97-Year-Old War Veteran Attends “Dunkirk” Movie Premiere. Walks Out of Theater and Breaks Down in Tears
The movie Dunkirk — about the 1940 evacuation of allied British troops in Dunkirk, France, who were trapped on the beaches by an advancing German army — really drives home to audiences what it must’ve been like for soldiers during that time. To see something that poignant on the big screen only makes the experience that much more palpable.
Well, it really hit home for 97-year-old Dunkirk veteran and decorated war hero Ken Sturdy, who recently saw the film.
On one hand, he was eager to see if the battle was represented fairly – on the other, he was nervous that the film would bring to light things he’s wanted to forget since leaving the beach.
He said, “It didn’t have a lot of dialogue It didn’t need any of the dialogue because it told the story visually and it was so real.” The film was so accurate that it actually left Sturdy in tears. After years of suppressing the memories, Sturdy was dealing with the battle for the first time in decades.
While nothing can stop the memories from returning, Sturdy can rest assured that the story of Dunkirk is being told accurately. Now Sturdy is trying to warn future generations about the truthfulness of battle. He said, “Tonight I cried because it’s never the end. It won’t happen. We the human species are so intelligent and we do such astonishing things. We can fly to the moon but we still do stupid things… So, when I see the film tonight, I see it with a certain kind of sadness. Because what happened back then in 1940, it’s not the end.”
