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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, February 26-March 1, 2005 The Park Record C-8 'Soldier's Heart' looks at effects of war 435-649-9202 BU RRITOS 1776 Park Avenue (Holiday Village Plaza) OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 10am - lopm * Mwjf preterit coupon, Doti not include wits tax- Offer expires j / 7 / o j . U.S. Marine Rob Sarra had been in the military for eight years when the war in Iraq began. A sergeant in charge of a unit of 32, he was considered part of the "tip of the spear." among the first troops to reach Baghdad. In late March 2003. Sarra opened fire on an Iraqi woman in a black burqa he suspected was a suicide bomber, prompting others in his unit to begin firing as well. Her body torn apart by bullets, the woman fell quickly to the ground. It was only (hen that Rob saw she held a small white flag. "Right then and there I was just like, what the hell happened? I was crying, hysterical ... this woman got killed by my actions," Sarra tells Frontline. "I wasn't going to talk to anyone about it. But little did I know it kind of worked itself back up to the surface when I came home." Sarra is one of thousands of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq free from physical injury but haunted by memories from the battlefield. Airing on KUEDChannel 7 Tuesday. March 1 at 8 p.m.. Frontline "The Soldier's Heart" explores the psychological cost of war and investigates whether the military is doing enough to help the many combal veterans coming home with emotional problems. With unprece- dented access to active duty service members al Caup Pendleton. a Marine base in San Diego, Frontline uncovers one of the under-reported stories from the war in Iraq. According to Jim Dooley, a former soldier who fought in Vietnam and has counseled combat veterans for tin: last 20 years, "This is the most damaging type of war psychiatrically. You have no protection anywhere at all times. And there ore you're in constant death threat. And you're also witness ng death at an incredibly close range. And you're witnessing the carnage," But in most cases it's not until soldiers return fiom war that they begin to struggle internally with what they experienced, what they did and what hey didn't do, Dooley tells Frontline. "When you art- finally back here, and you finally make connection with your safety, which is your family ... that's when you begin to vibrate with the fact of where you were." Dooley explains. According to Colonel Thomas Burke, the director of health policy for the Department of Defense, nobody returns from combat unchangec. "They have expectations about what their families are goinj, to be like. Their families have expectations of what they're going lo be like." says Burke. "And the one thing that is absolutely true about all of those expectations is all of them are going lo be wrong." Combat psychological disorders among returning soldiers date back to the Civil War. when the phrase "soldiers heart" was first coined. Throughout the years, and through many wars, the name for the condition changed to "shell shock," "battle fatigue" and "post-Vietnam syndrome." After a decade of research, psychiatrists determined that all the various names were describing the same reaction lo combal. Today, it's commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. A study commissioned by the ar.my predicts that one in six veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from PTSD. Yet the fear of being labeled a "coward" keeps many soldiers from seeking help. In January, the Department of Defense announced plans for a new mental health program to assist the almost one million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now. not only are service members required to answer questions regarding their mental health prior to their departure and upon their immediate return, but they also receive a third screening four lo six months later. Insiders point out, however, that instituting programs like this one is only one part of their challenge in changing the military's culture. Stigma, many believe, is at the heart of the mailer. But. according to Colonel Burke, "It's not just a matter of issuing an order and saying. 'There will be ho more stigma." You just don't change the culture of an organization that quickly." The real danger, some military experts say. is that the men and women returning home could be forgotten. "It's not about parades, it's not about a monument, because those things get acknowledged for a day. a week, whatever," says Fred Gusman. director of the National Center for PTSD. "It's just a matter of getting people not to forget thai these people arc puling their life in harms way. and they're going through hell and just because it's not on CNN every night that we shouldn't assume responsibility." Gusman adds. "No1 for the war, bul responsibility to take care of our own people." Frontline s " 77/e Soldier s Heart" airs on KUl'D-Channel 7 7)tesda\\ March J at 8p.m. KUED to air shows about human perseverance It's all about' survival. On Saturday. Feb. 26. KUED-Channcl 7 will air two programs ~ " Voyage of Endurance" and "Touching the Void" - about the amazing human will to survive thai will keep you on the edge of your seat. At 7 p.m., NOVAs "Voyage of Endurance" tells the story of Sir Ernest Shacklcton and his learn of men who set out in 1914 to conquer the Antarctic continent in what became one of the greatest survival stories of all time. All but forgo!ten back home in Britain. Shacklelon's expedition drifted with the ice for nearly two years. Facing hunger, loneliness, near-mutiny and what has come to be known as the ;»reatesl smallboat journey in history, this is their story. While never accomplishing the goal of crossing the Antarctic continent, Shackeltons expedition has become a larger-than-life testament to heroism and human endurance, with all 28 men surviving nearly two years in the barren, frigid Antarclic when their ship. Endurance, was caught in pack ice and eventually crushed. Shackle ton's Antarctic Adventure recounts a true story of epic proportions, transporting A Book Lover's Bliss viewers back in time to experience what is considered to be the greatest survival story of all time. The evening of adventure on KUED next moves to a more recent jaw-dropping lajc of survival with the return, by popular demand, of the feature film. "Touching the Void. " When "Touching the Void" played in theaters in 2003, it broke box-office records in both the U.S. and the U.K., becoming the highest-grossing British documentary ever and one of the top 10 grossing non-fiction films of all time in the U.S. Critical acclaim soared as high as the box office, with journalists reaching lor jusl the right mountain-top descriptors such as "aweinspiring," "utterly gripping" and "more enthralling and exciting than any of this year's Hollywood blockbusters." A simple • slory, really, of two young men who wanted lo conquer a mountain that hadn't been climbed, yet what happened to them on their trip has since become a mountaineering legend about human endurance and the will to survive. Nova: Shackleton^fouching (he Void airs on KUFD-Channel 7 Saturday, Feb. 26 af 7p.m. Wine and Dessert Reception ':M featuring \ LK Repanshek 4.1, author ofr MricanWest ^ I to Westetii National Parks Let'his. slide-show presentation and i| re you off the b;eaton n$tj&- I sq. ft:1)f books * CDS * DVD's * Sundance Documentaries,'^ ^Broadband wireless * Gifts * x . .,•., Redstone Center ; Suite 115 435.575.2665 s»] : We don't have all the answers. But that's okay, neither did he. Faith isn't about certainty. It's about trusting someone. St. Luke's Episcopal Church A Loving, Accepting, Safe & Supportive Place to Ask 21 st Century Questions 595 Silver Springs Dr. Just off Hwy 224 behind Blue Roof Store Sunday Worship 10:00 AM The Rev. Charles Robinson Church School 9:50 AM Youth Group 5:00 PM 435-649-4900 www.stl u kespc.org Do you enjoy singing? Please join our Choir in preparation for Easter. Call Manuel Maravi, Min. of Music @ 435-649-7223. |