Go See The Great Raid

Just finished unpacking from a weekend up north with Laurie and her family. It was nice flying both ways, although Friday night was a little hairy. I didn't really get into any severe weather, but I had to dodge a pop up thunderstorm that mushroomed in the darkness over Bloomington and then set sail to the east right across my flight path. The preflight briefer had warned me it was forming but I knew I had oodles of clear air further to the east that afforded plenty of wiggle room to skirt around it.

I took off around 8:45 with a bright full moon to the east, some lightning to the SW and some interesting little blips popping up on the strikefinder to the NW. The blips to the NW were the neophyte T-storm the briefer had told me about, but I'd yet to see any lightning. Still, to be on the safe side, I stayed down at 3,500 and angled toward the clearer air to the NE. About 5 miles north of Champaign I saw the first lightning strike from that storm. The bolt was HUGE! We're talking a pucker factor of 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. I keyed the mike and, in the calmest pilot voice I could muster, asked departure if they saw anything on radar. "Uh, yeah, it looks like a small cell about a mile or two in diameter at your 10 o'clock about 5 miles. But it's plenty clear north of it along the rest of your flightpath. Suggest you deviate a little to the NE to skirt around it." Ya, think? The moon was actually doing a really good job of lighting up the precipitation coming out of the cloud, so I had no problem maintaining visual speparation. It really was an incredible sight. A blazing full moon off the right wing and off the left, this ghostly veil of rain, occasionally sillouheted by million volt blasts of electricity. I'd say, 'You had to be there' but looking back I wonder if even I should've been.

Saturday afternoon Laurie and I met Chicken and friends at the Air and Water Show. It was a great day. Kind of toasty, but I had slathered on the SPF 15 well in advance so I was good to go. While there we saw all kinds of cool military aircraft, including the brand spankin' new F-22 Raptor. They didn't do much but a couple of fly bys though. No combat type maneuvers. Just two passes and then "Bye, bye". My guess is they're trying to keep its full capabilities out of the public eye for a little while longer. At about 4 the headliners, the USAF Thunderbirds, took to the skies but had to knock off about 15 minutes into their routine because a couple of the planes in the diamond formation "touched". This resulted in one of them shedding a small piece of its airframe. Thankfully, they were able to return to the airport without incident. I didn't see the collision, if that's what you could call it, happen, but I did notice the two solos suddenly break off their next run and climb away to join the diamond which had formed up well over the lake to figure out what happened. After about 5 minutes they announced over the loud speaker that one of the T-Bird aircraft had experienced a problem and they were cancelling the demo and returning to the airport. We found out what actually happened on the news that night.

Now, about The Great Raid. The main reason I like this movie is that it points to the eternal that resides in each one of us. It's a poignant reminder that we are more than just flesh and blood. For instance, in one scene Joseph Finnes' character 'Gibby' is questioned by the Japanese commander of the POW camp, "What do you have left to live for?" Gibby's answer "I want to live long enough to see you surrender." Not an incredibly memorable line in and of itself, but it is made more powerful by the fact it's uttered by an emaciated form that can barely remain standing due to 3-years of forced starvation and recurring bouts of malaria. He radiates strength not because of any physical prowess, but because of something deep inside of him. The film is replete with scenes like these. Gibby's love, Margaret, is a leader in the Phillipine resistance. She too is tested and must draw on inner strength to survive.

The other reason I liked the film is that it seemed to indicate this kind of inner resolve comes from a power bigger and more powerful than yourself. In Gibby's instance, it was his love for Margaret and his fellow prisoners that drives him on. In Margaret's case it wasn't just her love for Gibby but mostly her compassion for the Phillipine people and the American prisoners enduring unbelievable cruelty. There were also allusions to trust in God, but being a Miramax film, allusions are all you really get. Anyway, my point is, the film underscores that we are at our best when we look outward and serve each other rather than ourselves.

I was also struck at how ordinary the soldiers seemed. There were no wild charactres like you'd find in something like the Dirty Dozen or even Saving Private Ryan. In fact they're all incredibly soft spoken. The only time they become "emotional" is during the raid. They don't act like over the top professional super soldiers either. They were like me or you. Regular guys who had an extraordinary job to do. You can see the weight of it in their faces as they plan and train--equal parts determination and uncertainty. You also learn quite a bit about the role the Phillipine resistance played in aiding the Amercian forces. The most powerful part of the movie, however, is the credits. In fact I think the whole film is just preparation for them. Whatever you do, stay for the credits.

And speaking of looking out for your fellow man, I learned today my friend Christy is returning from a two year stint in Moldova where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer. I was on an email list of hers that she used to keep friends and family informed of what was going on with her while she was over there. The one I received today was what I assume was her last until she returns to the States. It was especially poignant, and more than a little uplifting. I'd like to share it with you in the next post or two if she gives me the OK.