BATTLEGROUND (1949)

December 1944. A civilian victim of the Battle of Bastogne scrounges through garbage to find a scrap of food. I don't even see those things, a war-numbed GI says. I want to remember them! His buddy snaps. Bastogne veteran Robert Pirosh remembers with his Oscar -winning* screenplay for Battleground, a gripping tale of 101st Airborne troops resisting Hitlers fierce, final counteroffensive. Directed by William A. Wellman (The Story of GI Joe), the superb cast includes James Whitmore as a bantam rooster of a sarge and Van Johnson as a wisecracking PFC (as in Praying for Civilian). Rugged and unsparing, Battleground nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture makes sure we all remember.