Best Memorial Day Movies to Watch for a Nostalgic Long Weekend
Memorial Day weekend is often seen as the unofficial start of summer, but it is also a time to pause and remember the people who gave their lives in service to the country. This year, several networks are marking the holiday with classic war movies, patriotic programming, and historical documentaries that reflect on military service in very different ways.
From TCM’s multi-day movie marathon to MOVIES!’ lineup of war classics, PBS’ annual National Memorial Day Concert, and History’s new World War II documentary series narrated by Tom Hanks, here are some of the Memorial Day weekend specials and movies worth watching this year.
Friday, May 22
TCM Memorial Day Movie Marathon Day 1
Beginning at 8 pm
Everett Collection
Starting this evening and continuing into the early morning of Tuesday, May 26, Turner Classic Movies commemorates Memorial Day with a nonstop lineup of war and military-themed films. This evening’s schedule begins with the biopic MacArthur (1977), which was the follow-up film for producers David Brown and Richard Zanuck after their successful Jaws. The film was a disappointment at the box office despite its lead man being Gregory Peck, but it remains a classic today, sharing the story of the prickly war general. Immediately after, the lineup features The Guns of Navarone (1961), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Purple Plain (1954), Days of Glory (1944), The Sea Wolves (1980), and Captain Newman, M.D. (1963).
Click here for the full TCM schedule with times.
Saturday, May 23
TCM Memorial Day Movie Marathon Day 2
Beginning at 10:45 am
Everett Collection
Turner Classic Movies’ multiday marathon of war and military-themed films continues today, beginning with the airing of 1951’s tear-jerker The Red Badge of Courage starring Audie Murphy. The film is a heartfelt drama about a young man’s dream of becoming a war hero and the harsh realities of what that takes. Director John Huston had somewhat of an epic experience trying to stay faithful to Stephen Crane’s classic 1895 novel on which the film was based. Stricken with studio problems and personal distractions (Huston got married to his fourth wife during filming and welcomed his son Tony), Huston did his best. He even appeared in a crowd scene as one of the experienced Union soldiers jeering the youth and other raw recruits, TCM shared.
In the end, Huston lost his editorial control of the film to the studio heads at MGM, who reduced his original film by over one-third. Huston would go on to do The African Queen, but The Red Badge of Courage would be remembered as a “mutilated masterpiece.” New Yorker journalist Lillian Ross’ 1952 book Picture shared the behind-the-scenes story of the chaotic production and studio mutilation of his film. Novelist Graham Greene said it best when he wrote an excerpt for the book’s jacket: “A terrifying picture of how a great film, directed by one of the best living directors, based on an American classic, can be slashed into incoherence through the timidities and the illiteracy of studio heads.”
The rest of Saturday’s TCM lineup continues with a mix of military dramas, wartime stories, and even a few lighter options. After The Red Badge of Courage, the schedule includes Skirts Ahoy! (1952), The Steel Helmet (1951), Darby’s Rangers (1958), and Take the High Ground (1953). Later that night, TCM adds a brief Looney Tunes block with Wacky Blackout (1942) and Draftee Daffy (1945), followed by the World War II epic Midway (1976), the wartime drama Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), The Hook (1963), and The Hasty Heart (1949).
Sunday, May 24
TCM Memorial Day Movie Marathon Day 3
Beginning at 6:30 am
Everett Collection
Starting the lineup today is High Barbaree (1947), starring Van Johnson as a Navy pilot in World War II whose plane is shot down and June Allyson as his childhood sweetheart. Notable films airing later in the day include Ace of Aces (1933) and Bataan (1943). Adding an interesting mix to Sunday’s schedule is the 30-minute block of MGM cartoons at 8pmET that include The Flying Bear (1941), Rookie Bear (1941), and Little Johnny Jet (1953).
Kelly’s Heroes Sunday Matinee Movie
FETV, 3 pm
FETV joins the Memorial Day weekend programming with their Sunday matinee movie airing of Kelly’s Heroes, the 1970 World War II comedy starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’Connor, Donald Sutherland, and Gavin MacLeod. The film follows a daring group of American soldiers who head behind German lines after learning about a stash of Nazi gold hidden in a bank in a small French town.
National Memorial Day Concert 2026
PBS, 8 pm Live
America’s national night of remembrance at the U.S. Capitol honors the service of generations of military families and all those who have given their lives in service to our nation since its founding 250 years ago. The concert features personal stories and tributes, and musical performances by world-renowned artists and the National Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the real meaning of Memorial Day. Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise host.
Monday, May 25
TCM Memorial Day Movie Marathon Concludes
Beginning at 6:15 am
TCM’s marathon has already been going on for over two days, and it will continue all day today and into early tomorrow, beginning with The Dirty Dozen, starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Telly Savalas in the 1967 box office smash. Immediately following is the World War II comedy Kelly’s Heroes (1970), with Savalas again, along with Clint Eastwood. The film follows a busted-down ex-lieutenant who leads a group of U.S. soldiers behind enemy lines in an effort to capture a fortune in Nazi gold. Also part of the lineup is a 30-minute block of Looney Tunes cartoons at 8 pm ET that include Rookie Revue (1941), Conrad the Sailor (1942), and The Weakly Reporter (1944). The marathon concludes with The Great Escape (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), A Walk in the Sun (1945), and The Wings of Eagles (1957).
World War II With Tom Hanks
History, 8 pm
A&E Television Networks, LLC/ Art Streiber
Tom Hanks narrates and executive produces this landmark 20-hour documentary series for History, which presents previously untold stories and 21st-century perspectives on the Second World War. The series premieres with three episodes tonight. In “The Beginning,” see how Germany and the Soviet Union’s swift occupation of Poland in 1939 put Europe on edge. Adolf Hitler orders German forces into France and sets his bombsights on Britain in “Blitz.” And in “Barbarossa,” Germany launches a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union, a move that would come with unfathomable costs to both countries.
MOVIES! Memorial Day Marathon
Beginning at 7:20 am
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection.
MOVIES! also marks Memorial Day with a full day of war-themed classics, beginning with The Guns of Navarone (1961), starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn as members of an Allied team sent on a dangerous mission to destroy massive German guns on a Nazi-held Greek island. The lineup continues with Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), the docudrama about the attack on Pearl Harbor, followed by the sprawling D-Day epic The Longest Day (1962), which features a large ensemble cast including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and Sean Connery.
Later in the day, MOVIES! airs None But the Brave (1965), the World War II drama directed by and starring Frank Sinatra, followed by Von Ryan’s Express (1965), also starring Sinatra as an American colonel leading prisoners of war in an escape attempt. The night continues with Patton (1970), the Oscar-winning biopic starring George C. Scott as Gen. George S. Patton, before the marathon moves into the early morning with Destination Gobi (1953) and The Desert Rats (1953).
Which movies will you be tuning into this weekend?
— Lauren Novak was a contributing writer.
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