美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Thank You For Your Service,' The Fight Begins After Iraq

 

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The new movie "Thank You For Your Service" is about coming home, specifically what it's like for soldiers who come home after serving during the surge in Iraq in 2007. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Finkel. Here's NPR's Elizabeth Blair. And a note - some of the descriptions in her story are graphic¹.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE²: There's a scene in the movie in a therapist's office. Sgt. Adam Schumann and his then-wife Saskia need help. The therapist looks at Schumann's military record.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As therapist) Two Army Commendation medals, an Army Achievement Medal. Impressive.

HALEY BENNETT: (As Saskia Schumann) You never told me about those.

BLAIR: Saskia is the one who insisted Schumann get help. The real Adam Schumman says, yes she did.

ADAM SCHUMANN: She's a firecracker, yeah. Even though she's my ex-wife, I owe a lot to her for her looking at me when I came home and poking³ me and going, what the [expletive] is wrong with you?

BLAIR: Schumann did three deployments in Iraq, led a battalion⁴ during the surge, lost friends, came home traumatized and plagued with guilt⁵. David Finkel covered the Iraq War for The Washington Post. He spent several months embedded⁶ with Schumann's battalion.

DAVID FINKEL: And by every measure of what a soldier should be, he was a great soldier.

BLAIR: In April 2007, Schumann and a group of his soldiers were on a dangerous operation in a village where bombs had been coming from. While they were on the roof of a building, one of his men, Michael Emery, was shot in the head by a sniper. Finkel says Schumann carried Emery, a big guy, down the stairs on his back.

FINKEL: Emery was bleeding out of his head. And Adam had him on his back. And just because of the angle of things, the blood coming out of Emery's head kept flowing into Adam's mouth as he was gulping⁷ for air. So that was April. And when I met and began reporting seriously on Adam six months later - that was October - he was about to come home - one of the problems is he could not stop tasting Emory's blood. It was one of the episodes that haunted Schumann long after he left Iraq.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE")

MILES TELLER⁸: (As Adam Schumann) I put us on that roof. Those were my orders. He took a bullet for it.

BLAIR: And at the same time he's carrying the burden of those memories, he's also trying to adjust to life back in the U.S. with his wife and two children. He gets up early to make breakfast.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE")

BENNETT: (As Saskia Schumann) How long you been up?

TELLER: (As Adam Schumann) It's already 4 p.m. in Baghdad. You guys ready for some hotcakes?

BLAIR: "Thank You For Your Service" was written and directed by Jason Hall, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of "American Sniper."

JASON HALL: In previous wars, these guys came home on slow ships. And it was two months with these guys in the hold, talking about their experiences and sort of processing this journey that they've gone through in war. And now it's - they'll be in in the sandbox one day. The next day, they're at home, cooking pancakes for their family. And it's a real quick turnaround.

SCHUMANN: They take your gun. They take your uniform, everything you had. And you're left with a couple of medals, some pieces of paper and some photographs.

BLAIR: Adam Schumann.

SCHUMANN: And you do feel alone. And then you start isolating⁹ because you miss these these moments with your buddies¹⁰ and your camaraderie¹¹. And it can be severely¹² lonely. In your own mind is probably the worst place you can be.

BLAIR: Adam Schumann came very close to taking his own life. The movie reflects the reality many vets¹³ face when seeking help from the VA - packed waiting rooms, long wait times to see a therapist. As Schumann puts it in the movie...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE")

TELLER: (As Adam Schumann) This [expletive] could give me PTSD.

BLAIR: Director Jason Hall knows these stories might not be fun to watch. But he believes it's important to understand what the day-to-day is like for a lot of Iraqi war vets.

HALL: Until we can understand what we're asking them to do and what we've put them through, we're still going to keep sending them off.

BLAIR: Meantime, Adam Schumann says he and his buddies depicted¹⁴ in the film are doing well. For a while, Schumann worked as a peer counselor¹⁵ at the same rehab center where he was treated for PTSD.

SCHUMANN: I kind of felt like a squad¹⁶ leader again. You know, I had my own room down in the basement. And the guys knew I was there. And they would just come down, knock on the door and just chat. And one of the guys - he texted me every day. I love you, Adam. I text him back. I love you, too. And just that little - I know he's there for me, and he knows I'm there for him, no matter what. So it's great.

BLAIR: Schumann was very involved in the making of "Thank You For Your Service." He has a cameo. And when filmmakers heard him singing an old marching cadence¹⁷ he learned in basic training, they got Bruce Springsteen to turn it into the movie's theme song. Schumann sings backup.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FREEDOM CADENCE")

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: (Singing) Some say freedom is free. Well, I tend to disagree.

BLAIR: Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

4 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

5 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

6 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

7 gulping   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸，躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And you'll even feel excited gulping down a glass. 你甚至可以感觉到激动下一杯。 来自互联网

8 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

9 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

10 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

11 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

12 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

13 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

14 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

15 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

16 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

17 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。