In The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw begins his collection of stories of World War II participants with the account of a man named Tom Broderick. Broderick was nineteen and a pre-med student when he joined the Merchant Marine in 1943. After his training and a mission to North Africa, he shocked his superiors and quit, citing boredom and lack of a challenge. He then reenlisted, this time in the Airborne, training as a paratrooper. His first jump landed him in the Battle of Arnhem in Holland in September 1944, and five days later he got too high in a foxhole and was shot through the head. A chaplain prepared to administer last rites to the Catholic Broderick; but he managed to survive, though he would never see again.

Upon returning home, Broderick was initially angry and confused. For a brief while, he believed his life might be over. Nevertheless, he threw himself into the study of braille and took courses in insurance sales, eventually starting his own insurance business. He married and had seven children, whose friends often didn’t believe that Broderick was blind because he had taught himself to do so many different things. In the Vietnam era, the local Veterans Administration office would send blinded soldiers to Broderick’s house, where he would share with them his accomplishments and encourage them to believe their lives were far from over. Brokaw writes of Broderick:

Tom Broderick in so many ways embodies the best qualities of his generation. He was so eager to get involved in the war he enlisted in two branches of service. He was gravely wounded, but once he got over the initial understandable anger, he set out to be the best husband, father, businessman, and citizen he could be—sight or no sight. He didn’t grow bitter and dependent on others. He didn’t blame the world for his condition.

This week’s Best Picture winner, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, Samuel Goldwyn Productions), follows the stories of three veterans who return home to Boone City from serving overseas in WWII. Like Tom Broderick, they must adjust to “normal” life again—or, to the new normal. Al has a newfangled drinking problem. Fred has a wife he barely knows. Homer no longer has hands. Each man struggles to cope with the lingering horrors of war as well as the uncertainty of reentering a world that has gone on living—and changing—without him. Now separated from the rest of their brothers-in-arms (the only ones who shared their experiences and can understand their feelings), the three men form an instant camaraderie when they share a flight home on a B-17 bomber on its way to being retired in Boone City.

Homer, Fred, and Al on their trip home in the soon-to-be-retired bomber.

The Best Years of Our Lives proved to be the biggest box-office success since Gone with the Wind (1939). Nominated for eight competitive Oscars, The Best Years of Our Lives won seven: Film Editing, Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), Writing (Screenplay), Directing, Actor for Fredric March as Al Stephenson, Actor in a Supporting Role for Harold Russell as Homer Parrish, and Best Motion Picture (it failed to capture the award for Sound Recording, its eighth nomination). In addition to those seven Oscars, Samuel Goldwyn, the producer of The Best Years of Our Lives, was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (For some interesting info on this award, check out the Academy’s official Thalberg page: http://www.oscars.org/governors/thalberg); and Harold Russell, Best Supporting Actor winner, was presented with a special award “for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives.”

Homer’s legendary salute

Both Russell and his film character Homer linger in the minds and hearts of viewers of this film (The scene in which the handless Homer salutes Al and Fred, raising his prosthetic hook to his forehead is both brilliant and poignant). Russell himself was a bonafide WWII hero. Enlisting in the Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Russell became a paratrooper and also worked in demolition, excelling at both enough to become an instructor himself. On D-Day while the Allies were invading the coast of France, Russell was in North Carolina teaching demolition when defective TNT exploded in his hands. The remnants of his hands were amputated the next day, and he chose steel hooks for his prosthetic devices, becoming so adept at using them that he joked the only thing he couldn’t do with them was pick up a dinner check.

The War Department featured Russell in a short film entitled “Diary of a Sergeant,” which followed Russell around as he performed daily tasks, demonstrating to other soldiers suffering from amputation that they could still function in a relatively normal way. William Wyler, who had already been asked to direct The Best Years of Our Lives, saw the short film and asked Russell to join his cast. The rest is Oscar history. Harold Russell, a non-actor, is the only person to ever win two Academy Awards for the same performance in the same film—Actor in a Supporting Role and the Special Award that was given to him. According to legend, no one believed Russell would win Supporting Actor, so the Special Award was expected/planned to be his only honor for his role in the film! After his brief dip into the Hollywood spotlight, Russell went back to college, earning a business degree and becoming a passionate advocate for disabled veterans. He later sold one of his Oscars (against the Academy’s wishes) for $60,500 to pay his ill wife’s medical bills. He kept the Oscar he received “for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans,” which, I think, shows where his heart truly was.

Harold Russell with his two Oscars.

Like Tom Broderick, the undaunted veteran who lost his sight, Harold Russell’s life and traumatic war experience imbued strength and courage to those around him. Though his body was broken, his spirit was not. Instead of focusing on the negative, both Broderick and Russell made choices to see the positive. As Russell said, “It is not what you have lost but what you have left that counts.”

For more thoughts on The Best Years of Our Lives and its significance, please check out the full post this weekend! In honor of Tom Broderick and Harold Russell, you can view their obituaries, tributes to the lives of two self-less, courageous men, at the following sites: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-02-14/news/0602140249_1_mr-broderick-blind-date-merchant-marine, http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/01/arts/harold-russell-dies-at-88-veteran-and-oscar-winner.html.