A little cinematic gem that I discovered recently is the “Story of G.I. Joe,” a gritty and realistic war film that was produced in 1945, toward the tail end of World War II. Part of the film’s realism is due to the fact that it’s based on the real-life experiences of the Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
Directed by William A. Wellman, the film features acting legends Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum in his breakout role.
Pyle volunteered to ship overseas and cover the Allied invasion of Europe. He wanted to tell the story of the common Army foot soldier—the American G.I. To achieve this goal, Pyle traversed the same perilous territory, ate the same rations, crouched in the same foxhole as they did, and even ducked some of the same bullets as the soldiers. These actions garnered the soldiers’ respect for Pyle….