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| Veteran Dawn Halfaker Portraits by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders |
Set your calendars for next Sunday to watch yet another special from HBO that
is getting
raves already. “Alive
Day Memories: Home From Iraq” sounds like an incredible special. It
beats the hell out of the “the surge is working” propaganda or worse,
that the surge has not yet begun and we owe the Iraqis more.
Segue to Katie Couric in Baghdad:
The folks in our Baghdad bureau are brave or crazy … or probably both.
Many of them have been here since the war began. Phil Ittner is a producer
here. He was in the Moscow bureau and came over when the U.S. invaded and
was embedded with the aviation brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division as a one-man
band … filming, producing and reporting. He works two months here, then
leaves for two months…. I asked him why he didn’t try to get another assignment.
He said, “One, this is one of the most important stories in the world.
Two, I know how to do it.” I asked him if he thought things had improved
since he got here. He said no, he was afraid not. But his personal opinion
was that the U.S. has a responsibility to continue its presence here because,
as he put it, “We tipped over the apple cart.”(snip)
They have three children … nine, seven and eight months, and the older
boys looked dazed. It’s too dangerous for them to play outside. It was heartbreaking.
The parents said they don’t blame it on U.S. forces, and said they hope American
troops stay, because if they don’t, the “militias will kill everyone.”
… ..
Greetings from Baghdad? Honestly, do we need this broad over there
giving us these kinds of reports? Why she thinks this will help her ratings
I do not know. I want to give her credit for being there, I really do, because it’s no small
feat. But there are so many books out now about the Green Zone and Iraq that her report sounds incredibly sophomoric. Again, I do want to acknowledge her efforts, but she’ll have to write
something beyond “greetings from Baghdad” to get my attention, let
alone my respect, especially when she talks about wanting to get truths from
the Bush Co. tour, starting with Crocker. That said, I sure hope she stays safe. It’s not the smartest move to even be in Iraq right now.
Skip Couric’s “serious war reporting”, and read the interview
with Iraq vet Jonathan Bartlett in Vanity Fair instead. He’s just
one of the people featured in Gandolfini’s “Alive
Day Memories: Home From Iraq”. Cpl. Jonathan Bartlett was 21, in the U.S. Army, Infantry Regiment Air Assault, Delta Company, and his “Alive Day” was Sept. 25, 2004.
More than 25,000 members of the American military have been injured in the
war in Iraq. Many of them refer to the day they were hurt as their “alive
day”—the day they narrowly escaped death. James Gandolfini and
HBO tell the stories of 10 of these injured soldiers in Alive Day Memories:
Home from Iraq, a documentary that debuts on HBO on September 9. … ..So your perspective has really changed on all this.
Oh yeah. I’m not some kid who joined the army because of what happened on
9/11 anymore. I’ve witnessed all the bad shit that went on in the military.
There’s a lot of good shit too—don’t get me wrong, I like the military.
It’s just that this administration is so incompetent. … ..
These are the types of stories we need to hear going into next week. Stories
from veterans who faced death and came out to tell their story. There are many
others standing behind them, broken, mentally fractured, with so many more waiting
and praying for politicians to do what’s needed, because their commander in chief cannot.
“Alive
Day Memories: Home From Iraq” will broadcast next Sunday on HBO. Something
tells me it’s going to be a reality check, at least for those out there who
still don’t understand the costs of this war, which veterans will carry with them the rest of their lives. It will be James Gandolfini and the following heroes, all of whom are to talk about their “Alive Day,” when they faced death and came out alive.
Sgt. Bryan Anderson, 25, U.S. Army, 411th Military Police Co. Alive Day:
Oct. 23, 2005.Sgt. Eddie Ryan, 22, Marine Sniper Team-Reaper 6. Alive Day: April 13, 2005.
Spc. Crystal Davis, 23, U.S. Army, 54th Engineers, Bravo Co. Alive Day: Jan.
21, 2006.First Lt. Dawn Halfaker, 27, U.S. Army, 293rd Military Police. Alive Day:
June 19, 2004.Pvt. Dexter Pitts, 22, U.S. Army, 10th Mountain, Alpha Co. Alive Day: Jan.
2, 2005.Cpl. Michael Jernigan, 28, U.S. Marine Corps, Weapons Platoon, Easy Co. Alive
Day: Aug. 22, 2004.Cpl. Jonathan Bartlett, 21, U.S. Army, Infantry Regiment Air Assault, Delta
Company. Alive Day: Sept. 25, 2004.Staff Sgt. Jay Wilkerson, 41, U.S. Army, Multinational Security Command.
Alive Day: March 28, 2006.Cpl. Jacob Schick, 24, U.S. Marine Corps, 1/23rd Marines, Bravo Co. Alive
Day: Sept. 20, 2004.Staff Sgt. John Jones, 29, U.S. Marine Corps, 1/7th Marines, Charlie Company.
Alive Day: Jan. 3, 2005.
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