A Veterans' Day Salute to Heroes: "This Is War: Memories of Iraq"

Tom Miller

"You might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." - Leon Trotsky

"War is cruelty and you cannot refine it." - William T. Sherman

Soldiers hate war more than most because they typically bear war's greatest burden.  But, they understand the simple truth about human nature and the inevitability of conflict and stand sentinel for the rest of us.  For this, we owe them our gratitude.  On Veterans' Day and every day.  If you have any doubt of the courage, sacrifices, and steadfastness of our warriors, spend 90 minutes this Veterans Day with the Oregon National Guard during their 2004-05 deployment to Iraq. 

"This Is War: Memories of Iraq," DVD-2007 ($19.95, Lucky Forward Films)

In the spring of 2004, the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment (2/162) of the Oregon National Guard deployed to Iraq.  Several of them also carried video cameras and digital cameras to record their experiences.  Scot Laney and Gary Mortensen of Lucky Forward Films draws on the footage and photographs they took for this compelling and moving tribute to their service and sacrifice.

After six months of training at Ft. Hood, Tex., with the 1st Cavalry Division, the men and women of 2/162 arrived in Iraq on April 7, 2004.  As their convoy north from Kuwait reached the outskirts of Baghdad, it was ambushed and SSG Luke Wilson, a young father, lost a leg in attack.  It was the beginning of a long year for these citizen soldiers.

Over the year, the unit patrolled the volatile Taji neighborhood northeast of Baghdad and elements helped to clear the insurgent strongholds of Najaf and Fallujah.  They suffered nine killed and dozens wounded. 

The combat operations - cameras continue to roll while sniper rounds zip overhead and mortar rounds land nearby - are the focus of the documentary, but the filmmakers do not neglect the unit's other missions and successes: humanitarian operations, civil affairs, and community support among them.  One soldier pointedly notes that "There's a lot of good stuff going on over here," even if "You don't hear about it on CNN."

Several of the men (and one woman) are featured in the documentary, and they are all intelligent and thoughtful.  SSG Rebekah-Mae Bruns, who survives the unit's initial ambush and the subsequent twelve months, comes home and returns to grad school.  She'll soon begin shooting a documentary herself. 

SFC Vinni Jacques is wounded in an IED attack and sent home.  Recovered, he's on hand to greet the unit upon its return to the States.  Filling a void, he sets up an organization to help returning vets reenter society.  But, this isn't the stuff of Hollywood fantasy where all returning vets are physical and/or emotional wrecks.  Even for those who need help, Jacques has a tough-love message: "Life's hard.  Go kick it in the ass." 

That's what makes "This is War" unique.  Most of these guys never expected to go to war when they joined the National Guard.  But, when called, they stood up and did their duty.  And, they did it honorably and often selflessly.  Several Silver and Bronze Stars were awarded to members of the unit for valor - not to mention dozens of Purple Hearts.

That's not to say that they don't gripe.  They wouldn't be soldiers if they didn't.  They rail against "higher" [headquarters] and the often-ludicrous R.O.E. (Rules of Engagement) that seem to have been drafted by Army lawyers.  There's some gallows humor and sophomoric banter.  Most would like to be someplace else other than Iraq.

But, there's no whining.  Whining is a staple of post-Vietnam Hollywood movies about war and too many documentaries.  There's a reason for that.  Heroes don't whine.  Victims whine. 

Wounded at the very beginning of the 2/162's deployment, SSG Wilson lost a leg above the knee and spent a year at Walter Reed in rehab.  But, he worked through the physical and emotional impact of his injury; reunited with his family; and returned to work.  That's what heroes do.  And, that's what sets "This Is War" apart. 

("This Is War" can be ordered at www.luckyforwardfilms.com.  A portion of all sales will go to the Wounded Warrior Project.)

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I also was present in October 2006 when my son returned from Iraq along with members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.  The Event Center at Ft. Carson, Colo., was jammed with hundreds of happy family, friends, and well-wishers.  Kids held up colorful signs welcoming their dads home.  Anxious wives checked their makeup, and parents fought back tears.

There was an unofficial honor guard of vets - mostly Vietnam-era who themselves had come home not to parades and celebrations, but as pariahs.  They were there to help ensure that these returning heroes were honored for their service and sacrifice.  For a day, at least. 

There were tears of joy (and surely relief), but mostly there were the kind of smiles usually reserved for toothpaste commercials. 
 
Forgotten for a moment were the long days and longer nights of separation . . . the ever-present danger . . .  the anguish over lost and wounded comrades . . .  the unknown challenges of coming home that still lay in the future.

Over the next few months, these men and women - and their families - would try to pick up their lives again.  Some, their enlistment up, would leave the Army.  Others would move on to other assignments and posts.  Many would remain with the brigade while it reset and began training for its next deployment.

Later this month - barely a year since their last homecoming - the 3 BCT, 4th I.D. leaves again for Iraq.  This time for fifteen months.  For 3500 fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, that means not one but two Christmases away.  Ditto for their long-suffering families at home.

What do we owe these people?  Respect, honor, and support at a minimum.  And, not the banal and too-often disingenuous "I support the troops."

Respect means that politicians and the media should not use the men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform to advance their ideological and partisan agendas.  It means that the media will be objective, balanced, and fair in its coverage of them and their mission. 

The barely-disguised glee and rush-to-judgment of much of the elite media's coverage of the alleged atrocity at Haditha is symptomatic of much of the coverage of this war. 

Respect means that Hollywood make honest films about the military, not one-sided polemics like the recent "Into the Valley of Elah" that cast all combat vets as emotional cripples, if not psychotic killers. 

Ours is an all-volunteer Army today, but don't fool yourself that they're mercenaries.  They don't just serve for the pay, benefits, and work experience.  Believe me, it's not nearly enough to compensate for the hardships and dangers they face.  Many are deeply patriotic. 

If they come to suspect that their service is not honored, as some already do, will they continue to make that sacrifice?  If not, what will happen if your children or grandchildren need them in the future . . . And they're not there?

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller