This is for Dr. Hobby's Honors Lang 120 Spring course.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Our dedicated lifesavers
After watching Restrepo, I was deeply affected by watching these soldiers dedicating their lives to their service in the military. It's hard to believe how often people take for granted how fortunate they are to live in a free country. The film focuses on the Second Platoon stationed in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. They lose so many men, and even name one of their outposts after a fallen soldier, Restrepo. This documentary, directed by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, provided an apt illustration of the amount of sacrifice made by our soldiers on a regular basis. By providing the live footage of the soldiers returning fire, I was able to see the amount of fear and courage that these men undergo each day to protect us and our country. One instance depicting their strength and dedication is when the Second Platoon found out about the tragedy at one of their sister companies. The other company had lost 9 soldiers, 12 US people were wounded, and 13 aids were wounded. As one of the lieutenants tells his troop about this, he tells them to mourn them and then get over it. They needed to stay level-headed and focused. He then asks if anyone came in not knowing they'd be injured or killed. No one responded. That much dedication from each and every soldier, and then combined into a group, makes me thankful for all their hard work. It's bittersweet hearing about people I know go off to war, but it's their passion and they're going into it so that they can protect us. This film definitely did a fine job in projecting the bitter, but encouraging, viewpoint of our soldiers. The war is gruesome, but our soldiers are fighting to protect our country so that they can come home and we can all live in peace.
Junger and Hetherington braved Afghanistan to gain the incredible footage that they got. After Hetherington was killed by a mortar blast, Junger started the RISC organization (Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues). To learn more about what RISC is and how reporters can be saved, visit here:
I like that you included the information about the RISC organization (Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues). I didn't know about it, and it was helpful that you included a link on your blog, as well as the video.
I like that you included the information about the RISC organization (Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues). I didn't know about it, and it was helpful that you included a link on your blog, as well as the video.
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