FRONTLINE
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/-
This Week: "The Soldier's Heart" (60 min.),
Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2005 at
9.00 pm (wgbh/channel 2) on PBS
- Inside FRONTLINE: A few thoughts on
bravery...
- Live Discussion: Chat with producer Raney Aronson this Wed. at
11 am
ET
-------------------------------
+ This
week
Picking just the right title for a FRONTLINE can sometimes be a
tough
process, but in the case of this week's program, everyone
immediately
knew it had to be called "The Soldier's Heart."
History
teaches that what seems modern often has very old roots.
"Soldier's Heart"
is the name used during the Civil War for what became
"shell shock" in
World War I, "battle fatigue" in World War II, and
"post-traumatic stress
syndrome" in Vietnam. The fear of death, the
trauma of killing, the effect
of seeing corpses all can take an
emotional toll. For some who return
home, free from physical injury, the
war is not over.
Producer Raney
Aronson spoke with some of these young men in the course
of making this
film. One was Brandon Teppo:
....
"I met Brandon on a Marine
base in San Diego where he is a marksmanship
trainer. He was Marine
infantry in Iraq during the first months of the
war. In a preliminary
meeting, he told us his war stories, and about
killing - saying, 'It's the
kind of thing about your job you got to do,
you know basically we're there
to take out any bad guys.'
Then we met him again on the rifle
range.
Dressed in full military gear he was barking orders, standing
over the
younger Marines and showing them how to shoot accurately. I
hadn't
interviewed him on camera yet and I knew my time was running out so
I
decided to ask if we could do a quick on-camera interview right then
and
there. To my surprise he said yes.
Suddenly it was eerily quiet
as everyone stopped and waited for us. I
sat with Brandon and started to
ask him questions about coming
home ... and as he began to talk of how hard
it was to adjust, how he
started to drink more, and how more than anything
he wishes he had
gotten into therapy sooner (could have saved his marriage
he said),I
started to really rethink my own ideas on bravery - from an idea
of a
warrior being brave in combat, to a man who is facing demons
after
fighting in a war - and sharing those feelings with me, in a very
public
way and in a military environment where discussing one's feelings
is
almost a taboo."
....
We hope you will join us for
"The Soldier's Heart"
Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2005 at 9.00 pm (wgbh/channel 2) on
PBS and
after watching, explore our web site which offers interviews with
top
experts about the psychological cost of war on the combat
veteran,
web-exclusive streamed video of soldiers talking about this
issue,
including Brandon Teppo, as well as the opportunity to express
your
opinion about the program, at
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/shows/heart/Louis
Wiley
Executive Editor
This program will be rebroadcast at the
following time(s):
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2005 at 2.00 am (wgbh/channel
2)
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2005 at 2.00 am (wgbx/channel 44)
Wednesday, Mar.
2, 2005 at 4.00 am (wgbx/channel 44)
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2005 at 5.00 am
(wgbh/channel 2)
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2005 at 2.00 pm (wgbx/channel
44)
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2005 at 10.00 pm (wgbx/channel 44)
Thursday, Mar.
3, 2005 at 3.00 am (wgbh/channel 2)
Thursday, Mar. 3, 2005 at 5.00 pm
(wgbx/channel 44)
Friday, Mar. 4, 2005 at 4.00 pm (wgbx/channel
44)
--------------------------
+ Live Online Discussion on
Washingtonpost.com ...
Producer Raney Aronson will be online this
Wednesday, March 2nd at
11am ET, to discuss "The Soldier's
Heart."
For details, see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50926-2005Feb24.html----------------------------
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