November 11th is recognized as Veterans Day in the US and, in honor of the day, I watched one of the classic films of the 1960s that I had never seen before. It told the story of D-Day, the Allied forces storming the beaches of Normandy. It was called The Longest Day.

An unbelievable cast of stars and recognizable actors littered this film. The cast included John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Eddie Albert, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Richard Todd, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, George Segal, Paul Anka, Red Buttons, Robert Wagner, Rod Steiger, Peter Lawford, Richard Beymer, Steve Forrest, Ray Danton, Sal Mineo, Jeffrey Hunter, Arletty, Fabian, Roddy McDowell, Alexander Knox, Irina Demick, Hans Christian Blech, Bourvil, Donald Houston, Curd Jürgens, Stuart Whitman, Richard Dawson, Bernard Fox, Gary Collins, Georges Wilson, Peter van Eyck, Tom Tryon, Jean Servais, Tommy Sands, Norman Rossington, Madeleine Renaud, Wolfgang Preiss, Kenneth More, Richard Münch, Michael Medwin, Dewey Martin, Christian Marquand, Karl John, Werner Hinz, Peter Helm, Paul Hartmann, Leo Genn, Gert Fröbe, Mel Ferrer, and Ron Randell.

The Longest Day is a fairly realistic and accurate retelling of the invasion of 1944 by the Allied forces. The battles of the invasion were rendered extremely well for 1962, and I am sure that those survivors of the actual D-Day invasion had some difficulties watching this recreation. While we do not get the gore or blood of say Saving Private Ryan or other more recent war films, this does not shy away from shocking imagery and depends on the psychological more than just seeing the carnage associated with it.

It is a three hour movie, but to be honest, I felt like it moved extremely well. I did not feel the length of the film and there were enough separate characters and storylines to keep me engaged through the whole of the film.

An epic presentation of one of World War II’s most seminal moments. An amazing cast and some powerful imagery really helps to make this a total classic in American cinema. I am not a general fan of war movies, but this was really near the top of the list.

Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to all the veterans who gave their time, efforts, and, in some cases, lives to make sure that we have the freedom we live with in this country. Thank you for your service.