Very mild spoilers dealing with the plot. Should not ruin the movie if you choose to view it. This movie is tastefully and eloquently executed in telling the story of a grandfather and grandson who both experience the ugliness of war, two generations apart. It addresses in part why so many veterans do not talk about what they witnessed. It touched me in several ways. Those who watched with me sometimes laughed, sometimes cringed, and occasionally shed a few tears.

This is the best performance I have seen from James Cromwell. He was very convincing as the grandfather reliving painful memories with a curious grandson who would not take no for an answer. The boy found a chest full of souvenirs on memorial day and wanted to know what they were and why grandfather kept them.

Inside most veterans of war there are two personalities.

One is the "protector". He or she cannot speak of the ugliness experienced because that would expose loved ones to the horror of war they intend to shield them from. Neither do they want loved ones to know the violence they were capable of. I learned that from my father but did not fully understand until he was gone.

I became a protector myself after Vietnam. Fighting a war on foreign soil in the hope it would never come to my home land. It still goes on to this very day with new generations.

The other personality is the "avoider". He or she is the one with the hidden psychological wounds that need to be healed but the veteran is unwilling to talk about it. Afraid to let the monsters out as if they lived in a "Pandora's box". The vet is fearful the demons and ugliness might be overwhelming. And the memories can be very painful so they keep them suppressed.

When my father learned I was to be drafted in 1966 he spoke to me of only a few things he witnessed in WWII. I suspect he wanted to prepare me mentally for what I was about to experience. Even then he could only reveal small bits of information.

Most decent men and women who experience war do not want to talk about it because it is ugly. There is no glory in war itself. Only in the halting of cruelty is there glory and honor.

This movie deals very cleverly with the experiences of veterans. It addresses war rather factually revealing how sad it is to watch someones life slip away much too soon. The murder that occurs in wars is always random, it is just a matter of bad luck that one soldier aims at the person next to you and you are spared. Or that you are only wounded and sent to be "repaired". Purely random, lousy, luck.

The horror of war does its damage to the emotional, psychological part of the human. Decent people are sometimes forced to make choices in war that they would NEVER make other wise. And the pain of that lives with them till death or until the memories fade due to something similar to Alzheimer's.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this movie for the way it addresses some most important issues. It may not be suitable for young ones because a few of the scenes being relived in the memory of the veterans get quite realistic.

This is a good movie, part of me wishes it was required viewing for 12th grade students.

This is a fine movie that respectful remembrance to those who have served in the military. However, the movie is not a polemic purporting militarism. Rather, it provides a thoughtful and sensitive retrospective on what it means to be in the military. The movie shows that that the American soldier is essentially a civilian who has been asked to become a soldier, which challenges one's sense of identity. The main character, Lieutenant Vogel is, by nature, not a violent person, yet in his role as an soldier he must commit violent acts, which leaves both physical and emotional scars. The movie effectively shows how this remains true even in more recent conflicts involving American soldiers. The United States is not by nature militaristic and regimented, thus when American soldiers are ordered into combat, they may have to perform acts that go against their essentially peaceful nature. And to perform those acts requires a level of bravery and courage that makes the American soldier the strongest and best soldiers in the world.

Too many young people have no idea what Memorial Day represents. Memorial Day can be a difficult holiday to explain. Its beginnings came after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. Southern ladies also decorated Confederate graves in Richmond and other important Civil War cities. Today, the holiday encompasses all wars. For anyone who has served in the military, family member or friend of service members, this is a Heart Warming movie. While, I will say the same about the film, I felt that the movie was missing a few things to make it a really good movie. Before I get attack from all sides, questioning my patriotism, for disliking the movie, a bit. Let's me say, that I honor the "greatest generation" and what they gave us through their sacrifice, but I have the right to voice my opinion and say the movie isn't perfect at all. The movie starts out, with low budget action in Iraq or Afghanistan with Kyle Vogel (Jonathan Bennett),the movie doesn't really explain where we were. All I know, is that it could have been New Mexico since half of the so-called 'Arabs' look Hispanic, Indian, and White. They even have the same actor play two different insurgents throughout the film and makes no attempt to cover the fact that it's the same guy. When Kyle Vogel get wounded in a battle, we enter a talk with the local nurse LT Kelly Tripp (Emily Fradenburgh) about a collection of items, he been carrying around with him and why he does it. The acting between these two are just awful. It is here, we enter a flashback to Memorial Day, 1993 where 13-year-old Kyle Vogel discovers the World War II footlocker belonging to his grandfather, Bud (James Cromwell). Everyone tells Kyle to put it back, but he force his grandfather to talk about it even when he says no. First off, the child playing him is awful actor. Second off, his character shouldn't force and shove it at his elder's face so that Bud had to relive awful horrible memories from his time in WWII. Me, personally, I wouldn't force any grandfather to tell me about WWII, unless he wanted to, and wouldn't shove his items in his face. Bud clearly didn't want to talk about it. Although Bud has never talked about the war, he finds himself striking a deal with his grandson: Kyle can pick any three souvenirs, and Bud will tell him the stories behind each one. Memorial Day not only takes us on a journey into Bud's complicated wartime past, but also into Kyle's wartime future. As the two men share parallel experiences in combat, they come to realize how that magical day on the porch shaped both of their lives. As for acting, I have to say James Cromwell, and his son John playing a younger him are the best. The strongest contribution comes from Cromwell family, who nails a demanding part, finding a core of realism and truth in a role. Everybody else is dreadful or mediocre at best. The story does its best to reel you in and feel for these characters, but flashback within a flashback story telling get kind of confusing. Since the movie is low budget, the action scenes look and feel like recruitment videos. Not the best Computer animation here. The smoke, the broken glasses, and the airplanes all look out of a 1990's computer graphic catalog. I have to say the wardrobe is pretty historic accurate. The $1.2 million production is historically accurate and impressive. The state National Guard provided modern helicopters, Humvees and extras, and collectors of vintage combat vehicles contributed German army halftracks, vintage jeeps and P-38 fighter aircraft. The war stories could have really happen. I like the first of Bud's stories. Still, how did Kyle Vogel knew there was a bomb by having a migraine? That's doesn't make any sense! The shaking cam, and the blurry scenes do hurt my eyes, but it's watchable. The movie very much reminds me of other recent Christian or faith-based films with its message. There is a few scenes with religious undertones. Its does have a few harsh language, and little to no gory scenes. So it's pretty safe for an R-Rated film. Overall: So-So movie with some faults. The ending was kinda emotional and the film was made with lot of heart toward it. If you just focus on the bad things in the film, you are missing the important reason why this film is made. This movie is to remember those that have fallen and those who have not fallen. It's for the troops. Worth a watch, at less once in a while.