Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
By Linda D. Kozaryn
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary William S. Cohen presented
the Defense Department's highest civilian award to director
Steven Spielberg at an Aug. 11 ceremony here.
A military honor cordon welcomed Spielberg to the Pentagon,
where he received the Department of Defense Distinguished
Civilian Public Service Award for his 1998 film "Saving
Private Ryan." The movie sparked national awareness of the
World War II generation's sacrifices. Cohen said it helped
reconnect the American public with the nation's men and
women in uniform.
Spielberg's "masterpiece poignantly captured the stirring
sacrifices of America's World War II heroes, and paid
living tribute to their indomitable fighting spirit," Cohen
stated in the award citation. The film is a "historic
contribution to the national consciousness, reminding all
Americans that the legacy of freedom enjoyed today endures
in great measure because of their selfless and courageous
actions."
"Saving Private Ryan" also prompted veterans to reveal
personal war stories, Cohen said. "For decades, many of the
veterans struggled to find the right words, the right way
to share with family and friends what they had suffered
through during that war. Over the past year, we have heard
so many stories of veterans, who after seeing this film,
finally venturing forth to tell a son, a daughter, or a
grandchild of their experience.
"So this film has not only provided an emotional catharsis
for yesterday's veterans, but a reminder to today's
soldiers that the 'gift outright' was many deeds of war,
that blood and bone and soul was sacrified so that a
mechanized evil in Europe would not triumph and stamp out
the fires of freedom," Cohen concluded.
Taking the podium following Cohen's remarks, Spielberg
joked, "I'm in the Army now." The director of "Jaws,"
"E.T.," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Color Purple,"
"Amistad," "Jurassic Park" and other blockbusters, then
said two films stand above the rest.
"I feel that in my experience as a filmmaker, lightning has
only struck twice in a way that has filled me up with such
pride," he said. "One of those times was 'Schindler's
List,' and the other was 'Saving Private Ryan.'
"I think that if every American could renew their vows with
America, as I have had through the working privilege of
making 'Saving Private Ryan,' they could feel a pride in
their country that right now fills my heart and soul, and
makes me humble," Spielberg told the military and civilian
guests attending the ceremony.
Spielberg said his goal in making "Saving Private Ryan" was
to remember the sacrifices of his father's generation and
to try to get his children's generation to honor the past.
He wants them to understand what World War II did for
America and the world.
The "act of remembrance" has been the director's focus over
the last several years. "It's very easy as we move into the
next thousand years to forget the last thousand," he said.
"Today's youth have a tendency to live in the present and
work for the future, but to totally be ignorant of the
past."
Spielberg called on filmmakers, writers and television
producers and others conscious of this vanishing history,
"to all do more to point people backward so we can take
that giant leap forward."
Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
American Forces Press Service
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