Happy Alive Day to You . . .

 James Gandolfini produced the documentary “Alive Day Memories.” You can read an interview with him here. Read what he has to say, then share what you have to say with the rest of us.

Comments

[Brandon]

I think this was a great documentary. It is something that is needed to be shown to as much people as possible. I wish it just was not on HBO, I wish it was on a channel such as NBC or ABC. It is one thing to hear this stuff coming from people on the news but to hear it first hand from veterans is a totally different thing. The documentary not only showed us about the physical wounds that were suffered, but it showed us the mental side as well. I think the guy who suffers from P.T.S.D was the worst case. I'm not taking anything away from the veterans who were hurt physically. But, I think they will one day learn to deal with their physical disabilities. The guy who has to deal with the P.T.S.D may never ever get over that. He may have to deal with his disorder everday for the rest of his life. It is very real when he says he doesn't want to be the crazy uncle Dex. Just to clear things up I'm not saying the other veterans didn't suffer mental trauma as well.

[Larz]

I completely agree with Brandon, this documentary needs to be shown to as many people as possible. Even though it was so upsetting to see these people so badly hurt, I am so glad that they were able to talk about it because people honestly need to know and see what is happening. Someone said in a different post (one about the wounded, and doctors) that civilians don't need to see what all exactly happens to these soldiers, and I disagree with that. I feel like we should see what is happening because they are fellow American citizens who are fighting for us! And who would we be to go around talking about the war, and not knowing everything or seeing videos like this one.

[Tyler]

I would agree with both Larz and Brandon when they say that this documentary was beneficial and needs to be shown to as many people as possible.

When I think back to this film, the only case that really stands out is the guy who had a severe brain injury and lost two-thirds of his brain capacity. Wow...what an incredible person. This guy went from an able-bodied, normal person to someone who will never be able to function in society again. Reminds me of the song "One" by Metallica...the song speaks of someone who was injured in war and is trapped inside their own body. It seems this man is well aware of his condition is is strong-willed. But what happens with someone like this breaks down? The other people, have the capacity to recover...we have no idea how this guy will be able to handle it.

In the case that I just spoke of, and many more, you can see how war affects more than the victims. War effects everyone who loves the victim too. It affects the kids, the wives and the parents. I would bet not a single parent of any soldier on that film would send their child back to war.

[David Cook]

This, just like the Baghdad ER film really hit me. Instead of just observing the soldiers and their injuries, we were able to actually sit down and watch the soldier's account of what they experience on the "Alive Day." Peeking at the link, the main thing that stuck out to me was James Gandolfini mentioning that we should be proud of the people overseas and should take better care of them.

Looking at the wounds that these soldiers have had to endure, it helps us gain a better understanding of the travesties that befall our soldiers at arms. We cannot even begin to understand the trauma that these soldiers experience.

[JohnEvans]

I was the one who earlier said that civilians didn't need to see the atrocities of war and I stand by that. However that was more to the blood and guts side shown in Baghdad ER. This film seams to be more appropriate to show to the masses and, based on the reaction of class after the films, it is more powerful. I don't believe that we should hide away disabled soldiers, just that I don't see the point of replay events the traumatized soldiers unnecessarily. Yes we need to see what sacrifice we are asking these soldiers to make, but I think that is better done in this documentary then in Baghdad ER

[mgn]

Today’s documentary was very similar to Bagdad ER on that it allows you to what war does on people. The thing that I found to be most interesting is how similar yet so different Alive Day and Bagdad ER were. The thing that I found that made each film unique was how in one we see freshly wounded soldiers arriving at the hospital to receive help, while in the other we see the outcome of a hospitals care.
Alive Day is so powerful and moving because it lets us hear and see the stories of soldiers coming home and adjusting to life after surviving fatal injuries. Its gruesome images of soldiers’ scars makes you want to look away and not think about those horrible things. But that is what we cannot do is look away from the truth and pretend that it is not real.

[Torey]

Although I do not enjoy seeing injury and brokeness, I do believe that this documentary is something that everyone should see. Dr. Crenshaw was absolutely right when he said that we need to know what we are asking of our soldiers when we send them into war.

[kmcnutt]

The documentary we watched on Friday gave us a different perspective on the war. When we watched the film on ER in Baghdad, we saw men and women who were wounded and only some of them talked through the documentary, but most dialogue was done through the doctors and nurses.
Alive Day was different because it was the ones who were hurt telling us their stories. We saw how they were facing life after they returned. We listened to them tell how their Alive Day occurred. I think the biggest thing that affected me was the display of their age. Most of the interviewees were around my age. I took in what they had to say, how they now felt about the war and I saw their faces and how they are handling this handicap post war.
I agree with Brandon about P.T.S.D. I think it's a huge deal that is under responsibility of the Army. These soldiers were physically and mentally wounded by the war and I believe it's the military's duty to serve them after they return.

[quicktype89]

I'm so glad That I got to see both of the films (Bagdad and Alive) even though they were so tough to watch. It was a challenge to sit through and to soak in all that I was receiving but one that has caused to gain so much. Since watching these films I have gained a greater respect or our veterans, but I have also gained a more formulated opinion about war and what causes us to decide to do it. I agree with Katie when she points out the differences of these to films and I really do believe that each side and story they tell are extremely important for all Americans to understand. We have said it before, that you can't understand until you've done it yourself. Films, news, stories like the ones shown from the doctor's perspective to the wounded soldiers, are the closest civilians will ever get to understanding and in some cases the closest our leaders will ever get to understanding just what it means when they decide we are going to war.
I also agree with Brandon about P.T.S.D. It's a highly misunderstood injury and one that we can't even begin to fathom even with the small segment we saw in class. PTSD needs to be more widely understood as well as physical injury by civilians for the same reasons I stated before. We know war changes but documentaries are often the closest we'll ever come to understanding.

[Julie Jackson]

The documentary we watched about the ER Baghdad I thought was awful and could not get much worse. That was until I watched this one. This video made me feel so sorry for the people whose lives were completely changed. Imagine becoming blind all the sudden and not seeing all the things you used to, or losing arms or a leg and not being able to do anything you used to be able to do. I felt so bad when the lady who lost her arm said if she ever has a child she will not be able to hold it. It breaks my heart to see people who are no longer normal human beings because they wanted everyone else to be happy at home.

[cdavis17]

This documentary did put faces with stories. This was horrible, people our age were coming back with no legs,arms, blind, and PTSD. I almost cried watching this because I have alot of friends that joined the army, and marines because they believed that it would help them be a better person and they could help our country. I'm sure that these people thought that too, but instead of coming back a better person, they came back not even a full person. This saddened me. The one person in this documentary that I completely felt horrible for (eventhough all of their injuries were bad) was the man who lost his vision and his WIFE... how do you leave someone you love like that, especially in that time of their life?? I was appalled. I am glad this documentary came out and we can get a little bit more understanding of what people our age in the war are going through and what effects it has on their life. I'm proud to be an American and have these brave people fight for me.

[Morgan]

This documentary “Alive Day” is all about Iraq war veterans’ different reactions to the day when they were supposed to be killed but were miraculously spared. Some of the veterans were celebrating their “alive day” while others were constantly reminded of the worst day of their life. I did not understand how the day that you were not killed could possibly be the worst day of your life. But then I discovered more about post traumatic stress disorder and some of the injuries that these veterans had to battle with everyday for the rest of their lives. These men and women had suffered through a horrible accident and then they were thrown back into civilian life. They had to deal with the pain of losing friends. If they faced a near death experience, there was almost always a soldier right beside them that was not so lucky. It’s hard to understand the true pain these veterans go through everyday especially on their “alive day”.