College students produce "The War at Home"

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Students in Norwich University’s Corps of Cadets are producing a documentary about veterans who have returned from overseas and are readjusting to civilian life. “The War at Home” is a production by several communications majors who are also members of the university’s Corps of Cadets; one, Virginia Wong, is a veteran who served in Iraq.

Professor Bill Estill oversees the project. He and his students have interviewed many veterans already, including Sgt. Maj. Levi Bennett, an ROTC instructor at Norwich University. "The War at Home" follows an earlier documentary produced by Norwich students titled “Vermont Fallen,” which told the stories of U.S. servicemembers killed in the war on terrorism and features interviews with their family members.

Amanda Plachek, a graduating senior, is the only producer in the group who has worked on both documentaries. She and another producer, Steven Weber, were featured in a recent CNN “Young People Who Rock” story.

Six of the eight producers for “The War at Home” will graduate May 10; five will be commissioned as officers in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The producers discussed the documentary, their thoughts about veterans and their future military careers in video interviews. To watch them, click on the following links: Edson Batista, Joe Burleigh, Jordan Lewis, Brad Panasiti, Amanda Plachek, Brittany Schlauch, Steven Weber, Virginia Wong

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