The arrival

As I write this, I still have tears in my eyes. I have been watching some of the videos we took last weekend of children and their families greeting their soldier parents and sons who have returned from Iraq. There was one greeting, one spontaneous moment of homecoming between a father and his daughter that made me suddenly burst out crying. The sheer joy and display of love we saw was and still is breathtaking.

I am not ashamed of my tears. I actually surprised myself with the suddenness of the experience. I felt poised during the event. But it was the moment that Ron captured that did it to me. I feel honored to have the opportunity to bring this story of love, sacrifice, survival, commitment, and devotion to you. Ron and Deb did a great job of capturing the range of reactions in these families. This documentary is going to be powerful.

Believe me, this documentary will move you deeply and hopefully inspire you to provide support for these children, their parents, and grandparents. Such support is needed before, during, and after deployment. Returning home does not mean that a community’s job is done. There is more that we need to do to support these soldiers and their families.

I knew that taking this on was going to be a challenge emotionally. Now what I knew between my ears has come home to my heart.

Travel to interview

I was recently contacted by an Extension specialist in another state who told me that he might be able to provide video of interviews with National Guard families in his state. Ron can establish the procedure another Extension office would have to follow to make the interviews suitable. Under the right conditions, I would be willing to travel to another state to conduct the interviews. If you think this would be possible in your state, let me know.

Our goal is to have all the interviews done by Christmas. Viewing videos repeatedly to find the potential segments for the final program is very time consuming. Even so, the more interviews we conduct the better the final program.

We are also very interested in finding the special story of one family. If you know of a family that could serve as a primary "face" of the program, let me know.

What a challenge we have!!

Budget and funds

Ron and I are creating the documentary without any outside funding. Kansas State University pays our salaries, and we both have small operating funds as part of our Extension positions. The School of Family Studies and Human Services is also providing us with a graduate research assistant. I will introduce that person in a later entry.

Obtaining a nationally prominent host/narrator and gaining access to public or commercial stations will require us to find financial support. We will also need someone to underwrite the creation of the set we will need for our host. The set alone could amount to a considerable cost.

Not having funding outside of the university for the creation of the program allows us to remain completely independent of any outside influence. If anyone has any suggestions for the funding we will need later in the program cycle, let me know or, better yet, post a comment here if you wish.

Kansas or national?

Although we are interviewing Kansas and Nebraska families (and might be able to expand to other adjacent states) for budget reasons, we hope our interviews will represent the experiences of all National Guard families across the nation. So we want to have the documentary broadcast nationally. Initially though, we might have to focus on a Kansas broadcast and then move to a national platform later. We will need to recruit a host/narrator with national visibility, someone like Tom Hanks or Tom Selleck. As you can imagine, recruiting someone with this national stature will be costly. We have about a year to obtain the services of this person and will obviously need help. In our search for a host, we might begin with Governor Sebelius, a person who is articulate and enjoys widespread support across Kansas.

Initial interviews of youth

I was very tired on returning to Manhattan last Friday. Our Delta flight had to be canceled after the brakes failed on the tarmac and we had to stay an extra night to catch an early flight on Friday. I had an email from Ron who had been at a camp for National Guard kids at Rock Springs Ranch (about 45 minutes away). He encouraged me to get to the camp as fast as possible and to consider interviewing some of the youth. I found some clean clothes (no fun not having luggage when having to stay overnight) and went back to the university to get a state car.

I had a fantastic experience. I told stories around a campfire that night in a small amphitheater sunk into the ground in the middle of forested area. I interviewed many of the kids that day, on Saturday, and on Sunday morning. I can't wait to bring their thoughts and feelings to you. I want the public to hear what these young people are saying.

We have interviewed others before this, but this was the first time I had contact with National Guard youth. I felt so honored by their trust and openness.

I also had the opportunity to visit with several parents when they arrived at lunchtime to pick up their children. When they heard about the documentary, they were enthusiastic for what we are hoping to achieve. We need their support because we will need to interview many parents as well.

We are at the "discovery" phase of creating a documentary. I have open-ended questions that reveal their experiences without leading them. We don't know what the final documentary will look like because their stories create the tone, ideas, and feelings. I do not have an established point-of-view. As I visit with them, I am not leading or shoehorning them into a preconceived formula. This process of discovery is an exciting part of creating a documentary. The REALLY hard work will follow involving hundreds of hours of pouring over all the comments to allow the final story to reveal itself.

Spontaneous support

I have been traveling extensively over the last two weeks. While in the Atlanta airport, a colleague and I were having breakfast in the food court. I heard some clapping and a few cheers. Must be someone's birthday, I thought. Then the sound of clapping and cheering increased. I could see people standing. I stood up and saw a long column of soldiers weaving their way through the airport corridor. I rushed to join them but managed only a several claps and cheers before the line passed by.

Not everyone had stood up to clap. I wish my cameraman was there because I would have liked to interview those who remain seated. Would recognizing these young men and women who were either returning or departing imply support for the war? Regardless of how we feel, can we all stand together to care about these soldiers and their families?

If you feel passionately against being in the Middle East, I hope you can rethink what support for National Guard soldiers and their families. All of our soldiers need to feel our support, but National Guard families may be particularly vulnerable to social isolation.

Attitudes and support

The documentary has two purposes: first, to bring the stories of National Guard families to the public. Second, to serve as a catalyst for increasing informal, natural support in communities. This includes friends, neighbors, classmates, and even strangers.

The documentary is not a political statement. Although we have the support of General Bunting of the Kansas National Guard, we have received no funding from any outside source other than our normal budget from Kansas State University. At some point, we will need financial support from funders like Hallmark or Walmart to underwrite the broadcasts over public television or a commercial network. Kansas State University retains all editorial control over the final product.

There will be some people who will say, "They are there not on MY behalf!" Feelings about the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan are intense no matter what you think about our being there. Ron and I ask you to set aside any political bitterness and anger you might have to simply consider the hearts of both the soldiers and their families. You can reach out and support them regardless of your opinions about the war. You can oppose the war and support these soldiers and their families. They deserve to be honored for their sacrifices.

Feel free to respond to this (or any other post on the blog) with your thoughts.