is loosely based on the true story of the Niland brothers, three of whom were presumed dead so the fourth was brought home. It turned out later that one other brother had survived and was in a Japanese POW camp. The film is noted for its realistic portrayal of the landings on D-Day.

Answer: Stanley Kubrick

"Full Metal Jacket" is based on the semi-autobiographical novel "The Short-Timers" by Gustav Hasford, a Marine combat correspondent. The title of the movie refers to the type of ammo used by infantrymen in Vietnam. The movie follows the story of Private 'Joker' Davis, Private 'Cowboy' Evans, and Private 'Pyle' Lawrence among others, as they go through basic training and then Joker, Cowboy, Sergeant 'Animal Mother', and Corporal 'Eightball' among others in Vietnam.

Kubrick's genius in the movie is best illustrated by his use of R. Lee Ermey, an ex-Marine drill instructor. Initially, R. Lee Ermey was only hired as a technical advisor on the movie, but Ermey made an instructional tape that convinced Kubrick to allow him to play Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Kubrick allowed Ermey to write and edit his own dialogue and to improvise on the set, both of which Kubrick rarely allowed.

Other Kubrick war movies are "Paths of Glory" starring Kirk Douglas and "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott.

Answer: Civil War

"The Horse Soldiers" is a fictional account based on a true story of a Union Cavalry raid deep into the South during the Civil War. In the movie Wayne plays Colonel Marlowe and William Holden plays Major Kendall. The raid upon which the movie is based occurred during the Vicksburg campaign and was led by Colonel Grierson. Both in the movie and in real life, the raid was a highly successful campaign meant to destroy Southern rail lines and communications. John Wayne and director John Ford teamed together to make "The Horse Soldiers".

The two collaborated in more than ten movies together, including many classic Westerns.

Answer: Red Dawn

"Red Dawn" is the quintessential 1980s Cold War movie. Coming out in 1984 during the height of the Reagan presidency, it captures the patriotic mood of the country at that time and the fears of the Cold War turning hot. The movie features some of the hottest young actors and actresses of the 1980s at the beginning of their careers.

In the movie, the United States is invaded by the Soviet Union and their Latin American allies. The students of a local high school form a band of guerrilla fighters to resist the occupation. They name themselves Wolverines after the mascot of their high school. Particularly noteworthy is a scene in the movie in which the Wolverines are attacked by Soviet Hind helicopters, the same helicopters the real-life Mujahideen were facing in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. The Mujahideen eventually defeated these Soviet helicopters with Stinger missiles provided by the US. It turned the tide of the war against the Soviet Union who withdrew in 1989.

Answer: The Battle of Normandy - World War II

"The Longest Day" is a factual representation of the events that took place on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the first day of the Battle of Normandy in WWII. It was based on the history book of the same name. The movie runs three hours long and focuses on all aspects of the invasion and is therefore a true ensemble piece.

Besides Wayne, the movie features Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Red Buttons, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Peter Lawford, Paul Anka, Robert Wagner, Rod Steiger, among others. Wayne plays the role of Colonel Vandervoort of the 82nd Airborne who, despite breaking his ankle, commands his troops throughout the day. Of special note is the casting of Richard Todd who plays Major Howard.

He actually took part in the invasion on D-Day as a British paratrooper.

Answer: The Patriot

"The Patriot" tells the fictional story of Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) and his son Gabriel (Heath Ledger). Benjamin is a veteran and widower raising seven children on his own who does not have time for the American Revolution. But his son gets caught up in the times and does join the Colonial forces. Benjamin gets dragged into the war when his son is captured and going to be hanged as a spy.

After rescuing his son, the two join the Continental forces in fighting the British and the loyalists. The movie then focuses on the local battle between Benjamin as the leader of the local Colonial militia and Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs) as leader of the loyalist militia.

Answer: Vietnam War

"We Were Soldiers" takes place during the Vietnam War and is considered the first major engagement of that war. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore, then Lt. Col., wrote the book upon which the movie is based, "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young". The movie was generally well received even though some critics challenged it for portraying the war in a positive light.

The movie follows US forces as they enter the field and are ambushed by superior North Vietnamese forces. The US forces fight off the enemy and win the victory, setting the stage for how the Vietnam War would be fought and, in the estimation of the North Vietnamese commander, lost by the Americans.

The NVA commander realizes American forces may win most of the battles but that they will lose the war by attrition.

Answer: Iraq War

"The Hurt Locker" is directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film tells the fictional story of a three-man bomb disposal unit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, during the Iraq War. The screenplay was written by a freelance journalist, Mark Boal, who had been embedded with such a unit in 2004.

The movie stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty as the members of the team. It follows their story through their tour of duty and all that goes along with being a bomb disposal unit.

Answer: William Holden

"The Bridges at Toko-Ri" is a movie based on the novel of the same name by James Michener. Although a fictional story, it is based on real bombing missions against bridges at Majon-ni and Changnim-Ni, North Korea flown from the Valley Forge Aircraft Carrier during the Korean War. Michener had been a correspondent on the Valley Forge and Essex during the war.

The movie revolves around US Navy Lt. Harry Brubaker, played by William Holden. Grace Kelly plays Holden's wife and Mickey Rooney plays Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney. During a visit with his wife in Tokyo while on leave, Brubaker exhibits the stress of combat and his wife worries for his safety. Her fears are justified as Brubaker gets killed after successfully bombing the bridges at Toko-Ri. Considering the bravery of the men in carrying out their duty, the movie ends with the question, "Where do we get such men?"

Answer: Persian Gulf War

"Three Kings" is a fictional story set right after the Persian Gulf War during the Shiite uprising against Saddam Hussein. Sgt. Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) and PFC Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) find a map on an Iraqi officer who is a POW. They keep the map and show it to Barlow's friend, Sgt Chief Elgin (Ice Cube). Special Forces Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) catches wind of the discovery and joins the other three in going after the gold the map shows.

In many ways the movie is a remake of the WWII classic "Kelly's Heroes".