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A marine's journey to hell and back again | A marine's journey to hell and back again |
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By Stuart Hughes BBC News | By Stuart Hughes BBC News |
A new wave of films documenting the war in Afghanistan is proving more realistic than ever - with the latest following an injured marine having difficulties adjusting to life at home. | A new wave of films documenting the war in Afghanistan is proving more realistic than ever - with the latest following an injured marine having difficulties adjusting to life at home. |
In July 2009, hundreds of US marines from the 8th Regiment's 2nd Battalion landed deep behind hostile lines in southern Afghanistan at the start of a major assault against the Taliban. Within hours they were surrounded and attacked from all sides. | In July 2009, hundreds of US marines from the 8th Regiment's 2nd Battalion landed deep behind hostile lines in southern Afghanistan at the start of a major assault against the Taliban. Within hours they were surrounded and attacked from all sides. |
In the fighting that followed, one marine was killed and several others collapsed from heat exhaustion. | In the fighting that followed, one marine was killed and several others collapsed from heat exhaustion. |
Amid the chaos of battle, a photojournalist embedded with Echo Company, Danfung Dennis, was handed a precious bottle of water by a 25-year-old sergeant, Nathan Harris. | Amid the chaos of battle, a photojournalist embedded with Echo Company, Danfung Dennis, was handed a precious bottle of water by a 25-year-old sergeant, Nathan Harris. |
It was the start of a friendship that would change both their lives. | It was the start of a friendship that would change both their lives. |
"Sgt Harris was an exceptional leader," says Dennis. | "Sgt Harris was an exceptional leader," says Dennis. |
"He had done two deployments already to Iraq and Afghanistan and he was the first marine to step off the helicopter during the assault. | "He had done two deployments already to Iraq and Afghanistan and he was the first marine to step off the helicopter during the assault. |
"We slept in the same dust, ate the same instant meals and learned to trust one another." | "We slept in the same dust, ate the same instant meals and learned to trust one another." |
A changed man | A changed man |
When the marines returned to their base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, at the end of their seven-month tour, Harris was missing. | When the marines returned to their base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, at the end of their seven-month tour, Harris was missing. |
The squad leader had been seriously injured in a Taliban ambush two weeks earlier. | The squad leader had been seriously injured in a Taliban ambush two weeks earlier. |
Danfung Dennis tracked him down to his home in the small town of Yadkinville, more than 250 miles (402km) west of the base. | Danfung Dennis tracked him down to his home in the small town of Yadkinville, more than 250 miles (402km) west of the base. |
The person he found there shocked him. | The person he found there shocked him. |
"He was a shell of the man he was in Afghanistan," recalls Dennis. | "He was a shell of the man he was in Afghanistan," recalls Dennis. |
"He had been shot in the hip and had nearly bled to death and had undergone surgery five times. | "He had been shot in the hip and had nearly bled to death and had undergone surgery five times. |
"He was in extreme pain and distress and he was trying to reintegrate into a society that had no understanding of what he had just been through. | "He was in extreme pain and distress and he was trying to reintegrate into a society that had no understanding of what he had just been through. |
"He relied on his wife Ashley for everything - getting dressed in the morning, taking his medications, doing his physical therapy. | "He relied on his wife Ashley for everything - getting dressed in the morning, taking his medications, doing his physical therapy. |
"He was struggling with trying to understand what it means to be a warrior when you can't fight any more." | "He was struggling with trying to understand what it means to be a warrior when you can't fight any more." |
Sgt Harris' struggle to make the transition from the battlefield to the home front is the subject of an award-winning documentary, Hell and Back Again. | Sgt Harris' struggle to make the transition from the battlefield to the home front is the subject of an award-winning documentary, Hell and Back Again. |
It charts his increasing dependence on prescription painkillers, his attempts to rebuild his relationship with his wife and his mood swings, which lead at times to erratic and even menacing behaviour. | It charts his increasing dependence on prescription painkillers, his attempts to rebuild his relationship with his wife and his mood swings, which lead at times to erratic and even menacing behaviour. |
Hell and Back Again is the latest in a series of critically lauded documentaries to combine visceral footage from the Afghan front line with a deeper exploration of the lasting impact of war on its participants. | Hell and Back Again is the latest in a series of critically lauded documentaries to combine visceral footage from the Afghan front line with a deeper exploration of the lasting impact of war on its participants. |
It follows Armadillo, a film about the Danish role in the Afghan conflict, and the Oscar-nominated Restrepo. | It follows Armadillo, a film about the Danish role in the Afghan conflict, and the Oscar-nominated Restrepo. |
The personal dangers faced by the makers of all three films aren't merely hypothetical. | The personal dangers faced by the makers of all three films aren't merely hypothetical. |
Restrepo's co-director, Tim Hetherington, was killed in April while on assignment in Libya. He had attended the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles less than two months earlier. | Restrepo's co-director, Tim Hetherington, was killed in April while on assignment in Libya. He had attended the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles less than two months earlier. |
"When we were making the film there were many moments when we could have been killed," Hetherington told me in an interview shortly before his death. | "When we were making the film there were many moments when we could have been killed," Hetherington told me in an interview shortly before his death. |
"When you used to leave the wire, the sense of mortality was heightened because it was very easy to get killed on an ambush. | "When you used to leave the wire, the sense of mortality was heightened because it was very easy to get killed on an ambush. |
"Life and death was a reality and there were moments that were very traumatic." | "Life and death was a reality and there were moments that were very traumatic." |
Iconic images | Iconic images |
War has fascinated film-makers ever since the silent epic The Birth of a Nation (1915) and early talking movies like All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). | War has fascinated film-makers ever since the silent epic The Birth of a Nation (1915) and early talking movies like All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). |
Film journalist Edward Lawrenson believes the long history of fictional war films has directly influenced today's documentary makers. | Film journalist Edward Lawrenson believes the long history of fictional war films has directly influenced today's documentary makers. |
"It's impossible to see images of the war in Afghanistan with helicopters picking up the dust clouds without thinking of films like Apocalypse Now," Lawrenson says. | "It's impossible to see images of the war in Afghanistan with helicopters picking up the dust clouds without thinking of films like Apocalypse Now," Lawrenson says. |
"These are just the icons of our age. I think the film makers are very conscious of the legacy of the war movies that preceded the conflict." | "These are just the icons of our age. I think the film makers are very conscious of the legacy of the war movies that preceded the conflict." |
One of the main themes of Hell and Back Again is how veterans explain the extraordinary, life-changing experience of combat to their loved ones when they return home. | One of the main themes of Hell and Back Again is how veterans explain the extraordinary, life-changing experience of combat to their loved ones when they return home. |
Major Jake Little was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership of a company of British soldiers from 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, during a fire fight in Helmand province. | Major Jake Little was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership of a company of British soldiers from 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, during a fire fight in Helmand province. |
He believes the recent wave of documentaries about Afghanistan give audiences a new insight into life on the front line. | He believes the recent wave of documentaries about Afghanistan give audiences a new insight into life on the front line. |
"Prior to these films there was only a producer or a director's view of what warfare is like," says Major Little. | "Prior to these films there was only a producer or a director's view of what warfare is like," says Major Little. |
"These films are really giving you the reality in a way that I don't think we've seen before. | "These films are really giving you the reality in a way that I don't think we've seen before. |
"For me, they clearly bring back memories - the sounds and the sights if not the smells come through." | "For me, they clearly bring back memories - the sounds and the sights if not the smells come through." |
Ten years after the start of US military operations in Afghanistan, the war is now the longest in the country's history. | Ten years after the start of US military operations in Afghanistan, the war is now the longest in the country's history. |
Danfung Dennis believes a decade of conflict has desensitised many people to its horror. | Danfung Dennis believes a decade of conflict has desensitised many people to its horror. |
By focusing on one US marine's journey to hell and back again, he says he hopes to shake viewers from their apathy towards complex events in distant lands - and show that for some veterans, their tour of duty does not end when they finally come home. | By focusing on one US marine's journey to hell and back again, he says he hopes to shake viewers from their apathy towards complex events in distant lands - and show that for some veterans, their tour of duty does not end when they finally come home. |
Hell and Back Again is released in the US on 5 October and the UK on 12 October. |