Most film critics and viewers have completely missed the central theme of this brilliantly conceived film. The film's fantastical title of Sam Elliott's main character's legendary heroic feats is just that - fantastical because it's pure fiction, meaning that Calvin has only conjured up these heroic acts to compensate for his lonely, empty existence borne out of his chickening out on his planned marriage proposal to his true love before shipping out to fight in WWII. The title heroic acts are meant to be fantastical because they never really happened. I believe that the box contains his true love's ashes since his brother says in the film that she died young.