Why do World War Two films have an enduring appeal?

Um, because we won.

I'll read your link tonight.

I always liked the opening monologue from Biloxi Blues to explain our angle...

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/1066958/Biloxi-Blues-Movie-Clip-One-Of-You-Better-Wars.html

For me, the answer may be different than most- I lived through the event.  The war changed/affected our daily lives like nothing has since.  There was rationing of food, gasoline, tires, etc.  Virtually every day, front page of paper was dominated by war news. There were the bond drives, scrap metal drives and all those other ways to support the war.  In school, we had air raid drills quite often.  In many ways, government hyped war and kept reminding us of it to keep up civilian support for war.  This is not a criticism- all countries at war have to do this.  We didn't have TV until after war, but radio reminded us all the time with war news, and movie theatres had newsreels, which told of our heros.  Fighter pilots were the knights of that war- every young boy really followed them, and followed aviation, since that was what was going to win the war for us (at least aviation company ads led us to believe that).

Nothing we have had since had this kind of effect on our daily lives.  Yes, we have had other wars since, but they did not affect civilian population like WW2.  So those movies bring back that time for my generation.  As I said, younger people probably have other reasons, but that is a big reason for my generation.

My grandfather lived in Tacoma WA. at the time and he worked in the shipyards building escort carriers. I grew up with his decriptions of these huge ( to me ) ships and watching war films always reminds me of his stories  and history in general.

We as humans are only "passing through history" but the great wars (WWI and WWII )were history. The wars touched every corner of our world. and even through the destruction we as individual countrys learned how to interact with one another a little better(sort of anyways)

To me these films are a way to live through the history (and yeah..... not get shot !)

Hmmm;

    I have wondered about that myself . Having worn two uniforms in the service to our country . As I aged It became clear to me at least that there were many reasons and a lot of them personal .

 WW - 1 didn't have the impact for me that WW-2 did , but still . We as a world were growing up . Or thought we were . WW-1 was still in thrall to Royalty and Wealthy Corporate Barons . Folks wanting it all . WW- 2 was about self sufficency or so the Japanese story told .

   The choice of partners for them was abominable at best . Stupid at least . As one well respected military man in that island country said " We have awakened the sleeping Tiger " .

 So here we go , another war where our fine young men ( and some not so fine ) fought the Japanese Juggernaut to a defeat . Not easy as the Graves all over the globe ( ETO and PTO ) signify . Did we learn anything ? I doubt it .

 Again the American people were not told the truth about Korea or Viet - Nam . Did our boys die there . Certainly ! There were young men from other countries there , Both times , so let's not forget them .

 Now we do it again . Why ? We Cannot sit on our hands and let innocents suffer . We do that a lot . Until something so horrible happens it sticks in our craw .This time though we are fighting for Freedom? or what else .We should NOT involve ourselves in conflicts that have a Religious quantity to them .

 We remember the old wars , Why ? They made us think and know , hopefully , that our young men and women stood up to tyranny , and rightly so . With Honor and Honest Intent . We all know that there are back stories of course . Oil , Land , Etc .

    We don't look there . We look at crying mothers and decide we must help .That's what we are about .Our history , smudged as it gets sometimes proves that . Old wars were cut and dried sort of . The new ones not so much .  We always have needed heros .

 Hence WW -1 and 2 Movies and others too . We go off spinning alone in the mire of political wrongness sometimes . Heros take our mind off the bad and let us see and feel the good in all of us . I guess that's my muddled take on it .