...
Watched an excellent HBO movie premier last night, of which a friend requested a copy, or I might have missed it. It stars Kevin Bacon as Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl. The film itself doesn't make any judgements about the Iraq War which I appreciated.
Wow. Had to swallow hard a few times from the seemingly stark reality.
They didn't play Taps which usually gets me everytime. But I kind of choked when Lt. Col. Strobl met the young Army Buck Sargeant. My old Army dress green's still have their three stripes and I still have my brother.
I've observed first hand, the difficult family decision troubling a warrior on going over again, as is portrayed by Kevin Bacon. When called to work, I spend the next 36 hours or so teamed against the elements, with whatever conductor I draw, and we get to talking more than average co-workers.
I've worked with several young conductors that have spent time in Iraq, one Regular Army as many as three times. Whereas a unit can only serve once a year, they merely reassigned him and shortly sent him back with his new unit. He gave up his planned military career after 7 years and still has a house in Georgia that he can't sell so he can afford to rebuild here. You can see the pride he had in driving his Bradley, but he kind of choked when he related the first time he had to kill.
Another, a seven year National Guard member also gave up. His job was to search for IED's. He said if he had stayed in, he would already be back over and he couldn't do that to his family again. He was just back from family leave of the birth of his third when I worked with him and still tired from being up with the baby. We got called at a weird time.
I note that these vet guys are far more mature than same-age guys who haven't served.
Here is a trailer.
And
here is an excerpt from a USA Today article.
More than 4,860 American soldiers and Marines have died in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet, except for family, friends and comrades, their deaths are mostly statistics, repatriations shielded from public view and burials largely out of sight and mind.
Perceptions may change with HBO's heartbreaking Taking Chance, premiering Saturday (8 ET/PT). It's based on real events and the experiences of Marine Lt. Col. Mike Strobl, who wrote Taking Chance as a powerful tribute not only to Chance Phelps, a 19-year-old Marine killed during a 2004 firefight, but to scores of fellow war victims.
The Defense Department has banned virtually all media coverage of deceased vets returning home since the 1991 Gulf War, a decision currently under Pentagon review. But the military offered advice and assistance, providing Taking Chance's film crew with a rarely viewed but painstakingly accurate account of the care and protocol bestowed upon the nation's fallen warriors.
"Average Americans don't know how we care for our dead or how they're given love, care and dignity," says first-time director Ross Katz, an Oscar-nominated producer for Lost in Translation and In the Bedroom. "It's awe-inspiring."
Read more at the link...
Wes
...