For this Veteran’s Day, Americans will be able to observe two of the most horrific battles of the Iraq War, alongside the Marines who fought in them.
Michael Pack, the director and producer of the film “The Last 600 Meters,” believes that the urban battles in Iraq made this war unlike previous American conflicts, such as World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.
“It’s a very different kind of war. And we try to depict it from the point of view of the people who fought there,” Pack explained. “It’s called the Last 600 Meters, because the Special Forces sniper says, ‘I don’t make foreign policy. I deliver the last 600 meters of it.'”
The goal was to make viewers feel as though they were experiencing the firefights alongside the Marines as they shared their perspectives.
The film’s focus is on the battles of Fallujah and Najaf, where the Marines fought in Wadi al-Salam, the world’s largest cemetery.
“One tomb on top of another, and a huge underground catacomb area, and they’re fighting in 130-degree heat. The Marines had to go in and come out and have IVs with water in them to rehydrate, and then they got back into the battle. Some of them left the IVs in their arm so they could more easily hydrate, and it was just a horrific, surreal battle,” Pack insisted.
Battles like these can leave emotional scars that last for years. Thousands of Iraq combat veterans experience varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the percentage of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans experiencing PTSD ranges from a low of 1.4% to a high of 60%. The average is 23%.
“You can’t go through these battles without being emotionally scarred for life,” Pack said. “But I think what we try to do, which I think isn’t done enough, is actually to celebrate what they did in battle, not just make them pathetic figures of, you know, worthy of our sympathy, but understand what they did in battle, their heroism and courage, not just their struggles and difficulties.”
Pack argues that Americans should celebrate veterans for their valor, not just their suffering, and he agrees they should be honored not only on Veterans Day but every day of the year.
“I think we need to understand them. We need to know what it means to be in these kinds of battles. And I think that would make us also more cautious before sending them to war.”
It’s about understanding the nature of war and the nation’s expectations, celebrating and honoring those who have served.
***PBS stations are broadcasting “The Last 600 Meters” Monday night at 10 ET. Amazon Prime will stream the documentary on Veterans’ Day.
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