January 11, 2010 - In 1990, while serving as an Army cavalry scout right before the first invasion of Iraq, I briefly asked myself what impact the impending war might have upon me spiritually and physically.

The following two decades have been, without a doubt, the best years of my life, but at a terrible and high cost.  Watching the devastating lethality of our military and the suffering of civilians while driving through minefields and inhaling heavy doses of oil well fire pollution and radioactive waste left indelible marks on my body and soul.

With that vivid and visceral perspective on my front burner, I recently read an excellent book, Mass Casualties, and watched a superb and highly popular movie, “Avatar.”   Combined, they convey timeless stories about love, war, personal betrayal, political betrayal, and redemption.

Both the book and the movie are written to entertain, yet both excel by informing the world about the physical and spiritual devastation wrought by two wars on the 2.2 million individuals deployed repeatedly to Iraq and Afghanistan.  More importantly, for the more than 300 million Americans ignorant of realities of war, the book and film tell us volumes about our Nation’s challenges and aspirations.

Mass Casualties

In the book Mass Casualties first-time author Michael Anthony, who enlisted in the Army at 17 and became an operating room medic in Iraq, provides bittersweet diary of daily life in war.  His blunt first-person writing style easily combines the brevity of Ernest Hemingway with the insanity of Walter Heller and the poignant entertainment value of the highly acclaimed television series "M*A*S*H."

Reading Anthony’s humorous and horrifying account of medical trauma, good leaders, and crappy leaders intimately reveals his serious and intense maturity.  Anthony also describes the many heroic health professionals who performed so remarkably well in the worst situation imaginable – providing emergency surgery to repeated and never-ending surges of war wounded, maimed, and injured.

For me, the hardest part of the book was the tragic loss described by Anthony in the last sentence in the last paragraph of the last page: one of his friends from the war completed suicide after returning home.  This makes the book very real.  At least once per day, I refer a veteran, reporter, or family member to VA’s suicide prevention hotline: 800-273-TALK -- (800) 273-8255.

Of all the war and history books I’ve read, this ranks near the top as required reading for young Americans who want to know what happens in war, without all the political spin and gruesome pictures.  I highly recommend this “Young medic’s true story of death, deception, and dishonor in Iraq.” 

Avatar

The hot new film “Avatar” came highly recommended by my daughter’s friends, excited by the whiz-bang special effects – and they are absolutely breathtaking.  Certainly, James Cameron will earn an at least one Oscar for his spectacular efforts – plus a few million in profits, I’m sure.

Again, not knowing what the highly popular film was about, “Avatar” had me hooked in the first minute, when the lead character, named Sully, announces he is a disabled veteran in a VA hospital – two important issues I work with every day.

So here I am expecting an animated science fiction / fantasy / action film, only to get smacked in the face about the brutal reality of war by a veteran in a wheel chair.  That scene immediately made the film highly personal. 

Using a method far different from Anthony, Cameron uses spectacular and vivid pictures to weave an accurate narrative about a disabled war veteran’s personal journey, ripped from the pages of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.  Sully, played by Sam Worthington, experienced one war, and he eventually found redemption in a second war after realizing the personal and political betrayals he survived.

Cameron, who has no military experience, paints a broad canvas about war in general.  Make no mistake, in one way, this is a story for children and teens about protecting the environment and finding love, and in another way, the movie stands as a critical denouncement of President George W. Bush and his failed Iraq War fiasco.

Cameron mixes themes from prior films, including “Dances with Wolves,” showing the decimation of Native Americans, and “The Ugly American,” how the U.S. military failed to win hearts and minds during the Vietnam War - the same strategy in use both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The cast was brilliantly selected – unknowns without a lot of baggage.  The exception is Sigourney Weaver, made famous by “Ghostbusters” and “Alien.”  Her epic scenes portraying a liberal tree hugger who chain smokes may be most remembered as one of our historic ironies.

What draws you into "Avatar" is the cinematography, with bursts of color and pleasure almost like living inside the Northern Lights.  What keeps you hooked is the realistic story about a veteran, a war that went terribly wrong, and redemption.

"Avatar" and Mass Casualties are Excellent

If you need a good, crisp, well-written book to read, then pick up Mass Casualties.  Then you will have a glimpse, without pictures, sound, or smell, of battlefield carnage.   One day, I hope, Mass Casualties will be a film or possibly a TVS series like "M*A*S*H." 

America needs to get a handle that war is real, destroys lives, crushes souls, damages our environment, and costs trillions of dollars over many decades – and it is made far, far worse when the war was based on lies.   If you want a highly entertaining film for teenagers and older that teaches us poignant lessons about love, war, betrayal, greed, hubris, and protecting our fragile planet, then "Avatar" is just for you.