Celebrate & Remember

(Thank you in advance for reading this very long plea for “help")

Earlier this week, I had the privilege and honor to attend a red carpet premier of the documentary film, THE HORNET'S NEST, with some members of the 101st Airborne and the director, David Salzberg.  I was not prepared for what I witnessed.  It is real battle footage that shows a father/son photojournalism team as they embed with US troops in Afghanistan.  Our news suppresses a lot of what we see and hear from other parts of the world. 

This movie brings it straight forward and politely dumps it squarely in your lap.  Our military endures more than most of us would. Ever. They afford every luxury we sometimes take for granted and they sacrifice for us.

By the end of the screening, I couldn't stop crying. Grown men in the audience were crying. These were their brothers on screen. Some did not make it home. The film doesn't show grisly effects. It very eloquently and respectfully honors the fallen soldiers without any of the gore that we all know exists. 

They say that every person on earth has been touched in some form by cancer either themselves or a close friend/family member. I think the same can be said about the military, too.  We all have someone in our family who has or who is currently serving our country. Serving. What a word.  Our military is solely all volunteer now.  We have no draft. Every person in our military is there to do a job. They don't fight solely for democrats or republicans. They do their job to ensure the guy next to them gets to go home to his family. SEVERAL OF THE THOSE WHO DIED, APOLOGIZED FOR DYING BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO FULFILL THEIR JOB. 

I feel so ashamed of my government for every penny they waste when our troops need equipment and resources available to them when they return . I don't hate my government. I hate the agendas they force that do not support our troops. Most of the Afghanistan war is being fought with explosives (IED's) and our guys are getting blown to bits, pieced back together (if they are lucky) and sent home to make do. "Carry on. Thanks for what you did but we cannot afford to help you anymore. I have a $1,000-a-plate dinner to host to raise funds so I can get someone else elected so we can send more people out to get the next wave going." THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. The Department of Defense is cutting military funding again. Why????

We turn a blind eye and keep on going. There has to be an end.

Mike Boettcher, one of the journalists of the film, said it best: "It is dangerous for a democracy to become disconnected with our people we send out there, in our name, to protect us.

We have to see what is happening. We have to see what OUR soldiers are going through. 

WE NEED TO SEE WHAT WE ARE TRULY THANKING OUR SOLDIERS FOR. 

This film does not have big-name actors or a big studio to promote it or push it into every theater in the country. It needs our help. 

Please.....share this: IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY.

To every veteran: I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

Please listen to the interview at the link below with Mike Boettcher about the film and his experiences: 

http://www.spreaker.com/user/arroe/mike-boettcher-the-hornets-nest