105 heartfelt interviews with U.S. Soldiers traveling to and from war zones, Military Families whose children were killed in Iraq, Veterans, and Youth. Intimately documented on film by Artists Sally Marr and Peter Dudar.
Arlington West is a 74-minute Art Film presenting “temporary cemeteries”in the sand, erected every Sunday by the Veterans For Peace in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Oceanside, and Huntington Beach. Flag draped coffins and over 5,500 wooden crosses, affectionately placed, invites the public to honor the unacknowledged fallen U.S. soldiers from Iraq & Afghanistan, for us to lament the cost of the war.
Watch the trailer below.
Visitors write the name of the dead on slips of paper lining the ever-growing list of casualties and place it on a cross with fresh flowers and an American flag.
This presentation, now national, is a respite to express sentiments, a remembrance in silence or painful grief; for all to take time to honor the Soldiers, Marines, and Military Families who are paying the highest price for war. Children offer their intuitive wisdom. Veterans, survivors of the horrors of war, share their poignant experiences, and new recruits en route to combat speak of their enthusiasm, dedication and faith in their upcoming missions.
620,000 Iraq & Afghanistan War Veterans have either Traumatic Brain Injury or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – RAND Corp. 18 U.S. Veterans kill themselves EVERY SINGLE DAY…6,570 suicides per year in the V.A. – CBS News.
California alone has spent $132.6 billion on wars in Iraq & Afghanistan; 27,000 teachers were laid off statewide in 2009. ARLINGTON WEST is both non-partisan and non-political, a proven pedagogical tool. The U.S. Department of Education is now using this film for their “Wounded Warrior Initiative,” helping Educators in Colleges and Universities understand Soldiers’ issues involving PTSD as young Combat Vets attempt secondary education.
Returning from the Middle East conflict, many of the military, distressed, disillusioned, damaged, and having lost friends “in country” share reflections, as well as their fellow soldiers who are eager to return to war zones.
The military families arrive with photos, dog-tags, and mementos to adorn the crosses as they honor, weep and pray…sharing their innermost feelings with you, their fellow countrymen and women.
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