Film about war veterans to premiere

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - One in six soldiers who took part in the initial invasion of Iraq were deeply troubled by their war experiences after they came home. A new movie to be screened in Niagara Falls Friday night gives an up close and personal account of veterans dealing with post traumatic stress.

Army Sgt. Tommy Rieman was in a three vehicle convoy in Iraq when suddenly they were ambushed.

"At the time, we had Humvees with no doors, so I used my body as a shield to protect my gunner, Rob McAlister, and I was shot in the arm and the chest, and then from the three IUDs shrapnel hit me and I had 11 pieces of shrapnel," he recalled.

Arriving in Buffalo for Friday night's movie premier of "Halfway Home," Sgt. Rieman met fellow cast member Aimee Sherrod, whose Air Force Base in Baghdad had sustained a rocket attack. When she came home, she had trouble coping with life.

Sherrod said, "Really short temper, short fuse. I find it hard to form personal relationships. I don't trust people."

The movie deals with their struggles and how society must learn to understand what torments them. Sgt. Rieman suffered even after his country honored him. Sherodd's mother, Connie Bundrich, says a veteran's family can play a major role in the recovery stage.

"The best thing a family can do is to become educated, to know what it is, and not be afraid of it, and to understand that vet," Bundrich said.

"Halfway Home," narrated by Martin Sheen, premiers Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Seneca Events Center inside the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel complex in Niagara Falls. Cast members will be present to answer questions from the audience. Tickets are $10 for veterans and $20 for general admission.

The film's western New York promoter, Joe Ciffa, says there will be combat veterans in the audience - and perhaps their families - who may benefit from the information they receive. View the film's trailer at HalfwayHomethemovie.com