I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. There were no great battlefield scenes where, of course, “we” win; the heroes of the movie are everyone on the beach, in the air, and on the sea. Although the numbers are staggering – over 300,000 men rescued in more than 800 small vessels, about 40,000 British troops that remained and became PoWs, and casualties of about 68,000 – I’d never given much thought to the horrors everyone faced, no matter which of those categories they were in.

On the way home, I said to Pat that I didn’t think the task could be accomplished today. War is fought differently but, under the same set of circumstances, I don’t think we are brave enough to pull it off.