History TearJerker / TheBestYearsOfOurLives

** Let's not forget about Homer, who's probably the biggest example. He lost both his hands after he burned them in a sinking ship and had to get fish hooks and learn how to use them. Then there's a scene with him returning home, [[spoiler:where his own mother gasps in horror upon seeing his metal hooks. And Homer flashes a pained expression across his face...]] Then he isolated himself from his family and Wilma since he didn't a lot of self-confidence and wanted to be treated like a normal man. [[IronWoobie He seems to be able to handle the situation very well]], but it still fits to a degree.

* Towards the end, as Fred finds himself in the bombers' graveyard, row upon row of rusting hulks no longer needed with the war over, symbolizing his own worthlessness as a war hero with nowhere else to go. When he crawls into one wreck to relive yet another flashback, you're crying for him. [[spoiler:Subverted when he's discovered by a guy overseeing that graveyard who's starting a project to break the hulks down into metal housing for the families of returning war vets. Fred finds out they're hiring.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:War aftermath is a lot less fun when you can't move forward in life.]]

** Let's not forget about Homer who's probably the biggest example. He lost both his hands after he burned them in a sinking ship and had to get fish hooks and learn how to use them. Then there's a scene with him returning home, [[spoiler:where his own mother gasps in horror upon seeing his metal hooks. And Homer flashes a pained expression across his face...]] Then he isolated himself from his family and Wilma since he didn't a lot of self-confidence and wanted to be treated like a normal man. [[IronWoobie He seems to be able to handle the situation very well]], but it still fits to a degree.
* A real life example: The man who played Homer went bankrupt after this movie and ended up having to sell his Oscars.[[note]]The reason he sold the Oscar was because his wife needed surgery and they wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise.[[/note]]

* Let's face it, none of the returning veterans have had pleasant lives after the war had ended.

* Towards the end, as Fred finds himself in the bombers' graveyard, row upon row of rusting hulks no longer needed with the war over, symbolizing his own worthlessness as a war hero with nowhere else to go. When he crawls into one wreck to relive yet another flashback, you're crying for him. [[spoiler:Subverted when he's discovered by a guy overseeing that graveyard who's starting a project to break the hulks down into metal housing for the families of returning war vets. Fred finds out they're hiring.]]

** Al has two kids named Rob and Peggy who grew up while he was in the war, and he never got to watch as they evolved and can't relate to them as much as he used to.

** Fred got broke overtime, can no longer apply to his previous job as a soda man that he had pre-war and he had trouble finding a another job he was good at. He also has a terrible relationship with his wife, Marie who cheated on him while he was in the war, and has constant nightmares about the war he had fought in.

** Fred got broke overtime, can no longer apply to his previous job as a soda man that he had pre-war and he had trouble finding a another job he was good at. He also has a terrible relationship with his wife, Marie, and constant nightmares about the war he had fought in.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bestyears.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]

** Fred got broke overtime, can no longer apply to his previous job as a soda man that he had pre-war and he had trouble finding a another job he was good at. He also constantly has nightmares about the war he had fought in.

** Fred can no longer apply to his previous job as a soda man that he had pre-war and he had trouble finding a another job he was good at. He also constantly has nightmares about the war he had fought in.

** Let's not forget about Homer who's probably the biggest example. He lost both his hands after he burned them in a sinking ship and had to get fish hooks and learn how to use them. Then there's a scene with him returning home, [[spoiler:where his own mother gasps in horror upon seeing his metal hooks. And Homer flashes a pained expression across his face...]] [[IronWoobie He seems to be able to handle the situation very well]], but it still fits to a degree.

** Let's not forget about Homer who's probably the biggest example. He lost both his hands after he burned them in a sinking ship and had to get fish hooks and learn how to use them. Then there's a scene with him returning home, [[spoiler:where his own mother gasps in horror upon seeing his metal hooks. And Homer flashes a pained expression across his face...]] He seems to be able to handle the situation very well, but it still fits to a degree.

** Al has two kids named Rob and Peggy who grew up while he was in the war, and he never to watch as they evolved and can't relate to them as much as he used to.

* The scene with Homer returning home, [[spoiler:where his own mother gasps in horror upon seeing his metal hooks. And Homer flashes a pained expression across his face...]]