Baghdad Emergancy Room

"I just watched the opening of Baghdad ER at the American History Smithsonian. The docs that were in the film were there as well as a few of the soldiers that were wounded, the mother of one of the Marines that dies on the operating table and a few celebrities from the Sopranos.

Perhaps because I am a Veteran the graphic content and context of wounded soldiers fighting for their lives and hospital staff desperately trying to save them hit hard and fast. I was instantly dizzy and uncomfortable.

Over and over again injured troops came into the ER with multiple kinds of wounds from shrapnel from Improvised Explosive Devices to gut wounds from sniper fire. It stirred the shaky memories that I have tried suppress since leaving that hellish war.

It was so intense I had to walk out twice and get some fresh air. As a soldier, on the ground when someone is injured you go into robot mode. You follow step one, step two, step three. You try to keep your buddies alive until a med-evac gets there. You never see the other side, where the bird lands and what the docs do. It is traumatic and tragic."
Fight to Survive