“The saddest acre on earth†one mourner informs us.
Section 60 is not a term that most of us have ever heard. Section 60 is the part of Arlington reserved for those brave men and women that have given their life in Iraq and Afghanistan. Funerals and cemeteries are sad events and places at the best of times, but when you get to see the sheer magnitude of this one small area of Arlington it makes me want to cry.
Different people grieve in different ways, one man came to spend time with his brother in law Chris.
Chris was only 22, he loved the fact that he had been stationed in Germany, and he had just discovered beer. So I thought I would come out here and share an Octoberfest with him.
At which point two bottles of beer are opened, one to sip, one to pour reverently on the grave.
I had kind of looked forward to hanging out with Chris, but I guess this will have to do.
If that doesn’t pull on your heart strings, I don’t know what would. To die at age 22 under any circumstance is sad, to die in a foreign country fighting for someone else’s right to freedom is surely the greatest sacrifice a man can make. I do not agree with the war in Iraq, but I whole heartedly support those brave men and women that are out there.
HBO once again have done an excellent job of bringing an often forgotten story to life. For one day, from sunrise to sunset they follow the activity in the Arlington National Cemetery. There are tears, there are stories, there are reunions, there is even laughter, but there is an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss that permeates every interaction.
One little girl gives us sage advice “If you go in the army you will get killedâ€. As the saying goes, ‘from the mouths of babes’.
This is reality TV that just doesn’t get any more real. I have a stepson who survived two tours of duty in Iraq, my wife was a wreck for every day that he was in the war torn place. Luckily Bobby came out unscathed, at least physically. But he likely has been changed for forever by his experiences.
Section 60 airs on Monday Oct/13 at 9pm on HBO. This maybe the saddest documentary I have ever seen. It does not matter what your stance is on our presence in Iraq or Afghanistan, this program will bring you to tears.
And a note to Chris’s brother in law, a good friend of mine died a year or so ago, not in the war, but of cancer, I did something pretty similar to what you did. We each grieve in our own ways.
Simon Barrett
4 users commented in " TV Preview: HBO Documentary – Section 60 – The Arlington National Cemetary "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHBO has given this thing a definite slant with the editing to make sure to present a negative political statement about the war in Iraq. One little factoid here. Section 60 is NOT reserved for casualties in Iraq. It is open and active for any veteran. 99.99% of the funerals at Arlington are WWII, Korea, Vietnam veterans, or dependents and many are placed in section 60. As someone who wears the uniform, served at Arlington, and has no problem with serving in Iraq I know my service and my brothers and sisters service has kept this nation from seeing another 9/11. HBO doesn’t get it and this thing they produced (yes I’ve seen it) is plane disrespectful to the true story of the folks at Arlington.
Wow, see I never knew about section 60 before watching this. Didn’t even know it existed. Not being familiar with it, how I walked away feeling is that much more proud of our troops today. I didn’t know that about 99.9% of funerals are WWII, Korea, Vietnam veterans. How I interpreted the film was section 60 was for the troops over in Iraq and Afghanistan. I thought it was a very nice thing they did, and I didn’t really think of it as a negative thing and I’m sure that’s not what HBO intended. I thought it was awesome how they showed the loyalty of the families and how some of those people will stay there for hours.
Regardless of your stance on the current situation this is by far a sad documentary. I was so touch I made sure to send my love to all my friends that are currently serving our country. It was a definate reminder for me to tell them how much I appreciate them and what they are doing. I do not feel HBO was bias and I feel they did an amazing job bringing forth another great documentary 🙂 keep up the good work !
After watching this and wiping away the tears, I am quite impressed with what HBO has done. I disagree that HBO was trying to slant this against the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. If anything, every american, and especially our leaders, should go to Arlington and walk amongst the heroes of our country. They should ask every time they send our troops into harms way if it is worth the pain and heartache that accompanies those families who have lost their loved ones. If people can not stare those families in the face and say that the cause is worth it, they should reconsider. I do not want to get political here, but we have lost sight of the war in Afghanistan…we were never there to do nation building. We went there to kill all the taliban and alqaeda we could find and bring osama’s head back on a platter. Our men and women in uniform deserve more than what our politicians give them. Good job HBO on shedding light on a subject no one outside of the military normally gives two thoughts about in their normal daily routine.
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