Williamson Herald: Documentary ‘Brothers After War’ puts focus on family impacts
The 2009 film “Brothers at War” was a documentary by Jacob Rademacher that told the story of the military lives of his two brothers, Isaac and Joe Rademacher, during their military service in Iraq. According to Jacob, he was on a mission to understand his brothers “experience, sacrifice and motivation” while in the military.
To get the full story, Jacob got access to embed with four combat units fighting in Iraq. He documented the real experiences of his brothers and their military brothers and sisters on the front lines. He experienced with them the wounds and the losses, listened as they recounted missions and remembered comrades who went home — too many in a body bag.
Back home, Jacob documented the impact of his brother’s service on their families during wartime deployment.
Last Thursday, about 15 years after “Brothers at War” premiered, Jacob Rademacher released a follow-up documentary. “Brothers After War” premiered to an invitation-only audience at the Green Hills Regal Theater.
The film, directed by Jacob Rademacher and once again in partnership with Executive Producer Gary Sinise and the Gary Sinise Foundation, showcases the lives of soldiers and Marines “on the other side of the battlefield." It provides an opportunity to catch up with the soldiers and Marines Jacob Rademacher met while embedded in Iraq more than 15 years ago and hear directly from them the impact returning to changed families.
Children who grew up and spouses who learned to run a home and parent alone, and the family adjusting to a father, spouse and son who had also changed.
Just as Jacob embedded himself with the military soldiers and Marines in combat zones for “Brothers at War,” he once again inserted himself into his brothers’ lives, the lives of 10 other veterans of the War on Terror and their families. “Brothers After War” exposes not if but how military experiences affected the lives of his brothers, their families and the lives of the other men and women he followed and interviewed in the first movie. Some were able to work through the challenges and move on together with their family; some didn’t.
The lives after war of brother Joe, his wife Danielle, brother Isaac, Capt. Jen Hermanson and nine other war veterans Jacob lived among 15 years earlier in Irag were laid open in brutal honesty on the big screen; even their children were invited to talk about their parents’ deployments — for some, as many as 15 deployments in seven years.
There’s the soldier who was deployed when his third baby was just 4 months old. As he readied to leave he said he wondered, “How do I do this?” He did do it, and when he returned home a year later his baby girl shied away as he tried to hug her.
The young son who worried every day his father would get hurt or killed; the hidden fury of the boy accustomed to being the “man of the house,” until dad returned home to take over.
Jacob listened to wives in the dual role of mom and dad until their soldier or Marine arrived home. The soldiers and Marines at war worried about the condition they’d be in when they returned while the family worried about whether their soldier or Marine would come home and if he did, in what condition?
Soldiers and Marines train to go where they’re told and do what they’re told with no knowledge of how success is measured. Afterwards they wonder how long and how many times they’d be deployed, but they still go.
Meet Jason Grundy, who, after “Brothers at War” was filmed in Iraq, suffered a traumatic brain injury. When he returned home his wife divorced him.
“After my traumatic brain injury, I lost my wife and my career,” he said.
Chris MacKay felt isolated after he was medically retired.
“I didn’t know what to do," he said. “I invested so much in the military — I felt isolated."
MacKay missed the men and women he trained and worked with, the camaraderie of his team, the adrenalin rush of the missions and the common experiences they shared together.
“Brothers After War” entered the worlds of the 12 soldiers and Marines to once again listen and learn their deepest thoughts and provide hope, inspiration and remind them “in this world we are never alone; we are connected in service and in our stories,” said Rudy Reyes, USMC veteran and film supporter. “To be able to tell these veterans’ stories is powerful.”
“Brothers After War” opened to the public on Friday in 100 Regal theaters across the country, including Green Hills Regal. Go to https://brothersafterwar.com/ to learn more about the movie and to find a theater nearby.
To ensure every veteran, military service member, first responder and family member are able to see the film, the Gary Sinise Foundation partnered with Regal Cinemas and made a $150,000 donation to VetTix — the largest-ever donation to an entertainment nonprofit. VetTix will ensure the free tickets are available and it provides a way for veterans and first responders to get the free tickets.
Free tickets to “Brothers After War” may be found by going to vettix.org and login or sign in and follow the prompt: Go to “Find Tickets - Discounts & Coupons.” Copy the voucher code provided and click on the “View Discount” button. When the Regal website pops open enter a location; select a date and time; select a single seat and click on “Book Seats.” Then log in to your Regal account or click “continue as guest.” Don’t forget to paste the voucher code in the sidebar window and click “Add”. That will bring the price to $0. Click next and enter an email to receive the ticket. Click on Complete Order and go back to select more seats, if needed.
According to Sinise, the idea for free tickets for veterans and first responders “is to bridge a civilian - military and first responder divide that has only widened to a disconnect between service members and first responders and the large portion of Americans who don’t have a personal connection to them.”
“Brothers After War” will provide that connection.
