Program Details

Toni:

Thanks for your comments. We always appreciate hearing from our passionate viewers, even when our actions and their opinions do not align.

We strongly feel that the American Experience programming you mentioned was part of our wide-spread programming efforts over the course of the entire month, in which many various viewpoints and facets of our armed forces were featured. A few of the other programming events featured include:

THE NEXT MISSION

Inspired by the very different stories of two Vietnam War era vets, THE NEXT MISSION is a personal look at America’s preparation for the almost two million returning veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After struggling for 35 years with rage and anxiety, Vietnam veteran Steve Campbell has only recently started seeking treatment. Steve and Jeff are friends and in the same therapy group.

Steve like many Vietnam vets has made it his mission to make sure the Iraq veterans don't go through the trauma that he experienced - untreated for so long.

The film provides a short history of PTSD - from Homer's time, to the Civil War and "soldier's heart, to the "shell shock" of WWI, the "battle fatigue" of WWII, up to the current diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder.

The film draws no conclusions about whether Jeff will ever be the man he was before he went to war, but rather presents the hope and pessimism he and his family experience and allowing audiences to draw their own conclusions about how the war comes home.

A look back at one of the most iconic battles of World War II as host Steffan Tubbs recalls his visit with veterans of the war to the infamous Japanese island.

Guests: WW2 Veterans from the Battle of Iwo Jima Joe Weinmeier, Al Jennings and Jim Blane; Congressman Ed Perlmutter; and Photographer John Riedy.

Since the Iraq War began, soldier arrests in the city of Colorado Springs have tripled. At least thirty-six servicemen based at the nearby Army post of Fort Carson have committed suicide. And fourteen Fort Carson soldiers have been charged or convicted in at least eleven killings. Many of the most violent crimes involved men who had served in the same battalion in Iraq. Three of them came from a single platoon of infantrymen. FRONTLINE tells the dark tale of the men of Third Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st battalion of the 506th infantry; and how the war followed them home. It is a story of heroism, grief, vicious combat, depression, drugs, alcohol and brutal murder; an investigation into the Army's mental health services; and a powerful portrait of what multiple tours and post-traumatic stress are doing to a generation of young American soldiers.

FOR LOVE OF LIBERTY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S BLACK PATRIOTS is an inspiring, definitive and unprecedented look at the largely untold history of African-American participation in America's armed forces, from the earliest days of the Revolutionary War to the conflict in Afghanistan. Ten years in the making, the four-hour mini-series examines why, despite enormous injustice, these men and women fought so valiantly for freedoms they did not enjoy. Introduced by General Colin Powell and hosted by Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, the film uses letters, diaries, speeches, journalistic accounts, historical text and military records to document and acknowledge the profound sacrifices and largely ignored of African-American service men and women. The films also include dramatic readings by an all-star roster of actors, including Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson, Bill Cosby, Susan Sarandon, Lou Gossett Jr., John Travolta, Ossie Davis, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, Sam Elliot, Delroy Lindo, Isaac Hayes, John Goodman, Ice-T and many others.

Thanks again for writing. In light of all of these diverse program offerings demonstrating, examining, and even celebrating the tremendous efforts of our armed forces – both past and present – I would hope you will reconsider your anger.

Thanks again,

Brad Haug

Director of Programming

Thanks for your inquiry.  We will be airing brand new episodes of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE this fall.  Our website will have all the scheduling information.  Thank you for watching KBDI.