Last night, the Pentagon premiered 'WARTORN 1861-2010," a new and timely Home Box Office documentary on combat stress from the Civil War to Iraq. Executive produced by James Gandolfini of 'The Sopranos," WARTORN shares soldiers' stories through letters, photos, combat footage, and interviews with veterans young and old, including WWII vets speaking about their post-traumatic stress disorder for the first time.
Marine combat illustrator Akinsanya Kambon (in the photo above), who is profiled in the film, served as a corporal in Vietnam for nine months and came home with severe PTSD. One of his nightmarish drawings is of a soldier, eyes still flickering, whose lower torso is blown away. He says it's an image that still won't go away.
Monique Rizer, deputy director of spouse programs at The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), attended the premiere of the movie, which debuts on HBO on Veterans Day. On the MOAA spouse blog today, Rizer writes:
