Review of Restrepo (2010) by Michelle R — 07 Dec 2013

Whether you agree with the war or not, this is a moving and honest documentary that shows what the platoon based in the Korengal Valley had to endure. Tim Heatherington as a photojournalist is of the calibre of Eros Hoagland and many others who sacrifice their lives to bring the truth in still images or video to the world. His narrative is in what he captures and for that he paid the price in Libya when he was killed.

I do not know anything about military strategy. But in my mind when you get your enemy into a valley is when you have an upper hand - the 'enemy' in this case is the US army in the eyes of the Taliban.

Sacrifice and serving one's country is nothing new in history. But to have Junger and Hetherington be so blatant about putting a humanistic face to it makes me, a person far away when it happened, with strong opinions against it, retract my opinion if only to show complete respect for what these young men did. Because in effect they were ill-prepared with the terrain. This was not modern warfare as the media shows us. This was real warfare and real combat in a terrain that is difficult, unfamiliar and most of all scary. And so many of them so young.

One can only be thankful that Hetherington and Junger gave the world this documentary. With politicians is where opinions lie; with the men and women who choose to serve their nation, it is where respect regardless of opinion must be given.