Why We Dream

In Meredith Danluck’s powerful documentary Why We Dream, the weight of history and the intimacy of personal memory collide on the beaches of Normandy. At its heart, the film asks a deceptively simple yet emotionally piercing question: why would veterans—now centenarians—return to the very place where they saw unimaginable destruction, where friends and brothers-in-arms fell, and where trauma permanently etched itself into their lives? The answer, as Meredith Danluck shows us, is less about reliving the pain and more about honoring the resilience, the camaraderie, and the enduring spirit of a generation that still carries the echoes of June 6, 1944. Through archival material, home movies, cinematic portraiture, and the veterans’ own words, the film paints a deeply human portrait that goes far beyond the well-worn tropes of military history documentaries.

What makes Why We Dream remarkable is the sheer diversity of the voices chosen. Meredith Danluck refuses to limit the narrative to the familiar heroism of soldiers storming the beaches. Instead, she gives equal space to figures like Betty Huffman-Rosevear, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps who was widowed during the war but chose to keep serving in order to bring aid to the wounded. Her story is not just about sacrifice but also about finding purpose in the face of profound loss. Then there is Gideon Kantor, who fled Vienna when the Nazis invaded, only to return as a U.S. soldier who would go on to liberate the Ohrdruf concentration camp. His story is a living embodiment of history’s cruel ironies and its redemptive turns. And Arlester Brown, a Quartermaster engineer in the 599th Quartermaster Laundry Company—an all-Black unit—represents a crucial reminder of the contributions of African American soldiers, often sidelined in mainstream war narratives. His recent decoration by the French government with the Legion of Honour during the ceremonies at Omaha Beach brings overdue recognition to his service and that of his peers.

The film intertwines these personal testimonies with broader historical context, reminding viewers that the “Greatest Generation” did not emerge from privilege or stability. Many of these men and women had grown up during the Great Depression, and the war was not just a battle against fascism but also an extension of survival and resilience learned during their formative years. One veteran recalls being a poor farm boy from Minnesota, and that sense of humble beginnings becomes a poignant thread throughout the film. These recollections make their eventual roles in one of history’s most pivotal moments all the more extraordinary. They were ordinary people asked to shoulder extraordinary burdens, and Why We Dream captures both the weight and the dignity of that responsibility.

The cinematography elevates the film from documentary to near-poetic meditation. Scenes of veterans walking the beaches of Normandy are juxtaposed with archival footage of chaos and bloodshed, creating a jarring yet necessary contrast between past and present. When one veteran remarks on the trees now growing where the invasion once raged, it becomes a powerful metaphor. He notes how the trees, though separate, help one another grow by intertwining their roots—a reflection of how survival, healing, and remembrance are possible only through solidarity. This natural imagery is not just a stylistic flourish but a deeply human reminder that history, too, can grow new branches if nurtured properly.

The documentary also situates itself within a wider cultural conversation about remembrance. It acknowledges works like the U.S. Army’s Why We Fight propaganda films directed by Frank Capra, created to counteract the Nazi spectacle of Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will. By including clips of these films, Why We Dream draws a line between historical messaging and modern storytelling. Where propaganda sought to simplify and inspire through controlled narratives, Meredith Danluck’s film strives to complicate, to deepen, and to give voice to experiences that had been overlooked. It is a storytelling act not of myth-making but of truth-telling, one that insists history is not singular but a mosaic of perspectives.

The documentary’s premiere aboard the USS Intrepid was itself symbolic. Though the ship saw action in the Pacific rather than in Europe, its deck became a vessel for memory, an intersection of commemoration and reflection on the 81st anniversary of D-Day. The setting underscored the film’s thesis: remembrance is not bound to geography but to the stories we carry with us. The veterans featured—Sam Carlile, Wally King, “Papa” Jake Larson, George Mullins, Andy Negra Jr., Jay Biancalana, Karlan Larson, and Paula Lee Micallef, among others—represent not just individuals but conduits through which collective memory flows. Each brings a different facet of the American wartime experience, from the beaches of Normandy to the hospitals of the Pacific, weaving together a tapestry as complex as it is moving.

As time advances, the urgency of Why We Dream becomes clear. The number of surviving World War II veterans dwindles each year, much like Holocaust survivors who still bear witness at Auschwitz commemorations. Soon, firsthand testimony will no longer be possible, and films like this become not just artistic endeavors but vital historical archives. The documentary doesn’t just capture their voices; it captures the silences between their words, the emotions lingering in their eyes, and the unspoken bonds they share with the fallen. It’s less about glorifying war than about understanding the human cost and ensuring that cost is not forgotten.

Why We Dream is both a tribute and a call to reflection. It reminds us that history is not just the sum of battles and strategies but the accumulation of individual lives, choices, and losses. Watching Meredith Danluck’s film, one is struck not only by the bravery of the veterans but also by their humility. They return not to relive trauma but to honor memory, to acknowledge absence, and to stand as living bridges between past and present. The film insists that remembrance is not passive; it is an active choice, a moral obligation, and a collective dream. In the end, the title resonates deeply: we dream not to escape the past, but to keep it alive in ways that shape the future.

Why We Dream
Directed by Meredith Danluck
Produced by Meredith Danluck, Meredith Danluck, Casey Engelhardt, Matthew Shattuck, Drake Springer
Starring  Arlester Brown, Sam Carlile, Gideon Kantor, Wally King, Jake Larson, George Mullins, Andy Negra, Betty Huffman-Rosevear
Music by Hans Zimmer, Christian Lundberg
Cinematography: Jake Burghart
Edited by Brian Gersten, Ronnie Silva
Production companies : Pulse Films
Running time: 93 minutes

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