It sometimes feels like everything that can be said about our veterans has already been said when the holiday to thank all of our servicemembers for their service and sacrifice rolls around in November.
We need to honor our veterans and the wars and/or conflicts they have been a part of during the week of Veterans Day 2026. And once I thought it over, stepping back a little to attend our local East Valley (Mesa) Veterans Day parade and the Veterans of Foreign Wars VFW) community barbecue on Wednesday, I had an idea.
The arts have a unique way of saying things that many opinion articles can't. Movies can capture things that words alone cannot. And so many of us can find solace and meaning from them right about now.
I thought I would ask people what they consider the best movies of all time when it comes to the topic of war and veterans
In case you missed it while attending your own city's festivities for the vets, here's an appetizer on that subject. My colleague Teri Christoph recently wrote a column for VIP members reviewing the brand-new Jimmy Stewart biopic, succinctly called Jimmy, which many people can guess has a military veteran storyline. As Christoph wrote:
...[O]f course, his turn as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life makes the movie an annual must-watch for millions of families during the Christmas season.
But there's another side of Jimmy Stewart's story that doesn't get much attention, and that's his military service. It's a pretty amazing story, one that deserves to be told.
In another example, RedState's streiff just wrote up his thoughts and impressions on the latest movie starring Jim Caviezel, Ghost Soldier.
Back to my unscientific poll (which I posted on X; see the end of the column) about war pictures. I curated those picks into a series of four movies and their clips, in what I'm calling somewhat tongue-in-cheek, The Best Movies of Our Lives. If you know, you know!
Let's roll.
Now, one of my close friends dropped a surprise choice on me when I asked him the same movie question I asked the X users. He shared my love of the final movie on this list, but also included: "Stalag 17."
Stalag 17 (1953), as many readers might know, recounts the exploits of American soldiers being held in a German prisoner of war (POW) camp during World War II, and stars William Holden, Don Taylor, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Richard Erdman, Sig Ruman, and Otto Preminger.
It was adapted from a Broadway play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, who were inspired by their experiences as prisoners in the real German POW camp, Stalag 17B, in Austria. The movie was directed by Billy Wilder.
The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Director for Wilder and Best Picture, but only won for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Holden). It is currently free on streaming and, um, various YouTube channels if you search the title. You didn't hear it from me. ;)
One of the X users who replied to my Veterans Day movie question was none other than my colleague, Jennifer Oliver O'Connell
The world may tell you that you don’t belong, but your determination can prove everyone wrong. Cuba Gooding Jr. delivered a performance in MEN OF HONOR (2000) that deserves to be remembered alongside the greats. His acting calibre was right up there with Robert De Niro. https://t.co/Zwf7rxnxc4
— 💧Tumz 💧 (@tumzvintage) November 11, 2026
That's a hard one! I'll try not to go with the obvious choices. 1. Men of Honor. 2. Windtalkers. 3. Midway.
— Jennifer Oliver O'Connell (@asthegirlturns) November 11, 2026
Men of Honor (2000) is a great low-key choice, in my book! So, kudos are due to Jennifer.
The film was not a massive hit at the box office, though it did earn some critical acclaim (both Roger Ebert and his review partner Richard Roeper gave it a "thumbs up"), because of the great performances it boasts. Robert De Niro leads the cast, along with Cuba Gooding Jr., who was fresh off an Academy Award win for his role in Jerry Maguire four years earlier.
Gooding plays a real-life Navy recruit, Carl Brashear, who became the military branch's first African American master diver. In Men of Honor, the conflicting personalities and points of commonality that weave through the relationship between Brashear and Master Chief Billy Sunday (De Niro) are the focus of the compelling drama.
Another title that surfaced was Hacksaw Ridge (2016), a more recent war offering starring Andrew Garfield, from director Mel Gibson.
Like Men of Honor, this movie is based on a true story. Garfield portrays Desmond T. Doss, an American conscientious objector during World War II, who nevertheless did his duty in the Army and went on to earn the Medal of Honor for his brave actions.
Hacksaw Ridge was honored with six Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Garfield's solid performance here. Sadly, it was shut out of wins in major award categories. Gibson was snubbed in the Director category, too.
Now, the list of films would be incomplete without this last one: my top pick.
The William Wyler-helmed The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) focuses on vets and their loved ones readjusting (or failing to readjust) to civilian life after World War II. It's amazing to me how the movie was made just a year after the war ended. And while it's a classic, it was one that my late dad made sure was played regularly on our television at home. He loved it so much (almost as much as 1982's Conan the Barbarian, but that's another story).
In the great scene in the clip below, Homer Parrish (played by real-life veteran Harold Russell) tries to give his sweetheart Wilma (Cathy O'Donnell) an easy way out of their commitment, but she refuses to let him. Tissues city, folks! If there's a better definition of love, I don't know what it is.
Unsurprisingly, Russell took home the 1947 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his bittersweet portrayal, one of six statuettes the film garnered, including Best Director for Mr. Wyler and Best Picture. You can watch it for free on several streaming/community-based platforms right now.
My colleague at sister site Twitchy, Grateful Calvin, had a slew of movies and could not narrow it down easily.
Hard to name just two or three. We Were Soldiers & Blackhawk Down are two of my modern favorites. But the older ones, like The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, and The Green Berets, are up there.
— Grateful Calvin (@shoveitjack) November 11, 2026
For my money, though, nothing is better than Band of Brothers, even though that's…
Hard to name just two or three. We Were Soldiers & Blackhawk Down are two of my modern favorites. But the older ones, like The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, and The Green Berets, are up there.
For my money, though, nothing is better than Band of Brothers, even though that's not a movie.
I'll allow Calvin some wiggle room, as I figure many of you would. Series like Band of Brothers are practically movies, right?
Then there was this answer.
@BeccaJLower "The Best Years Of Our Lives" Period.
— The_Monarch (@The_Monarch) November 11, 2026
When you're right, you're right.
