Question: When the guys are getting ready to go into town, one of them says about the sarge "as short as he is he's out of here in 30 days." Someone also said "anyone as short as Brownie shouldn't have been out there". What do they mean by short?
Question: There are scenes in the movie where Dick Best's gunner, Murray, is facing forward in their aircraft, particularly when the aircraft is on the Enterprise. The only time he appears to be facing the rear of the aircraft is when they are under attack. How is that possible?
Answer: Good eye! The gunner's seat in the Douglas SBD was on a swivel. The military rating was actually radioman/gunner, and when facing forward, he had access to a suite of radio equipment and a set of basic flight controls! He could actually fly the SBD from the rear seat, although this is never reported to have been necessary in combat.
Question: Does Schofield throw away his canteen after he pours water over his eyes? In any event he has it again to fill with milk at the abandoned farm house.
Answer: He puts his canteen back after he poured water over his eyes. You can tell because after he gets up it's hanging on his side again.
Question: When David steps on the land mine, the group rescues him by tying a rope around him and pulling while he runs. What exactly does this accomplish? It's impossible to outrun an explosion, much less pull someone to safety at supersonic speed.
Answer: Yes, I think the blast of a land mine usually goes straight up, unless it's a bouncing Betty.
Answer: Anti personnel mines usually have a small blast radius compared to a bomb or artillery shell. If they can pull him away quickly enough he can be clear of the blast.
Question: Is the Spanish flag seen on the building in Huelva the accurate one used during Franco's regime or the modern one?
Answer: During Franco's reign, 1938 to 1977, the flag (Rojigualda) had a different coat of arms, the Eagle of St. John, with 'Una Libre Grande' inscribed. It changed in 1945 to a bigger eagle, overall covering some of the red bands of the flag, so, as this is 1943, from what one can see, the flag is correct in the film.
Answer: "Short" in this context is military slang for someone whose tour of duty is coming close to an end. It's a derivative of "short-timer."
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