2 l October
24 - 30, 2021
Northeast Oregon TV Weekly
BY GEORGE DICKIE
J.R. Martinez is among
the hosts of “American
Veteran,” a four-part,
four-hour series that
premieres Tuesday on PBS.
PBS says ‘thank you for your service’ with
four-part ‘American Veteran’
There is an unspoken understanding
among combat veterans that just escapes
civilians. PBS attempts to shed light on
the veteran experience in an upcoming
documentary series.
In “American Veteran,” a four-
part, four-hour series that premieres
Tuesday, Oct.26 (check local listings),
those who fought in conflicts ranging
from World War II to the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan tell their stories of
military service – why they joined, how
it changed them and how those who
served should never be forgotten. There
are nearly 18 million veterans in this
country and at times throughout history
they’ve been honored, reviled, ignored
or forgotten but always they’ve returned
to a world that doesn’t understand them.
And they always feel comfortable around
their own.
Each of the four episodes is hosted
by a veteran: former Marine and “The
Price Is Right” host Drew Carey; Sen.
Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War Army
veteran and Purple Heart Recipient;
actor Wes Studi, a Vietnam War veteran
with the National Guard; and actor J.R.
Martinez, an Army veteran.
“I wanted veterans who had a range of
experiences,” explains Leah Williams, the
series’ director and producer, “to see how
whatever it is that they’re dealing with,
that someone else, another veteran is also
dealing with that as well, whether that’s
physical, emotional wounds, highs, lows,
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whatever that may be. That is literally
one of the reasons why we wanted to
create this series.”
One theme that surfaces in “American
Veteran” is boot camp. Talk to any
veteran and they’ll tell you that you don’t
come out the same as when you went in,
which was certainly the case for Martinez
when he enlisted in the Army in 2002.
“One of the biggest things my
recruiter told me right before I left to
basic training,” Martinez explains, “he
said, ‘Whatever you do, you do not
want the drill sergeants to know your
name.’ ... Within the first, I think, day
of arriving at basic training, they knew
my name, and I quickly understood why
I didn’t want them to know my name.
Because then it just became a target on
my back: Martinez, Martinez, Martinez.
“But I believe honestly those are the
things that really allow service members
that are that naive about the world and
that innocent in many ways to be broken
down mentally and emotionally and
find that thing inside of them so that
those drill sergeants, the military can
then shape them to be prepared to be
these incredible service members they
become.”
“American Veteran” is part of an
initiative that also includes a 10-part
series of digital shorts on the PBS Voices
YouTube Channel and a nine-part
podcast available on all major podcast
platforms.
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