Art, Music, Life and Random Goodness.

A message from cousin Steve…

I just wanted to tell you all about a reporter named Sebastian Junger.  He went to Afghanistan during my first tour there in 2005 – 2006 and spent the majority of his time with Battle Company 2-503rd.

During my last deployment to the Kunar Province in Afghanistan he rejoined our unit to document our journey which turned out to be more than we could have expected.

Since that deployment Sebastian Junger has written the book WAR that mainly follows Battle Company’s 2nd Platoon in the Korengal Valley (located in Kunar Province).  I have not read this book yet but I have spoken with many others who were involved with this deployment and they were blown away by its accuracy and honesty in relation to what we experienced.

Sebastian was also able to create a documentary with Tim Hetherington called Restrepo.  It is only playing at select locations across the nation on certain dates and would recommend that you see this if you have the opportunity.

I have met Sebastian and he is extremely different from any other embedded reporter that has had the chance to observe the 173rd. We saw him as a member of our brotherhood instead of a reporter focused on catapulting their career.  This documentary has won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Golden Rock award at the Little Rock Film Festival so far with more film festivals on the horizon.

Many people have asked me what it was like during this deployment and it is extremely difficult to put it into words so that it can be understood the way we experienced it.  If you are interested in seeing what Afghanistan was like behind TV News anchors or newspaper articles, this is the best opportunity that you have.  Not only will you see what the Kunar Province was like, you will also be able to see how hard the men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade fought for each other and the ones they love back home in America.

Please forward this on to friends, family and anyone that you feel would be interested in the book and the documentary.

Steve

websites:
http://restrepothemovie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/restrepothemovie#!/restrepothemovie?v=wall
http://www.sebastianjunger.com/

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Restrepo is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 94-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you. Directed by Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger.