Call No.: DS79.76.A41 [check availability] Title / Director: Alive day memories [videorecording] : home from Iraq / Alpert, Jon.

This documentary film starts off stating that there are two birthdays that the soldiers from the Iraq War will never forget : their birthdays and their alive days – the day that they narrowly escaped death. James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) interviewed ten Iraq war veterans who were deployed during the Iraq war and returned injured and some of them with their limbs amputated. Some these veterans now have prosthetic arms and limbs & are facing post traumatic stress.

They share their experiences with him and their encounters with the attacks. It features the soldier’s pre-war lives and their lives that they are leading now. The film dwells into the physical and emotional effects that the war has caused for these soldiers. It was stated that the percentage of amputees returning from the Iraq war is the highest since the Civil War.

I always believe that both sides are affected by wars. Though this documentary focuses on the war effects from one side, it shows how some of these soldiers felt that they did not belong in the war and it was not their war. And others felt that they did what they had to, serving their country. The emotional part is when they were being asked about the future, some were confident and some have yet to overcome the traumatic stress.

The DVD is available in the Art, Design & Media Library. Please be forewarned that this documentary film contains harrowing footage of explosions & ambushes released by insurgents.