Wartorn 1861-2010

Wartorn 1861-2010 documents America's battle with the mental injuries our soldiers have suffered from the Civil War, when it was called hysteria, to the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The official diagnosis is now Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but it was called shell shock in WWI and battle fatigue in WWII. The only consistency is how poorly the military and the US government have treated soldiers with mental injuries.

The film opens with the reading of a letter from a gung ho, young Union soldier to a friend back home, who calls the 100 or soldiers who are going home due to hysteria or melancholia, cowards. Over the course of the next couple of years, the letters from this same soldier, become more and more dark and it becomes obvious he is suffering deeply from what he has seen and done. After he is sent home, his friends are so concerned about him they won't allow him to go hunting with them. Unfortunately, they leave him alone with his gun and he takes his own life.

From here we see the pattern repeated over and over again. Parents, wives and other family members plead for help from the VA to save their returning soldiers from themselves. The stories are heartbreaking and infuriating. Executive Producer Jame Gadolfini does a great job interviewing current soldiers and the medical staff who are trying to change the protocall in the armed forces, making it easier to get help.

This is an extremely powerful film, and while it is not the feel good movie of the year, it is well worth your time.