Call of Silence

I just saw this episode for the first time. Great episode made all the more important by the performance of Charles Durning- D-Day vet, Malmedy vet, Silver Star, Bronze Star.

NCIS helped give us a bit of education, also, as to the particulars of the attack. This is the first episode I've seen that reflected a bit of history and the costs of those historical battles.

This episode is all the more poignant with Mr. Durning's recent death this past Christmas Eve. (Congrats also to IMDb for the timely update.)

R.I.P. Greatest Generation. "Thank You for your Service" to all past and present Service members.

This was also my favorite episode of NCIS. Charles Durning does a great job, and there are some great scenes in the show. My favorite is when Tony reveals the Medal of Honor to the two Marines who snap to attention and salute. In my opinion, (and I may be prejudice since I am ex-Navy)NCIS is the best show on TV. For the most part, they get the language right (bulkhead, etc) and the customs (not saluting when your cover is off, etc) Michael Weatherly is a good actor who can go from acting goofy to serious parts (like the time, he had the plague) And of course there is Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It will be real interesting to see how the spin off does.

This episode belongs to one actor - Charles Durning. Having seen action that resulted in him being awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star, acquiring a Purple Heart, and being appointed a Knight of the Légion d'Honneur by the President of France, it may have been difficult for him to control his emotions while acting this part, so close to his own history, but we saw no trace of that - he took us through the script and showed us exactly what the script wanted us to see. What a professional! Having said that, the rest of the regular team creditably kept up their end of the effort, making Durning's performance seamless. It would be unfair not to mention Alicia Coppola's part, spiking up the story as Lt Cdr Coleman - there is another consummate professional.

"Call of Silence" is the only TV show or movie I have ever rated a 10. The final 10 minutes are so emotional and heart wrenching I guarantee you will not have a dry eye, and the lump in you throat will be unavoidable. It will start when Ernie and Kate are slow dancing to "Begin the Beguine", which Ernie sings and hums. Moments later, when Cmdr. Coleman and two Marines are about to take Ernie into custody, Tony slowly pulls Ernie's tie to the side to reveal his Medal of Honor. Cmdr. Coleman and the marines snap to attention, and the marines smartly render a salute. I have watched this episode at least a dozen times, and each time I see this scene I feel a great sense of pride in our men and women in uniform, past, present and future. And finally when Gibbs convinces Ernie he did nothing wrong, it's another scene that will bring moisture to your eyes. Mr. Durning's performance (he was a real life WW2 veteran, and he shows Tony some actual photos of himself during his military service) is beyond outstanding in this episode, just one of the reasons this episode rates a perfect 10.

First off, how many people picked up on the significance of Yoshida saying "Iwo Jima, No... Guadacanal". Cpl. Yost was wounded on Gaudacanal and if he had NOT been, he wouldn't have met his Dorothy. And Yoshida had been fighting there.

Secondly, regarding the post, "Medal of Honor recipients", the poster commented that the episode produced some sweat around the eyes. I record this episode every time it is shown on any channel and every time I watch it, I cry. It was just on WE channel and my eyes are still wet.