Fragments

NCIS is a great show all around and they've done some incredibly moving episodes but this episode may be the most poignant. A toss up with the one with Charles Durning guest starred as a Medal of Honor recipient. A very similar storyline as well.

Charles Robinnson should get a supporting actor nod for this one

Vietnam was "my war." It changed our country for years, so much that it still serves as a touchstone for my children and their children as they face today's Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and the wars to come. This episode reminded us all of the huge price war exacts. May we learn to love those who fought and fight, but to hate those who make us fight. It is indeed staring into a glassy lake.

"Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" was originally by Credence Clearwater Revival, but this version was sung by Jonathan Clark. This episode got to me the same way the ep with Charles Durning got me. My father is a vet of both Vietnam and Korea, but he never saw combat. And despite not seeing combat, he refuses to talk about what he heard from other soldiers. It was that bad. I can't even begin to imagine. As a Gen Xer, I want all the Vietnam vets who are still with us to know how much you are loved and supported.

The Marine LT. Has a crisis of conscience, and sends his wife his audio tape regarding his decision. The audio tape never gets delivered, and another Marine is sentenced to life in prison for 'fragging his C. O.' 50 years later the audio tape is delivered, found behind a wall-mounted shelf in an old post office undergoing remodeling. The audio tape reveals a bombshell in the case of the imprisoned Marine.

The story was good, up until the last 10 minutes. The resolution, the boogey-man of 'the white guy was a racist', was disappointing. If the resolution had been, 'we lied about the situation for the benefit of the LT's wife', it would have been a better ending. But, by this time, NCIS had tipped toward the more liberal side in their scripts.