Part time travel story and part identity switch, this episode of The Twilight Zone examines the perspectives of both sides of combat, much like Clint Eastwood's 2006 film "Letters From Iwo Jima" did. It's an attempt by Rod Serling to humanize an enemy, and dehumanize the brutality and mindlessness of war. As a gung-ho young lieutenant (Dean Stockwell) takes command of a battle weary unit on August 6th, 1945 (just hours from the fateful bombing of Hiroshima), he suddenly finds himself on the opposite side of the war some three years earlier with American surrender in the Phillipines imminent. Lieutenant Katell is forced to understand that there is no glory in humiliating the enemy into surrender. He's challenged to respond to a question posed by the man he replaced (Albert Salmi as Sgt. Causarano) - "How many men have to die before you're satisfied"? It's a query that finds more relevance when the shoe is on the other foot, as Lieutenant Yamuri finds himself berated by his commanding officer Yamazaki (Dale Ishimoto) when he expresses doubts about the mission. It's the classic Twilight Zone paradox.
One of the great delights for me in watching The Twilight Zone is seeing who shows up in each episode. The added bonus supplied by this one is the appearance of Leonard Nimoy in a pre-Star Trek role. Maybe not a big deal for a lot of folks, but it would seem to me that Nimoy's not someone you'd expect to see in the Zone. Even without a major role in the story, it was cool to see him as one of the soldiers in the unit.
One of the great delights for me in watching The Twilight Zone is seeing who shows up in each episode. The added bonus supplied by this one is the appearance of Leonard Nimoy in a pre-Star Trek role. Maybe not a big deal for a lot of folks, but it would seem to me that Nimoy's not someone you'd expect to see in the Zone. Even without a major role in the story, it was cool to see him as one of the soldiers in the unit.