Fred's 5 hash marks

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2011)

This is one of the best WW2 movies of all time even though there were no war scenes. It is the only WW2 era movie that I can recall that deals with the aftermath of the war and how the soldiers/sailors and their families dealt with their return. I was a child during that time and can recall my dad returning from the war and how happy we all were to have him home. But I was too young to realize the deep emotional impact that my dad and mom went through to reconnect. Regarding the movie there was only I thing that appeared out of place. It had to do with Fred's army uniform. There were 5 hash marks on the sleeve of Fred's army jacket. If, as many who saw the movie theorize that Fred was in his mid to late twenties and each hash mark stands for 5 years of service, then that would have made Fred at least 40 yrs. old if not older. And as old as Al. Did anyone else catch this?