Today, America has nearly 18 million living military veterans, from the "Greatest Generation" to men and women coming home from recent tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. They join the now-silent ranks of American veterans reaching back to our earliest conflict, the Revolutionary War.
The military is part of America's founding story ?a project to which, as George Washington put it, every citizen owed “his personal services.” In war and in peace, what veterans have done in America's name and how they have been treated when they return is woven into the fabric of the American story and has had a profound impact on our nation.
For those who have served, military service has been a transformative experience. What is that experience, and how does it change the men and women who have joined the ranks? And throughout the nation's history, how have vets been perceived? Sometimes honored, and sometimes reviled, ignored or forgotten, veterans may re-enter civilian life to encounter a population that often has little or no knowledge of their experience.
This four-part film illuminates the veteran experience with a moving range of voices from today and across the arc of American history and is narrated by veterans Drew Carey, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Wes Studi and J.R. Martinez.
Producer: Amanda Pollak, Leah Williams
Executive Producer: Judith Vecchione, Elizabeth Deane, John Bredar
Production Company: Insignia Films; Studio Six
Copyright Year: 2021
Rating: TV-14
Director: Leah Williams, Stephen Ives
Narrator: Drew Carey, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Wes Studi, J.R. Martinez
Writers: Stephen Ives, Gene Tempest
Number of Discs: 2
Length: 220 minutes
Number of Episodes: 4
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH)
DVI: N
Audio Format: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen