--- title: "This ‘Dear John’ SNL video is way too real" date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2020-10-30" authors: - name: "Shannon Corbeil" job_title: "Contributor, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/scorbeil/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/snl-military-sketch-dear-john/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Join the Military" - "Military Culture" - "Movies and TV" --- # This ‘Dear John’ SNL video is way too real ![]() Mikey Day's World War I soldier desperately trying to get comfort from home is so real. I just discovered this SNL sketch and then I had a drink in honor of everyone who got screwed over by Jody... Not only that, it slyly captures the feeling of being overseas and wanting to connect with people back home. For service members, life gets put on pause during training, deployments, or remote assignments, but for the people we leave behind, well, life goes on. Sometimes in really weird ways... --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSL1SBT7-W8 The War in Words - SNL [www.youtube.com]() ### The War in Words - SNL But really, who hasn't slowly decrypted a cheating lover's transgressions over time while serving your country overseas? Claire Foy and Kenan Thompson are just fine in this, but Mikey Day is *perfect* as the poor soldier really trying to keep it together while literally everything goes to hell around him. ![]() "In future letters please elaborate..." said everyone deployed ever. I'll just put this right here: ### Popular Article: [What troops really want in their care packages]() This isn't the first "The War in Words" sketch from SNL (Maya Rudolph joined Day in a Civil War sketch and it was also clever) but this World War I version cracks me up. Day plays the little voice inside all of us who just wants to do their duty but feels alarmed when it begins to dawn on them that they're f\*\*\*ed even though everyone else around them maintains that everything is fine. ![]() It's not fine. Case in point: Day's opening line in the Alec Baldwin Drill Sergeant video captures every single cadet I ever saw just...desperately trying to take a training environment seriously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tALDcVmWE9w Drill Sergeant - SNL [www.youtube.com]() ### Drill Sergeant - SNL I'll never not laugh at someone standing at attention and yelling out their response to a question. Give the video a watch and let me know your favorite military sketch. ## Author Shannon Corbeil has worked for We Are The Mighty as a digital video producer, writer, and host, as well as a staff writer covering military history, trivia, and valor. Shannon is a fierce veteran advocate, covering the achievements of members of the military community and volunteering in multiple veteran non-profit organizations, including Pin-Ups for Vets and Warriors for Peace Theatre. Her undergraduate degree is in Humanities and Philosophy and her Masters is in Strategic Intelligence. A screenwriter and actor recently seen on SEAL TEAM and THE ROOKIE, Shannon writes about exciting projects in the entertainment industry. She is an alum of the Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Writing Project, a Finalist in the Disney TV Writing Fellowship, an inaugural fellow for the STARZ/VME #TakeTheLead Program, and has performed at the Geffen Playhouse and Kennedy Center as a writer, dancer, singer, and actor. As a U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer, Shannon supported the 25th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and conducted Cyber Threat Analysis at the National Security Agency. Her work has been seen in Business Insider, Task & Purpose, Military.com, and various other publications. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()