"If you’ve never seen 'Patton,' you shouldn’t even be reading this list."

The Army Times picks the "top 10 American war movies that should have made the AFI’s Top 100."

Whatever the reason, out of the 400 possible selections on the AFI ballot, only 21 could be characterized as truly American “war movies,” and some of those barely make the cut. Sorry, but we’re not counting fluffy romance films set against a battlefield backdrop (take that, “From Here To Eternity”). And we’re not counting sci-fi battles (forgives us, Yoda does).

We’re talking about classic movie moments that provide a snapshot of American military history, must-see films like “The Sands of Iwo Jima” and “The Green Berets” (two of the Duke’s finest. God bless you, John Wayne, wherever you are).

No, we’re not counting “Forrest Gump,” either. That’s all we have to say about that.

Nicely written, as you can see, by C. Mark Brinkley. Don't miss the note about the author at the bottom of the page. It's on my 10 best author's notes of all time.