Veterans Day is Wednesday, and for the first time in years our young men and women serving in the military have the country’s full attention.
Tragically, it is for the wrong reason.
Last week’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood resulted in a crescendo of media coverage about those who have paid the price — physically and mentally — for going into harm’s way on our behalf. True, we may never know the ultimate motive of the Fort Hood killer, but his crime served as an unfortunate reminder of how little we know about the stress military personnel face and how, for many years, civilians and military alike underestimated its long-lasting and debilitating effects.
In looking over the roster of television specials for Veterans Day, I couldn’t help noticing how even so-called lifestyle channels have begun to shift their emphasis to the problems our vets suffer when they get home.
Take HGTV, which is airing a special edition of its “Change the World” home-restoration series at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The program focuses on community efforts to freshen up two historic houses, one in Philadelphia, one in St. Louis, that help struggling veterans.
The one in Philly, operated by the Pennsylvania American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans Corp., has assisted hundreds of ex-servicemen get back on their feet, get jobs and get their own places to live.
In St. Louis, ex-soldier Hence J. Forland undertook the very same thing by himself, turning a stately if distressed-looking brick building into a transitional house for homeless vets.
With the help of hundreds of volunteers — including Sen. Claire McCaskill and NFLer Will Witherspoon — these old relics get a more dignified appearance, a reflection of the work being done inside.
Then there’s MTV, which cast a 23-year-old Iraq war veteran named Ryan Conklin on “Real World: Brooklyn” as one of Kansas City femme fatale Devyn Simone’s seven housemates.
In what was surely one of the most consequential episodes that teen-fantasy program has ever aired, we watched Conklin receive a call last Veterans Day, informing him that he was to return to duty in February. His stunned reaction and the despairing voice of his brother over the phone — his parents were too grief-stricken to call — sent “Real World” hurtling back into the actual world of reality, if only for a few fleeting minutes.
Conklin checked out of his posh Brooklyn pad, put on his game face and got himself back to Iraq. MTV went along. The result is “Return to Duty,” airing at 8 p.m. Wednesday on MTV.
“The Way We Get By,” airing at 8 p.m. Wednesday on KCPT and KTWU, is a portrait of “troop greeters” who welcome veterans as they arrive stateside from service abroad or leave to serve America abroad. It’s a custom that goes back to the first gulf war: At whatever hour of the day or night, the greeters assemble at the Bangor, Maine, airport, waving the flag and offering a free cell phone and cookie to every arriving and departing service member.
The documentary, which has been wowing film festival audiences for a year, mostly revolves around three greeters in the twilight of their lives, who draw tremendous strength out of the ritual of driving to the airport and extending a hand to men and women in fatigues. In fact, for 86-year-old veteran Bill Knight, greeting troops seems to be his only reason for continuing to fight out a tough life filled with money woes and illness.
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