Iraq War Veterans, 20 Years Later: ‘I Don’t Know How to Explain the War to Myself’ | Op-Docs

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  • Опубликовано: 19 мар 2023
  • Months after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, I began filming the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (known as the Gunners) in Baghdad. The unit was housed in a bombed-out palace on the banks of the Tigris that they named Gunner Palace.
    Rather than just making a movie about the men, I suggested that we make a film together - an offer that the soldiers quickly embraced. They told the story of the war as only they could: They played guitar, spat out rhymes and played to the camera. But behind all their bravado and posturing, they were just kids who desperately wanted the world to understand the war through their eyes.
    In the last two months of 2003, the Gunners lost three men to I.E.D. attacks. They scrambled to create makeshift armor for their soft-skinned vehicles using scrap metal. When asked by a soldier about the lack of armor in 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld famously said, “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”
    They were the army we had. They fought an enemy they couldn’t always see in a land they didn’t understand for reasons that were never entirely clear. In the midst of the pandemic, I visited the men and spoke with them about how they make sense of their role in a war that has yet to be fully reckoned with. In "The Army We Had," the veterans grapple with a past that still reverberates powerfully through their lives.
    - Text by Michael Tucker
    - Film by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker
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Комментарии • 24 тыс.

  • @Zlinky111
    @Zlinky111 7 месяцев назад +9407

    "I don't feel like we are defending our country any more. We just go where they tell us". Pretty much summed it up.

    • @cryptidian3530
      @cryptidian3530 7 месяцев назад +219

      Welcome to the US military forces.

    • @thezimra9429
      @thezimra9429 7 месяцев назад

      uhm..... defending country ? hahhahah imagine going on the other side of the planet to defend poppy fields to make what happens in murica now ? homeless? drugs? fentanyl? its cause u did what u did... its not theyre fault... but murica should beliable and those people should fking get charged

    • @broaddusmarines
      @broaddusmarines 7 месяцев назад +188

      It’s been like that for over 70 years now.

    • @xxxod
      @xxxod 7 месяцев назад +46

      @@broaddusmarines just following orders

    • @musaidris1233
      @musaidris1233 7 месяцев назад

      Heedless . Not using their own brain .

  • @TenTonNuke
    @TenTonNuke Год назад +8614

    I don't know one veteran, myself included, who feels like they made a difference. We had no mission apart from "wait until someone fires at you and then fire back." We didn't bring freedom and democracy; we tore the country apart and left it in chaos and ruin. And we treated innocent people like they were terrorists. When people call me a hero and thank me for my service, I flinch. I feel like I should be punished for what I've done, not praised.

    • @nightwishn
      @nightwishn 11 месяцев назад +675

      you are the 1st person on this comment section that i felt is truly honest and the ONLY from everything ive heard and read and watched that i truly felt that you deserve respect for saying and admitting this , thank you for what you said respectfully

    • @Arborist5851
      @Arborist5851 11 месяцев назад +169

      I know what you mean brother, I completely agree.

    • @ebolawarrior451
      @ebolawarrior451 11 месяцев назад +160

      Only time I felt like I helped was when I was helping kids at the TCN/LN depot. Other than that, I wasted two years of my life.

    • @arandom1024
      @arandom1024 11 месяцев назад +99

      Former marine rifleman here...yep

    • @joshnic6639
      @joshnic6639 11 месяцев назад +238

      Which is why it blows my mind When I hear people talk about how they never would’ve joined the Nazis, like if it was your country yes, of course you would have.

  • @TikyeWilliams
    @TikyeWilliams 3 месяца назад +1254

    “Money for wars but can’t feed the poor”

    • @FamiliarAnomaly
      @FamiliarAnomaly Месяц назад

      Money for blackrock and vanguard to buy your homes and rent them back to you. The people who run the country have betrayed us.

    • @jimyoung7926
      @jimyoung7926 Месяц назад +21

      I always liked the bar that followed this,"They say there ain't no hope for the Youth, but the truth is there ain't no hope for the future."

    • @SinArtavia
      @SinArtavia Месяц назад +5

      Wars are sometimes necessary sadly, however the recent lives lost between Ukraine to Russia and even Palestine and Israel can and should be solved peacefully...
      Would like to add that I do believe more should be done for those in difficult circumstances, but nonetheless you hit the nail on the head 👍

    • @elijahflores1151
      @elijahflores1151 Месяц назад +6

      Okay Pac

    • @JustaKarenDiscoveredTheIntrnet
      @JustaKarenDiscoveredTheIntrnet Месяц назад

      The Rich run the world and run our country and want Resources other countries have to make them Richer and will do whatever it takes to get it ...Wars is essentially modern genocide of people.

  • @johnnyparatrooper1326
    @johnnyparatrooper1326 12 дней назад +93

    I lost about 20 friends to suicide, drugs, and late night car accidents after my service.
    Hurts…

    • @user-td2jw9ze2c
      @user-td2jw9ze2c 11 дней назад

      Did they serve with you may i ask if you don't mind?

    • @toeachitsown2050
      @toeachitsown2050 6 дней назад +1

      Sorry for your loss. I still appreciate you and your friends.

    • @ottoneiii4353
      @ottoneiii4353 День назад

      oh :(

    • @lesterc-ts4xn
      @lesterc-ts4xn 11 часов назад

      Sorry to hear that, dear Johny, may their souls rest in peace.
      Thank you for your service.. You must be a cool person if you had/have that many friends.
      God bless you.

  • @mustafamohammed8758
    @mustafamohammed8758 Год назад +28963

    "The wars will end and the leaders will shake hands, and that old woman will remain waiting for her martyred son, and that girl will wait for her beloved husband, and the children will wait for their heroic father, I do not know who sold the homeland but I know who paid the price"
    - Mahmoud Darwish

    • @teamtoken
      @teamtoken Год назад +729

      Brilliant quote. No more needs to be said.

    • @kgosijapie5859
      @kgosijapie5859 Год назад +92

      Hmmmm... powerful

    • @ddhqj2023
      @ddhqj2023 Год назад +180

      @@knowstradamusucka5713 In Iraq?

    • @pavlolowry5441
      @pavlolowry5441 Год назад +241

      @@knowstradamusucka5713 why you're creating another war right now?

    • @PapaDalbec
      @PapaDalbec Год назад +43

      @@knowstradamusucka5713 or sold the homeland 😉

  • @CyborgZeta
    @CyborgZeta Год назад +5039

    The guy who said he felt the need to sign up after 9/11 was spot on. That was precisely the mood a lot of people felt in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. And the Bush Administration took full advantage of it.

    • @codyjames01111
      @codyjames01111 Год назад +643

      That's the whole purpose of a false flag attack

    • @wizard_customz
      @wizard_customz Год назад +271

      It was done by our own government.. what do you know about gadafhi

    • @Psychedelic430
      @Psychedelic430 Год назад

      ''The killing stops in one place and starts in another but thats ok cause you are killing for your country. But it aint your country whose asking its a few men top who want it. Old men start it , young men fight it. Nobody wins , everybody in the middle dies and nobody tells the truth.''

    • @victorkreig6089
      @victorkreig6089 Год назад

      Wrong, CONGRESS and the SENATE took full advantage of that
      Look at how many said yes to the war and look how many said yes to the patriot act
      Almost unanimous decisions. The admin was doing what congress and the senate told them to do plain and simple
      Oh and the satellite images that created the thoughts of WMD's and the only reason it was even used as a reason for invasion was because MI6 sent us images that showed they were there, of course it wasn't until years later that even the admin found out they were fakes

    • @flman1284
      @flman1284 Год назад +138

      They created it.

  • @terinash609
    @terinash609 9 дней назад +86

    I am an army veteran. My son was a Cavalry Scout. He refused to go to Iraq because he didn’t believe in the war there. He told them he would go fight in Afghanistan. He had a court martial, went to military prison for a short time, received an bad conduct discharge and lost all veterans benefits. His best Army buddy wasn’t going to deploy to Iraq either. He gave in and went. He was blown up by an IED. He was burned, broke his back, pelvis, he has a traumatic brain injury. He now is disabled for life and has horrific PTSD. That unit lost several soldier and others were injured. Then my son fell apart from survivor guilt. He had a breakdown. He will never be the same. He was 21. He is almost 40 now. His life is ruined. My daughter and son in law served as MPs. They had multiple deployments in Afghanistan. They have PTSD and other service related problems. They were very disillusioned by the time their last enlistment was up and got out. I am a 100% disabled veteran. My health was ruined by the non FDA approved vaccines I received during the first Gulf
    war. I have been ill, in pain and have memory and cognitive issues. I have been this way for 33 years. Over half my life I have been disabled. Our country needs to stop sending our troops off to needless wars. Now Biden and Blinken are backing Israel
    In their Genocide and war crimes. They are playing directly into Netanyahu’s hand to fight WWIII with not only more American funding and weapons but American troops. If they don’t destroy the entire world we will have more dead or mentally and physically disabled veteran and not much will change in the Middle East !

    • @Iesha466
      @Iesha466 5 дней назад +2

      My heart breaks reading your testimony and that of your kids. I am incredibly sorry and ashamed of our evil government and bankers running the global financial war machines. We are Patriots who Love America and all of humanity, however we are fed up with politics, lies and corruption as I'm sure you are! God bless you and we are praying for a massive, sweeping, global change on this plant. We are with you 🙏❤️🇺🇸

    • @Polyfusia
      @Polyfusia 2 дня назад

      Sad story and really the oldest story ever told. People go fight for their nation and believe in honour and protecting whats right and come home shattered to a nation that suddenly doesn't need them anymore now that they've served their purpose. It may be cynical but I think the real reason it is encouraged to tell those in the miiitary "thank you for your service" is actually to attract new recruits who see this and believe its a job of valour and to keep those who have lost everything because of their service a little quieter. If the powers that be wanted to thank you, they'd look after you.

    • @cpttreebeard9112
      @cpttreebeard9112 День назад

      A feel sympathy for you but that last paragraph is unhinged rantings of a conspiracy theorist

    • @Iesha466
      @Iesha466 День назад

      @cpttreebeard9112 there's no conspiracy about it. If you're not aware of the major problems facing humanity and just where they stem from then you're not thinking for yourself and simply following along with the misguided sheep listening to the liberal media talking heads on CNN.

  • @TheLucieFurr
    @TheLucieFurr 3 месяца назад +549

    "Only the dead have seen the end of war" Plato

    • @ryanwilliams174
      @ryanwilliams174 Месяц назад +7

      Funny thing is you have made the same mistake many have made and falsely accredited this to Plato. Newsflash .....Plato never once said that lmao

    • @ryanwilliams174
      @ryanwilliams174 Месяц назад +4

      P.s. maybe look up George Santayana🤷‍♂️🤣

    • @juanburgueno3274
      @juanburgueno3274 Месяц назад +6

      Only the dead have seen the end of war ~Spongebob~

    • @timcoakley5498
      @timcoakley5498 27 дней назад

      Only Tony bliar and the bush administration would cause a the death of over a million people for money

    • @GoodGuyRuska-
      @GoodGuyRuska- 20 дней назад

      @@juanburgueno3274 "mayonaise is an instrument of war" -patrick

  • @saemae1169
    @saemae1169 6 месяцев назад +3673

    As an Iraqi citizen back then and a us citizen now. This war was devastating for us Iraqi people our home was destroyed we lived in fear everyday. A million Iraqi civilians died because of this war. And it was futile and pointless. Why all this? What for?

    • @tmagic4781
      @tmagic4781 6 месяцев назад +50

      revelation 3:9 thats why

    • @timuruddin7088
      @timuruddin7088 6 месяцев назад +2

      Dont worry brother. Immigrants will come to their country and will take their country from them.

    • @rd-mu2vj
      @rd-mu2vj 6 месяцев назад +275

      It’s was all for oil and money!!! Duh!!! How do you like living in the US verses living in Iraq? Would you want to move back now the US has pulled out? Why or why not?

    • @JusDON2.0
      @JusDON2.0 6 месяцев назад +1

      Oil and money … greed and power… hate and control… that’s all anyone wants with the Middle East… I so wish I could find a Time Machine … my father gave me an ultimatum… go to college or join the military… I so wish I went to college

    • @jdk67
      @jdk67 6 месяцев назад +266

      Greed. Plain and simple.

  • @gabe_s_videos
    @gabe_s_videos Год назад +7414

    Credit to the people who made this film, it was very tasteful. No dramatic music, no sensationalist editing, just the stories of people, what they did, why they did it and what they think of it now.

  • @natashalacey92
    @natashalacey92 3 месяца назад +447

    2 of my close friends were deployed in Afghanistan and committed suicide when they came back to the US due to their PTSD. They both shot themselves in the head.
    I remember the stories they would tell me and what they experienced coming back here.
    One of them would hear gunshots and bombs at night when there weren’t any. It was heartbreaking to watch them suffer.

    • @marcosoliveira6470
      @marcosoliveira6470 2 месяца назад +60

      Guilty for the innocent people they killed for no reason.

    • @cycologist7069
      @cycologist7069 2 месяца назад +19

      @@marcosoliveira6470 That doesn't mean they don't deserve sympathy and compassion.

    • @marcosoliveira6470
      @marcosoliveira6470 2 месяца назад +56

      @@cycologist7069 Compassion should be a 2 way street. Did they have compassion for the 1 million kids killed in Iraq?
      1.4 million total people killed for no reason.

    • @cycologist7069
      @cycologist7069 2 месяца назад +7

      @@marcosoliveira6470 Obviously they didn’t have compassion for the people they killed so I’ll rephrase. Even though they didn’t have compassion for the people who’s lives they took and upended, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it from their fellow citizens when they return home.

    • @marcosoliveira6470
      @marcosoliveira6470 2 месяца назад +39

      @@cycologist7069 No compassion from me for assassins killing defenseless children.

  • @aucamel3491
    @aucamel3491 2 месяца назад +239

    From an Arab...God Bless the men in this video. You signed up to fight the terrorists of 9/11 and you were sent to Iraq. Prayers for you suffering PTSD or any other War injuries.

    • @michaelvivirito
      @michaelvivirito Месяц назад +9

      If only we knew the truth

    • @dustinpope9338
      @dustinpope9338 Месяц назад +5

      ​@@michaelviviritohave you seen Europa The Last Battle?

    • @michaelvivirito
      @michaelvivirito Месяц назад +2

      @@dustinpope9338 no I haven’t. I can download it. What’s it about?

    • @dustinpope9338
      @dustinpope9338 Месяц назад +4

      @@michaelvivirito it's a documentary about what really happened in WW1 and WW2 it's the otherside of the story that's been kept from us for the past 75+ years. Definitely worth the watch. Make sure you watch the 2019 version all 10 parts.

    • @fuckaroobill
      @fuckaroobill Месяц назад +1

      @@michaelvivirito It's neonazi cope because they're mad they lost, and that the jews are allowed to exist. avoid this garbage at all costs

  • @thecowboypreacher6568
    @thecowboypreacher6568 Год назад +6582

    What the US government did to these eager and willing young men and the Iraqi people is tragic and criminal beyond comprehension. My heart goes out to them all.

    • @ksgermania6159
      @ksgermania6159 Год назад +87

      Not only the Iraqi.

    • @brentoncarter4275
      @brentoncarter4275 11 месяцев назад

      lol the NYTimes did the exact same thing... lied about WMDs and Iraq the entire time.

    • @noneofyourbusiness1114
      @noneofyourbusiness1114 11 месяцев назад +196

      They're trying to do it again with Ukraine.

    • @Bambeakz
      @Bambeakz 11 месяцев назад

      Yeah the US needs war to thrive Sad but true.

    • @TheJordanK
      @TheJordanK 11 месяцев назад +161

      @@noneofyourbusiness1114no they’re not 😂 unless by “they” you mean Russia, then ya.

  • @sheraz2045
    @sheraz2045 5 месяцев назад +3352

    Being an American is like being the child of a Mob boss, you don't really know what your Dad does only that he provides for you, then you're shocked when someone throws a bomb through your living room window.

    • @vmoses1979
      @vmoses1979 5 месяцев назад +126

      Lol - so well put.

    • @JustAroadcone
      @JustAroadcone 5 месяцев назад

      Dude, what does the American government provide you? No social welfare, no healthcare, garbage infrastructure and LITERALLY the worst prison system in the western world by every metric. I think you could be demanding more. Lot's of nukes though, so there's that.

    • @bLeo99
      @bLeo99 5 месяцев назад +102

      Never looked at it from that perspective. Crazy to think about but it’s true.

    • @Yasmin-dx3ek
      @Yasmin-dx3ek 4 месяца назад +51

      Perfect analogy.

    • @IyamSoRaya
      @IyamSoRaya 4 месяца назад +26

      Facts

  • @lastmanstanding1930
    @lastmanstanding1930 3 месяца назад +49

    Incredible work in this documentary. The world needs more of this. No more wars. Regards from Baghdad. I survived while we lost many 😢

  • @Garbagegoose344
    @Garbagegoose344 3 месяца назад +21

    I love the end scene, I think it's very important to the whole video, driving away, Commisso becoming smaller and smaller until he ultimately blends in with the surroundings. You wouldn't know he was there or what he's gone through.
    He is no big celebrated hero of the country, he's just a normal man that suffered at the hands of the government.
    It puts what we just got to see and hear through the video into a different perspective, the death, sacrifice and suffering we think is so important and great, to the government is just a number on a screen.
    The scene kind of gives this feeling of being left empty handed, all this effort just to be left with less than you came with in a indescribable way

  • @demo8175
    @demo8175 Год назад +12028

    We need more documentaries like this to show how much humanity is lost in war.

    • @marmac7619
      @marmac7619 Год назад +108

      Perhaps even more so to the Aggressors, than the Victims?!

    • @jonny-b4954
      @jonny-b4954 Год назад +264

      Imagine it from the Iraqi's perspective.

    • @anniemihn
      @anniemihn Год назад

      Poor Americans who murdered 1 million civillians including women and children.

    • @P..W
      @P..W Год назад

      I can explain the war to them - Zionist fingerprints on 9/11 and then attacking Israel's nearby geographic enemies at the beginning of the "Messianic Age" where Israel religously supposedly rules the world financially.

    • @robertsride1498
      @robertsride1498 Год назад

      It wasn't a lawful war. Look up how the United States is supposed to go to war under the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Clause 11: Just My Thoughts...

  • @baneenbzz4208
    @baneenbzz4208 Год назад +6880

    As an Iraqi who lived through this and grew up in it, i could barely finish this video. It was horrible and forever damaging to all Iraqis who had to go through this.

    • @Thegbiggamerz
      @Thegbiggamerz Год назад +137

      Sometimes it’s important to finish painful things, just see.

    • @amandasmith373
      @amandasmith373 Год назад +1848

      Salam alaikum Baneen, I'm so sorry for what you, your family, and your nation suffered. The Iraqis are the victims in this. The war in Iraq wasn't "a mistake." A mistake is when you spill milk. The war in Iraq was a crime against humanity, and the Iraqis people deserve justice for the evil brought up on them by the US.

    • @orange2352
      @orange2352 Год назад +157

      ​@@amandasmith373 USA USA USA USA

    • @russelllariscylll9938
      @russelllariscylll9938 Год назад +256

      Amanda, don’t be so pretentious and act like nobody in Iraq was up to no good

    • @andwhataboutit8660
      @andwhataboutit8660 Год назад +150

      @@Thegbiggamerz they lived through it, they've seen it already. We're the ones who need to finish the video (I'm Iraqi too but was born in NZ)

  • @putthebunnybackinthebox4790
    @putthebunnybackinthebox4790 2 месяца назад +32

    It’s good to know there are soldiers out there that gained their humanity back. I work with a vet, he’s in his 30’s, and he always tells me how much he misses being over seas and he misses the combat. It makes work almost unbearable at times. The fact that I work with someone who misses killing… it’s refreshing to know a lot of vets now, realize how terrible things really are. It’s refreshing to know not all soldiers are bloodthirsty…

    • @justinwhedbee3981
      @justinwhedbee3981 14 дней назад

      Watch Sebastian Jungers Ted talk about why veterans miss war. It's now about the killing. He longs for something deeper and just doesn't know how to express it

  • @Yodiemember69
    @Yodiemember69 Месяц назад +13

    This video made a difference 😢thank you for your time spent

  • @jamesreed6152
    @jamesreed6152 Год назад +2489

    It’s crazy to see how we all look back and realize we got played.

    • @MuantanamoMobile
      @MuantanamoMobile Год назад +179

      Not once...but more than 7 times...

    • @rph8704
      @rph8704 Год назад +398

      A lot of people knew Iraq was a bunch of BS.

    • @johannuys7914
      @johannuys7914 Год назад

      And the US media backed that crime 100%. Like they are doing now, every day.

    • @TheDJMysterE
      @TheDJMysterE Год назад +154

      We were warned and didn't listen...

    • @entreri76x
      @entreri76x Год назад +261

      Imagine how Vietnam veterans felt…

  • @ayashnawa2343
    @ayashnawa2343 Год назад +2028

    As an Iraqi... tears did not stop flowing watching this video. To this day, hearing fireworks makes my heart drop because they sound like bombs exploding. I startle hearing any loud voice. If a person does not pick up a phone, I think of them dead... This is the first time, I realize that it's actually been 20 years. I was only 9 when this started... The aftermath is still real, and my sisters are at risk of having to go back there, their refugee status is confirmed but their documents are "pending".....

    • @ahmedrakanrakan
      @ahmedrakanrakan Год назад

      ابو غريب +اربع بيض امريكيين ارهابيين جنود اغتصبو الطفلة العراقية عبير الجنابي

    • @BoliceOccifer
      @BoliceOccifer Год назад +169

      Sadaam was a bad man but what my country did to Iraq was just as bad. I was born in 2003, so when I look at things like this, I see a history documentary, not something that I personally remember. Despite that, I do feel some guilt about this but I don't know why. For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry.

    • @MelonEsuk
      @MelonEsuk Год назад +181

      @@BoliceOccifer Gadaffi killed in 2010 for oil and he tried to replace dollar with gold backed currency

    • @prairiehorse6168
      @prairiehorse6168 Год назад +169

      @@BoliceOccifer It was awful what America did and still continues to do in less obvious ways in many countries across the world. The drone strikes still have not ended.

    • @matthewclark8173
      @matthewclark8173 Год назад +40

      @@BoliceOccifer I was born in 1993 and I have the same feelings. All we can do is make sure we try not to make the same mistakes our parents made by supporting future war and hope we do not vote for someone who wants it.

  • @SamuelWalker-bv4gh
    @SamuelWalker-bv4gh 2 месяца назад +16

    I love all of these guys and the way they are just so honest and up front about the war. It’s important we don’t take our vets for granted !

    • @FixerUpper-cb3wo
      @FixerUpper-cb3wo 11 дней назад

      U Americans always see yourselves as victims. I don't care about these murd€rers.

  • @michelleb8569
    @michelleb8569 2 месяца назад +3

    To everyone in the video, thank you for what you are sharing, i dont know if i would have it in me to say a word after going through this type of experience, it would be so frustrating and confusing/ degrading. Loving you all

  • @jayshaft3179
    @jayshaft3179 Год назад +2818

    Out of the 500 soldiers that were in my PTSD study group, only three are still alive. Out of the 1000 in another group, only 43 are left. PTSD and mental traumas never go away, it always haunts you.

    • @Iron_Edge_Ltd
      @Iron_Edge_Ltd Год назад +258

      That is bleak and horrifying...

    • @jayshaft3179
      @jayshaft3179 Год назад +124

      @@cbot375 Exactly the problem for the most part. I have watched many a vet die while waiting for treatment. Many also received treatment, but it was either not enough, or too little, too late. I have my own terrible PTSD from years of working with people, and the continuous losses over the years.

    • @badmanskill1112
      @badmanskill1112 Год назад

      ​@@cbot375 They always have enough money for war to steal resources of other nations, but never enough to assist those that helped them accomplish those goals.

    • @dritemolawzbks8574
      @dritemolawzbks8574 Год назад +30

      ​@@jayshaft3179 I'm genuinely curious, but were opioids drugs (substance abuse) and/or COVID-19 any of the contributing factors?
      That survival rate for young people considered to be in their "prime" was one of the most depressing stats I've seen in a while.

    • @koscocosco5309
      @koscocosco5309 Год назад

      Why did you have ptsd when you were heroes liberating poor Iraqis.. I bet you killed innocent people that's why you can forget about it.

  • @benfranklin5335
    @benfranklin5335 Год назад +2352

    seeing the small clips of the soldiers, followed by the modern day interview with them. Is one of the greatest things I've ever seen from a docu/film. Absolutely incredible.

    • @bong19
      @bong19 Год назад +8

      I k r

    • @roddydykes7053
      @roddydykes7053 Год назад +72

      What’s especially shocking is how old these guys look in the modern videos. I remember the beginning of the Middle East war and it didn’t seem like that long ago

    • @null_geodesic
      @null_geodesic Год назад +35

      @@roddydykes7053 20 years is a third of your life more often than not. And they already expired a third of their life by the time they started filming.

    • @earthynomad7160
      @earthynomad7160 Год назад +5

      Am so happy to hear that as a refugee.
      Me and those who left from my family are still praying daily for God's justice and punishment. Queen Elizabeth met her maker already. Remaining Bush and every savage politician and soldier who made our lives unbearable.
      America hasn't change that's why they are sending more soldiers to east Africa .
      Thank god for death it will catch everyone and then then everyone will be held accountable. No where to escape from death.
      God is greater than all.
      Viva Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and the rest of oppressed nations.

    • @YHWH711
      @YHWH711 Год назад

      Absurd

  • @JB-bw8nj
    @JB-bw8nj Месяц назад +5

    I spent time in tikrit, ramadi, Baghdad international, Mosul and a bunch of other places and now I’m living in my car. God bless America

  • @derrinevans2985
    @derrinevans2985 2 месяца назад +13

    Thank you Mr. Beatty for all you taught us.

  • @updownstate
    @updownstate 7 месяцев назад +2189

    My son when he came back from Iraq stayed with us for a month that turned into a year and a half. He said the peace and quiet of our house helped him keep from developing PTSD. He's so changed, and how could he not be? Love you Nick, my huggable heart.

    • @ItsjustBlackJackhere
      @ItsjustBlackJackhere 7 месяцев назад +93

      From hearing this i can tell your an amazing parent, i know that many parents wouldn't want there child who's all grown up living with them, but you understand the comfort he needs

    • @kausamsalam8543
      @kausamsalam8543 7 месяцев назад +53

      Great parents who provided peace and calmness to a PTSD survivor of war. PTSD comes in many forms to many people, even through gangs’ violence on people.

    • @updownstate
      @updownstate 7 месяцев назад

      There are questions I don't ask.@@minikonshu6219

    • @georgehancock2307
      @georgehancock2307 7 месяцев назад +2

      Advanced Resolution Therapy can help him with PTSD

    • @georgehancock2307
      @georgehancock2307 7 месяцев назад +4

      @@thebangbros2013 helped me but it doesnt help everyond

  • @user-fq3gs6qh6j
    @user-fq3gs6qh6j 9 месяцев назад +1059

    The older I get, the more I realize that we are all just pawns to a few power-hungry fools. My heart truly goes out to both the Iraqi people and the young men and women who joined the military with the aim to defend our country and do good in the world, but achieved neither and came back with the burden of what really happened

    • @tuumi2000
      @tuumi2000 7 месяцев назад

      Come you masters of war
      You that build the big guns
      You that build the death planes
      You that build all the bombs
      You that hide behind walls
      You that hide behind desks
      I just want you to know
      I can see through your masks
      You that never done nothin'
      But build to destroy
      You play with my world
      Like it's your little toy
      You put a gun in my hand
      And you hide from my eyes
      And you turn and run farther
      When the fast bullets fly
      Like Judas of old
      You lie and deceive
      A world war can be won
      You want me to believe
      But I see through your eyes
      And I see through your brain
      Like I see through the water
      That runs down my drain
      You fasten all the triggers
      For the others to fire
      Then you sit back and watch
      When the death count gets higher
      You hide in your mansion
      While the young people's blood
      Flows out of their bodies
      And is buried in the mud
      You've thrown the worst fear
      That can ever be hurled
      Fear to bring children
      Into the world
      For threatening my baby
      Unborn and unnamed
      You ain't worth the blood
      That runs in your veins
      How much do I know
      To talk out of turn
      You might say that I'm young
      You might say I'm unlearned
      But there's one thing I know
      Though I'm younger than you
      That even Jesus would never
      Forgive what you do
      Let me ask you one question
      Is your money that good?
      Will it buy you forgiveness
      Do you think that it could?
      I think you will find
      When your death takes its toll
      All the money you made
      Will never buy back your soul
      And I hope that you die
      And your death will come soon
      I'll follow your casket
      By the pale afternoon
      And I'll watch while you're lowered
      Down to your deathbed
      And I'll stand over your grave
      'Til I'm sure that you're dead
      Source: LyricFind
      Songwriters: Bob Dylan

    • @felix-bq1fi
      @felix-bq1fi 7 месяцев назад

      @@rustyshack2349 clearly, as the biggest mass genocide in history was targeted towards primarily jews, youre insane

    • @cozen9673
      @cozen9673 7 месяцев назад +4

      I hope in a few years there is know one left to fight because we know now

    • @danielmota1095
      @danielmota1095 7 месяцев назад +3

      Your Statement is very articulate. Old men that are power hungry -fools sending young men to war .

    • @LaurenceLionKing
      @LaurenceLionKing 7 месяцев назад +7

      ​@@rustyshack2349. Lmao, fascist.

  • @Rodmic-hd9pn
    @Rodmic-hd9pn Месяц назад +6

    I love their transparency and raw feelings.

  • @michaelashpole6588
    @michaelashpole6588 Месяц назад

    “It’s the greatest feeling in the world” on his mom being proud of him ❤️

  • @alkha4711
    @alkha4711 6 месяцев назад +227

    “War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other.” -Niko Belic

  • @user-te4cw2sz5o
    @user-te4cw2sz5o 7 месяцев назад +591

    Imagine what the civilians of Iraq had to live through. Imagine what the civilians of Iraq had to live through.

    • @swempley
      @swempley 7 месяцев назад +12

      Don't care.

    • @UgandanWarriorofHell
      @UgandanWarriorofHell 6 месяцев назад +168

      @@swempleygrow up. stop being edgy, kid

    • @CarefulHowYouStep
      @CarefulHowYouStep 6 месяцев назад +37

      people care, they just dont understand how much they have been lied to.

    • @adewilson132
      @adewilson132 6 месяцев назад +6

      Why’d you say it twice?

    • @redshift912
      @redshift912 6 месяцев назад +5

      @@adewilson132go read your comics kid .

  • @goblin5030
    @goblin5030 Месяц назад

    I cannot imagine losing a brother. Let alone one to his own hand. Thank you for your service from elistment to now.

  • @joshlucas5907
    @joshlucas5907 2 месяца назад +3

    Thank you for sharing. It really provides insight into your world. Nothing but respect for all you guys.

  • @differentabdi5699
    @differentabdi5699 Год назад +4819

    My heart goes out to all the Iraqi families who lived through this horrible tragedy

    • @Biserbalkanski
      @Biserbalkanski Год назад +18

      right what about them?

    • @Biserbalkanski
      @Biserbalkanski Год назад

      @Afayanl right . I agree . I live here and I'm a little younger but I know the good ol boys was talking s $ trying to make people against the war like they're p$ ys

    • @ahmedrakanrakan
      @ahmedrakanrakan Год назад

      @Sanctus Paulus 1962 The brazen West supports ISIS and Saddam and then comes as heroes to save the world from the beginning Your government support this nonsense

    • @DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree
      @DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree Год назад +12

      @@Afayanl It's us Americans who're emotional, eh?
      War in and of itself is an atrocity. Everything afterward is an addendum. The reasons are always the same, nevermind the context.

    • @batmanRBC
      @batmanRBC Год назад

      @SanctusPaulus-ic5glyou’re talking about 1991. Iraq was no threat to Kuwait in 2003, gtfo and learn your history.

  • @xanderunderwoods3363
    @xanderunderwoods3363 5 месяцев назад +949

    We traumatized millions of people, including over a million of our own soldiers...for nothing
    I was in the Navy, but the more I learn about this nation, the more I despise what its become, and I feel like I served a totally corrupt nation. I totally understand the Vietnam vets rage against the government now...

    • @murdock6450
      @murdock6450 4 месяца назад +22

      I feel the same being English.. always hurt as a kid why everyone hated us at sports and just in general, i thought we were the good guys.

    • @KarinaLaamri
      @KarinaLaamri 3 месяца назад +31

      ​@@murdock6450and most of you still think that way unfortunately.

    • @murdock6450
      @murdock6450 3 месяца назад +5

      ​@@KarinaLaamri So true.

    • @megaham1552
      @megaham1552 3 месяца назад

      I wouldn't say getting rid of Saddam was for nothing

    • @hobomike6935
      @hobomike6935 3 месяца назад

      Our government is a crime syndicate now. It's disgusting.
      Like at least in the 80s and 90s there were some semi-moral people in some of the state and local governments, even if the Feds were corrupt. now pretty much everyone involved in government is a total bag of slime and only in it for the money and the power.

  • @humorbegone
    @humorbegone 2 месяца назад +4

    Great documentary, it breaks my heart for all of those 😢

  • @gripalipfishin4706
    @gripalipfishin4706 2 месяца назад

    Thanks for all you gave from me n my family hope life brings u peace and good times! Thanks

  • @nicknack6042
    @nicknack6042 Год назад +1788

    This reminds me of my friend Josh who went to Iraq as a fresh faced young man and came back a broken adult. He suffered from alcoholism and depression until he took his own life. That wasn't what we envisioned growing up would be like when we were kids. Miss you my brotha. Mourn you til I join you.

    • @adamjb21
      @adamjb21 Год назад +68

      Almost made me shed a tear thinking about the innocence and naivety of childhood, only to be suckerpunched by the actual realities of the world. Blessings to you and yours

    • @ironknee6879
      @ironknee6879 Год назад +48

      At least 4 guys out of the 90 I served with have gone down a path that ended the same. It affected everyone differently. Sorry for your loss.

    • @jayklink851
      @jayklink851 Год назад +30

      You know, when your looking back at that era, a couple buddies of mine who were only two years older, were involved in the first month(s) of the Iraq war. At the time, we thought as them as soldiers; but these guys were still boys really. Very brave guys, when I say "boys", there is no intention of disrespect, or to suggest they weren't capable soldiers, just the opposite, in fact. It's just the age, when I was 18, I didn't even know, what I didn't know; but I thought I did, if that makes sense lol.

    • @omarismail8551
      @omarismail8551 Год назад

      American soldiers fight for ambiguous agenda so you are misguided

    • @omarismail8551
      @omarismail8551 Год назад

      @@jayklink851
      Because you are misguided like drunkard in streets 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @Lukemasonmedia
    @Lukemasonmedia Год назад +1683

    This just made me realize that they want all the 18-20 year olds they can get because at that age you don’t think for yourself, you’ll just do what you’re told to

    • @user-gc1wj8tt2p
      @user-gc1wj8tt2p Год назад +155

      ​@@cloudofw3313 you're prob 18-20 years old lmao

    • @MSotelo503
      @MSotelo503 Год назад +58

      ​@@cloudofw3313That's what "Not Thinking for themselves " means, They had an idea of becoming a Super Hero.

    • @woahhbro2906
      @woahhbro2906 Год назад +56

      That's prime age for physical ability and energy. Plus, younger people tend to be more aggressive, ambitious, and feel they're invincible. Makes for a solid soldier. Joining a military isn't automatically a foolish decision. It's a crucial career. Someone has to do it.

    • @calamorta
      @calamorta Год назад

      This makes no sense. When you're in the army, you either do what you're told or you get screwed. It doesn't matter how old you are. You must and will obey. They just tend to be 18-20 yr olds because that's the age most join the army due to all the bs war propaganda and lack of 'achievements' and/or purpose in life.
      Also, public opinion as a whole was pro-war. It wasn't just a bunch of 18-20 yr olds "not thinking for themselves". Your country wanted that war. Your people wanted that war. US propaganda goes much deeper than "18-20 yrs olds don't think for themselves".

    • @ericpark8784
      @ericpark8784 Год назад +6

      Doesn’t change much when people get older

  • @Dr_Skillz1188
    @Dr_Skillz1188 3 месяца назад +1

    Give Petra a raise and promote Mr Michael. This film was perfect unbiased and incredibly real. Thanks to everyone involved

  • @danilibbi9205
    @danilibbi9205 2 месяца назад +6

    the honest Documentation i've ever seen❤❤❤❤

  • @listerfiend4577
    @listerfiend4577 Год назад +3294

    I was an infantryman in Baghdad during OIF 06-08 at 19 years old. I feel I’m greatly fortunate that I came back with only limited hearing in my left ear compared to the physical and mental wounds suffered by some of my friends. It’s weird to come back and feel so detached from everyone around you. Like you are there but you aren’t. I dread opening my social media and seeing the news of another friend that finally succumbed to his demons and lost his battle with PTSD. This war shaped me and my worldview. I will never trust government and media again. Their callous disregard of American and Iraqi lives made me have a visceral resistance to authority and any attempt to control us the citizens of this nation. I refuse to let Americans live in the fear of the man coming in through the door. The man that was me.

    • @eduardgindin3763
      @eduardgindin3763 Год назад +146

      I hear you, bro. I deployed twice and I've been on medications for the last five-six years or so...

    • @sharonmarket9526
      @sharonmarket9526 Год назад +69

      yeah 👍🏿 never trust tha man stay strong brotha

    • @changingworldllc1157
      @changingworldllc1157 Год назад +8

      🤯

    • @jasonhuntchicago
      @jasonhuntchicago Год назад +9

      What are you up to these days @listerfiend?

    • @yo2trader539
      @yo2trader539 Год назад +127

      I fear way too much propaganda--like duty or honour or right vs wrong--is directed towards Americans when it comes to military affairs. It's just war.
      Someone high up decided it's in US national interests to remove Saddam. No different from Panama or Libya. The primary role of the US military is to serve US interests. Nothing more, nothing less. Militaries rarely get to decide when, where, why, how or with whom to fight.

  • @rachelwyatt6030
    @rachelwyatt6030 3 месяца назад +1480

    I remember a guy from high school in the early 2000’s who had top colleges wanting him for academics and a baseball scholarship to top schools. He chose to fight for his country. He went to Iraq and came back two years later in a wheelchair. I’ll never forget how depressed and broken he looked. It broke my heart to see young men losing their lives trying to fight for something that they really didn’t understand themselves. I just can’t believe the way they took him in and spit him out when he was no longer useful and then his life was destroyed.

    • @The_human..
      @The_human.. 3 месяца назад +159

      At least he came back to his home but we Iraqi people our fathers brothes kids women died without any resson
      We died just because our country has a lot of oil

    • @Calamity8
      @Calamity8 3 месяца назад +40

      @@The_human..nothing can fix what has happened in the past but I hope and wish for your countries success and prosperity. War is evil and I hope you and your family are doing better ❤

    • @Pedrogog
      @Pedrogog 3 месяца назад +56

      Imagine how broke and sad are the families he killed.

    • @brickpavingartificialturf247
      @brickpavingartificialturf247 3 месяца назад

      Esau/the white, man destroy his own for control of this planet. It is written in the bible.

    • @frauflaw100edibleorganicco9
      @frauflaw100edibleorganicco9 3 месяца назад +5

      So.... Ur friend still alive?

  • @Theboyfromjupiter
    @Theboyfromjupiter Месяц назад +2

    Humor always survives even in the bleakest of situations, these men are far stronger than I'll ever be

  • @GardenMack
    @GardenMack 23 дня назад

    This was a great piece! Idk how it came up on my timeline but glad i took the time to check it. Peace to all these brothers past and future... youre appreciated and loved!
    -N

  • @AlphaAchilles
    @AlphaAchilles 11 месяцев назад +2805

    I deployed back in 2013 to Afghanistan and ever since then I feel empty inside. Nothing excites me or genuinely makes me happy. And most of friends are either dead or somewhere far away. Don’t really leave the house unless I have too and no one really gets it. Good to know I’m not alone in this.

    • @wearywillie3675
      @wearywillie3675 11 месяцев назад +215

      That sucks bro. Go back and find humanity, join a team and create some value for a group. You won’t regret it.

    • @PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr
      @PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr 11 месяцев назад +129

      This doesn't sound healthy; please seek help. Often, primary care doctors are helpful. I hope you get better.

    • @lemonjellosmith4462
      @lemonjellosmith4462 11 месяцев назад +91

      You aren't alone at all. Reach out to a veterans group of people with like experiences. I am praying for you.

    • @nobody-jn2mb
      @nobody-jn2mb 11 месяцев назад +34

      Thank you for your service! You are loved & appreciated. 🙏🏽

    • @alexhynes4122
      @alexhynes4122 11 месяцев назад +23

      Thank you so incredibly much for your service brother it was not in vain. You made an impact to keep us safe. My next door neighbor is a combat veteran with severe ptsd and has a service dog. He rarly leaves the house as well. I can’t imagine what you went through and we’re exposed to. I’m a Christian who has had massive trauma in life and the only peace I have found in this life is Jesus. Hang in there please the world needs you in it.

  • @mikehawk4274
    @mikehawk4274 5 месяцев назад +512

    Those men have all been betrayed to the fullest extent.

    • @_SteelRain
      @_SteelRain 4 месяца назад +8

      Blame the politicians nor the soldiers

    • @dagtheking5739
      @dagtheking5739 2 месяца назад +2

      JPEGMAFIA

    • @barisg8656
      @barisg8656 2 месяца назад

      No, THEY CHOSE TO JOIN THE ARMY, to serve a bunch of corrupt politicians. Soldiers are equally to blame.

    • @Kasa-hz3gz
      @Kasa-hz3gz 2 месяца назад +3

      The VOLUNTEERED, WAIT TILL THEY TAKE THEIR LAST BREATH!!!

    • @fabiankruger262
      @fabiankruger262 2 месяца назад

      @@_SteelRain there are many Americans who are very ignorant when it comes to foreign policy. Just look at how Democrat and Republican supporters fight each other about which party is screwing the country the most efficient

  • @god-son-love
    @god-son-love 2 месяца назад

    I watched this video already. I don't have to watch it again to know what they are going to say. But I still come back here from time to time. It never goes away. World peace!

  • @nate7892
    @nate7892 2 месяца назад +17

    i’m sitting here 17 years old tearing up from this video it’s truly heartbreaking what some of these mem/women had to go through at such a young age

  • @asifkarim7970
    @asifkarim7970 Год назад +656

    Someone once said: "You'll be in Iraq for a year, but it will take you a lifetime to come home". Couldn't be more true. We constantly hear: "Those who don't learn from history, are bound to repeat it". We have learned NOTHING from Korea, Vietnam, and I'm afraid Iraq.

    • @BronxEmperor
      @BronxEmperor Год назад +31

      in war there are no winners, only widows & orphans

    • @franciscogalindo9936
      @franciscogalindo9936 Год назад +8

      I understand Vietnam and Iraq. But why Korea?

    • @brettwitzel
      @brettwitzel Год назад +7

      Look at the young men fighting
      Look at your women crying
      Look at your young men dying
      The way they've always done before
      Look at the hate we're breeding
      Look at the fear we're feeding
      Look at the lives we're leading
      The way we've always done before
      My hands are tied
      The trillions shift from side to side
      And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
      For the love of God and our human rights
      And all these things are swept aside
      By bloody hands time can't deny
      And are washed away by the genocide
      And history hides the lies of our civil wars
      I don't need your civil war
      It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
      Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
      In a human grocery store
      Ain't that fresh
      I don't need your civil war
      Look at the blood we're spilling
      Look at the world we're killing
      The way we've always done before
      Look in the doubt we've wallowed
      Look at the leaders we've followed
      Look at the lies we've swallowed
      And I don't want to hear no more
      My hands are tied
      For all I've seen has changed my mind
      But still the wars go on as the years go by
      With no love of God or human rights
      'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
      By bloody hands of the hypnotized
      Who carry the cross of homicide
      And history bears the scars of our civil wars
      Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway?

    • @HighwayLand
      @HighwayLand Год назад +12

      Don't forget Somalia. And now we are having problems in Syria and Iran. so I am sure you can add them to the list soon enough.

    • @Moetastic
      @Moetastic Год назад +5

      The ones that need to learn from it are the ones that make a buck off of those wars. They are isolated from the horrors of war, so why should they learn, its just a business to them.

  • @prenomnom6642
    @prenomnom6642 6 месяцев назад +2072

    i don't understand how someone can defend his homeland in another land. the book 1984 is really a masterpiece...

    • @retroftw4644
      @retroftw4644 6 месяцев назад

      They were lied to and manipulated.

    • @Cian_
      @Cian_ 5 месяцев назад +38

      We'll, if there is a fight to be had, I'd rather it in their country than the US

    • @siberg6257
      @siberg6257 5 месяцев назад

      ​@@Cian_sure. When exactly did saddam hussein attack the US?

    • @misterplunderer9734
      @misterplunderer9734 5 месяцев назад +326

      ​@@Cian_ so you're the invader...

    • @freedomisbrightestindungeons
      @freedomisbrightestindungeons 5 месяцев назад

      United Kingdom declared war on Germany
      Germany never declared war on UK
      So how did the UK defend itself by invading Germany

  • @chadelliott8012
    @chadelliott8012 Месяц назад +1

    God bless you all. Thank you for your unimaginable sacrifices. You are all heroes.

  • @marezedotes
    @marezedotes Месяц назад +3

    Thank you for following up with these men. I’ve often wondered what happened to them.

    • @DimuthuYapa
      @DimuthuYapa 25 дней назад

      They deserve to be forgotten forever.

  • @AP-dv5vk
    @AP-dv5vk 11 месяцев назад +3675

    All those Iraqi children and people who suffered this prolonged tragedy and injustice. It’s heartbreaking when you feel what happened to them.

    • @ImportedFromSerbia
      @ImportedFromSerbia 11 месяцев назад +228

      Numbers are better impact than just word said. Over 500,000 children got killed, died, lost during and stayed our military operations in 🇮🇶.

    • @fcarter3863
      @fcarter3863 11 месяцев назад +143

      ​@@ImportedFromSerbia You bet but the media doesn't say it's innocent civilians they call them insurgents

    • @alanncsu3243
      @alanncsu3243 11 месяцев назад +60

      Hello... Iraq was in an 8 year war with Iran and over a million people killed, then invaded Kuwait for no reason until we forced them to leave... and chemically bombed his own people. Please tell us again how wonderful the children had it until Sadam, Uday, and Kusay's rule?

    • @greenbee6902
      @greenbee6902 11 месяцев назад +298

      ​@@alanncsu3243 False equivalence, Iran-Iraq war was a more traditional war concentrated at the borders, with 85-90% of the dead being soldiers. Not a good time but how does that excuse the US invasion? The US invaded and destroyed a country over a total lie and went on to do atrocities on par if not worse than Saddam. They set up torture prison camps like Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo and used chemical weapons by their own admission in Fallujah. Don't act like there is anything moral about US geopolitics, its purely about the self interest and enrichment at the cost of others.

    • @alanncsu3243
      @alanncsu3243 11 месяцев назад +22

      @@greenbee6902- how was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq a US self-interest or geopolitics? And how was our removal of Iraq from Kuwait at their request US self-interest or geopolitics? We didn't even have anything to do with the 8 year war, and yet you excuse it blindly as some sort of border conflict despite over a million people dead? I guess in your mind, wrongfully dead soldiers is ok... and chemical weapons against his own people (which included children) is reasonable?

  • @pahountisg
    @pahountisg Год назад +1015

    When he said ''They become old'', I got the goosebumps .

  • @Rhythmraver
    @Rhythmraver 3 дня назад

    Thanks, this was powerful. Hats off to all the men & women that served in the military.🙏❤️

  • @zooted_zack5538
    @zooted_zack5538 25 дней назад +3

    They never prepare you for the war in your own mind when we come home ! Stay strong boys our family needs us 🍻

  • @TOPGUNNER2024
    @TOPGUNNER2024 Год назад +455

    Imagine a king who fights his own battles. Wouldn't that be a sight?
    -Achilles

  • @katiem.6232
    @katiem.6232 7 месяцев назад +1381

    I almost enlisted as a senior in HS in 2001. My grandfather, a WWII veteran, convinced me not to. I’m glad I decided against it because I would’ve been deployed into a pointless war myself. I feel so badly for the trauma my peers had to suffer through from that war.

    • @randyice8627
      @randyice8627 7 месяцев назад +148

      I was in College when 9/11 happened. Same thing, my Grandfather, a WWII Navy vet, talked me out of joining. God bless the guys that went, but thank God the old man talked me out of it.

    • @Mahale_Mel
      @Mahale_Mel 7 месяцев назад +22

      You were blessed you had the option not to enlist!! A lot of these young men didn’t including 3 of my 4 Sons! Serving your country is the bravest act anyone can do, including woman. I also had a DIL serve! Afghanistan & Iraq!!

    • @baydaissi2702
      @baydaissi2702 7 месяцев назад

      @@Mahale_Mel What is it that's brave in going into another country and killing it's civilians?

    • @katiem.6232
      @katiem.6232 7 месяцев назад +20

      Yes, I know. My Nana served as a Marine in WWII after her two cousins were killed at Pearl Harbor. She was in one of the first few female troops deployed. Her passing inspired me to join, but my Papa asked me not to.

    • @cyberpunkspike
      @cyberpunkspike 7 месяцев назад +81

      @@Mahale_Mel No, 3 of your 4 sons had the choice, I don't care how small your town was. We need electricians, plumbers, general contractors and a million other things right now. Brave yes, just like running across a highway is brave, but it's also reckless and pointless. My first cousin, RIP, didn't die for me... He thought he was fighting for us, because they have to think that to survive, but he wasn't and i wish everyone else in his life told him that so he'd be here with us today.

  • @druckerman247
    @druckerman247 17 дней назад

    I feel for you guys man. Its awful the lack of support you got in country and after. We haven't forgotten you.

  • @2terrapinturd
    @2terrapinturd 3 месяца назад +1

    Thank you for sharing your stories gentlemen

  • @Beezi.
    @Beezi. 11 месяцев назад +1206

    After being in Afghanistan 08-09 I still don’t know what our mission was. We just went on patrol every day and night and reacted to contact. We never really had any offensives other than patrolling new areas and searching houses. It felt like we were just their guarding the opium fields and controlling the drugs. We patrolled the poppy fields, did regular patrols in the bazaar to check the drug prices, let one guy harvest the opium but then the guy down the street we took his opium and blew it up with c4. Nothing made sense other than being the muscle for the drug cartels.

    • @vonbayernDE
      @vonbayernDE 11 месяцев назад

      Read book : CIA as organized crime.

    • @MicrodosingReality
      @MicrodosingReality 11 месяцев назад +81

      Don’t be worried someone had a mission - to pump the oil 👌

    • @theotisduncanjr1779
      @theotisduncanjr1779 11 месяцев назад +33

      Unbelievable. . Never knew that info

    • @Beezi.
      @Beezi. 11 месяцев назад

      @@theotisduncanjr1779 yeah and I know special forces were hitting compounds that were trying to turn the opium into heroin. So they were okay with opium but not heroin. I guess they probably wanted the opium as is and anyone trying to make heroin out of it was stealing from them. That’s my guess.

    • @anpu369
      @anpu369 10 месяцев назад

      dam buddy you could've just worked for the cartel. Uncle Sam wants to be the top drug lord, next is to seize Mexican drug operations and fields.

  • @chilll973
    @chilll973 Год назад +1079

    Navy vet here. This really strikes a chord in me so many young men full of life and potential had their innocence stolen by a government who only wanted to invade foreign countries to steal and pillage I pray that my/our sins are forgiven.

    • @irisrose4732
      @irisrose4732 Год назад +11

      WELL SAID!

    • @JANFU_Nova
      @JANFU_Nova Год назад

      wash away your sins with your blood and join the 22 a day loser

    • @123saycheese
      @123saycheese Год назад +3

      👏🏻👏🏻

    • @AaAa-sw5os
      @AaAa-sw5os Год назад +39

      They choose to join

    • @ezekielstewart7638
      @ezekielstewart7638 Год назад

      It’s all because of nimrod do ur research it’s cuz of the stargazer Nephlim ect

  • @edgarmarquis4716
    @edgarmarquis4716 2 месяца назад +1

    One never forgets what went on during those time. I was there during Desert Storm 1990 and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. We just got to get keep moving forward. Thank you Brothers and Sister in Army for having my 6 and for being that 1%.

  • @EliasDalton-qi7pi
    @EliasDalton-qi7pi 7 дней назад

    Thank you all for your services 🙏😢

  • @555dking
    @555dking 9 месяцев назад +778

    Imagine what the civilians of Iraq had to live through

    • @bmagada
      @bmagada 9 месяцев назад

      Most of them? Almost nothing changed. We weren't rolling around like it was the wild west for 20 years. Most of what we did was at a point drive around and wave at people. The invasion and the first 8 years was one thing, the rest was basically politics with the locals and literally giving out millions of dollars to them. At that point you weren't even fighting Iraq anymore but the extremists who would be blowing up their own people, training the locals to defend themselves and building thigs like schools and internet cafes.

    • @sestorm2159
      @sestorm2159 9 месяцев назад +5

      Yes i can imagine that because the small kids, their parents and some fighters came here and relised that crime pays... we also took to many because we are so kind :) SWE

    • @tareqbk1870
      @tareqbk1870 9 месяцев назад +82

      @@sestorm2159 what u even talking about

    • @sestorm2159
      @sestorm2159 9 месяцев назад +4

      @@tareqbk1870 I am surrounded by immigrants I have friends that tells me stories and I see it in the news everyday

    • @evolvedfish
      @evolvedfish 9 месяцев назад +49

      I know an Iraqi here in america that lived through it. He never talks about it, just makes people laugh and gives food to people who don't bring lunch, very warm guy.

  • @patrickgrove3469
    @patrickgrove3469 Год назад +649

    Years later many of these men are stuck in substance abuse ,homelessness prison and police predation of them. PTSD is real.

    • @juanshaftpatel7488
      @juanshaftpatel7488 Год назад +36

      they lost.. thats what they deserve

    • @Martel4
      @Martel4 Год назад +24

      Guess they shouldn't have joined

    • @PBRStreetgang911
      @PBRStreetgang911 Год назад

      All of it deserved after what the USA did to Iraq and it's civilians, what with all the collateral damage. Especially after they pardoned their war criminals. I hope they tear themselves apart as a country.

    • @angelolopez2319
      @angelolopez2319 Год назад +25

      You keep on commenting about us losing, you’re trying to bait a response

    • @Uzair823
      @Uzair823 Год назад +26

      This is what happens when elite men at the top control almost everything young men die for ideologies

  • @maryoath
    @maryoath Месяц назад +1

    Thank you for this. ❤

  • @osupayne280
    @osupayne280 Месяц назад +1

    Getting 20-30 years older is the best way of putting it.

  • @CPAJayhawk
    @CPAJayhawk Год назад +523

    I was 16 in 2003, I'll never forget my dad cussing out the recruiting officer that called our house. Thankfully I avoided the wars.

    • @aurwood68
      @aurwood68 Год назад +93

      Thank God for your father

    • @telosbrah194
      @telosbrah194 Год назад +73

      BASED Dad

    • @TenTonNuke
      @TenTonNuke Год назад +103

      I did the required one month recruiting after basic. They prey on the vulnerable. They specifically target the youth, the lower class, trailer parks, ghettos. With promises of a golden ticket out of poverty. We used to meet with kids behind their parents backs and try to get them to sign contracts.
      Religion, big tobacco, and the military. The 3 institutions that specifically target the young and impressionable.

    • @Dude_bruh
      @Dude_bruh Год назад +12

      @@TenTonNuke What does religion do? It seems some what benign. Unless it's megachurches.

    • @MexObi
      @MexObi Год назад +14

      Your dad is a great man

  • @Emy53
    @Emy53 Год назад +734

    Watching that little girl dressed in pink, coming down the stairs broke my heart. These were innocent children. That's what I hate about wars.

    • @rachaelvaughan1017
      @rachaelvaughan1017 Год назад

      My step dad spent 20 years in the military, and in the Middle East, they don't view women and children the same as they do in Western countries, so that's why they send children or women towards military members with explosives hidden on them because they know that the west view women and children differently.

    • @user-og6hl6lv7p
      @user-og6hl6lv7p Год назад +8

      Why not the same towards young boys?

    • @bradyschroeder3677
      @bradyschroeder3677 Год назад +120

      @@user-og6hl6lv7p she literally said innocent “children” not innocent “young girls”

    • @pandapower5902
      @pandapower5902 Год назад +36

      @@user-og6hl6lv7p bruh

    • @wenterinfaer1656
      @wenterinfaer1656 Год назад +26

      It's called "collateral damage" in the US

  • @vigtime7816
    @vigtime7816 2 месяца назад

    WOW, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE TO WATCH THIS! God bless everyone that fights for us and may all that give their lives, Rest IN PEACE!

  • @jairenesereno4519
    @jairenesereno4519 2 месяца назад +1

    I’m glad the soldiers are realizing the truth. It’s really sad when we go to war period.

  • @abdullahabood3131
    @abdullahabood3131 Год назад +550

    I was 14 in Baghdad when the war happened. I used to practice English with these soldiers. I’m about to get my PhD in a month in the US. I am so lucky to be alive and well.

    • @apark4449
      @apark4449 Год назад +54

      Serious congratulations on the PhD 🎉

    • @ahmedrakanrakan
      @ahmedrakanrakan Год назад +74

      بدل الحديث عن تجربتك السخيفة،اخبر سكان الكرة الارضية كيف اربع جنود امريكيين بيض اغتصبوا الطفلة عراقية عبير الجنابي وحرقو عائلتها أخبرهم عن سجن ابو غريب وكيف كانوا يغتصبون الزوجة امام زوجها واغتصاب الطفل امام والده وامه، اخبرهم كيف يصرخون على النساء الكبيرات في السن وعلى الاطفال

    • @BlackJeepConvertible
      @BlackJeepConvertible Год назад +1

      Did you prefer Iraq before we end there or after?

    • @moonknightish
      @moonknightish Год назад

      So now you are a servant of the people who invaded you and violated your country and people. Congratulations.

    • @remcobuwalda9473
      @remcobuwalda9473 Год назад +12

      ​@@ahmedrakanrakan be glad for this guy. Not all was bad

  • @adventureismydrug
    @adventureismydrug 11 месяцев назад +1651

    I was a 22 yr old Marine sgt out there in 03 for the initial push. I spent many years depressed, constantly black out drunk and also attempted suicide as well. I feel like now at 43 I have just finally figured out how to live “normal”. Took me lots of isolation in the Rockie mountains of Colorado to find peace and figure things out. Definitely had to eliminate the hard drinking and had to find purpose in life again. My heart goes out to the veterans and innocent iraqis who all had to suffer because of this war. To all my brothers and sisters just keep moving and take it day by day. Never think you’re the only one feeling that way and eliminate as much stress from your life as possible. It is possible to find peace again but it takes lots of deep work to get there. Hope this can help at least one person who may read it. 🙏🏽

    • @saitpradhan
      @saitpradhan 10 месяцев назад +25

      prayers from nepal 🇳🇵 mate

    • @JDog2656
      @JDog2656 10 месяцев назад +11

      My respect to you and your service; but if I may ask, if it were something like WW2 fighting the Nazi's and all that concentration camp stuff, do you think you'd feel different. Obviously, its all messed up, but I simply wonder as an objective observer if guys in your shoes would feel any differet.

    • @thebeastmaster3453
      @thebeastmaster3453 10 месяцев назад

      @@JDog2656 in wwII it was 19 year olds shooting at other 19 year olds for some ideas that someone else put in their head. At a certain point you realize you’re killing you.

    • @InTheShadows000
      @InTheShadows000 10 месяцев назад +9

      ​@@JDog2656 I believe you will have a better opinion about you're self because you will genuinely think that you did the right thing but the horrors, the deaths of the people will make you feel the same. There's much more suffering if you're not sure, if you think that you we're the bad guy in the story. You guy's the common soldiers are not the bad guys !!!

    • @blackhawk7r221
      @blackhawk7r221 10 месяцев назад

      IGY 6 brother.

  • @docholliday4489
    @docholliday4489 29 дней назад +2

    War will break a good man. This documentary is proof! Life is a gift. The demons you fight are not worth ending that gift. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice. I salute you!

  • @jayoharejee
    @jayoharejee Месяц назад

    Hey from someone who was in that generation I thank all of you whether you recognize that or not you served your country

  • @kixigvak
    @kixigvak 11 месяцев назад +3565

    We need to keep our military home. Since WW2 it's been one mistake after another.

    • @seanmurphy2365
      @seanmurphy2365 11 месяцев назад +147

      And in ww2 the mistake was the us not getting involved earlier

    • @mdsign001
      @mdsign001 11 месяцев назад +396

      Mistake? Tell that to the American people that profited from it, the American companies that got the "defence" contracts, the American politicians who cemented their power and grifted donations all on the back of "mistakes" ... no mistakes, US wars are deliberate business decisions

    • @Mrjackcool2
      @Mrjackcool2 11 месяцев назад +31

      @@seanmurphy2365 That's not true. America's 'The Great Depression' among many other factors meant it was very unwise to attack pre-emptively. America's economy had a long way to go.

    • @Yabois_
      @Yabois_ 11 месяцев назад

      Yeah. America is the Karen of wars. It engages in conflicts that it has no right to do so in.

    • @becca2938
      @becca2938 11 месяцев назад

      WW2 was the last war that we genuinely needed to be a part of and we didn't even send our troops out until later, towards the end. Every war after that has just been for greed and power. American Troops have been abused. Our people have been abused. There should be more of an outrage, but no one seems to care.

  • @Lynnvandenbrink
    @Lynnvandenbrink Год назад +927

    That clip of them rolling on the ground laughing really shows how young they all were

    • @secrets.295
      @secrets.295 Год назад +37

      And how evil they were

    • @crow1628
      @crow1628 Год назад +222

      @@secrets.295 not evil, how naive and misguided they were

    • @douglasstone3177
      @douglasstone3177 Год назад +146

      @@secrets.295 They were laughing like that due to the intense stress of the situation. They probably were having a pretty tough day when they're buddy got a little goofy and sarcastic on the video and they over-reacted to the comedy in a way that would blow off the excess stress and energy.

    • @roar8693
      @roar8693 Год назад +109

      @@secrets.295 not evil nor young.. thats just military humour mocking how ridiculous the equipment is... we laugh to avoid getting depressed and develop a humour civilians dont agree with..

    • @okaunis
      @okaunis Год назад +6

      @@crow1628 Are you a murderer too? Do you know how many lawyers use that excuse for a young murderer? They are old enough to be convicted as adults. I hope no one you know becomes a victim. We'll see how "understanding" you are.

  • @neymardesalva8649
    @neymardesalva8649 6 дней назад

    playing that guitar in a time of war like this, gives you a peace of mind

  • @nicolebaker8674
    @nicolebaker8674 2 месяца назад +1

    This is the third time I've watched this since it came out. I've cried at the end every time. That was almost me.... It hurts to see how badly his brother was hurt because, I would've done that to my brother. I still don't know what good came from those wars. Kinda just looks like a lot of suffering all around to me. To those that we harmed... I'm sorry.
    For what it's worth I'm doing a lot better. I learned how to see beauty in the world again.

  • @Reloykaotica
    @Reloykaotica Год назад +602

    I think about it everyday too.... I'm disgusted with what we did in hindsight. Every night I hear Iraq. I hear the wailing woman. we didn't do anything in Iraq. Waste of life. I hope those people recover from what we did. I'm sorry I was a kid I didn't know.

    • @gdicommando4456
      @gdicommando4456 Год назад +173

      The entire region has still yet to recover from what you guys did, and probably will never recover

    • @Zp00kie
      @Zp00kie Год назад +51

      It is not your fault. Glad you made it back.

    • @juanshaftpatel7488
      @juanshaftpatel7488 Год назад +14

      you lost.thats your prize

    • @danherrick5785
      @danherrick5785 Год назад +80

      Everyone seems to be the smart man in the comments. You did what you thought was right because that's what your trained to do. Hindsight is always 20/20. The problem here is one thing. And that is leadership. We didn't have it then, and we don't have it now. Leadership only comes from experience. You have that in spades. Share your truth to others so others can know. Your post shows experience and leadership. Thank you for your service.

    • @castrorevenge7332
      @castrorevenge7332 Год назад

      @@juanshaftpatel7488 you lost your dad, your prize is having 0 iq

  • @dorenecaudell4874
    @dorenecaudell4874 Год назад +781

    My son joined the Army to get the benefits he came home a different person had PTSD ended up a drug addict and no longer inhabits this world 😢

    • @brickdinero5468
      @brickdinero5468 Год назад +40

      Bless him and let us remember him 20 years later , however he probably hasn’t been gone so long but still we shalll remember the start of his troubles 20 years ago yesterday

    • @Western_Decline
      @Western_Decline Год назад +25

      I’m sorry for your loss.

    • @blinktambo255
      @blinktambo255 Год назад +15

      What made him join the army ? Did he want to join the army ? Or you told him or forced him to join the army ?

    • @whateverheather655
      @whateverheather655 Год назад +75

      ​@blinktambo255 show some respect for this mom !! It's none of your business why he went into the army!!

    • @blinktambo255
      @blinktambo255 Год назад +54

      @@whateverheather655 why I would a show respect towards someone who let her son to join an institution that was built upon blood ?

  • @user-mh2fr7cp1m
    @user-mh2fr7cp1m 28 дней назад +2

    God Bless these men!

  • @richardf.3154
    @richardf.3154 Год назад +354

    Spent a year there during the Surge, OIF 07-09. Someone once said: "You'll be in Iraq for a year, but it will take you a lifetime to come home". Couldn't be more true. We constantly hear: "Those who don't learn from history, are bound to repeat it". We have learned NOTHING from Korea, Vietnam, and I'm afraid Iraq.

    • @blakebrown534
      @blakebrown534 Год назад +8

      At least in Korea we were helping the defenders. Vietnamese thought we were just the French v2.0 trying to make Vietnam a colony so of course they were going to never surrender, but we had no idea they saw it that way. A lot of hubris and arrogance all over.

    • @paulflores7322
      @paulflores7322 Год назад

      False honor, false duty, false service - the world is better off without soldiers and their war crime memories. They protect no one and nothing then or now.

    • @asifkarim7970
      @asifkarim7970 Год назад +3

      hope all the veterans who have joined the military at that time and invaded and killed a country with innocent lives and ra(p)3d innocent women and daughters hope you go through out your PTSD and live a happy life cause God is waiting for you in the after life

    • @janeblogs324
      @janeblogs324 Год назад

      The politicians learned the profit and ability to blame recession cause, the soldiers never had history lessons on nam.
      When the Japanese are interviewed to this day they don't know what a swastika is/means. Governments control the school curriculum and they decide the taboo topics (follow the science is the latest)

    • @vasconcelossentimento
      @vasconcelossentimento Год назад +7

      @@blakebrown534 read up on US military ocupation of Korea before the war, Jeju uprising, Autumn uprising, etc. "Helping the defenders" is an EXTREMELY charitable statement to the US' role in Korea and the Korean war...

  • @ahmed_alawsey
    @ahmed_alawsey Год назад +1773

    I remember myself as a 8 years old Iraqi kid during the war and the horrible experiences and panic situation that we went through, one of them is 3 am house hit !. It just changes you in an unexplainable way and I always wonder why would the people do such a thing to each other. All the harm for what ? The thousand years of civilization and human history couldn't get us a peaceful getaway !! It was so hard to watch this video.

    • @laurita28061
      @laurita28061 Год назад +32

      { ذَ ٰ⁠لِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَوۡلَى ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَأَنَّ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِینَ لَا مَوۡلَىٰ لَهُمۡ }
      [Sure Muḥammad: 11]

    • @supersleepymedic
      @supersleepymedic Год назад +37

      I’m so sorry to read what you went through 😞

    • @jsweet744
      @jsweet744 Год назад

      Sadam threatened to flood the market with oil so the oil companies had to stop him before he ruined their business, now you know.

    • @MrTruckerf
      @MrTruckerf Год назад +18

      The only reason we were there and fighting mad was the attacks on our country on Sept. 11, 2001. Those hijackers thought they were doing a great thing for their homeland but it sure caused a lot of their people to die later.

    • @laurita28061
      @laurita28061 Год назад +275

      @@MrTruckerf Poor you, thinking that what Media told you werw truth

  • @PursuitArtzFriendlyFireON
    @PursuitArtzFriendlyFireON 12 дней назад

    its crazy, i've seen so many veterans who wanted to do great things and make a difference, only to find out there not supposed to be where they are and the reason they are there is not the reason they went there for. good bless and protect these strong men and women who put there life on the line for their country. never forgotten

  • @lcs8512
    @lcs8512 2 месяца назад

    I’m so sorry. God bless you all. ❤️🙏🏼

  • @S133pyy
    @S133pyy Год назад +451

    I was born in Iraq in 2002 and all my family is from iraq, we had to leave our own country and leave everything behind due to this, it breaks my heart. I never really got to learn my roots. RIP to all my iraqi brothers and sisters 🇮🇶
    ‎لاتنسى أبدا

    • @Marcus_Aurelius_6
      @Marcus_Aurelius_6 Год назад

      Abdul Qadeer khan

    • @chriscovington292
      @chriscovington292 11 месяцев назад

      Don't breed terrorist that fly planes into towers of innocent ppl and this wouldn't have happened to you. Not the US to blame, just you.

    • @StarTrek-fj8oh
      @StarTrek-fj8oh 11 месяцев назад +6

      May ALLAAH give them Jannatul firdaus Ameen

    • @corvus_kay6755
      @corvus_kay6755 11 месяцев назад +58

      What I dont understand is how they always show the perspectives of american soldiers in Iraq (which of course is also important in its own right), but nearly never the perspectives of Iraqi people. Shows how the victors get to define the narrative. Although I'm from Germany myself I am eternally sorry for you. And though I do not pray to any god I hope such a criminally unjust invasion is either avoided or never again treated that way. May you find peace in where you are and what you do now.

    • @JimmySentence
      @JimmySentence 11 месяцев назад

      @@corvus_kay6755 They want a pity party for the agressors. It's completely ridiculous, like the man talking about george floyd. saying our system is wrong and how someone put a knee on his neck. oh he didn't do that that's evil! Oh but, me invading a country, beating men in their homes, and killing men thats totally okay! I was on time magazine and i didn't do that!!

  • @tahaezzahir5575
    @tahaezzahir5575 Год назад +729

    As an Arab, I can't bear to watch this video. It fills me with rage, sadness, and sorrow for our brothers in Iraq

    • @williamdavis9562
      @williamdavis9562 Год назад +169

      @Taha Ezzahir, Not only were hundreds of thousands of Iraqi murdered during this war, people there still suffer today, in the millions.
      Children born after this war, to this day have a 27% chance of birth defects. As terrible a toll this has taken on the people of Iraq lets also not forget the young American soldiers who were sent there were victims in all this as well.
      The sides killing each other weren't really the bad guys. It was the men in suits who sent them there who belong in jail.

    • @churblefurbles
      @churblefurbles Год назад +51

      Now Syria, and of course Ukraine, the neocon is, I can't say it here.

    • @williamdavis9562
      @williamdavis9562 Год назад +33

      @@churblefurbles Libya might have been a bigger crime than both of us instances.

    • @DonAl_Capone
      @DonAl_Capone Год назад +12

      *as a Muslim

    • @eduardadhi110
      @eduardadhi110 Год назад

      as an arab maybe arabian people should take care people like osama firstly. Arabs donate money to al qaeda osama. Osama bin laden come out of arab and he follows the quran to the letter. Then it all become chain reaction and the last chain is this video

  • @lespetitszoiseaux3774
    @lespetitszoiseaux3774 28 дней назад

    amazing testimonies, listening to these guys, watching them talk about it. Thank you.

  • @pilgrimgirl3182
    @pilgrimgirl3182 Месяц назад +2

    Served in western Iraq. Those experiences still haunt me.

  • @DesignByKirk
    @DesignByKirk 9 месяцев назад +2052

    I'm an Iraq War veteran and it sickens me when people thank me for my service. People don't really know why they thank veterans for their service -- they do it because they think they are supposed to, or they think they understand what they are saying ... but they don't. If I could go back in time with what I know and change things, I would.
    Edit: I didn't join because I thought I was doing the right thing or any of the other reasons people like to assume one joins the military. I joined for personal/selfish reasons.

    • @justinstuart2202
      @justinstuart2202 9 месяцев назад +164

      Sorry for this but it isn’t your fault when the government lies to you it’s their shame

    • @imperialknight342
      @imperialknight342 9 месяцев назад +36

      i thank you for your service but agree the war was pointless, all it was fought for was revenge.

    • @joecater894
      @joecater894 9 месяцев назад +93

      they thank you because you were willing to put yourself in harms way and make a sacrifice if necessary when they know they often wouldn't want to be in that position.. and in many cases they appreciate the toll in takes on a person and that you were willing to wear that burdon because you believed at the time it was defending your country. Its more a general thing rather than specific to a specific conflict or the motivations behind it. They know that some wars are more just than others.. but if it wasnt for people willing to stand up to do that.. then there could be no freedom or peace for their country.

    • @rickybuhl3176
      @rickybuhl3176 9 месяцев назад +32

      I feel in modern times the "thank you" becomes more of a 'thank you for going instead of me/my kin having to walk in those shoes', rather than necessarily support for whatever action it may have been, some righteous belief in the justice of what was done or calls back to the sentiment of Churchill's 'Never was so much been owed by so many to so few'. I feel it's more "Thank you for taking one for the team" (the people at home not the military nor brothers in arms) more than a thumbs up for the where and the why or the details of what went down that did or didn't reach the airwaves. The Athenian youth sent to the Cretan labyrinth. In previous decades I would have (just as well intentioned but in my naivety..) made a point of shaking hands and thanking someone for their service. The same way I asked my Uncle about his time during WW2 and 'if he'd shot anyone' - as if 7yr old me had a clue. It took a little too long for me to appreciate the different reasons why memory can be fluid with mood and mental health. Take care

    • @imperialknight342
      @imperialknight342 9 месяцев назад +7

      the problem with war is knowing what your fighting for, Iraq was revenge for bush family since they were ridiculed in USA elite society for not taking Saddam down after the gulf war and plus Saddam was a bit of a Hitler, he shot his teacher at 6 years old, became a assassin for a Nazi like political party, committed a night of the long knives of his own, set up his own secret police and dropped gas bombs on Kurdish villages, in many ways Saddam admired and copied Hitler, so now you know why you went the war, i thank you for your service and hope this helps, the Iraq has super weapons just gave bush justification for war in truth they had 1 weapon poison gas , but that is the only bio superweapon Iraq had.

  • @joanofarcxxi
    @joanofarcxxi Год назад +1234

    “How can you have a war on terrorism when war itself is terrorism?”
    ― Howard Zinn
    I majored in social science. In one of my classes, I was required to join a group of young Iraq Veterans who got together and wrote poetry and discussed their experiences during their military service. That class made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. I cried, and I was angry. It was impossible not to feel their anguish, sadness, and regret. They were still young men, but yes, their were old. They were old, battered, tired, defeated men in young bodies. Iraq war was the dumbest, most shameful thing any decent nation could ever have done. I feel sorrow for the young soldiers, and all Iraqi people who lost their lives, their families, and their homes.

  • @bxie5597
    @bxie5597 2 месяца назад +2

    God bless all of these marvellous people, Americans and Iraqis.

  • @kenzulumovski892
    @kenzulumovski892 Месяц назад +6

    Incredible documentary. Stay true, stay strong and stay together brothers! From Sydney Australia.

  • @roypublic3269
    @roypublic3269 6 месяцев назад +47

    Now you know who the Real enemy is:
    The ones who sent you there...