"The War" a strong show
From the Editor's Desk
Arthur McLean
I haven't been able to see all the episodes that have aired yet (thanks TIVO!) but from what I've seen, you should try to catch "The War" on PBS.

It's a World War II documentary directed by Ken Burns of "The Civil War" fame, and is airing on PBS.

Even if you only have a remote interest in history or World War II, you might be interested for other reasons.

Instead of trying to take in the whole scope of the war, which I content is impossible, Burns take the opposite tack and centers the story around the experiences of people in and from four American towns: Mobile, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; and Luverne, Minnesota.

I was interested in the documentary anyway, but the Mobile angle really put the hook in me. I grew up just a couple of miles from Brookley field and when a youngster, I spent many an afternoon riding my bike by the airfield and ogling the airplanes.

Of course, by that time Brookley had long since stopped being an Air Force base and reverted to civil aviation, but it didn't matter to me. I was in awe of the place.

Back to the documentary, it's a moving piece of work, and I recommend it to anyone with an inkling to see it.

I like the introduction to each episode. "The Second World War was fought in thousands of places, too many for any one accounting. This is the story of four American towns and how their citizens experienced that war."

The stories are touching, inspiring and heartbreaking.

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