In part because it united all Americans behind a moral aim and in Essay

In part because it united all Americans behind a moral aim and in victory, World War 2 lives on in modern American memory as the - Essay Example There was a general feeling among Americans at home that the war was being triumphed by the Japanese.1 During this time, the film acted as a source of inspiration for the American population and the mixture in cast, ranging from the whites to the African Americans meant that the film acted a source of togetherness and unity despite race. Though indeed the Americans soldiers were being heavily attacked and defeated by the Japanese military, Bataan inspired Americans to believe that as much as their soldiers were dying, they were giving the war their best and dying for a country and freedom of their families back home. The film depicted how American forces were being driven out of manila by Japanese forces. An American unit of thirteen soldiers that was multi ethnic in its composition, consisting of individuals from different societal class and race decided to work together to blow up a bridge that the Japanese were using. The idea behind the move was to give the Americans and Australi an troops time to advance northwards. The group of thirteen men was headed by an experienced sergeant who was tough speaking and no nonsense. The diversity of composition of the unit of thirteen men meant that there was diversity in opinion and approach to stopping the continued invasion by the Japanese into manila territory that the US occupied. In spite of the challenge in ideology and race, the unit managed to hold Japanese army, albeit for a little time. According to Bennett (2012) the thirteen American soldiers seemed to stand their ground, almost wiping out a large proportion of the Japanese army. Unfortunately, due to their small number, the American unit of thirteen men eventually lost the battle to the Japanese army. The Japanese took to eliminating them one by one. Eventually, the last American soldier to die died holding his machine gun, charging towards the Japanese army, shooting at them. Some of the officers in the unit had differences due to past backgrounds, but due to the fact that they had a common enemy to fight, neither of them acknowledged the differences and instead the opted for unity of purpose to fight for their country. The film was set depicting how hard the American troops were fighting, the unbearable conditions they lived in and their determination to win the war. This film acted as an opener and morale booster for American citizens back home who were of the thought that the war was being won by the Japanese. Disease plagued the soldiers, some died of malaria and other disease since they were fighting in forests manifested with mosquitoes as well as other dangerous animals (Christensen 1987). The movie depicts great efforts by the American troops who were outnumbered by the charging battled hardened Japanese troops. Among these efforts were the bringing down of Japanese aircrafts as well as the eventual blowing up of the bridge that Japanese relied upon to cross over into the Bataan Mountains. The outnumbered American soldiers ble w up the bridge twice. 2During the first instance they blew it up, the advancing Japanese troops captured the area and were in the process of rebuilding the bridge when the American soldiers again hit the bridge and blew it up for the second time. This team spirit and determination to win the war despite all odds being against the unit made the movie a huge success. It inspired a sense of togetherness for the American population during the time. Though racism was a common feature in the society, the