Maggie’s A Random Question for Military History Buffs

[Idaho Savage]

So I was watching a movie last night, The Kingdom, and there's a scene in it as follows:

Attorney General Gideon Young: I'm gonna bury you.

FBI Director James Grace: You know, Westmoreland made all of us officers write our own obituaries during Tet, when we thought The Cong were gonna end it all right there. And, once we clued into the fact that life is finite, the thought of losing it didn't scare us anymore. The end comes no matter what, the only thing that matters is how do you wanna go out, on your feet or on your knees? I bring that lesson to this job. I act, knowing that someday this job will end, no matter what. You should do the same.

I have but one question: Is there any truth to this? Is it rooted at all in reality? I know the answer is probably a negative but I found it intriguing.

And if you're wondering, The Kingdom is a pretty entertaining (though obviously Hollywood) story about an FBI team sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate an attack on US Citizens there. Definitely not kid friendly and not for those who dislike violent movies--it's pretty horrifically violent for a mainstream movie.

Thanks,

Idaho

 

[aur0ra145]

Tag, I'd like to see what others have to say.

 

[Unknown]

"Philosophy itself is but a meditation upon death. We live our entire lives to do it well but once."
Baltasar Gracian
I forget if the quote is from his book "The Art Of Worldly Wisdom", or from "A Pocketbook For Heroes".

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I have Westmoreland's autobiography somewhere... I remember that scene in the movie and had the same reaction... was it true? I'll see if I can find anything. But never came across that 'factoid' anywhere except in the movie The Kingdom. Suspect it was the stylings of the screenwriter.

Great flick, BTW.

Cheers,

Sirhr